Tower 71 stood on the low shoreline along Eastbourne, the second tower east of the Redoubt.
On February 3, 1822, the East Indiaman 'The Thames' was grounded in bad weather on the beach by the tower, where she stuck fast. A Midshipman of the Coast Blockade was drowned whilst bravely trying to reach the ship in a boat with six other men, but the survivors were brought ashore the next morning. The East India Company ships were known to carry many desirable goods such as silk, tea and tobacco, and so a large number of Blockade men were need to guard the ship until she could be refloated. In the month this took to accomplish, many runs had been made in areas where the Blockade was thinly enforced due to this unforeseen situation. The incident was portrayed at the time in the Charles Ade watercolour below.
By 1860, the tower was only just above the high tide mark, and so in August of the same year, was subject to artillery bombardment during trials of the new Armstrong rifled guns.
Numerous rounds of solid shot were fired before the walls were breached. Percussion shells were then used to considerable effect. After initial bombardment, the tower was still in a repairable condition, but the landward wall finally fell after nearly 170 rounds had been discharged.
The three Armstrong guns, of 40-, 82- and 100-pounder size, the latter also known as a 7-inch howitzer, had been sited 1032 yards away on raised land at Hoisey Farm. The results of this test were then compared to the destruction of Tower 49 by smooth-bore guns the following November.
The seaward side of the tower remained standing, but was later cleared away by contract. Whilst clearing away the rubble, some unexploded shells were found, and a tragic accident occurred when a group of three passing soldiers inexplicably put a lighted match to one of them. Two of them were killed in the resulting explosion.
For more details of the breaching experiment, see the Tower Losses pages.
 |
 |  |
| Tower 70 | Tower 72 |