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Fort Lennox occupies Île aux Noix, an island located a few kilometres from the Canada-U.S. border. Erected between 1819 and 1829, the fort consists of defence works and a number of stonework buildings of outstanding beauty. The complex was designed to protect the colony in the event of an American invasion by way of the Richelieu River. This website has visitor information and links to further information about the fort and other related sites.

Fort Lennox was built on Isle-au-Noix just north of the American border between 1819 to 1826. Its purpose was to block the way towards Montreal to any hostile force coming up the Richelieu River from Lake Champlain. (Parks Canada)

Stimulated by their desire for independence, revolutionaries in the thirteen American colonies declared war on Great Britain in 1775. A few months later, they occupied Île aux Noix. General Schuyler used it as a base for the attack on Montreal. After the Americans withdrew, the British considered the island to be a major frontier post and decided to fortify it. The border with the newly founded United States remained a source of conflict.

Because it is situated on the island of Île-aux-Noix, Fort Lennox has changed very little from the time of its construction, which started in 1819. The fort was built in reaction to the construction of American Fort Montgomery, 15 kilometres to the south. This view shows Fort Lennox as it appeared in 1896. After its regular garrison was withdrawn in the late 1860s, the fort was used as a training camp, a school, and detention camp during both world wars. It is now restored to its appearance in the 1820s and 1830s as a National Historic Site. (Library and Archives Canada, C-036685)

The relative calm of much of 1838 in Upper and Lower Canada was an illusion. The Patriote secret societies planned a revolt, to be supported by invading Patriot Hunter forces from the U.S. In November, invaders took Napierville while the Patriots seized Beauharnois near Montreal.

The British war plan of 1760 called for an offensive against Montreal and the French prepared for a decisive confrontation. Their strategy was to delay the British advance as long as possible in the hope that peace would be made in Europe before New France was finally conquered. If île aux Noix were well fortified, it would be able to neutralize any invasion attempt via the Richelieu River Valley. The French plan, however, was not successful. Île aux Noix was overtaken by the British.

A description of the role of the British naval shipyard at Île aux Noix during the War of 1812.

A description of Île aux Noix and Fort Lennox in the years following 1836. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated the fort as a historic site of national interest shortly after its own foundation in 1921. The island was declared a national historic park in 1940, but it was only in 1970 that the Canadian government began conservation and restoration of this impressive fortification in earnest.

In 1819, Britain began building fortifications near Montreal. The next year, work was begun on the Quebec Citadel. Work was slow and even by 1825, much of the 1819 plan was unfulfilled. Despite the cost, more work was approved, including new plans for a Halifax Citadel

The War of 1812 resulted in a re-evaluation of the strategic role to be played by Île aux Noix. The British colonial leaders decided to erect a major fortification in reaction to Fort Montgomery, which the Americans had begun building at Rouses Point, less than 15 km south of the island. This website has a description of the new fort, constructed between 1819 and 1829 and named Fort Lennox in honour of Charles Lennox, who died in 1819 during his term as Governor-in-Chief of British North America.