Greater Québec City Area

Last Update: 19/JULY/2008

Fort Jacques-Cartier
(1759 - 1763), near Donnacona
Located at Cap-Santé on the west bank of the Rivière de Jacques-Cartier. Built by the French after the fall of Québec City (September 1759) to prevent further British movement west towards Montréal. Used as a base in the French counterattack in April/May 1760. The British bypassed the fort to attack Montréal in August 1760. The British finally attacked and captured the fort in September 1760, the last French fort to fall. British troops remained here until 1763. Site excavated in the 1960's. Traces still remain.

Charlesbourg Royale
(1541 - 1543), Cap-Rouge
A failed French settlement was attempted here twice. Jacques Cartier (see Cartier-Brébeuf Site below) returned in 1541 and built a small fort at the foot of Cap-Rouge, and another at the top of the cliff. Abandoned in the spring of 1542 after an Indian attack, but resettled later the same year (July) by 200 new colonists under Jean-François de La Roque, sieur de Roberval, and renamed France-Roy. Roberval built a fort at the summit of Cap-Rouge, described as "very strong with a large tower". Another fort was built at the foot of Cap-Rouge near the Rivière de Cap-Rouge, with a two-story tower with two main buildings. Abandoned again in the spring of 1543 due to a scurvy outbreak and no success at finding any riches. Site was found and excavated in summer 2006 during a construction project.

Fort Saint-Joseph
(1637 - 1657), Sillery
A fortified French Jesuit Mission. It had a stone wall with four stone tower bastions built around the mission buildings. It was destroyed by fire. The Old Jesuits' House (1730) remains. Admission fee.

Sainte-Foy Blockhouse
(1760), Sainte-Foy
A British blockhouse built to protect against a French counterattack on Québec City. The remains of the Notre-Dame-de-Foy church also served as a fortified site, and was partially burned in the April 1760 Battle of Sainte-Foy, a French victory.

Lorette Blockhouse
(1760), L'Ancienne-Lorette
A British blockhouse built to protect against a French counterattack on Québec City.

Cartier - Brébeuf (National Historic Site)
(1535 - 1536, 1625), Québec City
The site of Jacques Cartier's first fortified wintering camp (a moated palisade with several guns), and a reconstruction of the Iroquois palisaded village of Stadacona at the French Jesuit mission established here by Jean de Brébeuf in 1625. Located on the north-bank of the Rivière de Saint-Charles. Admission fee.

¤ Fortifications of Québec City
(National Historic Site and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site)

NOTE: Québec City is the last remaining walled city in North America north of Mexico.

¤ Place-Royale
(1608 - 1620, 1623 - 1632)
Samuel de Champlain built the first Habitation, a palisaded fort or trading post, here in the Lower Town. It resembled a medieval castle with high vertical walls, a ditch, and artillery platforms. It was enlarged in 1616. This was the first permanent European settlement in Canada. Champlain built a second Habitation in 1624 - 1626, which was larger and featured two stone tower bastions at the corners of a large stone building enclosed by a wooden wall. The settlement was captured by the English in July 1629 and not returned to France until 1632. The second Habitation was destroyed by the English. Champlain returned in May 1633.

¤ Fort Saint-Louis
(1620 - 1623, 1626 - 1632, 1636 - 1834)
A wooden fort with earthen ramparts built by Samuel de Champlain at what is now Dufferin Terrace near the Château Frontenac. Rebuilt and expanded in 1626. Destroyed by the English in 1632. Rebuilt in 1636. Rebuilt with stone in 1646 - 1647 and renamed Château Saint-Louis. The fort also served as the Governor-General's residence and was the main citadel for the city. The fort and château was demolished in 1692 to be replaced with a larger structure. The second château burned down in 1834, and the present-day promenade or terrace was first built in 1838, enlarged several times over the years.

