George's Island / Fort Charlotte
When Halifax was settled by Governor-Colonel Edward Cornwallis for Great Britain in 1749, the small island in the inner harbour near the settlement was named after King George II. A large number of the first English settlers disembarked on Georges Island awaiting the arrival of additional British troops from Louisburg, as the island was deemed easily defensible against incursions from possible French or Indigenous attacks.
The island had earlier been selected as the grave site for the French Admiral Duc d’Anville, who had led the 11,000-strong French Naval invasion force in an attempt to recapture Fortress Louisburg from the British. An estimated 2,000 French troops and sailors perished at sea or died from disease, including d’Anville himself, who was buried on what would become Georges Island on 17 September 1746. The mission was aborted and the survivors returned to France. After Britain settled Halifax in 1749, a French warship was permitted to visit the harbour to reclaim d’Anville’s body from George’s Island, for re-interment at the Fortress in Louisburg. Legend has it that his heart was shipped back to his family in France.
The first fortifications on Georges Island were constructed in 1750 under the direction of Royal Engineer John Brewse. An earthwork with a palisade containing a battery of seven 32-pounder smooth bore cannons was in place by November that year. The battery faced southwest and was intended to defend against French ships gaining access to the inner harbour and attacking the town, as hostilities were increasing in the lead up to the French and Indian War that began in 1754 and the Seven Years’ War (1756-63). An additional nine 24-pounders were mounted the following year, and during the war years barracks, subterranean powder magazines and storehouses were added.
During the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) the defences on Georges Island were further improved, with various redans, lunettes and demi-bastions added – all earthworks – and the armament increased to a total of 48 guns. These consisted of six 42-pounders, twenty-nine 24-pounders, three 18-pounders, nine 12-pounders and a 6-pounder.
With the French Revolutionary Wars beginning in 1792, and Halifax now being the principal base of the Royal Navy in North America, a further upgrade of the port’s defences was in order. During this period Prince Edward, the son of King George III served as Commander-in-Chief in Halifax, and it was under his direction that Fort Charlotte was constructed on the island. Named for Edward’s mother, Queen Sophia Charlotte, the fort was star-shaped and built of granite quarried near Purcell’s Cove; with a central blockhouse accommodating an officer and 40 men; barracks for 300 men; and two semi-circular batteries outside the star fort mounting a total of twenty 24-pounder cannon, along with furnaces for heating shot. It was completed in 1798.
Tensions leading up to the War of 1812 caused Fort Charlotte to be again upgraded under plans drawn up by the Commanding Royal Engineer at Halifax, Captain Gustavus Nicholls, who also designed the most recent version of the Halifax Citadel. The star fort and central blockhouse were levelled in 1811 and replaced with a Martello Tower, 50 feet in diameter and 30 feet high, with stone walls 5 to 6 feet thick. It was completed in 1812. At the same time a new parapet was constructed to link the two semi-circular batteries north and south of the tower, resulting in a symmetrical oval polygonal fort of ten faces.
Little was done to Georges Island over the succeeding four decades of relative peace. However, with the American Civil War highlighting tension between the United States and Britain, Halifax’s defences were again significantly upgraded in the 1860s. Fort Charlotte was reconstructed, with a south-facing horseshoe-shaped Upper Battery mounting eight modern 9-inch rifled muzzle loading (RML) guns, and below that a Lower Battery consisting of four heavy 10-inch RMLs mounted in protective casemates. These powerful guns had an effective range of 2,000 yards and their 400-pound projectiles could penetrate 12 inches or wrought iron at 1,000 yards; they covered the entire southern part of Halifax Harbour out to Ives Point on McNab’s Island. The Martello Tower was replaced with a large earth banked magazine in 1877 and the eight 24-pounder smoothbore cannons in the North Battery were upgraded to 68-pounders in the 1860s before being removed altogether in 1878. The centre of the island became a labyrinth of underground magazines and tunnels to service the batteries.
During the 1870s too, Georges Island became the site of the Submarine Mining Establishment, the focal point for storing, assembling and deploying electrically-controlled undersea mines to create defensive minefields within Halifax Harbour. Located on the northeast slope of the island, the facility was constructed between 1873 and 1876 and operated until 1906. It consisted of storage areas for mine cases, electric cables and mooring sinkers as well as gun cotton tanks, workshops, barracks and various other support buildings, with a small gauge tramway linking the main buildings and the jetty where the mines were loaded onto vessels for deployment.
During the First World War (1914-18) the defences on George’s Island were manned by troops of the Canadian Garrison Artillery, who served the trio of 4.7-inch quick-firing (QF) guns mounted in the Upper Battery for defence against small swift craft entering the harbour. Accompanying these defences were anti-submarine nets that stretched to the shore from either side of Georges Island, and searchlights to illuminate enemy vessels at night.
In the Second World War (1939-45) Georges Island served as a location for anti-aircraft defences consisting of a 40-mm Bofors gun to cover the ocean terminals. The end of the war marked the last time that George’s Island was used for defending Halifax, a role it upheld for two centuries after the founding of the city.
Recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1965, today Georges Island is administered by Parks Canada. The island can be visited during the summer months, with a ferry service running from downtown Halifax.