Fort Anne (first established in 1629 as the Scottish Charles Fort) is a four-

bastion fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...

built to protect the harbour of

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. The fort repelled all French attacks during the early stages of

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

. Now designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

, it is managed by

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

. Two buildings remain intact: * The 1708 stone powder magazine in Bourgogne Bastion * The 1797 Officer's Quarters was renovated in the 1930s and now house the

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

with exhibits about the fort's history and historic artifacts from the area. It was former site of two separate structures: Governor's house and chapel. Other structures were replaced by later work by British: * Bake house in Dauphin Bastion later became underground magazine * Powder magazine in Berry Bastion now vacant Lieutenant Governor house and dry storage building in front of current officers quarters demolished. Currently vacant area. A trail runs along the fort's earthen walls, and provides a view of the

Annapolis River The Annapolis River (french: Rivière Annapolis) is a Canadian river located in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. Geography Measuring 120 kilometres in length, the river flows southwest through the western part of the valley from its source in Carib ...

and basin.

History

The site has been fortified since 1629, when the Scots came to colonize Nova Scotia (New Scotland) and built Charles Fort. The region was reverted to French control in the 1630s and

Charles de Menou d'Aulnay Charles de Menou d'Aulnay (''de Charnisay'') (–1650) was a French pioneer of European settlement in North America and Governor of Acadia (1635–1650). Biography D'Aulnay was a member of the French nobility who was at various times a sea capt ...

began work on the first of four forts on the same site, then known as

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

. In 1702, the French began construction of the current Vauban earthwork that is found there today.

Queen Anne's War

During

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

, the fort fell to British and New England troops after a week-long siege in 1710 which marked the British conquest of Acadia. A British governor and garrison replaced the French at the fort renaming the Port Royal settlement Annapolis Royal after Queen Anne. With the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...

three years later, the British gained full control of mainland Nova Scotia and kept Annapolis Royal as the capital until the founding of Halifax in 1749. The

40th Regiment of Foot The 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1717 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) ...

was raised at Fort Anne in 1717.

Father Rale's War

Blockade of Annapolis Royal (1722)

During

Father Rale's War Dummer's War (1722–1725) is also known as Father Rale's War, Lovewell's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the Wabanaki-New England War, or the Fourth Anglo-Abenaki War. It was a series of battles between the New England Colonies and the ...

, in July 1722 the

Abenaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...

and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

attempted to create a blockade of Annapolis Royal, with the intent of starving the capital. The natives captured 18 fishing vessels and prisoners from present-day Yarmouth to Canso. They also seized prisoners and vessels from the Bay of Fundy. In response to the New England attack on Father Rale at Norridgewock in March 1722, 165 Mi'kmaq and Maliseet troops gathered at Minas to lay siege to the Lt. Governor of Nova Scotia at Annapolis Royal. Under potential siege, in May 1722, Lieutenant Governor

John Doucett John Doucett (Doucette) (died November 19, 1726) was probably of French descent although he did not speak the language and was likely born in England. He was a career military man and, from 1702 on, received several promotions. He was appointed ...

took 22 Mi'kmaq hostage at Annapolis Royal to prevent the capital from being attacked. Massachusetts Governor

Samuel Shute Samuel Shute (January 12, 1662 – April 15, 1742) was an English military officer and royal governor of the provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. After serving in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession, he was appoin ...

declared war on the Abenaki. New Englanders retrieved some of the vessels and prisoners after the

Battle at Winnepang (Jeddore Harbour) The Battle of Winnepang occurred during Dummer's War when New England forces attacked Mi'kmaq at present day Jeddore Harbour, Nova Scotia. The naval battle was part of a campaign ordered by Governor Richard Philipps to retrieve over 82 New Engl ...

in which thirty-five natives and five New-Englanders were killed. Other vessels and prisoners were retrieved at Malagash Harbour after a ransom was paid.

Raid on Annapolis Royal (1724)

During

, the worst moment of the war for the capital came in early July 1724 when a group of sixty Mikmaq and Maliseets raided Annapolis Royal. They killed and scalped a sergeant and a private, wounded four more soldiers, and terrorized the village. They also burned houses and took prisoners. The British responded on July 8 by executing one of the Mi'kmaq hostages on the same spot the sergeant was killed. They also burned three Acadian houses in retaliation. As a result of the raid, three blockhouses were built to protect the town. The Acadian church was moved closer to the fort so that it could be more easily monitored.

