The Halifax Citadel was designated by Canadian government as a National Historic Site in 1951. The present Citadel, completed in 1856, is the fourth in a series of forts since 1749 to occupy the hill overlooking the harbour. It is an excellent example of a 19th-century bastion fortification complete with defensive ditch, ramparts, musketry gallery, powder magazine and signal masts. Although never attacked, the fort was garrisoned by the British Army until 1906 and by Canadian Forces during the First and Second World Wars.