Fort William Augustus (also known as Grassy Island Fort, Fort Phillips) was a British fort built on Grassy Island off of

Canso, Nova Scotia Canso is a community in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, Canada, next to Chedabucto Bay. In January 2012, it ceased to be a separate town and as of July 2012 was amalgamated into the Municipality of the Di ...

during the lead up to

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 ...

(1720). In the wake of The Squirrel Affair and the British attack on Fort St. Louis (at present-day Guysborough),

Cyprian Southack Cyprian Southack (1662 – 27 March 1745) was an English cartographer and colonial naval commander. He commanded the ''Province Galley'', Massachusetts' one-ship navy (1696–1711) and commanded the first navy ship of Nova Scotia, the ship ''Wil ...

urged Governor

Richard Philipps General Richard Philipps (1661 – 14 October 1750) was said to have been in the employ of William III as a young man and for his service gained the rank of captain in the British army. He served at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and promoted ...

to build the fort. The Fort was named after King George's son

Prince William, Duke of Cumberland Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S..html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki> N.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Old_Style_and_New_St ...

Construction

On 7 August 1720, 60–75

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 ...

joined French fishermen from Petit de Grats and attacked Fort William Augustus (also known as Fort Phillips, after the Governor of Nova Scotia

) as it was being built. The Mi'kmaq killed three men, wounded four, and caused significant damage. The New Englanders took 21 prisoners which they transported to

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 ...

. This raid on Canso was significant because of the involvement of the Mi'kmaq and was significant in leading to

. In late 1720, the New Englanders built a fort named Fort Phillips, after the Governor of Nova Scotia

. Construction of a permanent facility was a violation of long-standing agreements between the Mi'kmaq and the fishermen. This significant violation helped precipitate

. In 1721, the

governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...

took proprietorial attitude toward the Canso fisheries and sent to patrol the waters off

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 ...

. With the arrival of British troops, the Mi'kmaq were discouraged from attacking until the following year.George Rawlyk. Cod, Louisbourg. and the Acadians. ''The Atlantic Region to Confederation: A History''. p.114 HMS ''Seahorse'' was replaced in 1721 by a New England vessel, ''William Augustus'' under the command of Southack.

Father Rale's War

On 23 July 1723, the village was raided again by the Mi'kmaq and they killed three men, a woman and a child. In this same year, the New Englanders built a twelve-gun

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

to guard the village and fishery. In 1725, sixty

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 ...

s and Mi'kmaq launched another attack on Canso, destroying two houses and killing six people.Haynes, Mark. The Forgotten Battle: A History of the Acadians of Canso/ Chedabuctou. British Columbia: Trafford. 2004, p. 159

King George's War

Edward How constructed a blockhouse and rebuilt other structures in the 1730s. The French and Mi'kmaq destroyed the fort in the

Raid on Canso The Raid on Canso was an attack by French forces from Louisbourg on the British outpost Fort William Augustus at Canso, Nova Scotia shortly after war declarations opened King George's War. The French raid was intended to boost morale, secure Lo ...

during

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 ...

(1744). The area was used to stage of the

Siege of Louisbourg (1745) The siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island) during the War of the Austrian Suc ...

. A blockhouse was built, which they named

Fort Prince William (Nova Scotia) A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Grassy Island Fort National Historic Site of Canada

Grassy Island Fort was recognized as 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 ...

in 1962. There are remains of the 1720 redoubt, 1723–24 fort, and the 1735 blockhouse.

Citations

Sources

*Robison, Mark Power. Maritime Frontiers: The Evolution of Empire in Nova Scotia, 1713-1758. Unpublished Doctorate Thesis. Department of History. University of Colorado. 2000 *Haynes, Mark. ''The Forgotten Battle: A History of the Acadians of Canso/ Chedabuctou''. British Columbia: Trafford. 2004

External links

Fort William Augustus

Parks Canada

Canada's historic places
{{coord, 45.337313, -60.973005, type:landmark_region:CA-NS, display=title 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 National Historic Sites in Nova Scotia Acadian history Military and war museums in Canada Military forts in Acadia Parks in Nova Scotia