Fort Royal

“ There was a rumor years ago that one of the forts was so provided when it was built, and that the tunnel was not repeated afterward on account of the vast labor; but I did not suspect it to be Fort Royal. Griffith Hawks alone knew the secret, and he died with it untold. We will proceed at once to verify this good news; there is not a moment to spare. Denzil, you and Captain Rudstone will come with me. ”

“ Works were in the mean time thrown up behind some brushwood on the top of the hill; and in the evening of the 3d, a battery of one 13-inch mortar, and three 8-inch howitzers, was ready to open from Morne Vanier against Pigeon Island. It began at six o’clock the same evening, and continued with very little intermission till day-light the next morning, when the fort hung out a flag of truce and surrendered. This was no sooner perceived at Fort Royal, than the Amphitrite, a beautiful frigate of 44 guns, lying in the Carenage, was set on fire and destroyed [14] . ”

“ The plot of land to north-west of the fort should be taken into a horn-work and fitted for several guns, to defend it against attack in reverse. To eastward of the town a work should be thrown up to cover it against the isthmus, and to guard against surprise by boats on that side. These fortifications could also be built of earth and wood; which would save much expense and would suffice if they lasted to the end of the war.
This account tallies with a description of Port Royal, dated October 25, 1699, signed by Lilly himself. ”

“ Halting for a short time at Red Hill, he gave his final instructions to Lilburn and Lord Grey of Groby, both of whom were arrayed for battle, and then rode on to Perry Wood.
On arriving there, he gave instant orders that the largest guns in the battery should open fire on Fort Royal—preparatory to storming the fort.
The order was instantly obeyed. The engineers on the fort at once replied to the cannonade, and what would now be called an "artillery duel" commenced. The outposts of the royal army were likewise fired upon from other points, but no general attack was made on either side. ”

“ We have sent a force on shore to dismantle and destroy the guns, &c. This is the fort which disputed our entrance, and it is a very strong work.
“I have also the pleasure to add, that the propositions of the Baron de Montalembert, and his mission, have hitherto been every where attended with success. The forts and the positions are gradually pulling down their tri-coloured flags, and hoisting that of their legitimate sovereign; and several of them have saluted the squadron upon their hoisting the white flag. ”

“ Lieutenant Cunningham, of the Sir Francis Drake, with the officers and men stationed at the launches, &c. obtained my praise, and deserve every recommendation for the arrangement of the boats in case of defeat. I have now to regret the necessity of subjoining an account of the killed and wounded of the four ships [3] , in which, when I consider the strength of the fort, and the numbers opposed to us, in storming the town, I deem ourselves particularly fortunate. The fort is a regular fortification, mounting 16 six-pounders. ”

“ As the Americans were prepared, and their works strong, they made an obstinate defence; but nothing could withstand the ardour of the royal troops, and every corps gained a share in the glory. Fort Constitution was also taken on the 7th of October. Not far from these forts was a new settlement called Continential Village, where there was a barrack for fifteen hundred men. The Royal Fusiliers, with two German corps and two three-pounders, were sent against this place, and having destroyed the settlement and burnt the barrack and stores, the troops returned. ”

“ Besides Ships passing up the River are secured from the Guns of the Fort, till they come directly over-against the Fort, by reason the Fort stands in a Vale, and all the Guns directed down the River, that should play on the Ships, as they are coming up the River, will lodge their Shot within Ten, Twenty, or Forty Yards in the rising Bank, which is much above the Level of the Fort ”

“ The siege of Ticonderago was then prosecuted with vigour, and on the 25th of July the garrison blew up the fort and sailed to Crown Point; which place the French commander also abandoned, and retired down the lake to Isle aux Noix. The Royals and other forces afterwards proceeded to Crown Point and commenced erecting a new fort; vessels were also built in order to have a naval force on the lake. ”

“ A schooner and gun-boat having arrived with cannon and ammunition, the troops advanced on the 25th of August, and arriving within two miles of the fortress, discovered a numerous body of hostile cavalry, infantry, and Arabs, in order of battle on the plain. These opponents were speedily routed with the loss of their flag and a number of killed and wounded; and the armament soon afterwards attacked, and carried, the pettah with great gallantry; Ensign D’Aguilar distinguished himself on this occasion.
The siege of the fort was commenced, and a breach was reported practicable ”

“ The fort is situated in a most difficult pass, through which the high road from Tortosa to Tarragona winds, and it is absolutely the key of the only road for cannon into this province, from the westward, without going round by Lerida. It is armed by 12 pieces of ordnance, including two 10-inch mortars, and 2 howitzers, and the surrounding heights are so difficult of access, that it has been a work of the greatest labour to establish the necessary batteries before it. ”

“ This conquest was considered of great importance to the nation, and the meritorious conduct of the officers and soldiers was rewarded with the approbation of their Sovereign and the thanks of Parliament.
While the Royals were at Cape Breton, a body of British troops, employed on the continent of North America under the command of Major-General Abercrombie, had advanced against the fort at Ticonderago, which had been built by the French in 1756 on the west shore of Lake Champlain; and in the attack on this place the British troops were repulsed. ”

“ At 6-10, finding that we made no visible impression on the fort, having lost a considerable number of men, and being able only occasionally to fire a few guns on the larboard side, in consequence of the little effect the light wind had on the ship, I cut the cables and springs, and attempted to drop clear of the fort with the strong tide then running; every sail having been rendered unmanageable, and all the rigging being shot away ”

“ Ay, he has fenced it—doubly fenced it with high walls and bulwarks—he has armed his forts better than I thought he could have done, chiefly yon new fort on the Castle Hill, for this Blockhouse hath no real ordnance—and he hath placed his troops with some judgment; but neither troops nor defences will avail him. ”

