Editing Citadel Hill (Fort George) (section)

===First Citadel (1749–1776)===
The English founded Halifax in 1749 to establish a presence in Nova Scotia as a counterbalance to the French stronghold of [[Louisbourg]], which had been returned to French control the previous year by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). Halifax was a strategic centre during the next decade in the continuing Anglo-French rivalry in the region.<ref>{{cite book|last=Johnston|first=A.J.B.|title=Louisbourg: Past, Present, Future|year=2013|publisher=Nimbus Publishing}}</ref> The English had recruited Protestant settlers from England, the Palatine, and Switzerland, and constructed fortifications to protect them against raids by the French, colonial Acadians, and allies from the [[Wabanaki Confederacy]] (primarily the Mi'kmaq). This conflict is known to some historians as [[Father Le Loutre's War]].

The war began shortly after [[Edward Cornwallis]], appointed Governor of Nova Scotia, arrived on June 21, 1749, to establish Halifax. He traveled on a sloop of war, followed by 13 transports (some sources say 15) that carried a total of 1,176&ndash;2500 settlers.<ref>Grenier, John. ''The Far Reaches of Empire. War in Nova Scotia, 1710-1760''. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 2008; Thomas Beamish Akins. ''History of Halifax,'' Brookhouse Press. 1895. (2002 edition). p 7</ref>

On September 11, 1749, Cornwallis wrote to the [[Board of Trade]], which supervised this colonial effort:
[[File:The founding of Halifax, 1749. by Charles W. Jefferys.png|thumb|Construction for the first Citadel. British soldiers of the [[29th Regiment of Foot]] guard against [[Acadian]] and [[Mi'kmaq|Mi'kmaw]] raids.]]
:"The Square at the top of the Hill is finished. These squares are done with double picquets, each picquet ten foot long and six inches thick. They likewise clear a Space of {{convert|30|ft|m|round=0.5|abbr=off|order=flip}} without the Line and throw up the Trees by way of Barricade. When this work is compleated {{sic}} I shall think the Town as secure against Indians as if it was regularly fortify'd."<ref>Bell Twatio. ''Battles without Borders''. p. 157</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/selectionsfrompu00nova#page/n321/mode/1up Cornwallis letter 11 September 1749], Internet Archive</ref>

The first fort was a small redoubt, with a flagstaff and guardhouse near the summit just east of the south ravelin of the present [[citadel]].<ref name="akins209">Thomas B. Akins. ''History of Halifax City.'' Brook House Press. 2002 reprint. p. 209</ref> It was part of the western perimeter wall for the old city, which was protected by five stockaded forts. The others were Horsemans Fort,<ref>Named after a member of the [[Nova Scotia Council]].</ref> Cornwallis Fort, Fort Lutrell, and Grenadier Fort. The British also built Fort Charlotte - named after King George's wife [[Sophia Charlotte of Hanover|Charlotte]] - on [[Georges Island (Nova Scotia)|Georges Island]] in 1750.

The fortified city walls, guarded by five stockaded forts to protect against Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and French attacks, was the centre of a network of fortifications Cornwallis built. Others included Bedford ([[Fort Sackville (Nova Scotia)|Fort Sackville]]) (1749), Dartmouth (1750), [[Lunenburg, Nova Scotia|Lunenburg]] (1753) and [[Lawrencetown, Halifax County, Nova Scotia|Lawrencetown]] (1754).

During [[Father Le Loutre's War]], the soldiers guarding Halifax were constantly on alert. The Mi'kmaq and Acadians raided the capital region (Halifax and Dartmouth) 12 times, four times against Halifax itself. The worst of these raids was what the British call the [[Raid on Dartmouth (1751)|Dartmouth Massacre (1751)]]. The first raid was in July 1750: the Mi'kmaq scalped Cornwallis' gardener, his son, and four others whom they had caught in the woods near Halifax. They buried the son, left the gardener's body exposed, and carried off the other four bodies.<ref>Atkins (1895/2002). ''History of Halifax City'', p 334</ref>
[[File:CitadelHill1750.png|thumb|Depiction of Halifax and the surrounding fortifications, 1750. The settlement was protected by city walls and several forts acting as [[redoubt]]s, including the First Citadel.]]

In 1751, two attacks were made on blockhouses surrounding Halifax. The Mi'kmaq attacked the North Blockhouse (located at the north end of Joseph Howe Drive) and killed the men on guard. They also attacked near the South Blockhouse (located at the south end of Joseph Howe Drive), at a sawmill on a stream flowing from Chocolate Lake into the [[Northwest Arm]]. They killed two men.<ref>Piers, Harry. [http://www.ourroots.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=6086 ''The Evolution of the Halifax Fortress''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102121555/http://www.ourroots.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=6086 |date=2012-11-02 }} (Halifax, PANS, Pub. #7, 1947), p. 6. As cited in Peter Landry's ''The Lion and the Lily.'' Vol. 1. Trafford Press. 2007. p. 370</ref> ([http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/royalengineers/piers.asp Map of Halifax Blockhouses])

In 1753, when Lawrence became governor of Nova Scotia, the Mi'kmaq again attacked the sawmills near the South Blockhouse on the Northwest Arm, where they killed three British. The Mi'kmaq made three attempts to retrieve the bodies for their scalps.<ref>Atkins (1895/2002), ''History of Halifax City'', p 209</ref>

Prominent Halifax business person [[Michael Francklin]] was captured by a [[Mi'kmaw]] raiding party in 1754 and held captive for three months. Adult captives were often held for ransom, to be raised by families or local communities<ref>{{cite DCB |first=L. R. |last=Fischer |title=Francklin, Michael |volume=4 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/francklin_michael_4E.html}}</ref>

The stockaded forts were also instrumental to the British during the [[French and Indian War]] (the North American theatre of the [[Seven Years' War]]). British soldiers stationed in Halifax helped conduct the [[expulsion of the Acadians]], as many Acadians were imprisoned on [[Georges Island (Nova Scotia)|Georges Island]] in Halifax harbour before their deportation. During the war, the Mi'kmaq and Acadians resisted the British throughout the province. On 2 April 1756, the Mi'kmaq were paid a bounty from the Governor of Quebec for 12 British scalps taken at Halifax.<ref>J.S. McLennan. ''Louisbourg: From Its Foundation to Its Fall (1713-1758)''. 1918, p. 190</ref> Acadian Pierre Gautier, son of [[Joseph-Nicolas Gautier]], led Mi'kmaq warriors from Louisbourg on three raids against [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] in 1757. In each raid, Gautier took prisoners or scalps or both. During the last raid in September, Gautier, with four Mi'kmaq warriors, killed and scalped two British men at the foot of Citadel Hill.<ref>Earle Lockerby. "Pre-Deportation Letters from Île Saint Jean", ''Les Cahiers.'' La Societe hitorique acadienne. Vol. 42, No2. June 2011. pp. 99-100</ref> In July 1759, Mi'kmaq and Acadians killed five British in Dartmouth, opposite McNabb's Island.<ref>Beamish Murdoch. ''History of Nova Scotia.'' Vol.2, p. 366</ref>

By 1761, the condition of the Halifax Citadel had deteriorated, and the British built a new one.<ref name=NHS/> Although plans were drafted in 1761, construction was delayed due to events of the Seven Years War.<ref name=NHS/> Given the threat of attack from rebels in the British Thirteen Colonies after the American Revolutionary War started in 1776, the British constructed the Second Citadel in an enlarged version of the 1761 plans.<ref name=NHS/>