King George's War

During

, the French launched three expeditions against the capital to regain the fort with no success, the most famous being the Duc d'Anville Expedition.

Father Le Loutre's War

During

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Briti ...

, the capital of Acadia was moved from Annapolis Royal to Halifax. Fort Edward,

Fort Lawrence Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto (in the modern-day community of Fort Lawrence). Father Le Loutre's War Despite the British Conquest of Acadia in 1710, Nova Scotia rema ...

and Fort Anne were all supplied by and dependent on the arrival of Captains Cobb, Rogers or Taggart, in one of the government sloops. These vessels took the annual or semi-annual relief to their destination. They carried the officers and their families to and fro, as required.

French and Indian War

During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, the British engaged in the

Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) The Bay of Fundy campaign occurred during the French and Indian War (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War) when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour (1755). The campaign ...

and deported the Acadians living in the area. With the

fall of Quebec The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

in 1759, the fort no longer held the same military importance. It was however still used as an outpost during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, where the

84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutiona ...

was stationed, and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

in defence of the town from American

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. The fort acquired the name Fort Anne in the 19th century.

Commanding officers

(1717–1726) *

Lawrence Armstrong Lawrence Armstrong (1664 – 6 December 1739) was a lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia and acted as a replacement for the governor, Richard Philipps, during his long absences from the colony. Armstrong was born in 1664 in Ireland. According ...

* Alexander Cosby *

Paul Mascarene Jean-Paul Mascarene (c. 1684 – 22 January 1760) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as commander of the 40th Regiment of Foot and governor of Nova Scotia from 1740 to 1749. During this period, he led the colony th ...

* Henry Daniel (military officer) *

John Handfield John Handfield (circa 1693 - 1787) was a British military officer, member of the Nova Scotia Council, and office holder. Handfield was commissioned in Philipps' Regiment (the 40th Regiment of Foot) as an Ensign in 1720, taking up his duties at Ann ...

(1752–1755)

Fort Anne National Historic Site

In 1917, Fort Anne was acquired by the Dominion Parks Branch, the predecessor of

, and designated the second national historic park, bearing the name Fort Anne National Park (

Fort Howe Fort Howe (1777 — present historic site) was a British fort built in Saint John, New Brunswick during the American Revolution. It was erected shortly after the American siege in 1777 to protect the city from further American raids. The 18th ...

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

had been the first historical park). Two years later, a new program of National Historic Sites was established in 1919 to replace the incipient system of historic parks, and Fort Anne was designated a National Historic Site in 1920. Although Fort Anne was neither the first National Historic Park (Fort Howe was designated three years earlier), nor was it the first site designated under the replacement National Historic Site program, it is nonetheless sometimes referred to as Canada's "first national historic site" or the "first administered national historic site", because it was the first site acquired by the federal government for national historic purposes that has subsequently remained under

administration (Fort Howe was eventually conveyed to the municipality).

Legacy

On 28 June 1985 Canada Post issued 'Fort Anne, N.S., circa 1763.' one of the 20 stamps in the "Forts Across Canada Series" (1983 & 1985). The stamps are perforated x 13 mm and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited based on the designs by Rolf P. Harder.

References

External links

*
Fort Anne Bronze Cannon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anne Military history of Acadia Military history of Nova Scotia Military history of New England Military history of the Thirteen Colonies Military forts in Nova Scotia Buildings and structures in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia

Fort Anne Fort Anne (first established in 1629 as the Scottish Charles Fort) is a four-bastion fort built to protect the harbour of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The fort repelled all French attacks during the early stages of King George's War. Now desig ...

Military and war museums in Canada Tourist attractions in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Forts or trading posts on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Military forts in Acadia French forts in North America Military installations established in the 17th century

History

Queen Anne's War

Father Rale's War

Blockade of Annapolis Royal (1722)

Raid on Annapolis Royal (1724)

King George's War

Father Le Loutre's War

French and Indian War

Commanding officers

Fort Anne National Historic Site

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links