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The cape
The promontory was practically insurmountable, so only the west was fortified
Samuel de Champlain identified the strategic value of Cap Diamant in 1608 and founded Quebec City at the base of the escarpment. The only side ever heavily fortified was the west, the one side not protected by the hill.
The star fort
The present fort was built from 1820 to 1850 against an American attack
Lieutenant-Colonel Elias Walker Durnford of the Royal Engineers directed the work. The fort is an uneven star with four bastions and three straight curtain walls, all built of locally quarried sandstone.
The residence
Lord Dufferin kept the fort and made it a residence
The British left in 1871. The Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, the governor general, helped preserve the fortifications and made the Citadelle a viceregal residence in 1872. The Officer's Barracks of 1831 is still a residence of the governor general.
The gun
A cannon is fired from the fort every day at noon
Two guns were once fired each day, at noon and at the curfew for soldiers in the city. The tradition has continued since 1871, save for between 1994 and 2008. Since 1920 the fort has been home to the Royal 22e Régiment.
1775
In 1775 an American assault on Quebec failed at the old defences
After seizing Montreal, American rebels led by Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold attempted to take Quebec on 31 December. Montgomery was killed and Arnold wounded. The Americans withdrew in the spring of 1776, when British reinforcements arrived.
Day 1, afternoon
It comes after Ramparts of Old Quebec. Then Terrasse Dufferin.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Citadelle of Quebec, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.