Capuchin Convent Battery

Artillery battery in Kalkara, Malta
35°53′10.2″N 14°31′59.5″E / 35.886167°N 14.533194°E / 35.886167; 14.533194TypeArtillery batterySite historyBuilt1799Built byMaltese insurgents or Great BritainIn use1799–1800MaterialsLimestoneFateDemolishedBattles/warsSiege of Malta (1798–1800)

Capuchin Convent Battery (Maltese: Batterija tal-Kunvent tal-Kapuċċini), also known as Kalkara Battery (Maltese: Batterija tal-Kalkara),[1] was an artillery battery in Kalkara, 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.

The church within the Capuchin convent near which the battery was built

Capuchin Convent Battery was built overlooking Kalkara Creek. The battery was located adjacent to a Capuchin convent which had been built between 1736 and 1743.[2] The convent sheltered it from bombardment from the nearby Cottonera Lines and the Post of Castile. It was medium-sized, and it blocked a country lane which led towards the creek. Its armament is not known.

The battery was possibly built by Alexander Ball. Construction started in January 1799, and was completed within a month.[1]

Like the other French blockade fortifications, the battery was dismantled, possibly sometime after 1814. No traces of the battery can be seen today, but the convent still exists, although it has been modified.[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Capuchin Convent Battery.
  1. ^ a b Stroud, John. "The Maltese Army of 1798". On Parade: 38. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  2. ^ Scerri, John. "Kalkara". malta-canada.com. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  3. ^ Spiteri, Stephen C. (May 2008). "Maltese 'siege' batteries of the blockade 1798-1800" (PDF). Arx - Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification (6): 28. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
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Batteries in Malta
Sovereign Military Order of Malta Sovereign Military
Order of Malta National Congress
BattalionsUnited Kingdom British Empire
^ Demolished/ruins
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Background
Occupation
Siege of Malta
Fortifications
French
Maltese
& British
Notable figures
French
Maltese
British
Aftermath


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