Melville Island and Deadman’s Island

Melville Island and Deadman’s Island is a National Historic Site of Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia · Halifax, Nova Scotia · location approximate

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MELVILLE ISLAND AND DEADMAN’S ISLAND This area and the island beyond were once the site of a military prison, hospital, and burial place where nearly 400 people are believed to have been interred between 1803 and 1856. They recall Nova Scotia’s role in a system of prisons established by the British Admiralty further to international agreements on the treatment of prisoners of war. It is the only known site of such a military prison to have existed in Canada during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812. Melville Island and Deadman’s Island offer a rare glimpse of prisoners of war conditions in the colonial period.

Français

LES ÎLES MELVILLE ET DEADMAN Ce lieu et l’île en face renfermaient une prison militaire, un hôpital et un cimetière où près de 400 corps auraient été inhumés entre 1803 et 1856. Ils rappellent le rôle de la Nouvelle-Écosse dans un réseau carcéral créé par l’Amirauté britannique à la suite d’accords internationaux sur le traitement des prisonniers de guerre. Il s’agit du seul site connu au pays où il y avait pareille prison militaire durant les guerres de la Révolution française, les guerres napoléoniennes et la guerre de 1812. Les îles Melville et Deadman offrent un rare aperçu des conditions des prisonniers de guerre pendant la période coloniale.

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This plaque text is recorded in the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, published by Parks Canada for the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Plaque texts come from the Directory’s open dataset in the languages the Directory publishes them in; the pin on this page is ours, worked out from the Directory’s street address or local area and marked approximate. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
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Melville Island and Deadman’s Island

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