Melville Island and Deadman's Island
Melville Island and nearby Deadman’s Island on the Northwest Arm represent Nova Scotia’s role in a system of war prisons established by the British Admiralty during the French Revolutionary wars and the War of 1812. Deadman’s Island contains several hundred graves, including 200 American soldiers and sailors who died in British custody during the War of 1812 at the prison on Melville Island (now part of the Armdale Yacht Club). In 2005 the US Government erected a memorial to commemorate the men interred on Deadman’s Island. The memorial list each man, his rank and ship, including those who served in USS Chesapeake that was captured by the British and brought to Halifax. French and Spanish prisoners of war are also buried in unmarked graves on the island.