And, finally, just next to Battery Farnsworth we have the remains of Walbach Tower. This was a Martello Tower built in 1814 by General John Baptiste de Barth Walbach (1766-1857), who, in charge of Portsmouth's defenses during the War of 1812 (1812-1815), became convinced that the British might attack Fort Constitution by landing on a nearby (undefended) beach.
The Martello Tower, so named because it was based on a fortification at Mortella Point on the Mediterranean island of Corsica that the British had a difficult time defeating in 1794, was a popular and relatively inexpensive fortification scheme used throughout the British Empire in the first half of the 19th century.
The Martello Tower, so named because it was based on a fortification at Mortella Point on the Mediterranean island of Corsica that the British had a difficult time defeating in 1794, was a popular and relatively inexpensive fortification scheme used throughout the British Empire in the first half of the 19th century.
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