Fort Mississauga Fundraiser
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FORT MISSISSAUGA FUNDRAISER
Mississauga Point was also part of the Battle of Fort George on May 27, 1813. The Lincoln artillery, under the command of Captain John Powell fired a single shot from the battery at Mississauga Point, when they were overwhelmed by the gun fire of two American ships anchored on either side of the point of land. The lighthouse keeper, Dominick Henry and his wife Mary tended to the soldiers who were injured near the lighthouse, bringing them food and nursing their wounds during the battle.
Following the Battle of Fort George, the Americans gained control of the Niagara Frontier, and occupied the Town of Niagara including Fort George until December 10, 1813, when they were forced back over the river to Fort Niagara. Nine days later the British captured Fort Niagara.
The British returned to Niagara and began constructing Fort Mississauga to command the mouth of the river. Much of the work was done by the Coloured Corps which had been attached to the Royal Engineers. In the Spring of 1814 the star-shaped earthwork was built and cannons were put in place. Cedar logs held up the earthen ramparts and two rows of spiked logs formed a double palisade around the new fort. Log barracks and other buildings were also constructed. The brick tower was begun at this time as well, using bricks reclaimed from the ruins of the town of Niagara burned by the retreating Americans in December 1813.
In 1814 the tower only stood two feet high and was not completed until 1823.