“ It was his intention, when the fort should be completed, to remove every thing thither, and take the Bounty to pieces; but the evident reluctance of many, who had not been active in the mutiny, to end their days in exile; and the hostility of the neighbouring chiefs, who took every opportunity of annoying his men, when they were sent in quest of provisions, compelled him to abandon his design of settling for life at Toobouai, and to seek some other place of refuge for himself, and those who were still inclined to follow his fortunes. ”

“ The attack on the fort and entrenchments leading from it to the lake, was made at the same moment by two columns, one under Lieutenant-colonel Drummond, 104th regiment, consisting of the flank companies 41st and 104th regiments, and a body of seamen and marines, under Captain Dobbs, of the royal navy, on the fort: the other, under Colonel Scott, 103d, consisting of the 103d regiment, supported by two companies of the royals, was destined to attack the entrenchments. ”

“ There thus was built the great English fortress of Crown Point, covering the highest parts of the peninsular promontory southwestward from the old French fort. The limestone 298 rocks were cut into deeply, and ramparts raised twenty-five feet thick and high, the citadel being a half-mile around. The ruins of these heavy walls, the ditches, spacious parade and demolished barracks, give an idea of the costly but obsolete military construction of that time. ”

“ In the harbour of Callao, the shipping were crowded into a corner, encircled by gun-boats, close under the fort, and with a strong boom drawn round them. The custom-house was empty, and the door locked; no bales of goods rose in pyramids on the quays; no loaded mules covered the road from Callao to Lima; nor during the whole ascent was an individual to be seen, except, perhaps, a solitary courier galloping towards the fortress. In Lima itself the difference was as striking: jealousy and distrust of one another, and still more of strangers, tilled every breast ”

“ It is worthy of remark, that as military posts, all those lately established by the British are far superior, in point of situation, to those delivered up. The ground on which the new block house is building, on the British side of Niagara River, is nine feet higher than the top of the stone house in the American fort, and it commands every part of the fort. The chief strength of the old fort is on the land side; towards the water the works are very weak, and the whole might be battered down by a single twelve pounder judiciously planted on the British side of the river. ”

“ We shall soon begin a fortification on this side that will command the East River and the town. The troops in the City are fortifying in one of the Streets that will command the old fort, if the Enemy should get possession of it, (and are putting down the rear of the fort.) We have begun another Fort near "Hell Gate." The men of war have dropped down below the town and are very quiet, but supplied from the City by orders of this Congress. Our troops are very hearty and fare well as times will admit, most of the valuable articles are moved out of the City, and one third of the inhabitants. ”

“ The Indian word Cataraqui means "Clay bank rising from the water," and after the fort was built the meaning changed to "fort rising from the water." Here the Sieur de La Salle, in 1678, built the first vessel navigating the lake. The British captured the fort in 1762, naming it Kingston, after the American Revolution, and by fortifying the promontories commanding the harbor, made it the strongest military post in Canada after Quebec and Halifax, the chief work being Fort Henry. ”

“ It is built on a little bay, at the foot of a hill shaded by trees, and forms an oblong square, divided into four streets, and has two full streets, which cut each other at right angles. The houses are well built, and regular. They have only one church, which is called after the city. St. John's Fort, standing about a mile north of it, is a strong, irregular fortification, well mounted with cannon, and capable of making a long defense. ”

“ The fort being finished, the governor commanded two guns to be mounted, which could not be done without great toil and labour; as also a house to be built within the fort, and afterwards the narrow way, that led to the said fort, to be broken and demolished, leaving no other ascent thereto than by a ladder. Within the fort gushes out a plentiful fountain of pure fresh water, sufficient to refresh a garrison of a thousand men. Being possessed of these conveniences, and the security these things might promise, the French began to people the island, and each of them to seek their living ”

“ Morning bugle call, the evening gun, grey ships of war stealing in from a misty sea with long plumes of soft black smoke, military uniforms on the streets and trig bright houses are, probably, the average civilian’s impressions of a stay at Old Point Comfort where is located Fort Monroe. “Fort” or “Fortress,” for the place changes its sex indifferently according to the state of mind of the speaker, it probably satisfies the popular conception of a mighty stronghold of defence more completely than any other such establishment in the United States. ”

“ Whole towns, cities indeed, are spread out upon the inclined surfaces, that only a few years back were deemed unfit for cultivation, and consequently unworthy of consideration, while at the entrance to each port and harbor is seen some old fort, which, fifty years ago, would, in the midst of profound peace, bristle with the glittering bayonet of men-at-arms; and each morning and evening pour out the formal thunder that bespeaks the character of the fortress and the rank of its commander. ”

“ To see a fort is naturally supposed to be not the most formidable of undertakings; but to see Fort Fisher means a ride of miles over the bleakest of sand bars; means the climbing of great heaps of sand, under the hottest of suns; means a scrambling over irregular chasms and precipices of sand, where the explosions have destroyed at once every semblance of fortification and every foot of solid earth—means all this, prolonged for hours, under the penalty of the consciousness that otherwise you would be pretending to see Fort Fisher, when you were doing nothing of the sort. ”

“ Augustine, annually visited by thousands of people, and that at Pensacola, Florida. The French are best remembered by their [vi] works at Quebec. Of the defensive works of the Dutch, on the Hudson, or the Swedes, on the Delaware, nothing remains. The English were not great builders of forts; they were essentially tillers of the soil. The most important English military work of early Colonial days in America was Castle William (Fort Independence) , Boston harbor. ”