Fort York Totally Explained

Everything about Fort York totally explained

Fort York National Historic Site is a historic site of military fortifications and related buildings on the west side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was built by the British Army and Canadian militia troops in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, to defend the settlement and the new capital of the Upper Canada region from the threat of a military attack, principally from the newly independent United States.

Founding

In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe authorized a garrison on the present site of Fort York, just west of the mouth of Garrison Creek on the north eastern shore of Lake Ontario. Simcoe recognized Toronto was an ideal site for settlement and defence because of its natural harbour and relative longer distance from the United States. Fort York guards the western (at the time of construction, the only) entrance to the docks. Simcoe had decided to make Toronto (at that time called York) the capital of Upper Canada, and the government, the first parliament buildings and the town were established one and a half miles east of the fort (near the foot of the present Parliament Street).

Buildings

Most of the Fort was demolished in the Battle of York, 1813 (see below). This fort was built in 1798 and located to the east of modern day Bathurst Street. The buildings visible now were largely built by Royal Engineers immediately after the war of 1812. It was located on the original fort site west of Bathurst and built during Simcoe's time They are among the oldest buildings in Toronto today:

The War of 1812 and after

During the War of 1812, on April 27, 1813 combined U.S. army and naval forces attacked York from Lake Ontario, overrunning Fort York (see Battle of York). As the British abandoned the fort, they set the powder magazine to blow up, killing and wounding several hundred U.S. soldiers (Including General Zebulon Pike ), producing such a loud explosion that people were able to hear it from Fort George. This would only be rivaled by an explosion of black powder the British set off when they were unable to bring with them said powder in their retreat from Corunna under Moore around the same time in the Napoleonic campaign in Europe. The U.S. destroyed Fort York and burned much of the settlement of York, including the Parliament Buildings during their five–day occupation. They had defeated outnumbered British, Canadian, and First Nations forces. Following several more U.S. raids over the summer, the British garrison returned to York and rebuilt the fortifications, most of which are still standing today. The rebuilt fort was sufficient to repel a further attempted invasion in 1814.
The British Army occupied Fort York from 1793 to the 1850s and transferred it to Canada, which used it until 1932. However, the City of Toronto owned the Fort from 1903 onwards.
Fort York was used as a military establishment until 1880, and again during the First and Second World Wars.

Artillery

Fort York was defended by cannons on the west, north and south:

2 12 pounders - north side
1 14 pounder - west side
9 12 pounder - south side

Units

Army units stationed at Fort York over the years:
British

13th Hussars

19th Light Dragoons

Royal Artillery

Royal Engineers (Sappers and Miners)

1st Regiment of Foot

6th Regiment of Foot

8th Regiment of Foot - current unit represented at the fort

15th Regiment of Foot

16th Regiment of Foot

17th Regiment of Foot

23rd Regiment of Foot

24th Regiment of Foot

29th Regiment of Foot

30th Regiment of Foot

32nd Regiment of Foot

37th Regiment of Foot

41st Regiment of Foot

43rd Regiment of Foot

47th Regiment of Foot

49th Regiment of Foot

60th Regiment of Foot

66th Regiment of Foot

68th Regiment of Foot

70th Regiment of Foot

71st Regiment of Foot

73rd Regiment of Foot

76th Regiment of Foot

79th Regiment of Foot

81st Regiment of Foot

82nd Regiment of Foot

83rd Regiment of Foot

85th Regiment of Foot

89th Regiment of Foot

92nd Regiment of Foot

93rd Regiment of Foot

97th Regiment of Foot

100th Regiment of Foot

Rifle Brigade Canadian Militia

Royal Newfoundland Regiment

Glengarry Light Infantry

Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment

Queen's Rangers

Royal Canadian Veteran Battalion

Royal Canadian Volunteer Regiment

3rd Battalion Military Train

York Militia

Royal Canadian Dragoons

HM Canadian Regiment of Fencible Infantry

7th Regiment

104th Regiment

6th Westmeath

26th Regiment

56th Regiment

103rd Regiment

Royal Fusiliers

New Brunswick Regiment

Irish Militia Regiment

Cameronians Regiment of Foot

West Essex Regiment of Foot

Regiment of Foot

Marine and/Navy

Canadian Voltigeurs

Royal Canadian Artillery

Royal Newfoundland Fencibles

Military Train

2nd Battalion of Provisional Militia

3rd Battalion of Provisional Militia

6th Battalion of Provisional Militia

10th Royal Grenadiers

48th Highlanders of Canada

Durham Militia

Enrolled Pensioners

Garrison Battery of Artillery

Home Guards

Incorporated Militia

Queen's Lancers

Royal Canadian Artillery

RCA Dragoons

Toronto Cavalry

York Militia and Colours

Toronto Field Battery

Fort York today

Fort York National Historic Site houses Canada's largest collection of original War of 1812 period buildings. The fort, operated as a museum of the City of Toronto, offers casual visitors and booked groups a number of exciting services year round. During the summer months, the site comes alive with the colour and the pageantry of the Fort York Guard and is complimented with tours by professional historical interpreters. In the off-season months, the fort is busy providing educational programs for booked tour groups including school, scout, guide, and day care groups.
   Fort York is also known as a site with a fair amount of paranormal activity, which is presumably attributed to its military history (and the associated deaths which took place there when it was attacked on various occasions by American forces during the War of 1812). Visitors have reported peculiar noises on the grounds and in the buildings, as well as sightings of apparitions of soldiers.
   In the 1950s Fort York was almost torn down to make way for the Gardiner Expressway, but Highway planners eventually rerouted the elevated highway to the south of the grounds.
   The reclaimed land to the south of the fort are also in the process of being developed with new condo towers eventually limiting any possible reconnection with Lake Ontario.
   The southwest of Fort York is Fort York Armoury, a two–storey structure occupied by the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve; The Queen's York Rangers, The Royal Regiment of Canada, The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's Own), and the 709 (Toronto) Communication Regiment and formerly 2 Field Engineer Regiment and the 1st Battalion Irish Regiment. The building is a training facility for CF Reservists).
   The Armoury was built in 1933 with private funds and boast the largest lattice wood arched roof in Canada. The roof and the funding for the building was made possible by Colonel Since 1995, Fort York has hosted Toronto's Festival of Beer annually.

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