The Battlefields Park

Last updated
An artillery piece on display at The Battlefields Park Artillery piece battlefields park.jpg
An artillery piece on display at The Battlefields Park

The Battlefields Park (French : Parc des Champs-de-Bataille) includes the Plains of Abraham with the nearby and smaller Des Braves park, both within the district of Montcalm in Quebec City, and forms one of the few Canadian national urban parks. Its significance lies in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759) and the Battle of Sainte-Foy, fought six months later on today's Des Braves park.

Contents

It was established as a park by law on March 17, 1908. [1] It features an interpretive centre and walking trails, and is sometimes used for outdoor concerts, especially during the national festival events. The park contains a collection of about 50 historical artillery pieces scattered about its grounds. It is managed by the National Battlefields Commission, a federal government agency under the Minister of Canadian Heritage with members appointed by the King in his Canadian, Ontarian, and Québécois Councils. The commission also oversees its own police service since 1948. [2]

Martello towers

Martello Tower No. 1. Note the reconstruction of the gun, carriage, and swiveling gun carriage platform that originally surmounted the tower. Martello-tower-1.jpg
Martello Tower No. 1. Note the reconstruction of the gun, carriage, and swiveling gun carriage platform that originally surmounted the tower.

Built by the British to prevent the Americans from drawing close enough to lay siege to the walls of Quebec, the four Martello towers were begun by James Craig in 1808 and completed in 1812. The towers were arranged to provide for each other's defence, being situated along an axis that bisects the Plains of Abraham from the northwest to the southeast in order to screen the western approach to Quebec City, and were numbered rather than named. Tower No. 3 was demolished in the 1900s but the other three remain. The limited openings on the tower were designed to prevent the enemy from taking it by storm, while the tower's rounded shape (to deflect projectiles) and thick masonry walls made it nearly impervious to artillery fire.

Martello Tower door Martello-tower-door.jpg
Martello Tower door

The doors to the tower are at a height of twice the height of a man - about 4.5 metres (14.8 feet) - and could only be reached by a removable ladder. The towers were never tested in battle, and became obsolete in the 1860s with the development of rifled artillery, which was powerful enough to breach their walls.

Using the theme of military engineering Martello Tower No. 1 is open for visitors to view its three floors during the summer months.

The Martellos were originally fitted with removable roofs in the fall to keep snow from accumulating on the gun platform at the top and removed in the spring. The roofs were later replaced with newer permanent ones which look almost the same.

The three towers were designated a national historic site in 1990, [3] and also form part of the Fortifications of Quebec National Historic Site. [4]

One of the three towers is located within the city streets away from the park.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quebec City</span> Provincial capital of Quebec, Canada

Quebec City, officially Québec, is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the eleventh-largest city and the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Canada. It is also the second-largest city in the province after Montreal. It has a humid continental climate with warm summers coupled with cold and snowy winters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Plains of Abraham</span> 1759 battle between British and French troops near Quebec City, Canada

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War. The battle, which began on 13 September 1759, was fought on a plateau by the British Army and Royal Navy against the French Army, just outside the walls of Quebec City on land that was originally owned by a farmer named Abraham Martin, hence the name of the battle. The battle involved fewer than 10,000 troops in total, but proved to be a deciding moment in the conflict between France and Britain over the fate of New France, influencing the later creation of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Wolfe</span> British Army officer (1727–1759)

James Wolfe was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plains of Abraham</span> Battlefield park in Québec City, Canada

The Plains of Abraham is a historic area within the Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was established on 17 March 1908. The land is the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759, but hundreds of acres of the fields became used for grazing, housing, and minor industrial structures. Only in 1908 was the land ceded to Quebec City, though administered by the specifically created and federally-run National Battlefields Commission. The park is today used by 4 million visitors and tourists annually for sports, relaxation, outdoor concerts, and festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citadelle of Quebec</span> Building in Quebec, Canada

The Citadelle of Quebec, also known as La Citadelle, is an active military installation and the secondary official residence of both the Canadian monarch and the governor general of Canada. It is located atop Cap Diamant, adjoining the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, Quebec. The citadel contains the oldest military building in Canada and forms part of the fortifications of Quebec City, which is one of only two cities in North America still surrounded by fortifications, the other being Campeche, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Château Frontenac</span> Hotel in Quebec City, Canada

The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d'Armes. The Château Frontenac was designed by Bruce Price, and was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martello tower</span> Small defensive fort

Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Henry National Historic Site</span> National historic site and fort in Kingston, Ontario

Fort Henry National Historic Site is located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada on Point Henry, a strategic, elevated point near the mouth of the Cataraqui River where it flows into the St. Lawrence River at the east end of Lake Ontario. The fort and the point on which the fort was built were named after Henry Hamilton, former Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murney Tower</span> Defensive tower built to protect Kingston, Ontario from American threats

