The Coloured Corps fought in several battles during the War of 1812. In the early months of 1814, they were assigned to serve as a company of artificers — soldiers who performed engineering and construction duties. The initial work by the Coloured Corps included digging trenches and constructing the outer defence wall. The beginnings of a stone and brick tower, the powder magazines and barracks were soon built. The constant threat of attack would have made construction efforts extremely dangerous, perhaps causing them to work under the cover of darkness. When the Coloured Corps was disbanded in 1815, Fort Mississauga was not complete. The tower was completed in 1823, but the fort itself remained unfinished.