1759, Fort Rouillé, also known as Fort Toronto, destroyed
Credit: Photo reproduced with the kind permission of Alan L. Brown at www.ontarioplaques.com.
By 1759, British forces were putting increased pressure on French positions in the area. Fort Niagara had fallen in July after a nineteen day siege. Québec City would be placed under siege for three months before falling in September.
Feeling that Fort Rouillé could not be defended, the decision was made in July 1759 by the fifteen troops stationed there to set fire to the fort and retreat to Montréal.
When it was destroyed, the fort was approximately 180 x 180 feet, and was made up of five buildings: the senior officers’ quarters, the soldiers’ quarters, a smithy, a magazine house and a kitchen.