Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site

Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site is a 19th-century coastal artillery fort in Esquimalt, British Columbia. The site is adjacent to Fisgard Lighthouse, the first lighthouse on the west coast of Canada.

History

Britain's Royal Navy began using Esquimalt harbor in the 1840s, at first merely for anchorage, watering and for lumber; but the establishment of three hospital huts during the Crimean War of 1854-56 marked the start of what is still an active naval base.

In 1862, the Royal Navy's Pacific Squadron was relocated to Esquimalt harbour from Valparaiso, Chile (where it had utilised floating storeships rather than built facilities ashore). This increased presence, eventually including storehouses and workshops ashore) would require some form of coastal defence to deter naval attack by any potential enemy. This need was reinforced by the influx of American gold miners during the Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858, and by the armed, if polite, standoff of U.S. and British forces during the San Juan Islands Pig war of 1859.

It was not until after the Colony of Vancouver Island had joined the mainland of British Columbia in 1866, and then Canada in 1870, that the first fixed coastal defences were emplaced to protect the naval base. In 1877-78, increased tension between Britain and Russia over the latter's declaration of war on Turkey focused attention on the lack of defences for Britain's only naval station on the western seaboards of both North and South America. Volunteers for artillery training were mustered in Victoria on the 18th of May, while Lt-Col De La Chevois Irwin, Inspector-General of Artillery at Kingston, Ontario, was sent (by train, across the U.S.A.) to organise the defences.

Five batteries of guns (mainly 64-pr naval rifled muzzle loader) were constructed quickly, using earthen ramparts shored with timber. The largest guns of these defences were 3 7-inch RML guns at Macaulay Point (covering the entrance of both Victoria and Esquimalt harbours), and one 8-inch RML on Brothers Island (at the mouth of Esquimalt harbor).

The Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Squadron, Admiral de Horsey, inspected the new batteries and declared them inadequate; the local artillery militia could only muster enough gunners to serve half the guns, and as local citizens, it was felt that they may be inclined to give preference to guns defending Victoria rather than the naval base. De Horsey recommended that a permanent garrison of 100 Royal Marine Artillery, modern guns, and a submarine minefield be established as permanent defences.

The Canadian and British governments did not reach a defence agreement on the matter until 1893; during this time, the old guns and emplacements were still Victoria and Esquimalt's only fixed defences against attack. The 1893 agreement boiled down to this:

The British government would supply guns, equipment, stores, and submarine mining buildings, to a total of £53,080; half the estimated cost of the defence works (£30,000); half the cost of annual maintenence (£500); and a garrison of 75 Royal Marine Artillerymen.

The Dominion of Canada would provide: all the land and buildings (save the submarine mining establishment); £10,000 towards the maintence of the Royal Marine Artillery garrison; half the estimated cost of the defences (£30,000); half the cost of annual maintenence (£500); and maintain and expand the local militia.

Fort Rodd Hill was first used as a military installation in the 1890s. In 1893, Britain entered into an agreement with Canada to help provide artillery batteries, and construction began on the site in 1895. The first batteries were completed in 1897, and work soon began on three additional batteries for smaller guns to defend against Russian torpedo boats.

In 1905, the British Pacific Squadron was disbanded. More than 60 members of the Royal Garrison Artillery and Royal Engineers remained behind with the Canadian Forces at Fort Rodd Hill. The fort was maintained until 1956, when advances in military technology rendered it obsolete. It has since become a Canadian national historic site and is open to the public.

External links

• Information about Fort Rodd Hill
• Information about Fisgard Lighthouse