Deadman's Island Park
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with Deadman's Island (Nova Scotia). (Discuss) Proposed since July 2013. |
| Deadman's Island Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Public park |
| Location | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Created | 2005 |
| Operated by | Halifax Regional Municipality |
Deadman's Island Park is a Canadian urban park located on Deadman's Island in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.
The park was created in 2005 to protect the property from development as it is the location of the unmarked graves of 195 American soldiers and sailors who died in British captivity during the War of 1812 at a prison on nearby Melville Island.
An interpretive plaque in the park contains the following anonymous poem:
- Go view the graves which prisoners fill
- Go count them on the rising hill
- No monumental marble shows
- Whose silent dust does there repose.
- Go view the graves which prisoners fill
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The dead were among the more than 8,000 American captives imprisoned for various periods of time on Melville Island, now part of the Armdale Yacht Club. French and Spanish prisoners of war were also buried on the island but their graves are unmarked. Details of the unmarked graves of Deadman's Island had been lost to time but interest was rekindled through research after the owner of the property proposed to develop it for residential use. The property was subsequently acquired by the Municipality as a result of the collaborative efforts of the Northwest Arm Heritage Association, the Ohio Society of the War of 1812 and the Royal Canadian Legion.
On May 30, 2005, the US government erected a memorial tablet to commemorate the men interred there, which lists each man, his rank, and the ship on which he served. Those interred include men who served in the USS Chesapeake, one of the six original United States frigates that was captured by the British and brought to Halifax as a prize.
References
Secondary Sources
- John Boileau. 2005. Half-hearted Enemies: Nova Scotia: New England and the War of 1812. Formac Press.