Fort Malden
Fort Malden, formally known as Fort Amherstburg, is a defence fortification located in Amherstburg, Ontario. It was built in 1795 by Great Britain in order to ensure the security of British North America against any potential threat of American invasion. Throughout its history, it is most known for its military application during the War of 1812 as Sir Isaac Brock and Tecumseh met here to plan the Siege of Detroit. It was the British stronghold during the war and is now a National Historic Site of Canada. The fort also had an important role in securing Upper Canada's border with Detroit during the Upper Canada Rebellion.
Fort Malden also has rich and diverse history aside from its military applications. For example, it was the setting for the British Pensioner Scheme and would later become an Ontario Provincial Asylum in 1859. After the asylum was closed, Fort Malden was surveyed and privatized until the mid-nineteenth century. The historic designation of the fort came after several decades of local residents advocating for the preservation of the fort to the federal government. Officially recognized in 1921, the complex of Fort Malden as it is seen today was brought together in 1946 with the purchase of the Hough House.
Today, the fort remains open and accessible to the public under the supervision of Parks Canada. Visitors are able to see for themselves a wide array of Fort Malden's history as all of the buildings on the complex represent different time periods within that history. For example, an 1819 Brick Barrack restored in the style of one in 1839 is found directly across from the Hough House that represents the fort's history as an asylum, a lumber mill, and a private residence.
History
Before 1795
After the Indian Land Grant of 1784, it was decided by Governor Sir Frederick Haldimand that the land opposite of Bois Blanc Island was to be used as a strategic military defence post. In his book "Fort Malden and the Old Fort Days," Rev. Thomas Nattress asserts that, prior to the land grant, the area was used by the Natives as a strategic military defence post.1795–1812
The British forces based at Fort Detroit had to be withdrawn following the 1795 Jay Treaty and were re-assigned to Fort Malden. In January 1797 Captain Mayne, received word from Robert Prescott, commander-in-chief of the British troops in Canada, that the military post was to officially be known as Fort Amherstburg; named in commemoration of General Lord Amherst, a British Commander during the Seven Years' War. This title has never been formally changed. However, because the fort lay in the township of Malden, its inhabitants and the locals came to commonly and colloquially refer to it as Fort Malden. The name "Fort Malden" has remained ever since.1812–1814: The War of 1812
Fort Malden's involvement in the War of 1812 began on 2 July 1812, when British forces at Amherstburg captured the American schooner Cuyahoga. The United States declaration of war on Great Britain was made on 18 June of that year; yet, on 1 July, the US Army General William Hull had still not received word of this development. Hull had chartered the Cuyahoga to transport goods and army records, officers' wives, and the ill from Toledo, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan Territory, passing by Amherstburg. In the deep water channel of the Detroit River, the Cuyahoga was captured by the British brig. General Hull's reaction came on 12 July when, under his command, American forces crossed the Detroit River east of Sandwich and took the town without opposition. Sandwich was to be used as a base of operations for the American advance into Upper Canada, with General Hull commandeering the Francois Baby House as his headquarters. On 13 July, Hull issued this proclamation to the residents of Upper Canada:On 16 July, General Hull's army was met with armed British resistance for the first time. A patrol out of Fort Malden engaged with Hull's troops at the River Canard, where two British soldiers were killed, marking the first fatalities of the War of 1812.
Major General Sir Isaac Brock assumed command of Fort Malden on 13 August 1812, and it was Brock who would lead British troops across the Detroit River days later. On 16 August, with the help of Chief Tecumseh's Native warriors, Brock and Tecumseh's forces marched on Fort Detroit. It is reported that Hull was fearful of 'hordes' of Indians swooping down upon the civilian population of Detroit, a fear that Brock and Tecumseh were able to capitalize on by convincing Hull that their ranks included 5,000 of Tecumseh's native warriors. It is largely due to the unsettling effect that the Native allies' presence had upon General Hull that Fort Detroit was surrendered without resistance. The success of the Siege of Detroit was an important factor in securing First Nations' support for the British at Fort Malden during the War of 1812.
Throughout the War of 1812, the Detroit frontier had been considered "a distant and expendable outer branch" of the colony that the British were willing to sacrifice in order to protect Montreal and Quebec in Lower Canada, and Niagara and Kingston in Upper Canada. As such, strategic losses at York and Niagara during the spring of 1813 placed the fate of Upper Canada's western territory in jeopardy. Resources had been directed to the Niagara region, and with no chance of receiving significant reinforcements General Henry Proctor was forced to abandon Fort Malden in September 1813. Fort Malden was torched, and the fort's inhabitants fled, with American troops in pursuit. After engaging the Americans at the Battle of the Thames, General Proctor was eventually successful in his retreat to Niagara.
