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Watson took part in the [[Raid on Lorient|Siege of Port L'Orient]] from 20 to 27 September, and the attack on Quiberon and capture of forts Houat and Heydie, after which he returned to England with the expedition. He was promoted on 2 January 1748 to be sub-director of engineers, and appointed chief engineer in the Medway Division, which included Gravesend and [[Tilbury Fort|Tilbury]], Sheerness, Harwich, and [[Landguard Fort|Landguard]] forts. There is a plan in the War Office drawn by Watson, dated 1752, showing the cliff and town of Harwich and the encroachments of the sea since 1709; and another, dated 1754, of a proposed breakwater at Harwich Cliff; also a plan of Sheerness and its vicinity, indicating the boundaries of public lands.<ref name=":2">Vetch 1899, p. 20.</ref>
On 17 December 1754 Watson was promoted to be director of engineers, and was sent to [[Annapolis Royal]] as chief engineer of [[History of Nova Scotia#Government changes|Nova Scotia]] and of the settlements in [[Newfoundland Colony|Newfoundland]]. His stay in North America at this time was short, as he was specially selected for service on the west coast of Africa, where he arrived before December 1755. An address to the [[George II of Great Britain|King]] had been carried in the House of Commons on the defenceless state of the British possessions on the west coast of Africa, and Watson visited the military stations along the [[Gold Coast (region)|Gold Coast]] at [[Ouidah|Whydah]], [[Kunta Kinteh Island|James's Island]], [[Accra]], [[Prampram]], [[Fort Tantumquery|Tantumquerry]], [[Fort Winneba|Winnebah]], [[Annamaboe]], [[Fort Sekondi|Secondee]], [[Dixcove]], and [[Cape Coast Castle]]. He returned to England in the summer of 1756, when his reports and plans were approved and the House of Commons voted money to carry out his proposals.<ref name=":2" />
In October and November 1756 Watson examined [[Rye Harbour]] and reported on the measures necessary to improve it; and towards the end of the year again sailed for Annapolis Royal to resume his previous appointment as chief engineer in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. On 14 May 1757 he was commissioned, on the reorganisation of the engineers, as lieutenant-colonel of Royal Engineers. He died suddenly at [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's, Newfoundland]] in the summer of 1757 from the effects of poison administered in his coffee, it was believed, by a black female servant.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Connolly; Edwards, eds. 1898, p. 6.</ref>
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File:James Island and Fort. GAMBIA. Surveyd in October 1755 by Justly Watson. Director of Engineers.png|<small>James Island and Fort Gambia, 1755.</small>
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== See also ==
* [[Royal African Company]]
* [[African Company of Merchants]]
== References ==
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