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Fort Saint Louis (Martinique)
Encyclopedia
Fort Saint Louis is a fortress on a peninsula at Fort-de-France
, Martinique
. Today the Fort is both a naval base and an Historic Monument. There are daily tours of the fort, though the portion that is still a naval base is off-limits.
in charge of the Navy and the Naval air force for the Caribbean (COMAR ANTILLES). The forces based here include:
The fort includes the administrative buildings of the base, the service for naval constructions, the radio station of Pointe des Sables and the ammunition storage facilities (at the end of Fort de France), and the Rivière Salée station (20 km away).
The fort is also home to the last iguana
(Iguana Delicatissima) populations of Martinique. However it is arguable whether the reptiles are native to Martinique or are remnants of the population of a small zoo that was located in the fort at the beginning of the 20th century.
established a colony in Martinique, which it governed until 1650. In 1638 the colonists constructed a small fort at the end of the bay by Fort de France to protect vessels undergoing careening. The work was completed by 1672 due to the efforts of Governor General Jean-Charles de Baas-Castelmore, and a ditch was cut to separate the fort from the town.
On 19 July 1674, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War
, Admiral de Ruyter
led a Dutch fleet of eighteen warships, nine storeships, and fifteen troop transports bearing 3,400 soldiers in an attack on the fort. The attack lasted three days before the Dutch gave up. After the initial Dutch attack, Governor Sainte Marthe called a war council. Sieur de Gemozat, the Royal Lieutenant, was the only member to absolutely reject the option to surrender. Still, Captain Aycard, at ruinous personal cost, demolished his warehouse to prevent the Dutch vessels from entering the carenage; the King rewarded the captain by authorizing him thereafter to fly an admiral's pennant wherever he went. During the siege, Thomas-Claude Renar de Fuschemberg, Marquis d'Amblimont and commander of the 44-gun vessel Les Jeux, used his vessel's guns to prevent the Dutch frigates from approaching the fort more closely, and the Dutch land forces from over-running the North Bastion. Today, the actions of Aycard, de Baas, de Gemozat and D'Amblimont are memorialized in structures in the fort that bear their names.
In 1677, Charles de La Roche-Courbon, comte de Blénac, became Governor General, holding the post until 1683. He was responsible for the 10-year effort that resulted in the building of a 487 meter wall around the peninsula, the wall being four meters high and two meters thick. Comte de Blénac served as Governor General again from June 1684 to February 1691, and again from 24 Nov 1691 until his death in 1696. His successor was the Marquis d'Amblimont, who had played an important role in the repulse of the Dutch.
In January 1759, the fort repulsed an attack by the English sailor, Admiral Rodney
. A second English attack three years later was more successful. The British forces occupied two hills overlooking Fort Saint Louis, Morne Garnier and Morne Tartenson. Fort Saint Louis, although strong on the seaward side, was ill-prepared to resist bombardment from above and an attack from the landward. The British were therefore able to force its surrender. During this and subsequent periods of British occupation, the fort bore the name Fort Edward.
On 11 February 1763, after the Treaty of Paris
returned Martinique to French control, the English left and the fort resumed its name of Fort Royal. The French proceeded to construct a second fort, Fort Bourbon
, on Morne Garnier to protect Fort Saint Louis.
In 1793, with the advent of the French Revolution
, the fort's name was changed to Fort de la Republique.
In February 1794, the English Admiral John Jervis
attacked Martinique, taking it after a 28 day siege. By 20 March only Fort Bourbon
and Fort Royal still held out. Jervis ordered the fourth rate ship of the line
HMS Asia
(64 guns), and the sloop
, HMS Zebra to take Fort Saint Louis. Asia was unable to get close, and so Commander Faulknor of Zebra volunteered to undertake the capture without the help of the larger vessel. Despite facing heavy fire, he ran his sloop close under the walls. He and his ship's company used Zebra's boats to land. The British stormed the fort and captured it. Meanwhile the boats of the British fleet captured Fort Royal and two days later Fort Bourbon capitulated.
The Governor General of Martinique at the time was Donatien Marie Joseph de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau. The British occupied the fort from 22 May 1794 until September 1802 when the Treaty of Amiens
again returned Martinique to France. The fort was renamed Fort Saint Louis.
