Fort Lennox        

Isle aux Noix, Quebec            
The French built a fort on the Isle aux Noix in the Richelieu River in 1759 while in the process of being chased out of much of Canada by the British. Though the location was close to the center of New France and theoretically easy to supply and defend, the British besieged the fort August 16-20, 1760, which was apparently long enough to starve out a Frenchman.

Not long after the British had secured much of French Canada for their empire, the pesky Americans invaded north in September of 1775, occupying the Isle aux Noix as a staging area for the attack on Montreal. Upon the yanks' defeat in Quebec, the Isle aux Noix was used as a location for much active suffering by the retreating (and frequently starving) Americans.

Upon the island's abandonment, the British set about building a proper (British) fort, which included some of the original French structures and was completed in 1778. The War of 1812 (and subsequent American incursions into the area) was the impetus for further improvements to the fort, including a naval dockyard, which in 1814 produced the 1200 ton, 36-gun brigantine Confiance...the "largest vessel to ever traverse the lakes," that was nonetheless sunk by the US Navy at the Battle of Plattsburg on September 11, 1814.

The current structure was built 1819-1829 and was garrisoned until 1870 as a deterrent to further American incursion. Fort Lennox is currently open to the public in the form of guided tours led by "friendly, articulate and knowledgeable" guides.

The fort was named after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, who was Governor General of British North America (1756-1763).

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Fort Lennox?
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