The Fort of Carvalha is located in the parish of São Tiago dos Velhos, at the highest point of the municipality of

Arruda dos Vinhos Arruda dos Vinhos () is a municipality in the Lisbon District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,391,Lisbon District Lisbon District ( pt, Distrito de Lisboa, ) is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the cur ...

of Portugal. It was built in 1809-10 as part of the first of the three

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, ...

, which were defensive lines to protect the Portuguese capital

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

from invasion by the French during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

(1807–14) or, in the event of defeat, to safely embark a retreating British Army.

Background

Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau signed between France and Spain in October 1807, which agreed on the invasion of Portugal, French troops under the command of

General Junot Jean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duke of Abrantes (24 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French military officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. Biography Early life Junot was born in Bussy-le-Grand, Côte-d'Or, son ...

entered the country, which requested support from the British. In July 1808 troops commanded by

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

landed in Portugal and defeated French troops at the Battles of

Roliça Bombarral () is a municipality in the District of Leiria in Central Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,193, in an area of . It includes four civil parishes ( pt, freguesia) that provide local services. History It is known that the area of ...

and

Vimeiro Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,Convention of Cintra The Convention of Cintra (or Sintra) was an agreement signed on 30 August 1808, during the Peninsular War. By the agreement, the defeated French were allowed to evacuate their troops from Portugal without further conflict. The Convention was sig ...

, which led to the evacuation of the French army from Portugal. In March 1809,

Marshal Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Frenc ...

led a new French expedition that advanced south to the city of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

before being repulsed by Portuguese-British troops and forced to withdraw. However, the threat of further invasions by the French led Wellington, on October 20, 1809, to order the construction of defensive lines to the north of the capital, between the Atlantic Ocean and the River

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

. The Lines of Torres Vedras, consisting of 152 forts, redoubts and other military installations, were built rapidly and in conditions of great secrecy, under the overall supervision of Colonel Richard Fletcher who was commander of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

The fort

The Fort of Carvalha was designated ''Military Work No. 10'' of the 152 works. It was on the first, or most northerly, of the three lines, exchanging crossfire with the nearby

Fort of Cego The Fort of Cego is located in the municipality of Arruda dos Vinhos, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. It is also known as the Fort of Saint Sebastian ( pt, Forte de S. Sebastião). The fort was built in 1809-10 as part of the first of the thr ...

, and had the responsibility of protecting the Arruda Valley against French incursion. Constructed with an irregular star shape, it is situated at an altitude of 394 metres and was named “Carvalha” by the Portuguese Major Brandão de Sousa, after the hill of the same name. It was garrisoned with 400 men and had four cannon.

Restoration

With resources from EEA and Norway Grants, the Fort of Carvalha was one of the military works of the Lines of Torres Vedras that was restored in 2010 to mark the 200th anniversary of the construction of the Lines. Restoration work began on 19 April 2010. The fort can now be visited.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline
Lines of Torres Vedras Information Centre at the Centro Cultural do Morgado

Arruda dos Vinhos Arruda dos Vinhos () is a municipality in the Lisbon District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,391,Friends of the Lines of Torres Vedras
Carvalha Lines of Torres Vedras

Background

The fort

Restoration

See also

References

External links