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Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive

forts A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

that were built across the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

during the 19th century, from the time of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up to high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15–25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse, and hence fire, over a complete 360° circle. A few towers had moats or other batteries and works attached for extra defence. The Martello towers were used during the first half of the 19th century, but became obsolete with the introduction of powerful

rifled In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the proj ...

artillery. Many have survived to the present day, often preserved as historic monuments.

Origins

Martello towers were inspired by a round fortress, part of a larger Genoese defence system, at Mortella (Myrtle) Point in

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. The designer was

Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino (1520–1586), known as ''El Fratin'' or ''Il Fratino'' ("The Little Friar"), was a military engineer who served the Spanish Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Charles V, and then his son Philip II of Spain. He is ...

(el Fratin), and the tower was completed in 1565. Since the 15th century, the Corsicans had built similar towers at strategic points around the island to protect coastal villages and shipping from North African

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. The towers stood one or two storeys high and measured in diameter, with a single doorway five metres off the ground that one could access only via a ladder that the occupants could remove.Abram (2003), p. 103. Local villagers paid for the towers and watchmen, known as ''torregiani'', who would signal the approach of unexpected ships by lighting a beacon fire on the tower's roof. The fire would alert the local defence forces to the threat. Although the pirate threat subsequently dwindled, the Genovese built a newer generation of circular towers (the

Genoese tower The Genoese towers in Corsica (french: tours génoises de Corse, co, torri ghjenuvesi di Corsica, singular : , also ; it, torri genovesi di Corsica) are a series of coastal defences constructed by the Republic of Genoa between 1530 and 1620 to s ...

s), that warded off later foreign raids. Martello Tower 1

On 7 February 1794 as part of the

siege of Saint-Florent The siege of San Fiorenzo (or Siege of Saint-Florent ) was a British military operation, supported by Corsican partisans early in the French Revolutionary Wars against the French-held town of San Fiorenzo on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. T ...

, two British warships, (74 guns) and (32 guns), unsuccessfully attacked the tower at Mortella Point; the tower eventually fell to land-based forces under Sir John Moore after two days of heavy fighting. What helped the British was that the tower's two 18-pounder guns fired seaward, while only the one 6-pounder could fire landward. Vice-Admiral Lord Hood reported: Late in the previous year, the tower's French defenders had abandoned it after (32 guns) had fired two broadsides at it. The British removed the guns to arm a small vessel; consequently, the French were easily able to dislodge the garrison of Corsican patriots that had replaced them.Sutcliffe (1973). Still, the British were impressed by the effectiveness of the tower when properly supplied and defended, and copied the design. But they got the name wrong, misspelling "Mortella" as "Martello" (which means "hammer" in Italian). When the British withdrew from Corsica in 1803, with great difficulty they blew up the tower, leaving it in an unusable state.

Design and construction

The towers were about high with walls about thick. In some towers the rooms were not built in the centre, but more to the landside, leaving the walls thicker on seaside. These were cases where an attack with a cannon from the landside was thought very unlikely. Entry was by ladder to a door about from the base above which was a machicolated (slotted) platform which allowed for downward fire on attackers. The flat roof or ''terreplein'' had a high parapet and a raised platform in the centre with a pivot (sometimes a converted cannon) for a cannon that would traverse a 360° arc. (Some towers were designed to carry more than one gun, with each having a more limited arc of fire.) The walls had narrow slits for defensive musket fire. Martello tower diagram EN

The interior of a classic British Martello tower consisted of two storeys (sometimes with an additional basement). The ground floor served as the

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and storerooms, where ammunition, water, stores and provisions were kept. The

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

of 24 men and one officer lived in a

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

on the first floor, which was divided into several rooms and had fireplaces built into the walls for cooking and heating.Ciucevich (2005), pp. 19–21. The officer and men lived in separate rooms of almost equal size. A well or cistern within the fort supplied the garrison with water. An internal drainage system linked to the roof enabled rainwater to refill the cistern.

Martello towers around the world

During the first half of the 19th century, the British government embarked on a large-scale programme of building Martello towers to guard the British and Irish coastlines. Around 140 were built, mostly along the south coast of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Governments in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

also constructed towers. The construction of Martello towers abroad continued until as late as the 1870s but was discontinued after it became clear that they could not withstand the new generation of rifled artillery weapons. The French built similar towers along their own coastline that they used as platforms for communication by

optical telegraph An optical telegraph is a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals. There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph which uses pivoted indicator arms and ...

s (using the Chappe Telegraph). The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

government also built a number of Martello towers along the east coast of the US that copied the British design with some modifications.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Great Britain and Ireland were united as a single political entity, the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

, from 1801 to 1922, spanning the time during which most Martello towers were erected (the initial scheme started under the previous entities of the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

and

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

). Consequently, the Martello towers of Great Britain and Ireland can be considered to have been part of a single defensive system, designed to protect the coastlines of the two main islands of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

as a whole.Clements (1998). This is most clearly visible on the south and east coasts of

and the east coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, where chains of Martello towers were built. Elsewhere in the world, individual Martello towers were erected to provide point defence of strategic locations.

England

Between 1804 and 1812 the British authorities built a chain of towers based on the original Mortella tower to defend the south and east coast of England, Ireland,

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

to guard against possible invasion from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, then under the rule of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. A total of 103 Martello towers were built in England, set at regular intervals along the coast from Seaford,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, to

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. Most were constructed under the direction of General

William Twiss General William Twiss, (1745 – 14 March 1827), was a British Army Royal Engineer, responsible for the design of many military defences. Probably born in Kent in 1744 or 1745, Twiss worked in the ordnance office at the Tower of London from ...

