Île aux Noix () is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

on the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kn ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, close to

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/ Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type ...

. The island is the site of Fort Lennox National Historic Site of Canada. Politically, it is part of Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix.

Background

Île aux Noix is a island in the

. 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 st ...

caused the French to build a fort in 1759, named ''fort de l'Isle aux Noix'', to slow the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

advance on

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, but were forced to surrender it in 1760. In 1775, the island was taken by American forces, and used as a base by the American generals

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

and

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

for attacks on Montreal and

. The Americans used the island again in 1776 during their retreat from Canada. Their army spent 10 days on the island: more than 900 American soldiers died from small pox and were buried in two mass graves on Isle aux Noix. The British then built a new fort in 1778 and named it the ''fort of Isle aux Noix''. During 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 be ...

, the British used the island to supply their operations against the American fleet on Lake Champlain. The present Fort Lennox was built from 1819 to 1829, when the old fortifications were completely demolished. It remained a military post until 1870 and is now a popular tourist locatio

The Île aux Noix Naval Shipyard was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

yard from 1812 to 1834 in

and served the RN's Lake Champlain fleet during the

. HMS ''Confiance'' was one of several warships built here.

French fortifications

The population of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

during the last years of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

lived through difficult times. It faced an appreciable reduction in support from the home country, at a time when France's resources were being stripped by the situation on the European continent. In the colony from year to year, civilians and soldiers saw their hopes crushed as they worked out strategies, which were constantly deprived of the necessary royal support. The campaigns of 1759 and 1760 provide strong evidence of this situation and it is in this context that the strategists decided to build a fort on Île aux Noix. From August 16 to 28, 1760, French soldiers commanded by Colonel Bougainville, were besieged by

William Haviland William Haviland (1718 – 16 September 1784) was an Irish-born general in the British Army. He is best known for his service in North America during the Seven Years' War. Life William Haviland was born in Ireland in 1718. He entered milita ...

during the British advance on Montreal. Bougainville realised that the fort of Île aux Noix could not resist a longer siege. On August 27, Bougainville had his troops silently leave the island in the middle of the night and headed to Montreal where he hoped his soldiers could help. The siege of Isle aux Noix ended on August 28, when a group of about forty French soldiers surrendered to the British forces. The last French governor-general of New France,

Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil de Cavagnial, marquis de Vaudreuil (22 November 1698 – 4 August 1778) was a Canadian-born colonial governor of French Canada in North America. He was governor of French Louisiana (1743–1753) and in 1755 be ...

, surrendered to British Major General Jeffrey Amherst on September 8, 1760. France finally ceded Canada to the British in the Treaty of Paris, signed on February 10, 1763. The strategic importance of Île aux Noix decreased as soon as the conquest of Canada was complete in 1760. Amherst had not thought it wise to preserve the French fortifications on Île aux Noix and therefore he ordered the razing of the entrenchments to salvage the construction materials, which might be reused at Crown Point.

First British fortifications

After New France became a British colony, there was not much use for Île aux Noix as a military post. The French fort was destroyed. Yet after the American invasion of the

province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...

in 1775-1776 by means of the Richelieu River, the British authorities decided to build a new fort on the island in 1778. It was used during the War of 1812. That fort was demolished to make place for Fort Lennox.

American occupation

In 1775, the island was taken by American forces and used as a base by the American generals Philip Schuyler and Richard Montgomery for attacks on Montreal and Quebec. After being defeated at Quebec and abandoning Montreal, the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

regrouped at the island in 1776 in its retreat from the

. The site returned to British hands as an important frontier fort, now its southernmost on the Richelieu. Blockhouses were constructed in 1779 to resist further attack. A much more impressive fortification was built from 1779 to 1782.

Images

File:We stand on guard for thee.JPG, Fort Lennox File:Fort Lennox.JPG, Fort Lennox on île-aux-Noix File:Fort Lennox, Québec, Canada.jpg, Fort Lennox File:Fort Lennox (septembre 2000).jpg, Fort Lennox File:Latrines of Fort Lennox.JPG, The soldiers' latrines in Fort Lennox. File:Barracks of Fort Lennox.JPG, Behind the barracks of Fort Lennox. File:Commissariat Store of Fort Lennox.JPG, The Commissariat Store of Fort Lennox. File:Fort Lennox Powder Magazine 2.JPG, Behind the Powder Magazine at Fort Lennox. File:Powder Magazine and Barracks.JPG, The powder magazine and barracks File:Cannon inside Fort Lennox.JPG, Cannon inside Fort Lennox. File:Fort Lennox 1886.jpg, Fort Lennox, Isle-aux-Noix, QC, 1886, Henry Richard S. Bunnett, Oil on canvas. File:Inside the Fort Lennox Latrines.JPG, Inside the soldiers' latrines in Fort Lennox. File:Fort Lennox Kitchen.JPG, A soldiers' kitchen in Fort Lennox. Located in the casemate behind the barracks. File:Fort Lennox Warehouse.JPG, A warehouse located in the casemate behind the barracks of Fort Lennox. File:Fort Lennox Powder Magazine.JPG, Inside the powder magazine at Fort Lennox. File:Entrance of Fort Lennox.JPG, Entrance of Fort Lennox built on Isle-aux-Noix on the Richelieu river. File:Moat around Fort Lennox.JPG, Moat around Fort Lennox. On the left is the top of a chimney above a kitchen located in Fort Lennox. File:Fort Lennox.jpg, Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix (Québec) File:Fort Lennox-Dortoir-2.jpg, One of the soldiers' barracks of the 24th Regiment at Fort Lennox File:Fort Lennox (septembre 2000) (2).jpg, Arcade at Fort Lennox, Province of Quebec

Second British fortifications

During the War of 1812, the race for

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inclu ...

superiority in the area re-established the military importance of the island, which became the main support point for the British navy on this border. The flagship of the British squadron on Lake Champlain, , a 36 gun

5th rate Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

, became the largest vessel ever constructed at Île aux Noix. :''See

Battle of Lake Champlain The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final British invasion of the northern states of the United States during the War of 1812. An army under Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost and a naval squadr ...

Postwar

The postwar period provided another opportunity to rethink the defensive system on the Upper Richelieu in the light of the experience acquired in the War of 1812. This time the endless debate between

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost navigable point of Lake Champlain. As of D ...

and Île aux Noix brought the engineer officers into direct opposition to the naval officers. The engineers favoured Saint-Jean because of the many possibilities of bypassing Île aux Noix, while the naval officers, convinced by the experiences of the recent war, preferred Île aux Noix because of its advantages against an operation over water. The latter were further favoured by the activities of the Americans a short distance from the border, since the construction of Fort Montgomery provided the competent British authorities with an argument for supporting Île aux Noix.

Troops

* French regulars * British 1st Regiment of Foot (

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

)

Internment camp

From 1940 the island was the home of an internment camp which held European Jewish refugees who had been forcibly removed from Britain. The camp was initially called Camp I, later Camp No. 41. Internees were treated as

enemy aliens In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and ...

, and only after a year did the Canadian authorities begin to treat them as refugees. They were still not free to leave the camp, however, in some cases until 1944.http://www.jewishtribune.ca/uncategorized/2011/05/03/the-jews-that-churchill-deported-to-canada

References

External links

Île aux NoixFort Lennox National Historic Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noix, Ile Aux Landforms of Montérégie River islands of Quebec War of 1812 forts Seven Years' War American Revolutionary War sites Military forts in Quebec Royal Navy bases in Canada Jewish Canadian history World War II internment camps in Canada