Princess Amelia's Battery is an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the country's land area. It was established as the Upper Rock Nature Rese ...

, adjacent to Gun No. 4 of

Princess Anne's Battery Princess Anne's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above Princess Caroline's Battery. It was named after Anne, ...

. It was named after

Princess Amelia of Great Britain Princess Amelia Sophia Eleonore of Great Britain (10 June 1711 ( Old Style and New Style dates, New Style) – 31 October 1786) was the second daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Queen Caroline. Early life Princess Amelia was born ...

, the second daughter of

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

. It was formerly referred to as the 2nd Willis's Battery. The plateau and its batteries had previously been named after an artillery officer by the name of Willis who was outstanding during the

capture of Gibraltar The Capture of Gibraltar by Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1 and 4 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Since the beginning of the war the Alliance had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Penins ...

in 1704. Princess Amelia's Battery saw action during the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had end ...

, during which it sustained substantial damage. Little remains of the original site, aside from two derelict buildings. The battery is listed with the

Gibraltar Heritage Trust The Gibraltar Heritage Trust is a non-profit charity established by statute on 1 May 1989 to preserve and promote the cultural natural heritage of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Funding and responsibilities The Trust collaborates wit ...

Early history

Princess Amelia's Battery is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. The artillery battery is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above

Princess Caroline's Battery Princess Caroline's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, at the junction of Willis's Road and Queen's Road, Gibraltar, Queen's Road. The ...

and adjacent to the fourth gun of Princess Anne's Battery. Both Princess Amelia's Battery and the adjacent Gun No. 4 are on higher ground than that of Guns No. 1 through 3 of Princess Anne's Battery. The site was initially known as the 2nd Willis's Battery. The Willis's Batteries were constructed at the area of the former Reduto ( en,

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 ...

) de San Joachim, at an elevation of 440 feet above the isthmus. During the capture of Gibraltar in 1704, an artillery officer by the name of Willis was outstanding in his manning of the guns. To honor the officer, the Batteries of San Joachim and the Bastion of San Jose were renamed Willis's. The site was renamed again after Princess Amelia (1711 – 1786), the second daughter of King George II. The proximity of the battery to Princess Anne's Battery is such that the latter is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Princess Amelia's Battery. Princess Amelia's Battery was one of several on Willis's Plateau that also included Princess Anne's Battery and

Princess Royal's Battery Princess Royal's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just southeast of Princess Anne's Battery. Formerly known ...

. Princess Amelia's Battery was first armed in 1732. Three decades later, during the Spanish War of 1762, there were six cannons at the battery, four 6-pounders and two 9-pounders. By 1771, Princess Amelia's Battery had five

embrasures 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 ...

directed in front and three additional cannons. There were half a dozen guns behind embrasures by 1773. Several years later, during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, many of the emplacements on Willis's Plateau, including those of Princess Amelia's Battery, sustained severe damage. Of the

fortifications of Gibraltar The Gibraltar peninsula, located at the far southern end of Iberia, has great strategic importance as a result of its position by the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has repeatedly been contested bet ...

, the batteries on Willis's Plateau received the brunt of the attack from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

during the siege. Gilbard and Drinkwater Bethune, among others, related the story of a shot which found its way through an embrasure in Princess Amelia's Battery, hitting four of the soldiers, and amputating between three and seven lower extremities in the process, depending on the source.

Recent history

Two derelict buildings remain at the site of Princess Amelia's Battery, which is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

References

External links

Google map of Princess Amelia's Battery

Photograph of two buildings at Princess Amelia's Battery

Diagram of position of Princess Amelia's Battery relative to other batteries
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017 Batteries in Gibraltar Coastal artillery