Fort William, Newfoundland
Encyclopedia
Fort William was a fort in St. John's built in 1698 to protect English
interests in Newfoundland, primarily against French
opposition. It was the original headquarters of the British garrison in Newfoundland. A second fort, known as Fort George was situated at the east end of the harbour connected by a subterranean passage with Fort William. On the south side of the Narrows, there was a third fortification called the Castle.
The Fort was demolished in 1881 to make room for a railway yard, the barracks being used as the station. This was demolished in 1910 and urban development now occupies the site.
Fort William was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1952. As there are no visible remains, the site is marked by a Historic Sites and Monuments Board plaque located on a retaining wall at the corner of Cavendish Square and Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s
The Anglo-Dutch maritime rivalry brought about a renewal of naval warfare with Holland and Newfoundland. Meeting little opposition, a Dutch
fleet captured St. John's in 1665, burning shipping and property on shore. Still without naval or military defences, the English merchants of St. John's did what they could for their own defence. After the Dutch attack Christopher Martin
, a Devon
merchant captain, built and maintained defensive batteries, King William’s Fort, at the entrance to the harbour at his own expense. Martin landed six cannon from his vessel, the Elias Andrews, and constructed an earthen breastworkand battery near chain Rock commanding the Narrows leading into the harbour. In 1673 Martin, with fewer than thirty men, successfully defended the harbour from a second Dutch attack and a separate raid by four pirate vessels.
King William's War
The accession of William and Mary in 1688 brought about a reversal of British foreign policy, but although war was formally declared with France
in 1689, little was achieved to give the English in Newfoundland better security from attack. From the French stronghold of Placentia
, the French had been making successful yearly assaults on the English settlements and fishing stations. The winter of 1696-7 brought the most ambitious attempt to date by the French on the English settlements in Newfoundland. This force, under the command of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
, destroyed all of the English communities on the Southern Shore without serious opposition, but, marching on St. John's, it was engaged. They then withdrew to the small fortification which had been prepared in the city, where they held out for a further 48 hours. They were forced to surrender the town and fort, which was burned to the ground.
This signal disaster, and especially the consternation it caused in New England
, at last stimulated the British government to provide a permanent defence force for the island. A strong British relief force of 1500 troops reoccupied St. John's in the summer of 1697: they found the town abandoned, pillaged and every building destroyed. The following year construction was begun on a well-engineered fortification - Fort William - which, when completed in 1700, had brick-faced ramparts, bomb-proof parapets, powder magazines and proper barracks.
Queen Anne's War
Peace had been established in 1697, but at the time of the accession of Queen Anne
in 1702, war with France was renewed. In January 1705, St. John's was again attacked overland from Placentia. On this occasion, Daniel d'Auger de Subercase
, the French commander, had a force of almost 500 regulars, French Canadians and Indians. He took the town, but the Fort William garrison held out and refused terms. After the five-week Siege of St. John's
, Subercase retired to Placentia with all the booty his men and several hundred captive townspeople could carry. Sporadic attacks continued throughout 1706, despite British reinforcement of the St. John's garrison.
Yet another overland attack on St. John's by St. Ovide de Brouillon in January 1709 (Battle of St. John's
), met with complete and immediate success. The British garrison, demoralised and badly led, surrendered the fort after only a brief resistance, and the French, taking 300 prisoners with them, withdrew to Placentia after destroying all the fortifications around the harbour. The following year the British began rebuilding Fort William and emplaced stronger armament, however, the garrison did not return and the fort began to fall into disrepair.
By 1712, British victories in Europe had brought about an armistice and, in the Treaty of Utrecht
(1713), the French yielded all rights in Newfoundland to Britain. Subsequently, the British fortifications in Newfoundland were neglected and fell into decay. Hence a major reconstruction was hastily begun when war with France was renewed in 1743. During King George's War
(1743-48) although no military action occurred in Newfoundland itself, the British had maintained a strengthened naval force in the colony as a counter to the fortress then established by the French at Louisbourg in Cape Breton
, and Fort Wiliiam was completely rebuilt by 1749.