(1745–1827) and a Captain Ford. The northernmost tower at Aldeburgh is of quatrefoil design, i.e. four in one. and there are two towers at Clacton-on-Sea, one near the town and the other to the west near the local Golf Course (see the pictures on the right). Included in the scheme were three much larger circular forts or

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

s that were constructed at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

Dymchurch Dymchurch is a village and civil parish in the Folkestone and Hythe district of Kent, England. The village is located on the coast five miles (8 km) south-west of Hythe, and on the Romney Marsh. History The history of Dymchurch began with ...

and

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

; they acted as supply depots for the smaller towers as well as being powerful fortifications in their own right. The effectiveness of Britain's Martello towers was never actually tested in combat against a Napoleonic invasion fleet. They were, however, effective in hindering smuggling. After the threat had passed, the Martello towers in England met a variety of fates. The Coastguard took over many to aid in the fight against smuggling. Fifteen towers were demolished to enable the re-use of their masonry. The sea washed thirty away and the military destroyed four in experiments to test the effectiveness of the new

artillery. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, some Martello towers returned to military service as observation platforms and firing platforms for

anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

. Forty-seven Martello towers have survived in England, a few of which have been restored and transformed into museums (e.g., the towers at

St Osyth St Osyth is an English village and civil parish in the Tendring District of north-east Essex, about west of Clacton-on-Sea and south-east of Colchester. It lies on the B1027, Colchester–Clacton road. The village is named after Osgyth, a 7t ...

and Seaford), visitor centres, and galleries (such as

Jaywick Martello Tower Jaywick Martello Tower is a renovated Martello tower at Jaywick, south-west of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. It now functions as an arts, heritage and community venue. History The tower was one of several Martello towers on the east coast of England. T ...

). Some are privately owned or are private residences, The remainder are derelict. A survey of the East Coast towers in 2007 found of the 17 remaining, most were in a reasonable condition. Many remaining Martello Towers are now

Listed Building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s. A fuller list of British towers, with photographs, is available.

Scotland

Three Martello towers were built in Scotland, the first on offshore rocks facing the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

in 1807–1809 to defend

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Harbour. The

Tally Toor The Tally Toor is the local name for a Martello tower in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is one of Scotland's three Martello towers, the other two being at Hackness and Crockness in Orkney. Originally built offshore on a rocky outcrop called the ...

now lies land-locked within the eastern breakwater. Two towers were then built at

Hackness Hackness is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough district of the county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies within the North York Moors National Park. The parish population rose from 125 in the 2001 UK census to 221 in the 2011 UK cens ...

and

Crockness Crockness Martello Tower is a Martello Tower on Hoy, Orkney, Scotland. It was built during the Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napole ...

, near

Longhope Longhope is a village in west Gloucestershire, situated within the Forest of Dean, England, United Kingdom. Arthur Bullock, who was born in Longhope in 1899, described its location as follows: * The parish occupies the most easterly valley in t ...

in Orkney. They were constructed between 1813 and 1815 to guard against the threat of French and American raiders attacking

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s assembling offshore.

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

now operates the Hackness tower as a museum.

Wales

A small number of Martello towers were also built in Wales, of which few survive. The most notable surviving towers are the two located in

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock ( cy, Doc Penfro) is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following ...

, which were built between 1848 and 1857 to protect the naval base there. Today, one of the towers is privately owned. The other is located on the town's riverfront, next to the old entrance of the naval base. It was converted into a small museum that focused on the local history of the dock and its defences. The museum has now shut down because of water influx. Recently Pembrokeshire County Council has decided to put the tower up for sale.

Ireland

County Dublin - Shenick's Island Martello Tower - 20180325151846

About fifty Martello towers were built around the Irish coastline, especially along the east coast, from

Millmount Millmount is a large fortified complex situated on a great mound on the South bank of the River Boyne located in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. The fort has played a crucial part in Drogheda's history and has been a dominant feature from Nor ...

(Drogheda), to Bray, around

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay ( ga, Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Du ...

(29 installations) but also around

Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Ja ...

on the south coast. On the east coast, concentrated mainly around Dublin Bay, twenty-six towers were in line of sight of each other, providing the ability to communicate with one another, or warn of any incoming attacks. Possibly the most famous is the Martello tower in

Sandycove Sandycove () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is southeast of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, and northwest of Dalkey. It is a popular seaside resort and is well known for its bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past was reserved for me ...

, near

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

, in which

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

lived for a few days. Joyce shared the tower with

Oliver St. John Gogarty Oliver Joseph St. John Gogarty (17 August 1878 – 22 September 1957) was an Irish poet, author, otolaryngologist, athlete, politician, and well-known conversationalist. He served as the inspiration for Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's novel ...

, then a medical student but later to become famous in Irish history as a surgeon, politician and writer. In ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'', the fictional character

Stephen Dedalus Stephen Dedalus is James Joyce's literary alter ego, appearing as the protagonist and antihero of his first, semi-autobiographic novel of artistic existence ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' (1916) and an important character in Joyce' ...

lives in the tower with a medical student, Malachi "Buck" Mulligan, whom Joyce based on Gogarty. The

James Joyce Tower The James Joyce Tower and Museum is a Martello tower in Sandycove, Dublin, where James Joyce spent six nights in 1904. The opening scenes of his 1922 novel ''Ulysses'' take place here, and the tower is a place of pilgrimage for Joyce enthusiasts, ...

, as the tower is now known, houses a museum dedicated to Joyce. A number of other Martello towers are extant nearby at

Bullock Harbour Bullock Harbour or Bulloch Harbour ( ga, Cuan Bhlóic) is a small working harbour located near the heritage town of Dalkey on the southeast coast of Dublin Bay in Ireland. The current harbour quay and walls were constructed of local granite in t ...

Dalkey Island Dalkey Island ( ) is an island for which the nearby village of Dalkey is named ( ga, Oileán Dheilginse meaning "thorn island", with ''ey'' the Old Norse (Viking) version of "island"). It is an uninhabited island located in the Barony of Upper ...

, Williamstown,

Seapoint Seapoint () is a small seafront area between Blackrock and Monkstown in Dublin in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown area. It is best known for its beach and bathing areas, beside a Martello Tower on the Dublin Bay seashore. The beach currentl ...

and

Sandymount Sandymount () is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. Etymology An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill.

and Martello towers feature in many literary works set in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. During the 1980s,

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

owned the Martello tower in Bray,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

Martello Tower South No.7, on Tara Hill, Killiney Bay, is unique, as is its location as an enfilading tower. The Tower is privately owned and has been fully restored, to include a proofed, working King George 3rd

Blomefield Rev. Francis Blomefield (23 July 170516 January 1752), FSA, Rector of Fersfield in Norfolk, was an English antiquarian who wrote a county history of Norfolk: ''An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk''. It includes d ...