The English captured Martinique again in 1809. During their attack, Commander Charles John Napier of the brig-sloop Recruit
noticed that Fort Edward, as he termed it, appeared abandoned. He took a gig and with four men, landed, scaled the fort's walls, and hoisted a British flag. Sir Alexander Cochrane
immediately landed marines to occupy the fort and turn its mortars, which its fleeing garrison had not spiked, against the French.
Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, who had become Governor General in September 1802, was still in office at the time of the British attack. A Court of Inquiry in Paris in December 1809 stripped the Admiral and some of his subordinates of their rank and honors, holding them responsible for problems with the fortification of Fort Desaix
and the subsequent loss of the island. The British occupied the fort from 21 February 1809 to 8 October 1814, and again briefly in 1815 after Napoleon escaped from Elba
. Several British regiments, such as the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the 63rd (The West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot, and others, have 'Martinique 1809' as one of their battle honors.
Between 1850 and 1896, the French installed a number of artillery pieces at the Fort and at Pointe des Negres to protect the bay.
Fort-de-France
Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:...
, Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. Today the Fort is both a naval base and an Historic Monument. There are daily tours of the fort, though the portion that is still a naval base is off-limits.
Naval Base
Fort Saint Louis is under command of the capitaine de vaisseauRanks in the French Navy
The rank insignia of the French Navy are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels....
in charge of the Navy and the Naval air force for the Caribbean (COMAR ANTILLES). The forces based here include:
- the BATRAL Francis Garnier (L9031)
- the P400 class patrol vesselP400 class patrol vesselThe P400 patrol ships are small vessels of the French Navy. They were designed to accomplish police operations in the large French Exclusive Economic Zone....
Fougueuse (P685) - the frigate VentôseFS VentôseThe Ventôse is a light monitoring frigate of the French Marine Nationale. She is the fourth ship of her class, and the first French vessel named after Ventôse, the 5th month of the Republican Calendar...
(F733)
The fort includes the administrative buildings of the base, the service for naval constructions, the radio station of Pointe des Sables and the ammunition storage facilities (at the end of Fort de France), and the Rivière Salée station (20 km away).
The fort is also home to the last iguana
Iguana
Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...
(Iguana Delicatissima) populations of Martinique. However it is arguable whether the reptiles are native to Martinique or are remnants of the population of a small zoo that was located in the fort at the beginning of the 20th century.
History
In 1635, during the reign of Louis XIII, the French Compagnie des Îles de l'AmériqueCompagnie des Îles de l'Amérique
The Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique, French for Company of the American Islands, was a French chartered company that in 1635 took over the administration of the French portion Saint-Christophe island from Compagnie de Saint-Christophe which was the only French settlement in the Caribbean at that...
established a colony in Martinique, which it governed until 1650. In 1638 the colonists constructed a small fort at the end of the bay by Fort de France to protect vessels undergoing careening. The work was completed by 1672 due to the efforts of Governor General Jean-Charles de Baas-Castelmore, and a ditch was cut to separate the fort from the town.
On 19 July 1674, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo–Dutch War or Third Dutch War was a military conflict between England and the Dutch Republic lasting from 1672 to 1674. It was part of the larger Franco-Dutch War...
, Admiral de Ruyter
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...
led a Dutch fleet of eighteen warships, nine storeships, and fifteen troop transports bearing 3,400 soldiers in an attack on the fort. The attack lasted three days before the Dutch gave up. After the initial Dutch attack, Governor Sainte Marthe called a war council. Sieur de Gemozat, the Royal Lieutenant, was the only member to absolutely reject the option to surrender. Still, Captain Aycard, at ruinous personal cost, demolished his warehouse to prevent the Dutch vessels from entering the carenage; the King rewarded the captain by authorizing him thereafter to fly an admiral's pennant wherever he went. During the siege, Thomas-Claude Renar de Fuschemberg, Marquis d'Amblimont and commander of the 44-gun vessel Les Jeux, used his vessel's guns to prevent the Dutch frigates from approaching the fort more closely, and the Dutch land forces from over-running the North Bastion. Today, the actions of Aycard, de Baas, de Gemozat and D'Amblimont are memorialized in structures in the fort that bear their names.
