Amherstburg Royal Naval Dockyard
Amherstburg Royal Naval Dockyard | |
---|---|
Amherstburg, Ontario | |
![]() Site of the Dockyard at Navy Yard Park, Amherstburg | |
Type | Shipyard, dockyard |
Site information | |
Controlled by | Provincial Marine/Royal Navy |
Website | Amherstburg Navy Yard National Historic Site of Canada |
Site history | |
Built | 1796 |
In use | 1796–1813 |
Battles/wars | War of 1812 |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | Provincial Marine/Royal Navy |
Designated | 1928 |
Amherstburg Royal Naval Dockyard was a
History
In 1796, Fort Amherstburg was chosen as the site of a new dockyard for the construction of Provincial Marine vessels after the former site at Detroit was ceded to the United States. It was the only British naval base west of Kingston and located on the Detroit River, with easy access to Lake Erie and Lake Huron.[1] The dockyard comprised a large storehouse, two blockhouses, a timber yard with a saw pit, and a wharf.[2] The blockhouses flanked the yard, with Fort Amherstburg and the town of Amherstburg on either side, with the dockyard overlooking the channel which ran between it and Bois Blanc Island. The dockyard was further protected by defences constructed on the island which watched over the entrances to both ends of the channel.[3] The establishment of the dockyard was directly linked with the growth of the town of Amherstburg, with many inhabitants working at the dockyard.[4]
List of ships constructed at yard
- General Hope – schooner
- Earl of Camden – schooner
- HMS Caledonia – brig 1807
- HMS General Hunter – brig 1809
- HMS Queen Charlotte – 1810 ship-sloop
- HMS Lady Prevost – schooner 1812
- 2nd HMS Detroit – 1813 ship-sloop
War of 1812
During the War of 1812, the yard was the base of operations for first the Provincial Marine's operations on Lake Erie and Lake Huron and later the
National historic site
The site of the yard was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1928. The site is marked by a four-sided monument featuring four brass plaques detailing the site's historic significance, located in a 4.25-hectare (10.5-acre) municipal park.[2]
See also
Notes
- ^ Lardas 2012, p. 9.
- ^ a b National Register of Historic Places.
- ^ Sugden 1985, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Fraser 2008, p. 51.
- ^ Lardas 2017, p. 52.
- ^ Johnston et al. 2010, pp. xxix, xxxi.
- ^ Malcomson 2006, p. 349.
- ^ a b Lardas 2012, p. 15.
References
- Fraser, Chad (2008). Lake Erie Stories: Struggle and Survival on a Freshwater Ocean. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55002-782-2.
- Johnston, William; Rawling, William G.P.; Gimblett, Richard H. & MacFarlane, John (2010). The Seabound Coast: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1867–1939. Vol. 1. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55488-908-2.
- Lardas, Mark (2012). Great Lakes Warships 1812–1815. New Vanguard. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78096-048-7.
- Lardas, Mark (2017). USS Lawrence vs HMS Detroit: The War of 1812 on the Great Lakes. New York: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-1582-8.
- Malcomson, Robert (2006). Historical Dictionary of the War of 1812. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5499-6.
- "Amherstburg Navy Yard National Historic Site of Canada". National Register of Historic Places. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- Sugden, John (1985). Tecumseh's Last Stand. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-2242-0.