Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)

Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada
Fort Saint-Jean on Richelieu River in Canada during the 1750s
Coordinates	45°17′46″N 73°15′7″W / 45.29611°N 73.25194°W / 45.29611; -73.25194Coordinates: 45°17′46″N 73°15′7″W / 45.29611°N 73.25194°W / 45.29611; -73.25194
Type	Fort
Site information
Controlled by	France; United Kingdom; Continental Army; Canada
Site history
Built	1666 to 1775
In use	1666 to present day
Battles/wars	Siege of Fort St. Jean
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Fort Saint-Jean National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	1923

Siege of Fort St. Jean

Fort Saint-Jean is a fort in the Canadian province of Quebec located on the Richelieu River. The fort was first built in 1666 by soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment and was part of a series of forts built along the Richelieu River. Over the years, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times, but it is, after Quebec City, the military site that has been occupied non-stop for the longest time in Canada. The fort is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada, and it currently houses the Royal Military College of Saint-Jean. The fort has been continually occupied since 1748, and is the core from which the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec grew around. Fort Saint-Jean played a crucial role during the 1775 American invasion of the Province of Quebec.

In 1663, the French King Louis XIV decided to take direct command of his New France colony, which had been previously colonized and managed by wealthy merchant associations. As the Iroquois were very often leading punitive expeditions on the New France territories and were continuously trying to steal away the French allies' hunting territories, Louis XIV decided to send the whole Carignan-Salières Regiment to build a series of forts along the Richelieu River and Lake Champlain, which explains why the area was later named the Vallée des Forts (literally: the Forts Valley), and to lead a punitive expedition against the Iroquois. The first Fort Saint-Jean was built along the Richelieu River by the Carignan-Salières Regiment in 1666 for that purpose. This first fort is believed to have been a small square-shaped fort with four bastions made of wooden palisades. It was located right after the Chambly rapids, a highly strategic position that allowed the French to monopolize a very good portage location. The French offensive into Iroquois territory was a great success and thus, a peace treaty was signed between the two parties in 1667. In 1672, after several peaceful years, the Governor of the colony decided to abandon several forts that had become useless along the Richelieu River, including Fort Saint-Jean. Because of its strategic location, Fort Saint-Jean was later to be revived, unlike other French forts such as Sainte-Thérèse and Sainte-Anne.