In 1677, Charles de La Roche-Courbon, comte de Blénac, became Governor General, holding the post until 1683. He was responsible for the 10-year effort that resulted in the building of a 487 meter wall around the peninsula, the wall being four meters high and two meters thick. Comte de Blénac served as Governor General again from June 1684 to February 1691, and again from 24 Nov 1691 until his death in 1696. His successor was the Marquis d'Amblimont, who had played an important role in the repulse of the Dutch.
In January 1759, the fort repulsed an attack by the English sailor, Admiral Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
. A second English attack three years later was more successful. The British forces occupied two hills overlooking Fort Saint Louis, Morne Garnier and Morne Tartenson. Fort Saint Louis, although strong on the seaward side, was ill-prepared to resist bombardment from above and an attack from the landward. The British were therefore able to force its surrender. During this and subsequent periods of British occupation, the fort bore the name Fort Edward.
On 11 February 1763, after the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
returned Martinique to French control, the English left and the fort resumed its name of Fort Royal. The French proceeded to construct a second fort, Fort Bourbon
Fort Desaix
Fort Desaix is a Vauban fort and one of four forts that protects Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. The fort was built from 1768 to 1772 and sits on a hill, Morne Garnier, overlooking what was then Fort Royal...
, on Morne Garnier to protect Fort Saint Louis.
In 1793, with the advent of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the fort's name was changed to Fort de la Republique.
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
attacked Martinique, taking it after a 28 day siege. By 20 March only Fort Bourbon
Fort Bourbon
Fort Bourbon was one of the important northern forts that La Vérendrye had built during his long tenure as commandant of the western forts of New France. This was during the earliest exploration of the northwest of North America...
and Fort Royal still held out. Jervis ordered the fourth rate ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
HMS Asia
HMS Asia (1764)
HMS Asia was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1764 at Portsmouth Dockyard. She participated in the American Revolutionary War and the capture of Martinique in 1794....
(64 guns), and the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
, HMS Zebra to take Fort Saint Louis. Asia was unable to get close, and so Commander Faulknor of Zebra volunteered to undertake the capture without the help of the larger vessel. Despite facing heavy fire, he ran his sloop close under the walls. He and his ship's company used Zebra's boats to land. The British stormed the fort and captured it. Meanwhile the boats of the British fleet captured Fort Royal and two days later Fort Bourbon capitulated.
The Governor General of Martinique at the time was Donatien Marie Joseph de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau. The British occupied the fort from 22 May 1794 until September 1802 when the Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
again returned Martinique to France. The fort was renamed Fort Saint Louis.
The English captured Martinique again in 1809. During their attack, Commander Charles John Napier of the brig-sloop Recruit
HMS Recruit (1806)
HMS Recruit was an 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1806 at Sandwich, Kent. She is best known for an act of pique by Cmdr. Warwick Lake, who marooned a seaman, and for an inconclusive but hard fought ship action under Cmdr. Charles John Napier against the French...
noticed that Fort Edward, as he termed it, appeared abandoned. He took a gig and with four men, landed, scaled the fort's walls, and hoisted a British flag. Sir Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
immediately landed marines to occupy the fort and turn its mortars, which its fleeing garrison had not spiked, against the French.
Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, who had become Governor General in September 1802, was still in office at the time of the British attack. A Court of Inquiry in Paris in December 1809 stripped the Admiral and some of his subordinates of their rank and honors, holding them responsible for problems with the fortification of Fort Desaix
Fort Desaix
Fort Desaix is a Vauban fort and one of four forts that protects Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. The fort was built from 1768 to 1772 and sits on a hill, Morne Garnier, overlooking what was then Fort Royal...
and the subsequent loss of the island. The British occupied the fort from 21 February 1809 to 8 October 1814, and again briefly in 1815 after Napoleon escaped from Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
. Several British regiments, such as the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the 63rd (The West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot, and others, have 'Martinique 1809' as one of their battle honors.
Between 1850 and 1896, the French installed a number of artillery pieces at the Fort and at Pointe des Negres to protect the bay.