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The position is a good one for the defence of the entrance and passage of the Narrows, and the guns support Fort Amherst.

Appendix No. 4.

A p

In 1862 it was repaired and fitted for four 32-pounder 58-cwt. guns, viz., 1 traversing and 3 on NEWFOUNDLAND. platforms.

There is no expense magazine for this battery, as it was intended that the shell-filling room should Magazine. be capable of containing a few cases of powder.

There is a small wooden guard-house adjoining this battery, intended to accommodate 4 men. Guard-house The battery platforms and buildings are in a bad state of repair.

10. Chain Rock Battery.

This battery is situated on a small projecting rock about 15 feet above the water, at the narrowest No. 8 on Map 2.* part of the channel, at a distance of about 800 yards from the entrance to the Narrows.

The parapet is from 10 to 12 feet thick, and about 7 feet high, with embrasures for two guns on ground platforms and one gun on a traversing platform. The original armament of the battery was three 32-pounder guns.

The fire from this battery would command that part of the Narrows which does not come under the fire of the guns in the Queen's Battery.

The position is in some respects a good one, but the guns are too low, and the interior space so confined that the defenders would soon be driven out and the guns silenced.

There is a small expense magazine, built of wood, under the parapet, which would probably hold Magazine. about 64 barrels of powder.

A small wooden guard-house adjoins the battery, which is capable of accommodating 4 men.

The battery and buildings are all in a bad state of repair.

Guard-house.

11. Frederick's Battery,

This battery continues to be shown on charts as if it were still in existence. It was situated on See Map 2.* the south side of the Narrows, commanding the entrance, but has long been abandoned, and at the present time all traces of the original work have disappeared.

12. Quiddy Viddy Battery.

This was a small two-gun battery, constructed to defend the entrance to Quiddy Viddy Harbour, No. 11, see Map 2.* and is situated at a height of about 66 feet above the sea. It is about half-a-mile to the northward of

Signal Hill and one and a-half miles from St. John's.

This battery, which consists simply of a low stone parapet, is not self-defensible, and probably was never intended to do more than watch the landing-place and cover the flank of the position on Signal Hill.

One of the disadvantages of its position is that it is liable to be taken in reverse by an enemy landing at Cuckold's Cove, which is practicable for small boats in nearly all weathers.

This battery has little effective range beyond the entrance to Quiddy Viddy Gut, and in the event

of an enemy landing in Quiddy Viddy Harbour its usefulness will be limited to a very few minutes.

It must, however, be considered as a very necessary defence at this most vulnerable point.

There is no expense magazine attached to this battery, but there is a small shell-filling room which No magazine. would probably hold sufficient ammunition for the two guns-about fifty rounds.

About 20 yards in rear of the parapet is a small wooden building, intended to afford accom- Guard-house. modation for the guard for the battery-about 6 men. This is now in occupation, but requires repairs.

13. Fort William.

This was the first work constructed for the protection of the town and harbour of St. John's, and No. 3 on Map 2.* was principally intended as a defence against a land attack.

It was taken by the French in 1761, and recaptured in the following year by Colonel Amherst, who, by constructing batteries which commanded it within 600 yards, soon rendered it untenable. It was condemned afterwards as a land defence, and at the present time there are but few traces of the old works remaining. It was, however, retained as a sea battery, and mounted three or four old 18-pounder guns.

The battery is situated at an elevation of about 106 feet above the water, at a distance of about 2,000 yards from the entrance to the Narrows, and bears directly upon the narrowest part of the channel between the Chain and Pancake Rocks.

There is a small splinter-proof magazine under the parapet, but it does not appear to have Magazine. been used as such for many years, and there is reason to suppose that it was abandoned on account of damp.

Accommodation for 3 officers and 123 men was provided in the barracks within this fort, but with Barracks the exception of the Commandant's quarters the buildings are of wood, and in such a bad state of repair that they were condemned as barracks many years before the troops left the Colony. The Commandant's quarters are built of stone, and are in fair condition, being now in the occupation of civilians.

14. Fort Townshend.

This fort was commenced in the year 1762, and constructed with a rampart, ditch, and covered No. 1 on Map 2 * way, with bomb-proofs for men and stores. It is situated at an elevation of about 200 feet above

* Not printed.

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