Fort Chambly
Encyclopedia
Fort Chambly is a historic fort in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec
La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec
La Vallée-du-Richelieu is a Regional County Municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It surrounds the Richelieu River as the river makes its way from Lake Champlain in the United States north to the Saint Lawrence River northeast of Montreal at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec...

. The fort is designated as a National Historic Site. Fort Richelieu was part of a series of five forts built along the Richelieu River
Richelieu River
The Richelieu River is a river in Quebec, Canada. It flows from the north end of Lake Champlain about north, ending at the confluence with the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec downstream and northeast of Montreal...

. Fort Richelieu
Fort Richelieu
Fort Richelieu is a historic fort in the Canadian La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. The fort is designated as a National Historic Site. Fort Richelieu was part of a series of five forts built along the Richelieu River. Fort Richelieu is at the mouth of the Richelieu...

 is at the mouth of the Richelieu River. Fort Chambly formerly known as Fort St. Louis at Chambly
Chambly, Quebec
Chambly is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about to the south east of Montreal.- Geography :It sits on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La-Vallée-du-Richelieu, at .-History:...

, Fort Sainte Thérèse
Fort Sainte Thérèse
Fort Sainte Thérèse is the name given to three different forts built successively on one site, among a series of fortifications constructed during the 17th century by France along the Richelieu River, in the province of Quebec, in Montérégie....

, and Fort Saint-Jean
Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)
Fort Saint-Jean is a fort in the Canadian La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec located on the Richelieu River. The fort was first built in 1666 by soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment and was part of a series of forts built along the Richelieu River...

 at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, are on the way. Fort Sainte Anne
Fort Sainte Anne (Vermont)
In 1666, the French built a fort to protect Canada from the Iroquois. The fort was dedicated to Saint Anne. Fort Sainte Anne was the most vulnerable to attacks by the Iroquois, because it was the last of five forts stretching along the Richelieu River going south...

 (Isle la Motte, Vermont) in Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...

 is near its source. The forts were built in order to protect travellers on the river from the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

. The region is informally known as la Vallée-des-Forts.

History

Fort Chambly at the foot of the Chambly rapids on the Richelieu River
Richelieu River
The Richelieu River is a river in Quebec, Canada. It flows from the north end of Lake Champlain about north, ending at the confluence with the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec downstream and northeast of Montreal...

 in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, was built by the French in 1711. It was the last of three forts to be built on the same site. The first - then called Fort Saint Louis - was constructed in 1665 by captain Jacques de Chambly
Jacques de Chambly
Jacques de Chambly was from a French military background and became a seigneur in the New World and a governor of Acadia.Chambly's arrival in New France took place in 1665 when he arrived as a captain in the Carignan-Salières Regiment. He immediately was in charge of the construction of Fort...

, to protect New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

 from Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

 attacks. After minor repairs, the fort was burned by the Indians in 1702, but was reconstructed in 1702. By then it was already known as Fort Chambly. However with the Great Peace of Montreal
Great Peace of Montreal
The Great Peace of Montreal was a peace treaty between New France and 40 First Nations of North America. It was signed on August 4, 1701, by Louis-Hector de Callière, governor of New France, and 1300 representatives of 40 aboriginal nations of the North East of North America...

 in 1701, the war between the French and Iroquois was over. Also at this time the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...

 broke out, and boiled over into the colonies of France and England. Thus, to defend against a more powerful European attack, including the threat of cannons, Governor Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil
Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil was a French politician, who was Governor-general of New France from 1703 to 1725....

 ordered that the fort be rebuilt in stone in 1709. The engineer responsible for the design and construction of the new fort was Josué Boisberthelot de Beaucours. He also oversaw major improvements carried out on the fort between 1718 and 1720, modifications he felt would greatly increase the fort's defenses.

For many years Fort Chambly was the main footing of the defensive chain of fortifications along the Richelieu River
Richelieu River
The Richelieu River is a river in Quebec, Canada. It flows from the north end of Lake Champlain about north, ending at the confluence with the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec downstream and northeast of Montreal...

, which was the easiest invasion route into New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

. However, with the construction of Fort Saint-Frédéric
Fort St. Frédéric
Fort St. Frédéric was a French fort built on Lake Champlain at Crown Point to secure the region against British colonization and to allow the French to control the use of Lake Champlain....

 (1731) and Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)
Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)
Fort Saint-Jean is a fort in the Canadian La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec located on the Richelieu River. The fort was first built in 1666 by soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment and was part of a series of forts built along the Richelieu River...

 (1748) further south, Fort Chambly lost most of its defensive raison d'etre and so was converted into a warehouse and rally-point for soldiers, although the fort was never abandoned. With the Seven Years War, Fort Chambly was re-fortified and reoccupied, although it failed to stop the British from approaching Montreal and Quebec.

The substantial stone structure which still stands today was lost to the British in 1760 in The Conquest of New France
The Conquest
For the events leading up to the acquisition of New France by Britain known as The Conquest , see Conquest of 1760.The Conquest is a television series based on the conflict between the Wu state and Yue state during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history...

, also known as the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

.

Captured by American forces on October 20, 1775 during the American Invasion of Canada of 1775-76
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...

, it was held until the spring of 1776 when it was evacuated and burned, as the Americans retreated southward to Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...

. Subsequently, prisoners-of-war from the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

, including Colonel William Stacy
William Stacy
William Stacy was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country...

, were held at Fort Chambly until the end of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

After the Fenian Raids
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...

 in the 1860s, during which the fort was reoccupied, it was allowed to fall into ruin. In 1882 a citizen of Chambly
Chambly, Quebec
Chambly is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about to the south east of Montreal.- Geography :It sits on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La-Vallée-du-Richelieu, at .-History:...

, Joseph-Octave Dion, personally repaired and restored the site. In the 20th century the Canadian government recognized Fort Chambly's cultural and historical worth and undertook its maintenance. Between 1965 and 1985 extensive archaeological digs were carried out, and today a fully reconstructed version of the final phase of Fort Chambly (1718–1720) is maintained by Parks Canada and is open to the public as Fort Chambly National Historic Site of Canada.

External links


Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with: CMA
Canadian Museums Association
The Canadian Museums Association is a national organization for the promotion of museums in Canada.The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. The...

, CHIN
Canadian Heritage Information Network
The Canadian Heritage Information Network is a Canadian government-supported organization that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage, largely through the World Wide Web. It aims to give access to Canada's heritage for both Canadians and a worldwide audience, by supporting the...

, and Virtual Museum of Canada
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Virtual Museum of Canada is Canada's national virtual museum. With a directory of over 3,000 Canadian heritage institutions and a database of over 600 virtual exhibits, the VMC brings together Canada's museums regardless of size or geographical location.The VMC includes virtual exhibits,...

.

Gallery

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