Other towers of the same kind were erected on various parts of the
coast where the shore was low, in other parts of England, but more
particularly in the counties of Sussex and Suffolk. Towers of this
construction appear to have been adopted, owing to the resistance that
was made by the Tower of Martella, in the Island of Corsica, to the
British forces under Lord Hood and General Dundas, in 1794. This tower
which was built in the form of an obtruncated cone--like the body of a
windmill--was situated in Martella, or Martle Bay. As it rendered the
landing of the troops difficult, Commodore Linzee anchored in the bay to
the westward, and there landed the troops on the evening of the 7th of
February, taking possession of a height that commanded the tower. As the
tower impeded the advance of the troops, it was the next day attacked
from the bay by the vessels _Fortitude_ and _Juno_; but after a
cannonade of two hours and a half, the ships were obliged to haul off,
the _Fortitude_ having sustained considerable damage from red-hot shot
discharged from the tower. The tower, after having been cannonaded from
the height for two days, surrendered; rather, it would appear, from the
alarm of the garrison, than from any great injury that the tower had
sustained.
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