Fort Rouge was a fort located on the

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River ( ; ) is a long river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, on the site of what is now the city of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. Its exact location is unknown. Its name in English means "red fort". In 1738 Sieur Louis Damours de Louvières built Fort Rouge on the Assiniboine River for

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (17 November 1685 – 5 December 1749) was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader, and explorer. In the 1730s, he and his four sons explored the area west of Lake Superior and es ...

. La Vérendrye and his sons, Louis-Joseph and Francois, proceeded further west on the Assiniboine and constructed

Fort La Reine Fort La Reine was built in 1738 and is one of the forts of the western expansion directed by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, first military commander in the west of what is now known as Canada. Located on the Assiniboine River ...

. The fort seems to have had a primary purpose as a depot and was abandoned by 1749. A new commandant of the French western forts,

Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre (October 24, 1701 - September 8, 1755) was a Canadian colonial military commander and explorer who held posts throughout North America in the 18th century, just before and during the French and Indian War. Famil ...

, spent the winter of 1752–1753 at the Forks, and likely rebuilt Fort Rouge at its original location. Much research points to this site being on the north bank of the Assiniboine near the forks although some scholars place the original fort on the south bank. Trading posts were built near Fort Rouge by Bruce and Boyer in 1780 and by

Alexander Henry the younger Alexander Henry 'The Younger' (c. 1765 – 22 May 1814), was an early Canadian fur trader, explorer and diarist. From 1799 until his premature death in 1814 he kept an extensive diary which is the most complete record ever printed of the daily ...

in 1803, as was

Fort Gibraltar Fort Gibraltar was founded in 1809 by Alexander Macdonell of Greenfield of the North West Company in present-day Manitoba, Canada. It was located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in or near the area now known as The Forks i ...

in 1807. The district of Fort Rouge in south-central Winnipeg is named for the fort. A site near Winnipeg's

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

, believed to be the location of Fort Rouge, was designated a National Historic Site in 1924 as part of the " Forts Rouge, Garry, and Gibraltar National Historic Site of Canada".

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rouge French forts in Canada Forts in Manitoba Fort Rouge, Winnipeg

See also

Notes

References