18-pounder cannon mounted on a traversing carriage on the crown of the Tower. There is a three-gun battery below the tower, with a

glacis A glacis (; ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in bastion fort, early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More genera ...

. There is also a coach house, artillery store, tool shed, and gunner's cottage, with resident gunner and

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

store. The battery, while restored, remains to be armed and the coach house and artillery store still require some restoration. On the north side of Dublin, one can find Martello towers in

Balbriggan Balbriggan (; , IPA: �bˠalʲəˈbʲɾʲɪɟiːnʲ is a coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland, approximately 34 km from Dublin City. The 2016 census population was 21,722 for Balbriggan and its environs. ...

Shenick Island Shenick Island or Shenick's Island () is an island that lies east of Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland. It is populated only by seals that harbour on the western side of the island and a few different species of seabirds nest there. It may be re ...

and Red Island at

Skerries A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to: Geography Northern Ireland * Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh * Skerry, County Antrim, a ...

, Drumanagh Fort,

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

, Tower Bay in

Portrane Portrane or Portraine (Irish: ''Port Reachrann'') is a small seaside settlement, three kilometres from,the small town of Donabate in Fingal, Ireland. It lies in the Barony of Nethercross, in the historic County Dublin. Portrane has a long sa ...

Donabate Donabate () is a small coastal town in Fingal, Ireland, about north-northeast of Dublin. The town is on a peninsula on Ireland's east coast, between the Rogerstown Estuary to the north and Broadmeadow Estuary to the south. Donabate is a civil ...

Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000. Malahide Castle dates from th ...

(Hicks tower owned by Tony Quinn),

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...

Ireland's Eye Ireland's Eye () is a small long-uninhabited island off the coast of County Dublin, Ireland. Situated directly north of Howth village and harbour, the island is easily reached by regular seasonal tourist boats, which both circumnavigate it an ...

Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...

, and

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

. There were seven Martello towers in the vicinity of Cork Harbour of which five are extant. During the 19th century Fenian uprising, the famous Captain Mackey briefly captured and held the Monning Martello tower near

Fota Island Fota (statutory spelling Foaty; ga, Fóite) is an island in Cork Harbour, Ireland, just north of the larger island of Great Island. Fota Island is host to Ireland's only wildlife park – as well as the historical Fota House and gardens and go ...

; this tower is believed to have been the only Martello tower ever captured, other than the original. The other Cork Harbour towers are at

Ringaskiddy Ringaskiddy () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork Harbour, south of Cobh, and is 15 kilometres from Cork city, to which it is connected by the N28 road. The village is a port with passenger ferr ...

Haulbowline Island Haulbowline ( ga, Inis Sionnach; non, Ál-boling) is an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The world's Royal Cork Yacht Club, first yacht club was founded on Haulbowline in 1720. The western side of the islan ...

(now part of the Irish Naval Service HQ) and at

Belvelly Belvelly () is a small village on the northern end of the Great Island of Cork Harbour, about four miles north of the town of Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. Belvelly is situated at the shortest crossing point between Great Island and the neighbour ...

and Rossleague on the

Great Island Great Island () is an island in Cork Harbour, at the mouth of the River Lee and close to the city of Cork, Ireland. The largest town on the island is Cobh (called Queenstown from 1849 to 1922). The island's economic and social history has histo ...

(near

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

). There are also Martello towers at Little Island and

Rostellan Rostellan () is a civil parish, townland and village in the historical Barony of Imokilly, County Cork, Ireland. An electoral division of the same name forms part of the Cork East Dáil constituency. For census purposes, the village of Rostell ...

, though these are no longer intact. The British built two Martello towers on the Hook Peninsula to protect the fort near

Duncannon Duncannon () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village. Pri ...

Co. Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

and the entrance to

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Harbour. There is a third tower on the headland at Baginbun Bay in Co. Wexford. One of the most interesting Martello towers is

Meelick Martello Tower Meelick Martello Tower is a Martello tower constructed on Moran Island in the River Shannon between Meelick, County Galway :''There are other places called Meelick in County Clare and County Mayo.'' Meelick (''Míleac'' in Irish), also Mili ...

Clonahenoge Clonahenoge (''Cluain Fheannóg'' in Irish) is a townland in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located at the confluence of the Little Brosna River and the River Shannon. Structures of note Hamilton Lock and the Clonahenoge canal were built about ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, guarding the Shannon river crossing to

Meelick, County Galway :''There are other places called Meelick in County Clare and County Mayo.'' Meelick (''Míleac'' in Irish), also Milic, is a townland on the River Shannon in Ireland. It lies approximately 4 km southeast of Eyrecourt in County Galway.It is be ...

. As this tower supports three guns (unlike the normal Martello tower which is circular on plan and carries only one gun), it is cam shaped on plan. Currently a rampant growth of ivy covers the tower. The tower at

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, which was the property of Blackrock Urban District Council, was formerly the clubhouse of the Seapoint Boat Club from 1916 to 1931, and was subsequently the headquarters of the

Genealogical Society of Ireland The Genealogical Society of Ireland ( ga, Cumann Geinealais na hÉireann) is a voluntary non-governmental organisation promoting the study of genealogy, heraldry, vexillology and social history in Ireland and amongst the Irish diaspora as open a ...

