Fort Richelieu


Fort Richelieu is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu [Regional County Municipality, Quebec], Canada. The fort is designated as a National [Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site of Canada]. Fort Richelieu was part of a series of five forts built along the Richelieu River and is at the mouth of the Richelieu River. Fort Chambly formerly known as Fort St. Louis at Chambly, Fort Sainte-Thérèse, and Fort Saint-Jean at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, are on the way. Fort [Sainte Anne (Vermont)] on Isle [La Motte, Vermont] in Lake Champlain is near its source. The forts were built in order to protect travellers on the river from the Iroquois. The region is informally known as la Vallée-des-Forts.

History

The fort was established at the mouth of the Richelieu River, near the modern city of Sorel-Tracy, in 1641. It was built by Charles Huault de Montmagny, first Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of New France, and named in honour of Armand [Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu|Cardinal Richelieu], chief minister to Louis XIII. The fort was burned down by the Iroquois in 1647. In 1665, the Carignan-Salières Regiment, under the direction of Pierre de Saurel, rebuilt the fort on the same site.

Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with Canadian [Museums Association], Canadian Heritage [Information Network] and Virtual Museum of Canada.