Carleton Island

Fort Haldimand Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Remains of Fort Haldimand, 1906
Nearest city	Cape Vincent, New York
Area	25 acres (10 ha)
Built	1778 (1778)
Built by	Twiss, William
NRHP reference No.	78001854[8]
Added to NRHP	December 15, 1978

After the fall of New France at the end of the Seven Years' War, maintaining inland water routes in the Great Lakes for the purpose of commerce and transportation was important to the British. With the outbreak of rebellion against the British which led to the American Revolutionary War, it became especially important to secure supply lines and military supremacy on Lake Ontario. And so the construction of a naval station became necessary. To this end, in 1778, Governor Frederick Haldimand ordered a survey to determine the best location. The former French post at Cataraqui (the present day Kingston, Ontario) and Buck Island (later renamed Carleton Island) were considered, but Buck Island was chosen because it was deemed more defensible. The island became a transshipment point for supplies, became the main base for British ships on Lake Ontario, and the construction of the fort was started (but never completed).[9]

Fort Haldimand, initially called Fort Carleton,[10] was strategically important as well as a centre of shipbuilding. The fort was built in 1778 and named after British General Frederick Haldimand. It was built on the southwest end of the island, shaped as a partial octagon, and consisted of bastions, ditches, barracks and magazines. The ruins of the fort can still be seen at the southwest end of the island along northeast side of North Bay.

Several British regiments garrisoned the fort, including the Royal Artillery, the Royal Marines, Butler's Rangers, the King's Royal Regiment of New York, and the Royal Highland Emigrants.[7]

Three known burial grounds are located near the fort:[11]

• Military burial grounds – 25 burials located on the north side and beyond the walls of the fort.
• Indian burial grounds – located on the northwest shore near the fort
• Civilian burial grounds – located east of the fort

The Fort Haldimand Site is owned and protected by the Thousand Islands Land Trust, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[12][8]

Projecting from the location of the fort is Government Point, notched by two small bays:

• North Bay or Schank's Harbor was home to Carleton Island Dockyard, a shipyard that operated from 1774 to 1792. Likely named for John Schank, a British shipbuilder. A military dock was located on the southwest end of the bay at Aubrey Head
• South Bay or Government Harbor was used by Royal Navy/Provincial Marine vessels servicing the fort until 1789.

Many ships for the war were built at the island along the southeast shores of North Bay, including the recently discovered HMS Ontario.[13] Other known vessels built include:

• HMS Mississauga 1792 – warship
• HMS Limnade 1780–81 – warship[14]

Some vessels sunk in North Bay can be seen near the old military dock at Aubrey's Head.

When the island was ceded to the Americans, naval operations and shipbuilding activities were moved to Kingston.[15]

Since Carleton Island was in the hands of the British, Loyalists who were escaping rebel persecution fled to the island, built homes and carried on merchant businesses. Among the businessmen was future politician and judge Richard Cartwright. Another notable resident of Carleton Island who was loyal to the British Crown was Molly Brant, sister of Six Nations leader Joseph Brant. When the island was ceded to the United States after the Revolutionary War, many of these civilian residents moved to nearby Cataraqui (now Kingston, Ontario).[16]

Merchants and their warehouses were located northwest of the fort in an area known as Merchant's Cove and Merchant's Point.[12]

Loyalist forces and natives who supported the Loyalist cause used the island as a base to attack revolutionary forces. Battles in which these forces participated include Cherry Valley, and Wyoming.[17]

At the close of the American War of Independence, under the terms of the Jay Treaty, the British ceded Carleton Island, along with other forts, to the Americans. The forts were apparently not, however, abandoned by the British at that time.

Construction of the fort was halted in 1783 and the post was abandoned in 1812. The ruins of the fort now consists of the outline of ramparts and barrack's chimney as the fort's buildings (barracks, magazine house) were made of wood and were lost over time.[18] The fort is now covered by tree growth along the northeast shore of North Bay.

During the War of 1812, Carleton Island was captured without bloodshed by three freelancing Americans, though it was already nominally American territory due to the Jay Treaty. In 1817, the State Legislature of New York annexed the island to Jefferson County, and granted 500 acres (2.0 km²) of its land to the local New York postmaster, Charles Smyth. The island had been a haven for smugglers, and later that year a Canadian tax collector seized some tobacco from the island. This dispute escalated, and Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York threatened hostilities. Soon Secretary of State John Quincy Adams was called upon to sort out the matter.[19] After contentious negotiations, the island was retained by the United States and was turned over to peaceful pursuits of farming (now abandoned), sport-fishing, and summer tourism.[20] No one lives on the island year-round.