Western Redoubt | |
---|---|
St. George's Garrison, St. George's Island, St. George's Parish, Bermuda | |
Coordinates | 32°23′04″N 64°40′33″W / 32.384454°N 64.675834°W |
Type | Fort Magazine |
Site information | |
Owner | Board of Ordnance War Office |
Operator | British Army |
Open to the public | No |
Condition | Increasingly derelict |
Site history | |
Built | 1850s |
Built for | Royal Artillery |
In use | 1850s - 1957 |
Materials | Stone |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | St. George's Garrison, Eastern District of the Bermuda Garrison |
Occupants | Royal Artillery Royal Engineers Royal Army Ordnance Corps |
The Western Redoubt, or Fort William, is a square fort built on a crest on the eastern side of Government Hill, and within the boundaries of the original main British Army camp in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, St. George's Garrison.[1][2][3][4]
There is a strongly fortified dockyard, and the defensive works, together with the intricate character of the approaches to the harbour, render the islands an almost impregnable fortress. Bermuda is governed as a Crown colony by a Governor who is also Commander-in-Chief, assisted by an appointed Executive Council and a representative House of Assembly.
As a fortress, Bermuda is of the first importance. It is situated almost exactly half-way between the northern and the southern naval stations; while nature has made it practically impregnable. The only approach lies through that labyrinth of reefs and narrow channels which Captain Kennedy has described. The local pilots are sworn to secrecy ; and, what is more reassuring, by lifting buoys and laying down torpedoes, hostile vessels trying to thread the passage must come to inevitable grief, So far Bermuda may be considered safe, whatever may be the condition of the fortifications and the cannon in the batteries. Yet the universal neglect of our colonial defences is apparent in the fact that no telegraphic communication has hitherto been established with the West Indies on the one side, or with the Dominion of Canada on the other.
The objectives for America are clearly marked,—Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Prescott, Kingston, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. Halifax and Vancouver are certain to be most energetically attacked, for they will be the naval bases, besides Bermuda, from which England would carry on her naval attack on the American coasts and commerce.