Cathcart Tower
| Cathcart Tower | |
|---|---|
| in Cedar Island, Kingston, Ontario Canada. | |
| Type | Martello tower |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1848 |
| Materials | Local limestone |
Cathcart Tower is a Martello tower located on Cedar Island just off the eastern shore from Fort Henry in Kingston, Ontario Canada. It is one of four such towers built in the 1840s to protect Kingston's harbour and the entrance to the Rideau Canal. The other towers are: Fort Frederick, Shoal Tower, and Murney Tower.
Built in 1848, this limestone tower is 11 m high and 16.5 m in diameter.[1] It is surrounded by a shallow ditch and by a glacis extending to the shorelines on three sides. The guns of Cathcart Tower covered the eastern approaches of Kingston Harbour.
A dispute between Great Britain and the United States over the boundary between British Columbia and Oregon that threatened to lead to war and to the invasion of Canada prompted their construction (see Oregon crisis). [2] When war was averted, Cathcart Tower was used for a time as a barracks for soldiers garrisoned at nearby Fort Henry. Eventually it was abandoned. It is part of the Kingston Fortifications National Historic Site of Canada and is within the boundaries of St. Lawrence Islands National Park.
References
- ^ "Nomination of the Rideau Canal for Inscription in the World Heritage List". Government of Canada, Parks Canada Agency. 2007-06-22. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- ^ "The Origins of Structures in St. Lawrence Islands National Park". Government of Canada, Parks Canada Agency. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2009-02-08.