Fort Chambly

Fort Chambly, established 1665 as Fort Saint-Louis by the French CARIGNAN-SALIÈRES REGIMENT on the Richelieu River near modern Chambly, Québec. By 1709 strategic considerations demanded that the site be strengthened, and a stone fort replaced the original wooden structure. Chambly subsequently became a warehouse and supply depot for other forts on the Richelieu. In September 1760 the crumbling and weakly defended Chambly surrendered to the British without a shot being fired. Early in the AMERICAN REVOLUTION, Chambly was captured by the colonial rebels, but in June 1776 the British reoccupied it, and for the rest of the conflict Chambly was not threatened.

In 1813, during the WAR OF 1812, construction of a vast military complex was undertaken. Insufficient maintenance reduced Chambly to a dilapidated condition, and it was abandoned in 1851. Private restoration in 1882-83 preserved the site, which became Fort Chambly National Historic Park in 1921.

Author ROBERT S. ALLEN

Links to Other Sites
Fort Chambly National Historic Site of Canada
The website for the Fort Chambly National Historic Site of Canada. Features a history of the region with references to Samuel de Champlain, New France, the fur trade, the Seven Years' War, and related topics.

The Canadian Register of Historic Places
Canada is home to a vast array of fascinating historical sites. Many of them are illustrated and described in this searchable online database of Canadian historic places that are of local, provincial, territorial, and national significance.