The French and Indian War
The final military engagement in Newfoundland occurred in the fall of 1762 and was the final action in the Anglo-French war of 1756-63 known as Battle of Signal Hill
. British victories at Louisbourg (1758), Quebec City
(1759) and Montreal
(1760) virtually eliminated the French presence in North America and led to the opening of peace negotiations under conditions of great disadvantage to France. Desperate to recover a bargaining counter, the French government dispatched a naval force with 800 troops to attack Newfoundland. Following earlier French-Canadian strategy, Comte d'Haussonville, the French commander, marched overland on St. John's from a landing in the undefended harbour at Bay Bulls. The British garrison in Fort William, few in numbers and without well-prepared defences, made no resistance and surrendered on June 17th. The British Command in New York
quickly organized a counterstroke. By September, 1500 regular and New England
troops had been convoyed to the Avalon Peninsula
and, on September 13th, their commander, Lt. Col. William Amherst, made a landing at Torbay
eight miles north of St. John's. Marching overland, Amherst drove the French from their outer defences at Quidi Vidi
Pass and on the 15th captured the high ground of Signal Hill
in a surprise dawn assault. With the French force now confined to Fort William, Amherst occupied the following two days bringing up heavy guns to reduce the fortifications: meanwhile the French warships which had convoyed d'Haussonville's force and which remained in St. John's harbour, escaped under cover of a thick fog. Amherst's batteries - one on the lower slope of Signal Hill and another north of the Fort on high ground along King's Bridge Road - were ready by the 17th and began an intensive bombardment of Fort William that day. Surrounded and unsupported, d'Haussonville's force capitulated on September 18th.
Demolition
Fort William was poorly situated and was not able to effectively protect the harbour or the settlement at St. John’s. Because of its location, it was vulnerable to land attack. Finally, in 1779, the British deemed Fort William to be too susceptible to attack and built Fort Townshend slightly further to the west. Fort William became a minor defence and one part of a larger system of forts and batteries that defended St. John’s and the harbours of Quidi Vidi and Torbay. In 1881, it was demolished and its site cleared to accommodate the Canadian Pacific Railway
hotel and rail yard.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
interests in Newfoundland, primarily against French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
opposition. It was the original headquarters of the British garrison in Newfoundland. A second fort, known as Fort George was situated at the east end of the harbour connected by a subterranean passage with Fort William. On the south side of the Narrows, there was a third fortification called the Castle.
The Fort was demolished in 1881 to make room for a railway yard, the barracks being used as the station. This was demolished in 1910 and urban development now occupies the site.
Fort William was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1952. As there are no visible remains, the site is marked by a Historic Sites and Monuments Board plaque located on a retaining wall at the corner of Cavendish Square and Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s
History
War with HollandThe Anglo-Dutch maritime rivalry brought about a renewal of naval warfare with Holland and Newfoundland. Meeting little opposition, a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
fleet captured St. John's in 1665, burning shipping and property on shore. Still without naval or military defences, the English merchants of St. John's did what they could for their own defence. After the Dutch attack Christopher Martin
Christopher Martin
Christopher Martin was a Pilgrim and signer of the Mayflower Compact.Christopher Martin was born on an unknown date prior to 1582. He married Mary Prower, a widow, in Great Burstead, Essex, England in February 1606 or 1607. Mary Martin was born around 1580, in the vicinity of Great Burstead,...
, a Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
merchant captain, built and maintained defensive batteries, King William’s Fort, at the entrance to the harbour at his own expense. Martin landed six cannon from his vessel, the Elias Andrews, and constructed an earthen breastworkand battery near chain Rock commanding the Narrows leading into the harbour. In 1673 Martin, with fewer than thirty men, successfully defended the harbour from a second Dutch attack and a separate raid by four pirate vessels.
King William's War
The accession of William and Mary in 1688 brought about a reversal of British foreign policy, but although war was formally declared with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1689, little was achieved to give the English in Newfoundland better security from attack. From the French stronghold of Placentia
Placentia
Placentia may refer to:* Palace of Placentia, an English Royal Palace* Placentia, California, United States* Placentia, Italy* Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada* Battle of Placentia* Placentia Bay, the name of two ships of the Royal Navy...
, the French had been making successful yearly assaults on the English settlements and fishing stations. The winter of 1696-7 brought the most ambitious attempt to date by the French on the English settlements in Newfoundland. This force, under the command of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1702 (probable)was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of...
, destroyed all of the English communities on the Southern Shore without serious opposition, but, marching on St. John's, it was engaged. They then withdrew to the small fortification which had been prepared in the city, where they held out for a further 48 hours. They were forced to surrender the town and fort, which was burned to the ground.
This signal disaster, and especially the consternation it caused in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, at last stimulated the British government to provide a permanent defence force for the island. A strong British relief force of 1500 troops reoccupied St. John's in the summer of 1697: they found the town abandoned, pillaged and every building destroyed. The following year construction was begun on a well-engineered fortification - Fort William - which, when completed in 1700, had brick-faced ramparts, bomb-proof parapets, powder magazines and proper barracks.
Queen Anne's War
Peace had been established in 1697, but at the time of the accession of Queen Anne
Queen Anne
"Queen Anne" generally refers to Anne, Queen of Great Britain , Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702, and of Great Britain from 1707.Queen Anne may also refer to:-Uses relating to Queen Anne of Great Britain:...
in 1702, war with France was renewed. In January 1705, St. John's was again attacked overland from Placentia. On this occasion, Daniel d'Auger de Subercase
Daniel d'Auger de Subercase
Daniel d'Auger de Subercase naval officer and French governor of Newfoundland, born Orthez, Béarn died Cannes-Ecluse, Île-de-France....