(GSI). The GSI vacated the tower when it found that the atmosphere was not conducive to the preservation of records. The restored tower at

Ilnacullin GarinishGarinish/Garinis

Glengarriff Glengarriff () is a village of approximately 140 people on the N71 national secondary road in the Beara Peninsula of County Cork, Ireland. Known internationally as a tourism venue, it has a number of natural attractions. It sits at the norther ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

. Several other towers are still extant, including one at

Rathmullan Rathmullan () is a seaside village and townland on the Fanad Peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated on the western shore of Lough Swilly, north-east of Ramelton and east of Milford. Rathmullan has historical significance as the sc ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

and two in

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

on the south coast of

Galway Bay Galway Bay (Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galwa ...

in the townlands of Finavarra and Aughinish. There is also an extant Martello tower located near the settlement of

Magilligan Point Magilligan () is a peninsula that lies in the northwest of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, at the entrance to Lough Foyle, within Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is an extensive coastal site, part British army firing range, par ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

, built between 1812 and 1871 to defend against a possible French invasion during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

; it is now a visitor attraction. A Martello-like tower was built on

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by ...

, according to local memory during the Napoleonic Wars. It is square rather than round, unlike the traditional Martello tower. This tower is known locally as the Gabhla Fhranca ("French Tower") or the Napoleonic Tower. It is marked on an 1838

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

chart and denoted "Signal Tower", suggesting it was used with a series of other stations for communication. The tower's position offers a view of the sea both to the north and south of the island and is therefore well-suited for that purpose. By the 1830s the tower was described as a "watch-house of the coast-guard."

Elsewhere

Antigua and Barbuda

The British originally constructed River Fort Martello Tower in the early 19th century, on the site of a previous fort (presumed to have been built by the Spanish) to guard nearby River Landing, which was

Barbuda Barbuda (), is an island located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the sovereign state of Antigua and Barbuda. It is located north of the island of Antigua and is part of the Leeward Islands of the West Indies. The island is a popular ...

's original quay. Confusion with the previous fort presumably explains the claims made in Barbudan tourism publications that this was the World's first, and is its oldest, Martello tower, built in 1745. The tower is located on the south coast of the island, a mile or so from River Landing and some seven miles south of the island's main village of Codrington. The tower is 56 feet high, has a raised gun platform and extremely thick walls, but is missing the floors. It the first such tower constructed in the Caribbean, was built in 1745 by

Sir William Codrington ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

, and was designed by Commodore Charles Knowles RN, later Admiral Sir Charles Knowles Bt, who was then commanding the Leeward Islands station. It is attached to what remains of the pre-existing fort. The tower mounted three cannon, and in all the fort mounted ten cannons, none of which remain. The tower is the highest building on Barbuda and serves as a

daymark A daymark is a navigational aid for sailors and pilots, distinctively marked to maximize its visibility in daylight. The word is also used in a more specific, technical sense to refer to a signboard or daytime identifier that is attached to a ...

from land or sea. Today the fort is a popular location for weddings.

Australia

The last Martello tower built in the British Empire is said to be that which composes a part of the larger

Fort Denison Fort Denison, part of the Sydney Harbour National Park, is a protected national park that is a heritage-listed former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north-east of the Royal Botanic Garden and approximat ...

, built on a small island, Pinchgut Island, in

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is the only Martello tower to have been built in Australia. Fortification of the island began in 1841 but was not completed. The construction had begun following an 1839 night-time incursion into

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Harbour by two American warships. Concern with the threat of foreign attack had caused the government to review the harbour's inner defences, which were found to be inadequate, and the establishment of a fort was recommended to help protect Sydney Harbour from attack by foreign vessels. Construction resumed in 1855 to provide Sydney with protection against the threat of a naval attack by the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

ns during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

of the 1850s. However, construction was completed only in 1857, well after the war had ended. Fort Denison is well preserved and is now a popular tourist attraction.

Bermuda

There is a Martello tower located at

Ferry Reach Ferry Reach is a three mile (five kilometre) long channel in the north-east of Bermuda, which lies between St. George's Island, Bermuda, St. George's Island in the north and St. David's Island, Bermuda, St. David's Island in the south south-west of ...

in St George's Parish. The tower is the third fortification on the site. Major Thomas Blanshard built it of Bermuda limestone between 1822 and 1823. The tower shows the effect of thirty years of evolution on the design of coastal fortifications, between the 1790s and 1822. The earlier Ferry Island Fort nearby had multiple guns arrayed to cover the water westward, while the Martello tower used a single gun with 360° traverse to cover all of the surrounding area. Like its predecessors in the UK, it has an ovoid footprint with the thickness of its walls ranging from nine to 11 feet. It is surrounded by a dry moat. The tower's purpose was to defend the Ferry Reach Channel and so impede any attack on St. George's Island from the main island of Bermuda, and attacking vessels from slipping through Castle Harbour and the channel between Ferry Reach and

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

. The main channel by which vessels reach most parts of Bermuda west of St. George's, including the Royal Naval Dockyard, on

, the

Great Sound The Great Sound is large ocean inlet (a sound) located in Bermuda. It may be the submerged remains of a Pre-Holocene volcanic caldera. Other geologists dispute the origin of the Bermuda Pedestal as a volcanic hotspot. Geography The Great Sound d ...

Hamilton Harbour Hamilton Harbour, formerly known as Burlington Bay, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington Ba ...

, The Flatts, Murray's Anchorage, and other important sites, carries them around the east ends of

St. David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, ...

and St. George's Islands, where the coastal artillery was always most heavily concentrated. Two more Martello towers to protect the Dockyard were planned, but never built. The tower was restored in 2008 and an 18-pounder cannon brought from

Fort St. Catherine Fort St. Catherine, or ''Fort St. Catherine's'' (as it is usually referred to), is a coastal artillery fort at the North-East tip of St. George's Island, Bermuda, St. George's Island, in the Imperial fortress British Overseas Territory, colony of ...

was mounted on top. The site is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday in the summer and in the winter by appointment only, by calling the Parks Department. It is part of the

Bermuda Railway The Bermuda Railway was a common carrier line that operated in Bermuda for a brief period (October 31, 1931 – May 1, 1948). In its 17 years of existence, the railway provided frequent passenger and freight service over its length spann ...

Trail.

British Virgin Islands

When the British rebuilt

Fort Recovery Fort Recovery was a United States Army fort ordered built by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne during what is now termed the Northwest Indian War. Constructed from late 1793 and completed in March 1794, the fort was built along the Wabash River, with ...

on the west end of

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

they added a Martello tower.

