blockhouse

thumb|Completed in 1750, Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)|Fort Edward, Nova Scotia in Canada is the oldest remaining military blockhouse in [[North America.]] thumb|upright|Reconstructed European wooden [[keep at Saint-Sylvain-d'Anjou, France, has a strong resemblance to a North American western frontier log blockhouse]]

A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery, air force or cruise missiles. A fortification intended to resist these weapons is more likely to qualify as a fortress or a redoubt, or in modern times, be an underground bunker. However, a blockhouse may also refer to a room within a larger fortification, usually a battery or redoubt.