DECEMBER 1814: British complete construction of Fort Wellington, Prescott, Upper Canada. One of the few British fortifications in Upper Canada commenced during the War of 1812, Fort Wellington was authorized in early 1813, but construction delays meant that it wasn't completed until late 1814.
The fort consisted of a single story wooden blockhouse 100 feet square which could accommodate 144 soldiers. The blockhouse was surrounded by massive earthworks that contained bombproof storerooms while the post's artillery commanded the surrounding countryside.
The fortification was a redoubt of substantial strength designed to assert British control over the St. Lawrence River at Prescott, a vital port in the line of communications from Montreal to Kingston.
Although never attacked, Fort Wellington's guns were used to fire on Major General James Wilkinson's flotilla in autumn 1813.
--Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
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