Canada

Nine of the fourteen Martello towers built in

still survive. (In addition, the existing fortifications at Fort Henry received two thin towers between 1845 and 1848. However, these are dry ditch defence towers, rather than true Martello towers.) A common characteristic of Canadian Martello towers was removable cone-shaped roofs to protect against snow. Today, many of the restored towers have permanent roof additions – for ease of upkeep, not historical accuracy. Tour Martello de Quebec numero 1 - 01

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

originally had four Martello towers. Tower No. 1 stands on the

Plains of Abraham The Plains of Abraham (french: Plaines d'Abraham) is a historic area within the Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, anada. It was established on 17 March 1908. The land is the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place ...

, overlooking the

St Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

. It has been restored as a museum and can be visited during the summer months. Tower no. 2 stands close nearby and currently hosts activities for private groups. Tower No. 3 was demolished in 1905 after being used as a residence. The

McKenzie Memorial Building Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to: People * Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Clan Mackenzie, a Sco ...

Jeffery Hale Hospital Jeffery Hale - Saint Brigid's is a publicly funded health establishment located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It provides a range of primary health care services to the population of Quebec's Capitale-Nationale (Greater Quebec City) region. H ...

now occupies the site. The fourth surviving Martello Tower in Quebec, No. 4, is located in a residential area on the north side of the Upper City overlooking Lower Town. It is now used as an escape game tourist activity by The National Battlefields Commission.

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, had five towers, the oldest of which, the

Prince of Wales Tower The Prince of Wales Tower is the oldest martello tower in North America and is located in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was built in 1796 by Captain James Straton and was used as a redoubt and a p ...

located in

Point Pleasant Park Point Pleasant Park is a large, mainly forested municipal park at the southern tip of the Halifax peninsula. It once hosted several artillery batteries, and still contains the Prince of Wales Tower - the oldest Martello tower in North America ( ...

, is the oldest Martello-style tower in North America. It was built in 1796 and was used as a redoubt and a powder magazine. Restored, it is now a National Heritage site. The

Duke of York Martello Tower Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

was built in 1798 at

York Redoubt York Redoubt is a redoubt situated on a bluff overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour at Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, originally constructed in 1793. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1962. History York Redoub ...

. Its lower level still stands, though it has been boarded up for conservation purposes. The Duke of Clarence Martello Tower stood on the Dartmouth shore.

Sherbrooke Martello Tower Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

stood opposite York Redoubt on

McNabs Island McNabs Island (formerly Cornwallis Island) is the largest island in Halifax Harbour located in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It played a major role in defending Halifax Harbour and is now a provincial park. The island was set ...

; it was demolished in 1944 and replaced by a concrete lighthouse at Maughers Beach. Another Martello tower stood on

Georges Island Georges Island, or George's Island, may refer to: Geography *Georges Island (Massachusetts), offshore from the city of Boston, Massachusetts *Georges Island (Nova Scotia), offshore from the community of Halifax in the Halifax Regional Municipali ...

. Four Martello towers were built at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

to defend its harbour and naval shipyards in response to the

Oregon Crisis The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in t ...

. Their builders intended for the towers to serve as redoubts against marine attacks.

Murney Tower Murney Tower is a Martello tower in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, whose construction dates to January 1846. The Tower was built in response to the Oregon Crisis, which was a tense dispute over the border between British North America and the United ...

and the tower at Point Frederick (at the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

) are now museums that are open during the summer. Shoal frederick

Fort Frederick has the most elaborate defences as it includes earthen ramparts and a limestone curtain wall. The

Shoal Tower Shoal Tower, originally known as Victoria Tower, is a Martello tower located in the harbour (Confederation Basin) of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, directly opposite Kingston City Hall. It is one of four such towers built in the 1840s to protect Kings ...

, the only tower completely surrounded by water, stands in Kingston's Confederation Basin. Since 2005, it is open to the public as part of

Doors Open ''Doors Open'' is a 2008 novel by crime writer Ian Rankin. It was his first stand-alone thriller in over 10 years. The story was originally published as a serial novel in ''The New York Times Magazine''. Plot outline Mike Mackenzie is a soft ...

Ontario for one day only in June each year.

Cathcart Tower Cathcart Tower is a Martello tower located on Cedar Island in the St. Lawrence River, off the eastern shore of Fort Henry in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is one of four such towers built in the 1840s to protect Kingston's harbour and the entran ...

, the fourth tower, stands unused on Cedar Island near Point Henry.

Carleton Martello Tower Carleton Martello Tower in Saint John, New Brunswick, is one of the nine surviving Martello Towers in Canada. The tower dates from the War of 1812 and played a significant role in conflicts until the Second World War. The site now features a resto ...

, overlooking the harbour of

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

, is now a museum and a National Historic Site. The Canadian Press reported on 16 April 2006 that the Canadian military has named a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

FOB Martello. The logo of the

International Hockey Hall of Fame The Original Hockey Hall of Fame, formerly the International Hockey Hall of Fame (IHHOF) is a museum dedicated to the history of ice hockey in Canada, located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The IHHOF was intended to be the original Hall of Fame fo ...

and Museum in

, features a Martello tower. Since the amalgamation of the Township of Kingston in 2000, the city's flag has also borne a Martello tower.

Guernsey

There are three similar Martello towers in

, all built in 1804:

Fort Grey Fort Grey, colloquially known as the "cup and saucer", is a Martello tower located on a tidal rock in Rocquaine Bay in Saint Peter, Guernsey on the west coast of the island. Château de Rocquaine The French name of the rock is the ''Château ...

Fort Hommet Fort Hommet (or Fort Houmet) is a fortification on Vazon Bay headland (or '' houmet'' in Guernésiais) in Castel, Guernsey. It is built on the site of fortifications that date back to 1680, and consists of a Martello tower from 1804, later additio ...

and

Fort Saumarez Fort Saumarez is a Martello tower in Saint Peter (Saint Pierre du Bois), Guernsey, on a headland that forms the northern tip of L'Erée and extends to the Lihou causeway. Martello tower The Martello tower was constructed on the site of an existi ...

