Gordon:

Yes the site for the fort is huge. For some idea of the scope of the construction project, think about this.....

The first thing done was to cut down ALL the trees for a four mile radius, for use in the building project, and to clear the gound so no enemy force could get close, without being seen from the walls. The parade square, inside the inner bastion, is about 400 feet wide by 1,000 feet long. The lower bastion, nearer the south end of the site, is even bigger.

The fort has it's own protected water access point, in case of a seige, and there are seven outlying Martello Towers, around the Kingston harbour that have all round gunports to give interlocking fields of fire support to the fort's approaches. Any infantry attackers would have to attack up a steep hill, and the profile of the fort is such that only about the top 5 feet of the walls are visible to artillery spotters. Once into the moat, the attackers would be faced with hidden canons and rifle ports, and dropping portcullis gates to keep them bottled up.

Jim Bunting. Toronto,