Fort MacDowall was located in Matale. It was a fortified outpost during the Kandyan Wars, named after Major General Hay MacDowall, the 6th Commander of British Troops in Ceylon. The fort was one of the few inland forts constructed by the British and was completed in 1803.During the Matale Rebellion, on 28 July 1848, the fort came under siege by approximately 400 rebels led by Weera Puran Appu and Gongalegoda Banda, but the British forces repulsed the attack.