.Clements (1998), p.83-90. In addition, there are a number of earlier towers in Guernsey (the

Guernsey loophole towers The British built 15 Guernsey loophole towers at various points along the coast of Guernsey between August 1778 and March 1779 to deter possible French attacks after France had declared itself an ally of the Americans in the American Revolutionary W ...

), that many people refer to as Martello towers, though they are not Martellos. They were built in the late 18th century, i.e., before the Martellos, and differ from them in a number of ways. One may think of them as precursors, like the

s they resemble. Lastly,

Bréhon Tower The Bréhon Tower (Fort Brehon) is accessible only by boat and sits on Bréhon Rock, an island in the Little Roussel, Little Russell channel about 1.5 km northeast of St Peter Port, Guernsey, between the port and the islands of Herm and Jeth ...

, built in 1856, is an oval tower that represents the final evolution of the Martello tower.

India

Although European in origin, a primitive form of Martello tower had existed in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

by the time it was conquered by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. There is a Martello Tower that the Portuguese built at the southern tip of the island where the

Arnala fort Arnala Fort is built on a Arnala island, small island off the port town of Arnala, located around 13 km (8 miles) north of Vasai, Bassein, Maharashtra, India. Being an island fort, it is also called Jaldurg or Janjire-Arnala. The Portugue ...

stands. The Portuguese are said to have built many of these towers, but Arnala's is the best surviving specimen. After the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, the British erected Martello towers at the

British Residency The British Residency (), also known as the Government Guest House or Residency Bungalow, is a two-storeyed palace situated at Asramam in the city of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. It lies close to the site of the old Kollam Airport situa ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, which were demolished in 1954. An earlier example of such is the one found in Pakur, a town in the state of Jharakhand. This tower was built in 1856 by Sir Martin with view to protect the British Raj from the

Santhals The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...

. It was an important position for the British forces watching fighting the rebellion of the Santhals. This example is reported to still be in good condition, but decaying due to a lack of maintenance.

Indonesia

The

1883 eruption of Krakatoa The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa ( id, Letusan Krakatau 1883) in the Sunda Strait occurred from 20 May until 21 October 1883, peaking in the late morning hours of 27 August when over 70% of the island of Krakatoa and its surrounding archipelago w ...

caused a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

that damaged Menara Martello, which the Dutch colonial government of the East Indies built in 1850 on Bidadari Island (Pulau Bidadari), one of the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu), as part of a set of fortifications built between 1850 and 1852 that protected the approaches to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

. Photos suggest that Martello Menara was not a true Martello, but rather a circular fort. The tower was operational until 1878, when it became a storage site, and was abandoned in 1908. Bidadari Island was also known as Pulau Sakit (Sick Island) as it housed a leper colony during the 17th century. More recently, the island came to be called "Angel Island", to honour the

leprosarium A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Af ...

that had been there. Other towers were built at Onrust, Kuiper (Cipir), and Kerkhof (Kelor) islands. All four were demolished in part or in whole after the advent of rifled guns made them obsolete.

Italy

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, during the British "Protectorate" of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

after the escape of the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

from Naples, Sicily began to build towers to resist an invasion by Napoleon's armies led by

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

. The new higher rate of fire of ships' guns led to the choice of the Martello tower as the model. The Sicilian Martello towers were built around 1810. The estimate rests on the historical context and on the descriptions of the topographer W.H. Smyth, who carried out his research in 1814 and 1815. Of the seven towers built in Sicily, only four remain. One is the Mazzone Tower (or the British Fort) at Faro Point, Messina. The second is the Magnisi tower at

Priolo Gargallo Priolo Gargallo ( Sicilian: ''Priolu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). It is about southeast of Palermo and about northwest of Syracuse. The name Priolo Gargallo comes from the nobleman Mar ...

, Syracuse. The Italian Navy used this tower as an observation post during the Second World War. Third is the Cariddi tower at Ganzirri in

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

. Lastly, the fourth tower is situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea from where it can defend the

Castello Maniace The Castello Maniace is a citadel and castle in Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy. It is situated at the far point of the Ortygia island promontory, where it was constructed between 1232 and 1240 by the Emperor Frederick II. It bears the name of G ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Jamaica

There is a Martello tower located at what was Fort Nugent. In 1709, the Spanish slave agent in Jamaica, James Castillo, built a fort in Harbour View, to guard his home against attack. An English Governor, George Nugent, later strengthened the fort to guard the eastern entrance of the city of Kingston Harbour. The tower was probably built between 1808 and 1811, at a reported cost of £12,000.

Jersey

The British built eight true Martello towers in

, three between 1808 and 1814, and five between 1834 and 1837, one of which, L'Etacq, the German occupation forces destroyed during World War II. The three original towers are: *

Icho Tower Icho or ICHO or IChO may refer to: * International Chemistry Olympiad The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual academic competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IChO was held ...

(1811) * Portelet Tower (1808) *

La Tour de Vinde La Tour de Vinde, (aka Noirmont Tower), is a Martello tower that the British erected between 1808 and 1810 to command the approaches to St Aubin's Bay, Jersey. The tower stands at the foot of the cliffs of Noirmont Point, in the Vingtaine de No ...

(AKA Noirmont; 1808–1814)Grimsley (1988), p.43. The four surviving, later towers are: *

Lewis Tower Aria (formerly known as the Lewis Tower Building) is a 33-story Art Deco skyscraper in Center City Philadelphia designed by the firm Edmund Gilchrist. History and architectural features An exceptionally slender building, is historic structure wa ...

(AKA St Ouen 1; 1835) *

Kempt Tower Kempt Tower, in La Grande Cueillette, Saint Ouen, Jersey, is also known as ''Saint Ouen No. 2'' and ''La Grôsse Tou'' in Jèrriais, and is a Martello tower that the British completed in 1834. It is named for Sir James Kempt, the Master-General o ...

(AKA St Ouen 2; 1834) * La Collette Tower – Absorbed into the 19th-century artificers' barracks and workshops *

Victoria Tower The Victoria Tower is a square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London, adjacent to Black Rod's Garden on the west and Old Palace Yard on the east. At , it is slightly taller than the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known a ...