¤ Batterie Royale
(1691 - 1759)
Built on the original shoreline in Lower Town after the October 1690 British attack. It replaced an earlier three-gun battery (1690). Originally built for 14 guns, later reduced to 11 guns in 1695, and reduced to 10 guns in 1742. The battery also took part in the 1759 British seige, but was destroyed. Long buried under docks and warehouses, it was reconstructed in 1977.

A three-gun battery (1690) was also located further east, later replaced with the nine-gun Batterie Dauphin (1) (1709) and the 14-gun Batterie Dauphin (2) (1757) (aka Batterie Saint-Charles (1)). To the west were located the three-gun Batterie La Reine (Queen's Battery) and the five-gun King's Battery.

¤ Cavalier du Moulin (Park)
(1693 - 1745)
Built by the French to assault the Cap-aux-Diamant Redoubt and St. Louis Bastion of the city wall in the event an enemy were to capture them. Became useless when the ramparts were rebuilt further west.

¤ Old Québec City Walls
(1690 - 1871)
The city was first walled only in 1690, originally with a hastily-constructed wooden palisade with 11 small square stone redoubts, extending from the Château Saint-Louis to the Rivière de Saint-Charles. An eight-gun battery was located just west of Château Saint-Louis, rebuilt in 1693, improved in the 1740's, and had 14 guns in 1759. A three-gun battery (1690) was located east of the château at the turn of the cliff toward the north, later rebuilt as the 42-gun Batterie Grande (1759). Along the west-side of the palisade was a three-gun battery (1690) at the Mont-Carmel windmill. Below the end of the palisade on the Rivière de Saint-Charles was another three-gun battery (1690). The city was attacked by the British (primarily New England provincial forces) in October 1690, but were driven back by the strong defences. A new earthen wall was constructed in 1693 to 1702, primarily along the old trace of the palisade. Another line was constructed from 1700 to 1707 incorporating the Cap-aux-Diamant Redoubt. The Redoubt Royale was constructed in 1712 between the Château Saint-Louis and the Cap-aux-Diamant Redoubt (1693) (see La Citadelle listing below). A bastioned masonry wall reveted with stone was first constructed in 1745, with the Potasse Demi-Bastion, St. Jean, Ste. Ursula, St. Louis, and Glaciere Bastions, with gates at St. Jean and St. Louis. Still extant, it is 4.6 kilometers long. A ditch and glacis was started in front of the St. Jean Bastion, but was never completed along the remaining length of the wall. There were 24 guns mounted along the eastern side of the wall between the Grand Battery and the Potasse Demi-Bastion. There were 52 guns mounted along the bastions. The visitor center is in a 1815 powder magazine at the St. Louis Gate. The Prescott Gate was originally built in 1797, and demolished in 1871. It was rebuilt in 1983. Admission fee.

Nearby, the Fort Museum (admission fee) is located across from the Château Frontenac.

¤ Artillery Park (National Historic Site)
(1749 - 1871, 1882 - 1964)
Located at the St. Jean Gate of the city's walls. First located here was the French Nouvelle Casernes (New Barracks), the first in the city. British troops were later garrisoned here until 1871. It then became the Arsenal (1882), and was in use until 1964. The Arsenal Foundry was built in 1903. Also located here is the Officers' Quarters (1818), and the Gun Carriage Warehouse (1815). Admission fee. Nearby is the French-built Dauphine Redoubt (1712 - 1748) It was converted to a barrack in 1749.

¤ La Citadelle
(1820 - 1871/present)
Known as the "Gibraltar of the Americas", the Citadel is the second-largest fortification (37 acres) in North America still occupied by military forces (Fort Monroe in Virginia is 63 acres). Construction was begun in 1820 and lasted until 1855. There are 25 buildings here, including the Governor-General's summer residence, Officers' mess, a 1750 French powder magazine now containing the Royal 22e Regiment Museum in the Prince of Wales' Bastion, and an 1842 military prison. Admission fee (guided tours only).

