At Fort Wellington

The War of 1812 created some tense moments north of the St. Lawrence River. The fighters from the south seemed determined to take over the British holdings to the north. It was necessary to ensure that supplies and troops and other citizens could travel safely up through the narrow part of the river, which consisted of many rapids all the way from Montreal up to Prescott in Ontario.

Locating the fort at the head of the less navigable water, and just opposite Ogdensburg, in New York State, would provide important military advantages for protecting the Canadian shipments along the river. It also protected the Story and photos by James Stoness community of Prescott because if the strategic point went to the enemy, things would be very difficult for the rest of the British colony. Shipping was easy along the river to this point near the head of the rapids. Goods were then unloaded to smaller vessels to run the rapids. Nothing could be allowed to disrupt this flow of goods. Troops from Ogdensburg began making raids on the boats, which led to a weak retaliation. Later when the river froze the local militia and troops at Prescott formed a pincer movement that forced the enemy to retreat from Ogdensburg.

The work began on Fort Wellington in 1813 to construct a wall of earth around the central buildings. The wooden blockhouse, which would hold a contingent of about 150 army personnel, sat in the middle for protection. A dry ditch or dry moat protected the earth wall except on the north side. A log palisade wall offered further protection. They created tunnels within the earthen wall and stored supplies. They created extra strong storage centres out of cut stone. Similar structures had gun slits. The stone protected the defenders, and the open slits allowed good fields of view of the enemy. A couple of 24 pound cannons sat near the southern corners and made it unsafe for enemy ships to enter the narrow part of the river. Apparently these cannon