(1837) In addition, there are a number of towers in Jersey (the

Jersey Round Tower Jersey is a heavily fortified island with coastal fortifications that date to the English Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars, and Nazi Germany's occupation of the Channel Islands. The fortifications include castles, forts, towers, Martello towers, ar ...

s), that are frequently referred to as Martello towers, though they are not Martellos. They were built in the late 18th century, i.e., before the Martellos, and differ from them in a number of ways. One may think of them as precursors, like the Genoese towers they resemble.

Malta

The British never built any true Martello Towers in Malta. However,

Madliena Tower Madliena Tower ( mt, Torri tal-Madliena), originally known as ''Torre della Paulina'', is a small watchtower in Madliena, limits of Pembroke, Malta. It was completed in 1658 as the fourth of the De Redin towers. The British built an artillery bat ...

, which was one of thirteen

De Redin towers The De Redin Towers ( mt, Torrijiet ta' De Redin) are a series of small coastal watchtowers built in Malta by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between 1658 and 1659. Thirteen towers were built around the coast of Malta (island), mainl ...

built in Malta in 1658–1659, began to be used as if it was a Martello Tower and it is sometimes considered as such. Various modifications were made, including mounting a 64-pound rifled muzzle loading (RML) gun on the roof for coastal defence. From the late 19th century onwards it defended part of the

Victoria Lines The Victoria Lines, originally known as the North West Front, are a line of fortifications that spans 12 kilometres along the width of Malta, dividing the north of the island from the more heavily populated south. Location The Victoria Lines ru ...

. The tower remained in use until World War II. It still stands today, despite having some minor modifications to its original structure, and it was recently restored.

Mauritius

The British built five Martello Towers between 1832 and 1835 at Grand River North West (2), Black River (2), and Port Louis (1), of which three survive. One tower, named Cunningham Tower after Lieutenant-Colonel Cunningham, the commanding Royal Engineer, was constructed as part of Fort George at the northern side of the entrance to Port Louis harbour. Two towers were built at Grand River North West; on the south-west side of the river bay the tower was built at Pointe aux Sables whilst Fort Victoria was built covering the north-eastern flank. The remaining two were built to support existing batteries, which were also improved, at the mouth of the Black River; one to the north at La Preneuse and the other south of Grande-Rivière-Noire at Batterie de l'Harmonie. Cunningham Tower disappeared after 1914. The Tower at Fort Victoria was last mentioned in 1880. In 1865, the ''Mauritius Almanac and Civil Service Register'' listed "Two Artillery Men, at 1 s each per diem", for the towers at Fort George and Grand River. The Friends of the Environment have restored one Martello tower near the La Preneuse public beach, in the Rive Noire/Black River district. The Friends operate it as a museum for visitors. The original entrance to the tower is raised above ground but a new entrance has been constructed at ground level. The other tower in Rive Noire/Black River district '' ’Harmonie' still exists but has remained neglected for many years. The other existing tower is at Pointe aux Sables, Grand River North West. Canon martello tower mauritius

Sierra Leone

A Martello tower was built on Tower Hill at

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

in 1805 to defend the port from attacks by the

Temne people The Temne, also called Atemne, Témené, Temné, Téminè, Temeni, Thaimne, Themne, Thimni, Timené, Timné, Timmani, or Timni, are a West African ethnic group, They are predominantly found in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.

. It was significantly modified in 1870 when it was truncated to allow the installation of a water tank to supply Government House (Fort Thornton) with water. The tower has now been incorporated into Sierra Leone's Parliament Buildings.

South Africa

The British built three Martello towers in

, one at Simon's Town Naval base near

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, one at Cape Town, and the third at

Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort (Xhosa: iBhofolo) is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the confluen ...

. The tower at Simon's Town and Cape Town were both built in 1795. The tower at Cape Town was demolished over 100 years ago, but the tower at Simon's Town now is sometimes claimed as the oldest Martello in the world. It is arguable as to whether one should properly call it a Martello Tower. That said, Vice Admiral

George Elphinstone George Elphinstone of Blythswood (died 1634) was a Scottish landowner, courtier, and Provost of Glasgow. Life George Elphinstone was the son of George Elphinstone of Blythswood (died 2 April 1585), a leading Glasgow merchant and shipowner, and ...

, who commanded the force that captured the colony and then served briefly as its governor, had served with the Mediterranean fleet off Corsica in 1794. The British built the tower at Fort Beaufort in 1837, and it is probably the only example of an inland Martello tower.

Spain

During the last period of British occupation (1798–1802) of

, Sir Charles Stuart, the then British governor, ordered Engineer Captain Robert D'Arcy to build some 12 Martello towers along the coast. These, when added to the three Spanish towers already in place, gave Menorca 15 towers. The British built five towers to protect

Mahón Mahón (), officially Maó (), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the archipelago and autonomous communi ...

: Phillipet on Lazareto Island, Cala Taulera (St. Clair) and Los Freus (Erskine) on the peninsula of La Mola, Stuart's Tower, and a tower on the Punta de Sant Carlos, which the Spanish destroyed when they took regained possession of Menorca. To the northwest of Mahón the British built two more towers, Sa Torreta and Sa Mezquita. One tower, the Princess Tower, or the Erskine Tower, was incorporated into the

Fortress of Isabel II A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, built between 1850 and 1875. The tower was converted to a powder magazine, which led to its destruction in 1958, when lightning struck the tower. The explosion destroyed the tower, blowing out large sections of its walls. Sanitja tower

