page_title: Fort York
section_title: Original fort (1793–1813)
hierarchical_section_title: Fort York / History / Original fort (1793–1813)
caption_attribution_description: Fort York, Toronto, Canada. Stretton's watercolour depicts the garrison at the mouth of Garrison Creek, with several Mississaugas in the foreground. The garrison at this time was a collection of small wood buildings and a blockhouse. In 1793, John Graves Simcoe founded Fort York on the site of today's fort, on the west side of modern Bathurst Street. In around 1798-1800, most of the garrison (depicted here) moved to the east side of modern Bathurst. The current fort was built on the original Simcoe site between 1813 and 1815 after the 1813 attacks on Toronto.
context_page_description: Fort York is an early 19th-century military fortification in the Fort York neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used by the British Army and the Canadian militia for its garrisons, and to defend the entrance of the Toronto Harbour. The fort features stone-lined earthwork walls and eight historical buildings within them, including two blockhouses. The fort forms a part of Fort York National Historic Site, a 16.6-hectare-site that includes the fort, Garrison Common, military cemeteries, the visitor centre, Fort York Armoury.
  The fort originated from a garrison established by John Graves Simcoe in 1793. Anglo-American tensions resulted in the fort to being further fortified and made an official British Army post in 1798. The original fort was destroyed by American forces following the Battle of York in April 1813. Work to rebuild the fort began later in 1813 over the remains of the old fort, and was completed in 1815. The rebuilt fort served as a military hospital for the remainder of the War of 1812, although it briefly saw action against an American naval vessel in August 1814.
context_section_description: The first permanent British garrison was established in Toronto on 20 July 1793, when 100 soldiers from the Queen's Rangers landed around Garrison Creek; and erected 30 cabins built from green wood on the site of the fort for wintering quarters; configured in a triangular shape similar to the present fort's shape. Simcoe planned for Fort York to be a part of a defence complex built around the settlement's harbour, with the fort situated north of another fortification planned at Gibraltar Point. However, his proposals to further fortify the settlement was rejected by the governor general of the Canadas, Lord Dorchester, who took the position that the money should instead be spent on improving the defences at the naval base in Kingston. 
  Simcoe pressed forward with the construction of Fort York in spite of the governor general's objections; although he had to rely on funds from the provincial treasury as opposed to military funds, given that the fort was not an official army post. By November 1793, Fort York consisted of two log barracks, a stockade, and a sawmill to provide lumber. Over the next year, the Queen's Rangers erected a guard house, and two blockhouses near Gibraltar Point, albeit at a smaller scale than what was envisioned by Simcoe. The fort defended the harbour's access point, as well as the most likely landward approach the Americans would take towards the settlement; with British planners believing American forces would land west of the harbour, and advance towards the settlement with the support of its naval vessels. Simcoe continued to develop York's fortifications until the end of 1794, when he concluded that York could not be defended in its current state. In 1794, Simcoe took several artillery pieces from these fortifications after he was ordered to erect Fort Miamis in the Northwest Territory, leaving York with only a few condemned guns that were taken from Kingston.
  By the time most of the colony's administration was relocated to York in 1796, the fort was manned by a 147-man garrison. As York's naval shipyards were based at Humber Bay, and no naval base existed in its harbour, the defensive capabilities of Fort York remained limited. However, two other blockhouses were erected around the settlement, including one at Fort York. The blockhouse at Fort York also featured a cupola, used to guide ships into the harbour.
  In late 1798, Fort York formally became an official British Army post, granting it access to funds reserved for military use. After the fort was made an official military post, a stockade was built around the fort. Many of its original structures were also replaced with new buildings, including a barracks, carriage and engine shed, the colonial government house, guardhouse, gunpowder magazine, and storehouses. As Anglo-American tensions rose again in the beginning of the 19th century, Major-General Isaac Brock ordered the construction of three artillery batteries, and a wall and dry moat on the western boundary of the fort. The batteries were equipped with furnaces, allowing the batteries to fire heated shot, with further 12-pounder guns placed on mobile carriages used to respond to threats outside the fixed ranges of the batteries. 
  Simcoe's original proposal of using York as a naval base was also reconsidered during the early 19th century, with plans to expand the fort near Government House to accommodate a naval base. However, as the majority of the naval assets in Upper Canada were based in Kingston, the governor general of the Canadas, George Prévost, planned to make the move to York in phases.
  When news of the American declaration of war arrived at York, the regulars and military cavalry squad of the fort left for the Niagara peninsula, eventually participating in the Battle of Queenston Heights. While its garrison was deployed in the Niagara, Fort York was manned by the Canadian militia. However, it was apparent to the colonial administration that the settlement could not repel an attack without further improvements to its fortifications; something not possible due to wartime shor
caption: Fort York in 1804. Most of the fort's original structures were renovated or rebuilt at the end of the 18th century.
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