1813–1815: American occupation
After General Proctor abandoned and burned Fort Malden in the fall of 1813, American forces occupied the towns of Sandwich and Amherstburg, including the land that the fort had stood on. During this time, the territory was used to conduct supply raids into nearby Chatham-Kent and London, Upper Canada. The Americans also began reconstruction of Fort Malden near its original location. After the U.S. ratification of the Treaty of Ghent in February 1815 ended the war, the border between the United States and British North America was restored, returning the property of Amherstburg and Fort Malden to the British. The American army officially withdrew from Fort Malden on 1 July 1815.1837–1838: Upper Canada Rebellion
After sitting in disrepair for quite some time, Fort Malden was once again used to house military personnel and launch military operations to quell the Upper Canada Rebellion. Most of Fort Malden's involvement dealt with defending Upper Canada from American sympathizers belonging to Hunters' Lodges, who were frequently embarking on border raids along the Detroit River. As a result of the United States now posing a real threat to the sovereignty of Upper Canada, Fort Malden underwent a period of development where several buildings were constructed and military earthworks repaired. Much of this development was conducted under the supervision of Major H.D. Townshend in 1838, with the 24th and 32nd Regiment occupying the fort. During this period, there were three regiments, including the Royal Artillery, stationed at Fort Malden to act as a defence against a possible American invasion.One such attempt by American "Hunter" Patriots occurred on 9 January 1838, when they attempted to raid the town of Amherstburg by crossing the Detroit River on the schooner Anne. All three regiments, including bands of town militia and Native American warriors, successfully defended the town, taking twenty American prisoners including their commander "Brigadier-General" Edward Alexander Theller. There were also two other battles occurring at Fighting Island and Pelee Island, where a detachment of the Royal Artillery was dispatched to defend against the brigand attacks. However, once the violence of the Upper Canada Rebellion was quelled, the fort no longer required so many active military regiments. Consequently, the Royal Artillery left between June and July 1839 and the 32nd Regiment also withdrew, disbanding the militia a few months later.
1839–1858: The Pensioner Scheme
As the regiments were leaving the fort and taking with them much of their military defence arms, the townsfolk of Amherstburg complained that they no longer were properly defended against an American invasion. The result was the stationing of the 34th Regiment of Foot at Fort Malden. While there no longer existed any immediate threat of invasion to Upper Canada, the regiment was employed to improve the defence and utility of the fort in the event that Upper Canada would again be under threat. It was during this time from 1839 to 1840 that Fort Malden underwent its second stage of development under the supervision of Sir Richard Airey, during which more barracks and store houses were constructed. In 1840, there was a decision made to actually replace Fort Malden with an entirely new defence construction in Amherstburg. This would have been described as the third stage of building development from 1840–1842; however, such plans never came to fruition as the United States and Britain signed the Webster–Ashburton Treaty after several years of negotiations.The result was that Fort Malden was used mainly to house existing or disbanded regiments as a stable garrison, such as the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment from 1842 to 1851 which was composed of veteran English soldiers. As there was no pressing military threat, life for both soldiers and townsfolk in Amherstburg was considered rather peaceful and marked as a period of growth both for the town and the fort. From 1851 to 1859 Fort Malden was occupied by army pensioners in what is known as the Pensioner Scheme. During this period, the town of Amherstburg and Fort Malden were redesigned to accommodate the large numbers of retired military men living in Upper Canada. As Canada had received responsible government following the Rebellions of 1837–1838, Britain no longer needed to maintain a significant military presence. It has been argued that in order to bring about the easiest transition for traditionally military defence towns such as Amherstburg, Britain enforced the Pensioner Scheme to substitute the standing regular army with pensioners to maintain the authoritative military presence.
About 350 individual army pensioners, along with their families, occupied Amherstburg as part of the Pensioner Scheme. They were offered homes and small land grants in accordance with the Ordnance Reserves where in exchange they were employed by the province to act as police and an interim military force. The scheme at Fort Malden was considered to be very successful, not only for the pensioners but also the development of the town. Remaining either continually employed or receiving a full military pension, the retired soldiers were important financial assets to Amherstburg's local economy. Additionally, the pensioners, many being Irish Catholic, added to the cultural development of Amherstburg, maintaining a strong presence until about the 1890s. There are several surviving pensioners' cottages remaining on the grounds of Fort Malden and surrounding the King's Navy Yard that are considered focal points in Historic Amherstburg and remain accessible to the public for tours.
The historic location of the Military Reserve is just northwest of Centennial Park in Amherstburg and was about 9,000,000 square feet large.