, the French commander, had a force of almost 500 regulars, French Canadians and Indians. He took the town, but the Fort William garrison held out and refused terms. After the five-week Siege of St. John's
Siege of St. John's
The Siege of St. John's was a failed attempt by French forces led by Daniel d'Auger de Subercase to take the fort at St. John's, Newfoundland during the winter months of 1705. Leading a mixed force of regulars, militia, and Indians, Subercase burned much of the town and laid an ineffectual siege...
, Subercase retired to Placentia with all the booty his men and several hundred captive townspeople could carry. Sporadic attacks continued throughout 1706, despite British reinforcement of the St. John's garrison.
Yet another overland attack on St. John's by St. Ovide de Brouillon in January 1709 (Battle of St. John's
Battle of St. John's
The Battle of St. John's was the French capture of St. John's, the capital of the British Colony of Newfoundland, on , during Queen Anne's War. A mixed and motley force of 164 men led by Joseph de Monbeton de Brouillan de Saint-Ovide, king's lieutenant to Philippe Pastour de Costebelle, the French...
), met with complete and immediate success. The British garrison, demoralised and badly led, surrendered the fort after only a brief resistance, and the French, taking 300 prisoners with them, withdrew to Placentia after destroying all the fortifications around the harbour. The following year the British began rebuilding Fort William and emplaced stronger armament, however, the garrison did not return and the fort began to fall into disrepair.
By 1712, British victories in Europe had brought about an armistice and, in the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
(1713), the French yielded all rights in Newfoundland to Britain. Subsequently, the British fortifications in Newfoundland were neglected and fell into decay. Hence a major reconstruction was hastily begun when war with France was renewed in 1743. During King George's War
King George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
(1743-48) although no military action occurred in Newfoundland itself, the British had maintained a strengthened naval force in the colony as a counter to the fortress then established by the French at Louisbourg in Cape Breton
Cape Breton
-Geographic locations:*Cape Breton Island, a Canadian island on the Atlantic Ocean coast*Cape Breton, a cape located at the eastern tip of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island*Cape Breton Highlands, a mountain range in northern Cape Breton Island...
, and Fort Wiliiam was completely rebuilt by 1749.
The French and Indian War
The final military engagement in Newfoundland occurred in the fall of 1762 and was the final action in the Anglo-French war of 1756-63 known as Battle of Signal Hill
Battle of Signal Hill
The Battle of Signal Hill was a small skirmish, the last of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst forced the French to surrender St...
. British victories at Louisbourg (1758), Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
(1759) and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(1760) virtually eliminated the French presence in North America and led to the opening of peace negotiations under conditions of great disadvantage to France. Desperate to recover a bargaining counter, the French government dispatched a naval force with 800 troops to attack Newfoundland. Following earlier French-Canadian strategy, Comte d'Haussonville, the French commander, marched overland on St. John's from a landing in the undefended harbour at Bay Bulls. The British garrison in Fort William, few in numbers and without well-prepared defences, made no resistance and surrendered on June 17th. The British Command in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
quickly organized a counterstroke. By September, 1500 regular and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
troops had been convoyed to the Avalon Peninsula
Avalon Peninsula
The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...
and, on September 13th, their commander, Lt. Col. William Amherst, made a landing at Torbay
Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...
eight miles north of St. John's. Marching overland, Amherst drove the French from their outer defences at Quidi Vidi
Quidi Vidi
Quidi Vidi is a neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador....
Pass and on the 15th captured the high ground of Signal Hill
Signal Hill
-Places:in Canada * Signal Hill, Calgary, neighborhood and hill in Calgary, Alberta* Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi, provincial electoral district for the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, Canada...
in a surprise dawn assault. With the French force now confined to Fort William, Amherst occupied the following two days bringing up heavy guns to reduce the fortifications: meanwhile the French warships which had convoyed d'Haussonville's force and which remained in St. John's harbour, escaped under cover of a thick fog. Amherst's batteries - one on the lower slope of Signal Hill and another north of the Fort on high ground along King's Bridge Road - were ready by the 17th and began an intensive bombardment of Fort William that day. Surrounded and unsupported, d'Haussonville's force capitulated on September 18th.
Demolition
Fort William was poorly situated and was not able to effectively protect the harbour or the settlement at St. John’s. Because of its location, it was vulnerable to land attack. Finally, in 1779, the British deemed Fort William to be too susceptible to attack and built Fort Townshend slightly further to the west. Fort William became a minor defence and one part of a larger system of forts and batteries that defended St. John’s and the harbours of Quidi Vidi and Torbay. In 1881, it was demolished and its site cleared to accommodate the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
hotel and rail yard.