A year passed between the two attacks of 1692 and 1693. Brouillan took advantage of this time to reinforce his defensive positions. In a letter dated September 25, he announced to the minister the construction, in the north-east corner of the fort, of a powder- magazine 14 feet 65 square. It was solidly built with a vaulted roof. Furthermore, he also asked permission to erect a redoubt on the hill (next to the Gaillardin) overlooking the fort; and he also asked that tiles or slates be sent for the roofs of the magazines and barracks. On February 25, 1693, the king responded to his request. Aboard the Loire, he sent him 20 recruits, four cannons, some arms, munitions, etc. He also gave categorical instructions concerning the fortifications. His Majesty wanted the post to be "si bien fortifiez, que les Anglais n'oseront plus songer a les insulter." In order to give more help in the carrying out of his instructions, the Court ordered every ship going to Placentia to carry one or two barrels of lime for the fortifications, as the lime available in the country was of poor quality.

With the arrival of the spring reinforcements, the governor had already begun to have the redoubt on the mountain constructed when the English attack of 1693 began. In order to improve the defence of this incompleted redoubt, Brouillan had a platform made and, with the help of purchase tackles and hoists, had a culverin with 10 pounds of balls and a battery of four cannons (lxlo, lx8, 2x2) mounted. Then, on August 30, he saw to it that a post made of pickets was constructed within musket shot of the redoubt. These were the only defence works carried out in 1693.

Once the attack was over, the governor was once again faced with the same problem: the militia was not very skilled in battle, as they did not know how to use the arms at their disposal; the inhabitants refused to work on the fortifications, or demanded to be compensated; the soldiers deserted their posts. So Brouillan continued to ask for help, he asked for more cannons, more soldiers, a chain 100 fathoms long and "C-gale en grosseur ! celle de Brest" as well as four large buoys to close the entrance to the port. On December 14, 1693, as the difficulties were too great, and there was a lack of cooperation on the part of the population, the governor announced a cessation of the work being done on the redoubt.

Completion of Construction: 1694

On March 10, the King made a fresh attempt. He ordered Brouillan to finish the redoubt that he had begun building on the hill, as well as the barracks, the magazine and the cavalier. Furthermore, he hoped that Fort Louis would be completely enclosed as soon as possible. The mother country announced that 40 new recruits, two cannons and one mortar were being sent to help in these defence works. However, rather than receiving 1500 pounds for the fortifications, the colony only received 1146, as the cost of the troops' clothing coming from Rochefort was deducted from the original amount.

Saint-Clair was given the task of transporting this reinforcement. It is probable that the engineer, L'Hermitte, came to Placentia in 1694 aboard one of the ships in this squadron. As soon as he arrived, this engineer, who was named adjutant of the island the following year, worked so well at the fortification of the place that within a few months Brouillan could inform the king that Fort Louis was enclosed and that his covered road would soon be finished. The supplies store was made of a basic framework caulked with lime and sand with a vaulted roof, which was "sa derniare perfection" and could contain 500 quintals of bread. As for the redoubt, it was finished according to the first phase of the plan. It was situated in a place that was practically inaccessible to the enemy as well as being an ideal place from which to cover the roadstead, the port and the fort. As far as the defence of the gut is concerned, the English captain, Fogg, claimed that it was protected by a chain as well as cables. We doubt it, since the same year the governor of Placentia repeated his request to the Court to have a 100-fathom-long chain sent to him.

The Barren Years: 1695-96

In the summer of 1695, the drought forced Brouillan to suspend work on the redoubt so as to improve the interior of the place. The other work projects did not proceed any more rapidly because of the lack of cooperation on the part of the soldiers and the reductions in the funds intended for the colony. In October the governor tried to increase the strength of the militia to compensate for the lack of first-class soldiers, but he was not successful. The post had, indeed, received 20 new recruits in 1695 bringing the strength of the garrison up to 120, but the levy consisted mostly of lame men. A military inventory carried out on September 10 showed that at that time Placentia had 34 cannons (4x36, 6x24, 6xl8, lOxl2, 3xlO, lx8, 2x4, 2x2) 12 of which were-in the redoubt, 1900 cannon balls, 12 milliers of powder, 1 mortar, 200 bombs, some arms, 1 iron chain and 4 cables (2 of 5 inches in diameter and 2 others of 2 to 3 inches). The year 1696 passed by without any further work being done on the fortifications, as the troops were away on the St. John's expedition. The only event to be recorded was the arrival of 30 poor-quality recruits.

Take a look at Fort Royal as it stands today.