The Battlefields Park
Encyclopedia
Plains of Abraham
The Plains of Abraham is a historic area within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, that was originally grazing land, but became famous as the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759. Though written into the history books, housing and minor...
with Des Braves Park, both within Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, and forms one of the few Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
national urban parks. Its significance lies in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
, the British victory over France, which decided the development of Canada. Established as a park by law on March 17, 1908, it features an interpretive centre and walking trails, and is sometimes used for outdoor concerts, especially during the national festival
Fête nationale du Québec
Quebec's National Holiday is celebrated annually on June 24, St. John the Baptist DayIn Quebec, the national holiday is a paid statutory public holiday covered under the Act Respecting Labour Standards...
events . The park contains a collection of about 50 historical artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
pieces scattered about its grounds. It is managed by the National Battlefields Commission, a federal government agency under the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Minister of Canadian Heritage
The Minister of Canadian Heritage is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads the Department of Canadian Heritage, the federal government department responsible for Canada's Arts, Culture, Media, Communications network, and Sport....
with members appointed by the Queen in
Queen-in-Council
The Queen-in-Council is, in each of the Commonwealth realms, the technical term of constitutional law that refers to the exercise of executive authority, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council or executive council The Queen-in-Council (during...
her Canadian
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, Ontarian
Executive Council of Ontario
The Executive Council of Ontario plays an important role in theGovernment of Ontario, in accordance with the Westminster system....
, and Québécois Councils
Executive Council of Quebec
The Executive Council of Quebec is the cabinet of the government of Quebec, Canada....
.
Martello Towers
Ramparts of Quebec City
Located in Canada, the Ramparts of Quebec City are the only remaining fortified city walls in the Americas, north of Mexico. The English began fortifying the existing walls, after they took Quebec City from the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.The wall surrounds most of Old...
, 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 defense, being situated along an axis that runs north-south across the Plains of Abraham
Plains of Abraham
The Plains of Abraham is a historic area within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, that was originally grazing land, but became famous as the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759. Though written into the history books, housing and minor...
in order to screen the western approach to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, 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.
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
artillery, which was powerful enough to breech 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 of Canada in 1990, and also form part of the Fortifications of Quebec National Historic Site.