Rochefort-sur-mer

Rochefort-sur-mer, a French seaport, naval arsenal, and fortress of the first class, in the department of Charente-Inférieure, stands on the right bank of the Charente, 9 miles from its mouth, and 18 miles SSE. of Rochelle, 89 SW. of Poitiers. It was founded in 1665 as a naval station by Colbert, Louis XIV.'s minister, and fortified by Vauban, being covered now on the sea side by strong forts; and it is a modern, clean, well-built place, with which few French towns can compare for the number and importance of its public works. The most celebrated of these is the naval hospital (1783-88), with nearly 1300 beds, and an artesian well 2758 feet deep. There are both a naval harbour and, higher up the river, a commercial harbour with three basins; and Rochefort besides possesses rope-walks, cannon-foundries, and other establishments for the manufacture and preservation of naval stores and marine apparatus of every kind. From 1777 till 1852 it was the seat of a great convict prison. Napoleon meant to take ship for America at Rochefort, but instead had to surrender to Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon, 15th July 1815. Pop. (1872) 26,619; (1891) 32,445. See Vaud and Fleury's Histoire de Rochefort.