滬尾礮臺 Hobe Fort

  1884年清法戰爭後，劉銘傳鑑於臺灣海防的重要，因此聘請德國籍技師巴恩士（Max E.Hecht Baons）負責督造，仿西洋礮臺圖形，於澎湖、基隆、滬尾、安平、旗後等五處海口，以鐵水泥築造10座新式礮臺，並向英國購買31尊阿姆斯脫朗砲，安裝於這10座新礮臺上。據小澤德平於1888年所繪《臺灣淡水港台北府局地圖》，當時滬尾礮臺已安裝4尊大砲，一朝向淡水河，一朝向淡水河口，一朝向沙崙外海，一朝向北淡水。可見滬尾礮臺竣工時間，至遲不晚於1888年(光緒14年)。又據《台島劫灰》，1895年時，滬尾礮臺4尊大砲，分別是12吋英國阿姆斯脫朗砲1尊；10吋阿姆斯脫朗砲1尊；12厘米德國博洪砲（克虜伯砲）2尊。可能是割臺前夕，全臺大砲重新部署調配的緣故。（文：張建隆）

  Liu Ming-chuan recognized the importance of coastal defenses to Taiwan after the Sino-French War of 1884 so hired the German engineer Max E. Hect to supervise the construction of ten concrete Western-style forts at five ports: Penghu, Keelung, Hobe, Anping and Cihou. He also purchased 31 Armstrong Rifled Breech Loaders from England to arm these ten new forts. In Taiwan Tansui-kō, Taihoku-fu kyokuchizu, a map of Tamsui Port drawn by Tokuhei Ozawa in 1888, four cannons had been emplaced at Hobe Fort by then, with one pointed at the Tamsui River, one pointed at the Tamsui River mouth, one pointed at the waters off Shalun, and one pointed at northern Tamsui. Hobe Fort was therefore completed before 1888. The four cannons at Hobe Fort in 1895 consisted of one 12″Armstrong Rifled Breech Loader and one British-made 10″Armstrong Rifled Breech Loader, and two German-made 12cm Krupp guns. Changes may have been made to cannon deployments throughout Taiwan on the eve of Taiwan being ceded to Japan. (Text: Jian-long Chang)