Bored sentries left their marks
WTDNJul09_Feature_FtCharlotteGraffiti
Bored sentries left their marks
Graffiti may be an unwelcome sight on walls and buildings, but at Fort Charlotte it’s a window into the past.
Visitors to the massive 18th-century fort, which crowns the bluff opposite Arawak Cay, will see more than antique cannon. Look closely along the limestone ramparts and you will see graffiti carved by British West India Regiment soldiers stationed there almost 200 years ago.
The young sentries marked time by carving their names, initials, dates, symbols and pictures of ships and flags. Because Fort Charlotte never fired a gun in anger, these engravings serve as a reminder of another enemy that these soldiers faced—boredom.
One can only imagine what life was like for the troops on duty there. They had to while away endless hours under the hot Bahamian sun and long nights, maintaining a constant vigil for an attack that never came. The size and detail of the carvings illustrate how bored the soldiers were.
“Some of the engravings are half an inch deep,” says local history buff Capt Paul Aranha. “Whoever did them must have had a lot of time.”
A particularly elaborate inscription can still be plainly seen at the corner of the fort’s northern wall on the terreplein, or gun platform, overlooking the western approaches to the harbour. It reads: “A Danidous L’Emigrantou Polskuh bylo lu 19 (december) 1835,” which translates as “A Danidous, Polish emigrant, was here December 19, 1835.” Next to this are several other etchings made by a W Edwards, RA (Royal Artillery), 1840; J Morgan, RA; and T Brownlee, 1840. Another person scraped his name, Hobbs, upside down.
Renderings of the Union Jack adorn the walls throughout Fort Charlotte, along with detailed carvings of ships with masts, sails, rigging and cannon. Many of the inscriptions are from the 1830s to 1850s, but a few date back to 1796, not long after the fort was completed in 1789.
Governor Lord Dunmore built Fort Charlotte when Europe was embroiled in the French revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars. Nassau was a tiny colonial outpost then with few defences, and the British feared that Napoleon’s forces would invade. Until then, only two forts defended the harbour—Fort Nassau, now the site of the British Colonial Hilton hotel, and Fort Montagu, east of town, the only fort that ever saw action. “Three times [Fort Montagu] defended the island,” says Aranha, “and three times it lost.”
With Fort Nassau crumbling, Lord Dunmore decided to build Fort Charlotte, named in honour of King George III’s wife. Unlike the smaller forts Nassau and Montagu, Fort Charlotte was made from blocks cut out of the rock, with thick walls that could withstand cannon fire.
The construction of Fort Charlotte was not without controversy. In 1790, the Secretary at War ordered Dunmore to stop building the fort. But Dunmore ignored the order.
“The Secretary sent someone out to investigate,” explains Aranha, “because England was afraid Dunmore was squandering their money.” That agent was Lieutenant of Engineers D’Arcy, who sent a scathing report back to his superiors.
The Fort Charlotte complex is actually three forts. Charlotte is the largest section. The middle part is Fort Stanley, and just behind that is Fort D’Arcy, the least developed of the three.
Dunmore reserved 100 acres around the fort to prevent the building of houses there. “He recognized that if there were people living between the fort and the harbour, they were going to be in trouble if war broke out,” says Aranha. This open area between the fort and West Bay Street is now known as Clifford Park.
With nothing to do but carve graffiti and worry about catching Yellow Jack, many soldiers succumbed to another foe. Rum was plentiful in Nassau and a welcome distraction for idle young men. But if it wasn’t distilled properly, it was poisonous. They chanced that risk, though, because many believed that drinking rum prevented yellow fever.
Fort Charlotte’s 42 heavy guns may have never been fired in war, but they spoke during the odd drill and other occasions. Old letters report “the firing of a morning and evening gun” and of a “noon gun and nine o’clock gun.” Salutes were also fired to commemorate major British military victories and to mark the birthdays of the king and queen.
Today a few black cannon maintain a silent vigil over Nassau Harbour, and all the original graffiti artists are long gone.
A visit to Fort Charlotte is a must-see for history lovers. It is open seven days a week, from 8am to 4pm. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children and $3 for seniors.
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