Murney Tower is a Martello tower in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, whose construction dates to January 1846. The Tower was built in response to the Oregon Crisis, which was a tense dispute over the border between British North America and the United States in the 1840s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Quebec (1690)</span> October 1690 battle near Quebec City, Canada

The Battle of Québec was fought in October 1690 between the colonies of New France and Massachusetts Bay, then ruled by the kingdoms of France and England, respectively. It was the first time Québec's defences were tested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Frederick (Kingston, Ontario)</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site

Fort Frederick is a historic military building located on Point Frederick on the grounds of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its construction dates to 1846 and the Oregon boundary dispute. The fort consists of earthworks surrounding a Martello tower. Fort Frederick is included in two separate National Historic Sites of Canada: Kingston Fortifications National Historic Site and the Point Frederick Buildings National Historic Site.

Jersey is a heavily fortified island with coastal fortifications that date to the English Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars, and Nazi Germany's occupation of the Channel Islands. The fortifications include castles, forts, towers, Martello towers, artillery batteries, and seawalls. Not infrequently, fortifications from one period are built on the site of earlier fortifications, or very near them, geography having remained the same even when firepower increased.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramparts of Quebec City</span> City wall in Quebec, Canada

The ramparts of Quebec City is a city wall that surrounds the western end of Old Quebec's Upper Town in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The ramparts date back to the 17th century, with the ramparts having undergone a succession of modifications and improvements throughout their history. The city walls extend 4.6 kilometres (2.9 mi), with the southern portions of the ramparts forming a part of the Citadelle of Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carleton Martello Tower</span>

Carleton Martello Tower in Saint John, New Brunswick, is one of the nine surviving Martello Towers in Canada. The tower dates from the War of 1812 and played a significant role in conflicts until the Second World War. The site now features a restored powder magazine, a restored barracks room, and exhibits in the tower and in the visitor centre. The tower's roof offers a view of the city of Saint John and its harbour. Carleton Martello Tower is one of the oldest buildings in the city and has been designated as a National Historic Site of Canada since 1930. It has been open to the public since 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoal Tower</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site

Shoal Tower, originally known as Victoria Tower, is a Martello tower located in the harbour of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, directly opposite Kingston City Hall. It is one of four such towers built in the 1840s to protect Kingston's harbour and the entrance to the Rideau Canal. Cathcart Tower on Cedar Island, Shoal Tower in the Confederation Basin, Fort Frederick on the grounds of the Royal Military College of Canada, and Murney Tower were part of the same strategic improvements. Although 16 Martello towers were built in Canada, only 11 are still standing, four of them in Kingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament Hill (Quebec City)</span>

Parliament Hill is located in Quebec City in the borough of La Cité-Limoilou, specifically in districts of Vieux-Québec—Cap-Blanc—colline Parlementaire and Saint-Jean-Baptiste. In addition to the Parliament Building of Quebec, the Hill has a few shopping streets and residential areas and public green spaces. The hill on which it is located is the promontory of Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Howe</span> Historic site in Saint John, New Brunswick

Fort Howe was a British fort built in Saint John, New Brunswick during the American Revolution. It was erected shortly after the American siege in 1777 to protect the city from further American raids. The 18th and 19th century British Army fortification stood at the mouth of the Saint John River where it empties into the Bay of Fundy. A replica blockhouse has been constructed approximately 250 metres to the northeast of the original structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–Colline Parlementaire</span> Quartier in Québec, La Cité-Limoilou

Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–Colline Parlementaire is one of the 35 districts of the City of Quebec, and one of six that are located in the borough of La Cité-Limoilou. The district is the most visited and toured location in the city. It is in this partly fortified area where the Château Frontenac is found, with its large terrace overlooking the city of Lévis, across the Saint Lawrence River. A large concentration of cafes, tourist shops, restaurants, hotels and inns are situated in the district. In its most recent census count in 2016, Statistics Canada reported that the district had a population of 5,770 residents, whom comprise 1.1% of the city's total population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">400th anniversary of Quebec City</span> Celebration of Québec citys founding

Quebec City's 400th anniversary, celebrated in 2008, commemorated the founding of Quebec City in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. Quebec City is the oldest francophone city in North America. Along with Acadia, the city represents the birthplace of French America.

References

  1. An Act respecting the National Battlefields at Quebec , S.C. 1908, c. 57
  2. "A park in the city". National Battlefields Commission.
  3. Quebec Martello Towers . Canadian Register of Historic Places . Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  4. Fortifications of Quebec . Canadian Register of Historic Places . Retrieved 17 September 2011. [ dead link ]

Coordinates: 46°47′59″N71°13′15″W / 46.79972°N 71.22083°W / 46.79972; -71.22083