Deadman's Island Burial Site

On the mainland shore of the Northwest Arm, just south of Melville Island, is a burial site for many French and American prisoners of war in the 19th century.  Although known as Deadman's Island, the area is a peninsula.

There are believed to be 188 American servicemen who are buried here.  Unfortunately, there is no longer any way to identify the graves as the American servicemen are buried among the graves of French sailors, Black refugees that had come up from Maryland during the War of 1812 and had died of typhoid, and, later, Irish immigrants who died after they had fled the potato famines.

With the then-privately held land in danger of being sold to condominium developers, the people of Halifax purchased the property in the year 2000 in order to protect its special significance as a war grave and local historic site.  Much of the credit for protecting this site rests with Mr. Guy MacLean, of the Northwest Arm Heritage Association, and then-Mayor Walter Fitzgerald.

In that same year, 2000, the American servicemen buried at Deadman's Island were finally honoured in an official ceremony by their comrades; to my knowledge this had not taken place before.  Members of the 164th Civil Engineering Squadron, Memphis, Tennessee Air National Guard were working with Canadian colleagues on joint exercises in Nova Scotia when they learned of the grave site.  On June 23, 2000, they went to the site and installed 188 small American POW/MIA flags.  MARLANT's Lt(N) Blair Eavis and MSgt Steve Black of the 164th CivEng Squadron, accompanied by personnel from the 78th Highlanders, Citadel Hill, Halifax, formed a colour party, and piper MBdr Jeremy Blackburn, Land Forces Atlantic, played "Amazing Grace".  Padre John Barrett of the MARLANT Fleet Chaplain's Office delivered the commemoration, and Canadian Corps of Commissionaires bugler Sgt Harry Bryan played "Taps".  Following the ceremony, there was a flag presentation at Halifax City Hall to His Worship Walter Fitzgerald, Mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality.