Fort Morris was an 18th-century British

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

located in

Liverpool, Nova Scotia Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore (Nova Scotia), South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality, which is the local governmen ...

. The fort saw combat during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. The fort was demolished and in 1855 a lighthouse was built on its former site; the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1989 and has been preserved.

History

During the

, Liverpool was frequently raided by American

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s. Lieutenant Colonel

Simeon Perkins Colonel Simeon Perkins (February 24, 1735 – May 9, 1812) was a Nova Scotia militia leader, merchant, diarist and politician. Perkins led the defence of Liverpool from attacks during the American Revolution, French Revolutionary Wars and the Na ...

requested that troops be sent from Halifax; he was denied multiple times before a detachment of 57 King's Orange Rangers was sent on the ship ''Hannah''. On 9 February 1779, six of the seven Rangers guarding Fort Morris stole a boat and deserted, travelling to Port Mouton. American privateers from the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

s ''Surprize'' and ''Delight'' (itself stolen from Liverpool) captured the fort and most of its garrison in the early morning of 13 September 1780. Perkins organized a capture of the captain of the ''Surprize'' and negotiated for the return of the fort and prisoners without bloodshed.

References

{{Coord, 44.043, -64.707, display=title Military history of Nova Scotia Military forts in Nova Scotia 1761 establishments in Nova Scotia

History

See also

References