Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada

In 1812, the main outpost for the British army in the Western District was Fort Malden. It stood just north of the town of Amherstburg and had been built in 1796, after the British moved to the south side of the Detroit River.
At the beginning of the war, there were approximately 250 regular soldiers based at the fort. The garrison was manned by men from the 41st Infantry Regiment. Amherstburg was also a major base for the British Indian Department and had the King's Dockyard, where ships for the upper Great Lakes were built. The Dockyard was also the local base for the Provincial Marine.

The barracks at Fort Malden

The enbankment around Fort Malden

The barracks at Fort Malden

Bed in the barracks

A common soldier's life was a hard one. He was enrolled in the army for a period of at least seven years. He received one shilling a day, but amounts for food and clothing were deducted from his pay. Often he ended with about 18 shillings for the year. The barracks were crowded, with little or no privacy. Only six wives for every 100 men were allowed to travel with a company when it was moved.

A soldier was considered married to his musket. An India Pattern musket - commonly called a "Brown Bess" - was given to each soldier. He carried 60 rounds of ammunition in a leather pouch on his right side. A cartridge was made up of a round lead ball and gunpowder twisted together into a paper cartridge. When he had fired his gun, he took out a cartridge, tore it open with his teeth, put some gunpowder into the pan on top of the gun, poured gunpowder and ball down the muzzle of the gun, rammed the ball down with a ramrod, and was then ready to fire again. Learning how to do this quickly and at the same time as the rest of the company was called "Drill." A well-trained British soldier could fire 4 rounds in a minute.

The red coat was standard wear, as was the black felt "shako" (hat). The different colours on the cuffs and collar told the viewer the regiment of the soldier. Soldiers in special units like the Caldwell's Rangers were given green jackets.

A number of other people lived around the Fort. There were smiths, carpenters and women, some of whom did the soldiers' laundry, to name just a few.

A Sergeant Major

A foot soldier in the British Army

A Sutler

Hear the Sutler's song

A soldier's daughter

See a video about her life
(See the transcription)

When on a march there were also a number of civilians who followed the troops. The retreat along the River Thames had many militia officers and their families along as they fled from the Americans.

The guns from Fort Malden were put on the H.M.S. Detroit at the end of August in 1813. They were captured by the Americans during the Battle of Lake Erie. Fort Malden was burnt by the British on September 23, 1813, before they started to retreat from Amherstburg. The Americans rebuilt a fort at Amherstburg almost immediately. It was returned to the British in the summer of 1815. The brick barracks at Fort Malden were put up in 1819. The museum building was erected in the 1860s.

A plan of Fort Malden in 1812

The museum at Fort Malden

Hear: Music of the time (music 1 , music 2 )

Visit: The Fort Malden web site.