 Britain's Royal Navy began using Esquimalt harbour in the 1840s, at first merely for anchorage, watering and for lumber; but the establishment of three hospital huts during the Crimean War of 1854–56 marked the start of what is still an active naval base of the Royal Canadian Navy.In 1862, the Royal Navy's Pacific Squadron was relocated to Esquimalt harbour from Valparaíso, Chile (where it had used floating storeships rather than built facilities ashore).This increased presence, eventually including storehouses and workshops ashore, would require some form of coastal defence to deter naval attack by a potential enemy.