The British erected Stuart's Tower in 1798 on Turks Hill or Hangman's Hill to the south of the port of

at San Esteban or Saint Stephen's bay on the southern side of the

Fortress of San Felipe A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. In 1756 and again in 1781, batteries on the hill had supported successful attacks on the Fortress. The tower was built both to secure the hill and protect the entrance to the bay. The tower's name was later changed to Torre d'en Penjat, or Hangman's Tower. To protect the harbor of Fornells, the British built a tower on the rocky headland overlooking the harbor's mouth, and a small tower on the island of Sargantana. They complemented these two towers with two more small towers nearby, one at Sa Nitsa and one at Addaya. Lastly, the British built one tower at Santandria to protect the old capital of Ciutadella. In addition to the 12 towers that they built, the British made use of three towers that the Spanish had built earlier.Grundy (1991). In 1781, Captain Francisco Fernandez de Angulo had built towers south of Port Mahon at Punta Prima and Alcufar, based on the design of those that the Spanish had built in Gando,

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

, in 1740. At Ciutadella the British used the St. Nicholas's Tower, built in 1690. The

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

returned Menorca to Spain in 1802. Around 1804, the Spanish built a tower at Punta Na Radona to protect the beach at Son Bou, Menorca. In 1808, Captain Lord Cochrane, commanding the 38-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, sent ashore a landing party that destroyed the unarmed tower. (

Frederick Marryat Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July 1792 – 9 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer, a novelist, and an acquaintance of Charles Dickens. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel ...

, later a naval captain and author, was serving as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

aboard ''Imperieuse'' at the time.) (This fort has 17 walls.) There are also four towers on the island of

Formentera Formentera (, ) is the smallest and most southerly island of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising Ibiza and Formentera, as well as various small islets), which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain). It covers an area of ...

, and one on the nearby island of S'Empalmador (). Torre Martello San Julian Cartagena

Another tower was erected by English troops stationed in the fortress of Cartagena, 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 ...

. The tower was erected in the center of 1799 fort, in mount St. Julian, dominating port and mouth. In the summer of 1812 English engineers destroyed the fort and erected a tower. The later constructions that gave rise to the present fortress of San Julián is still in good condition and is used as a base for telephone aerials and antennas. The interior, which is only accessible to technicians, is supposedly well preserved.

Saint Helena

There is a Martello tower at

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

that was incorporated into

High Knoll Fort High Knoll Fort is a redoubt-style fort of the English East India Company on Saint Helena, an island and British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. High Knoll is above sea level and is approximately one mile (1.6km) south of histo ...

. The tower was very similar in design to the tower at Simon's Town, with a diameter of about and a height of approximately .

Sri Lanka

has one

Martello tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

, located at

Hambantota Hambantota ( si, හම්බන්තොට, ta, அம்பாந்தோட்டை) is the main town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri LankaThe prominent Malays (මැලේ) most part of the population is to be partly des ...

on the south coast, which was restored in 1999. This tower may have been involved in repelling a French attack though there is nothing more than circumstantial support for the notion. British engineers commenced work on three towers to protect

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

but never completed them.

United States

The

government built several Martello towers at locations along the eastern seaboard. Two are at

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

; others were built at the harbours of

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Two more Martello towers stood at

Tybee Island, Georgia Tybee Island is a city and a barrier island located in Chatham County, Georgia, 18 miles (29 km) east of Savannah, United States. Though the name "Tybee Island" is used for both the island and the city, geographically they are not identical ...

and Bayou Dupre,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Although the Americans copied the design from the towers the British erected in Canada, the American Martello towers differed in some significant respects from the British. The Martello tower built at

was constructed around 1815 utilizing wood and

tabby A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, d ...

, a common local building material at the time, instead of the brick or stone that the British towers used. Also unlike the British towers, the Tybee tower featured

gun loops An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

on the garrison floor that enabled

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

s to be fired through the walls. It was never tested in battle and by the time of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

was in a state of disrepair. Its unfamiliar design confused local writers, who often said that the Spanish had built the tower when Georgia was Spain's colony. The Key West towers, though the locals refer to them as Martellos, were square instead of round and had thin walls with long gun loops. In addition, a curtain wall of heavy guns encircled the Key West towers making them, effectively, keeps instead of standalone towers. A Martello tower figures in the arms of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the United States Army.

List of Martello towers outside Great Britain

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * Abram, David (2003) ''The Rough Guide to Corsica'' Rough Guides. * Bolton, J., Carey, T., Goodbody, R. & Clabby, G. (2012) The Martello Towers of Dublin. (Dublin: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown & Fingal County Council). * Brock, B.B. & Brock, B.G. (1976) ''Historical Simon's Town''. (Cape Town). * Ciucevich, Robert A. (2005) ''Tybee Island: The Long Branch of the South'' (Arcadia Publishing). * Clements, William H. (1998) ''Towers of Strength: Story of Martello Towers''. (London: Pen & Sword). . * * Grimsley, E.J. (1988) ''The Historical Development of the Martello Tower in the Channel Islands''. (Sarnian Publications). * * * * * * Rooke, Octavius (1857) ''The Channel islands: pictorial, legendary and descriptive''. * Saunders, Ivan J. (1976) "A History of the Martello Towers in the Defence of British North America, 1796–1871", ''Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History'' #15, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, Thorn Press Limited. * Sutcliffe, Sheila (1973) ''Martello Towers''. (Cranbury, NJ: Associated Universities Press). * Vigano, M. (2001) ''Fort'' (

Fortress Study Group The Fortress Study Group is a charity registered in the UK with an international membership. Its purpose is advancing the study of post-medieval artillery fortifications throughout the World. History The Fortress Study Group was formed in June 1 ...

) 29. *

External links

Martello Towers Encyclopedia

Martello Tower No.24 in Dymchurch, Kent

YouTube video showing a 3D reconstruction of a Martello tower

English Heritage Report into Martello Towers on the East Coast of England

Location list and explanatory article of most Martello towers in the UK, with pictures

Carleton Martello Tower National Historic Site of Canada

The Dymchurch tower: English Heritage

Note on Sir John Moore
– pictures of the original tower at Mortella
Mortella Point (Punta Mortella) in Corsica
– the ancestor of Martello towers all over the world
Restoration of an Irish Martello tower
''The Genie Gazette'', Newsletter of th
Genealogical Society of Ireland
Seapoint Martello Tower, County Dublin
Eastbourne Redoubt Fortress Military Museum
{{Fortifications , state=expanded Coastal fortifications Forts in Key West, Florida Round towers