Jesuit Hill Battery

Jesuit Hill Battery (Maltese: Batterija tal-Għolja tal-Ġiżwiti), also known as Jesuit Battery or Point Cortin Battery, was an artillery battery in Marsa, Malta, built by Maltese insurgents during the French blockade of 1798–1800. It was part of a chain of batteries, redoubts and entrenchments encircling the French positions in Marsamxett and the Grand Harbour.

Jesuit Hill Battery
Batterija tal-Għolja tal-Ġiżwiti
Part of the French blockade batteries
Marsa, Malta
Reconstruction of Jesuit Hill Battery by Stephen C. Spiteri at the Fortifications Interpretation Centre
Map of Jesuit Hill Battery and Marsa Battery
Coordinates35°52′57.4″N 14°29′52.9″E
TypeArtillery battery
Site history
Built1799
Built byMaltese insurgents
In use1799–1800
MaterialsLimestone
FateDemolished
Battles/warsSiege of Malta (1798–1800)

History

Description

The battery was built on high ground known as Jesuit Hill. Marsa Battery was located nearby on lower ground close to the shoreline. The battery was small, and consisted of a small masonry parapet with two embrasures, a magazine grafted into the terrace on one side, and a flanking rubble wall on the other. The magazine was camouflaged and protected by a thick layer of soil. A large building at the rear served as barracks or a blockhouse. The battery was considered as an advanced post of the Tas-Samra Camp and was manned by men from Qormi. It was armed with two cannon.[1]

Use and dismantlement

The battery fired its first shot on 5 April 1799.[1]

Like the other French blockade fortifications, Jesuit Hill Battery was dismantled, possibly sometime after 1814. No traces of the battery can be seen today, and the area is now heavily industrialized. The site of the battery was later occupied by the Marsa Power Station.[2]

References
  1. Stroud, John. "The Maltese Army of 1798". On Parade: 38. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  2. Spiteri, Stephen C. (May 2008). "Maltese 'siege' batteries of the blockade 1798-1800" (PDF). Arx - Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification (6): 36. Retrieved 30 March 2015.


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