With its massive limestone walls, elegant Martello towers, and strategic location, Fort Henry was once central to the defence of Canada. Today, the Fort is a living museum, where visitors can watch the Fort Henry Guard perform precision drill and battle re-enactments from 1867—a time when British redcoats garrisoned the fort against the risk of American attack. Visitors to this National Historic Site can also experience what life was life for soldiers, their families and the civilian population during this period in Canadian history.

Fort Henry: An Illustrated Guide provides readers with a room-by-room tour of the Fort as it is today, including the advanced battery, ramparts and reverse fire chamber; living quarters for soldiers, officers and their families; a schoolroom, a bakery, and even privies and prisoner cells! Researched and written by former Fort Henry curator Stephen Mecredy, this book also offers a short history of the Fort—from its importance as the Citadel of Upper Canada, to the elaborate and costly restoration of the Fort in 1930s, and its uses an internment camp and Prisoner of War camp during both World Wars.

This revised edition is handsomely illustrated with up-to-date photography as well as rare nineteenth-century prints and paintings, and includes a glossary of military terms, a list of British and Canadian units stationed at the Fort, and excerpts from historical documents.

STEPHEN D. MECREDY, a member of the Fort Henry Guard from 1974 to 1980, rose through the ranks to become Guard Captain. He was Curator and Historian of Fort Henry from 1982 until 1990 and Supervisor of Programs at the fort from 1990 until 1998. He now teaches at Joyceville Public School near Kingston.

Stephen Mecredy's profile page

"While the full experience cannot quite be captured in an introductory volume, Mecredy’s accessible prose and selection of striking images offers the potential tourist an alternative means of accessing the site. Until such time as crowds can return, [this book] can serve well as a “staycation” read for the historian and amateur alike."

Canadian Military History