Previously on this site was the French Cap-aux-Diamant Redoubt (1693 - 1760), later incorporated into the Citadel's King's Bastion. The British took control of the redoubt with the capture of the city in September 1759. A temporary British citadel was built here between 1778 and 1783, including four blockhouses. Three wooden blockhouses were built on Cap-aux-Diamant in 1797.

¤ Plains of Abraham Martello Towers
(1808 - 1871)
There were two Martello towers built on the old battlefield between 1808 and 1811, known as Towers #1 and #2. Admission fee. Plains of Abraham National Battlefield Park

¤ The Martello Tower
(1812 - 1871)
Built by 1812, and known as Tower #4. Located on Rue Lavigueur near the "Escalier Lavigueur".

There was also another tower (Tower #3) built somewhere along Avenue Turnbull between Towers #2 and #4. It no longer exists.

¤ NOTES: In 1759 several French camps and batteries lined the northern shore of the St. Lawrence from the Rivière de Saint-Charles to the Rivière de Montmorency. They include: Royale Redan, Pointe-á-Roussel Battery (three guns), La Canardière Battery (aka Saint-Charles Battery (2)) (three guns), Morille Redan, Chalifour Redan, Vienne Redan, Vieux Camp Redan, Des Tours Redan, Parauts Redan (three guns), Rivière de Beauport Redan, Chesnay Redan, Beauport Church Redan (four guns), Salaberry Redan, Saint-Louis Battery, Johnstone Battery, and Sault Battery (three guns). The British had a post at Pointe-Orléans on Île d'Orléans and camps and batteries along the southern shore of the St. Lawrence. A British earthen redoubt (1759) still exists at Montmorency Falls Park in Beauport. The British captured the Johnstone and Sault shore batteries, but could not hold the cliffs. The British then moved west of the city to Anse-aux-Foulon to attack at the Plains of Abraham.

Fort Lauzon
(1865 - unknown), Lauzon City
Undetermined, possibly a designation of one of the three forts of Lévis (see below).

Fort No. 1 at Pointe-de-Lévy (National Historic Site)
(1865 - 1872/unknown), Lévis
Construction of this British fort was completed in 1872. It was one of a chain of three forts built to defend Québec City from U.S. attack. Of those three, this one is the only one remaining today. This fort is considered part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Québec City. The sites of Fort #2 and Fort #3, both completed in 1869, are located about one-half to one mile west of Fort #1. Fort #4 was proposed, but never built. Admission fee.

Fort Pointe-de-Lévy
(1759, 1760), Lévis
A French fort built to protect against a British assault of Québec City. The British erected two wooden blockhouses here in 1760 to protect against the French counterattack. The site later became the location of Fort de la Martinière (see below).

¤¤ COAST ARTILLERY DEFENCES, QUÉBEC CITY

¤¤ Fort de la Martinière
(1907 - 1950's), Lévis
A modern coastal artillery post. During WWI there were two batteries here, Upper Martinière Battery, consisting of two 7.5-inch MK C Vickers guns, and Lower Martinière Battery, consisting of two 12-pounder quick-firing MK1 guns. The Upper Battery was also used in WWII (1939 - 43), with the two 7.5-inch naval guns later replaced by two 6-inch guns. A colonial era blockhouse is (or was) also here (see Pointe de Lévy listing above). A portion of the original fort site is now a campground. The museum and visitor's center have recently been renovated.

¤¤ Fort Beaumont
(1900's - 1940's), Beaumont
Built around the same time as Fort Martinière. Armed with two 6-inch MK G Vickers guns.

¤¤ Saint Jean Battery
(1939 - 1945), Saint-Jean
Two 18-pounder guns were located here on Île d'Orléans. Nearby at Maheux Bay were examination batteries for WWI (1914 - 15), consisting of one 60-pounder gun and one 12-pounder gun.

NEED MORE INFO: There were three additional British redoubts or blockhouses built outside of Québec City in 1760.

Southern Québec - page 1 | Northern Québec - page 3

Special thanks to Robert D. Zink of the Coast Defense Study Group for providing info on the Coast Artillery Defences of Québec City.