| Fort Armstrong | |
|---|---|
| Kat River, South Africa | |
| Type | Block house |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |  South Africa |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1836 |
| Battles/wars | Cape Frontier Wars |
Fort Armstrong was constructed in 1836 to act as an important military outpost of the British during the Cape Frontier Wars. It has been under attack multiple times and served as a safe haven for the early pioneers of the Kat River area.
Fort Armstrong was constructed in 1836 to protect the Kat River's valuable source of water. It was named after Captain Armstrong who fought in the area alongside the Cape Mounted Rifles during the 6th Frontier War. [1]
Because of its relative isolation, the fort was designed to operate independently if need be. It had wattle and daub barracks that could accommodate up to 30 mounted men with ordnance stores, a powder magazine, officers quarters, kitchen stables and cells. A few meters away was a cattle kraal.
The fort's first test came when forces led by Maqoma and Kona took possession of it for about a month. On 22 February 1851, Major-General Henry Somerset, son of the Governor of the Cape, Charles Somerset, reclaimed it – killing 46 people and taking 560 prisoners including 400 women and children. Six male settlers were killed and 25 sustained injuries. [1]
In 1853, during the 8th Frontier War, William Uithaalder, a Khoi who had served in the Cape Corps, led an attack on and took over control of the Fort. Colonial forces consisting of 200 British soldiers, 400 Burghers, 200 Fingoes, and volunteers from Grahamstown under Commandant Currie regrouped and launched two howitzer attacks against the fort, partially destroying what they built to protect themselves in order to oust Uithaalder. [1]
Andrew Geddes Bain, was a Cape Colony geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer.
The history of the Cape Colony from 1806 to 1870 spans the period of the history of the Cape Colony during the Cape Frontier Wars, which lasted from 1779 to 1879. The wars were fought between the European colonists and the native Xhosa who, defending their land, fought against European rule.
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear River's two outlets to the Atlantic Ocean on what was then known as Federal Point or Confederate Point and today is known as Pleasure Island. The strength of Fort Fisher led to its being called the Southern Gibraltar and the "Malakoff Tower of the South". The battle of Fort Fisher was the most decisive battle of the Civil War fought in North Carolina.
Persifor Frazer Smith was an American military officer. He served as an officer in the Louisiana State militia and as Louisiana State adjutant general. He led two regiments of Louisiana and Pennsylvania volunteers during the Second Seminole War. He served as a colonel in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War, was brevetted to major general, and became known as the "hero of Contreras". He commanded the Pacific Division from 1848 to 1849 including as the 6th Military governor of California from February to April 1849. He commanded the Department of Texas from 1850 to 1856 and the Department of the West from 1856 to 1858 during the Bleeding Kansas conflict. In 1858, he was appointed commander of the Department of Utah with orders to quell the Mormon Rebellion, but died at Fort Leavenworth before he could take command.
Fort Beaufort, officially renamed KwaMaqoma in March 2023, is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the confluence of the Kat River and Brak River between the Keiskamma and Great Fish Rivers. KwaMaqoma serves as a mini-'dormitory' for academic staff and students of Fort Hare University, based in the nearby town of Alice, and is also close to Sulphur Springs.
Fort Armstrong (1816–1836), was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, in the Mississippi River near the present-day Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sauk and Meskwaki village on the Rock River in Illinois. Of stone and timber construction, 300 feet square, the fort was begun in May 1816 and completed the following year and consisted of three large blockhouses, like the replica, on its prominent corners. In 1832, the U.S. Army used the fort as a military headquarters during the Black Hawk War. It was normally garrisoned by two companies of United States Army regulars. With the pacification of the Indian threat in Illinois, the U.S. Government ceased operations at Fort Armstrong and the U.S. Army abandoned the frontier fort in 1836.
Sir Andries Stockenström, 1st Baronet, was lieutenant governor of the Eastern Province of the Cape Colony from 13 September 1836 to 9 August 1838.
The Cape Mounted Riflemen were South African military units.
The Xhosa Wars were a series of nine wars between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. These events were the longest-running military resistance against European colonialism in Africa.
The Khoikhoi–Dutch Wars refers to a series of armed conflicts that took place in the latter half of the 17th century in what was then known as the Cape of Good Hope, in the area of present-day Cape Town, South Africa, fought primarily between Dutch colonisers, who came mostly from the Dutch Republic and the local African people, the indigenous Khoikhoi.
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies or a large navy. Substantial fortifications were built at key locations, especially protecting major harbors. Seacoast defense also included submarine minefields, nets and booms, ships, and, later, airplanes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played the central role in constructing fixed defenses, but all of the armed forces participated.
Colonel James Henry Bowker, was a Cape Colony naturalist, archaeologist and soldier. He was co-author with Roland Trimen of South African Butterflies.
Fort Granville was a militia stockade located in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. Its site was about a mile from Lewistown, in what is now Granville Township, Mifflin County. Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered pioneer settlers in the Juniata River valley during the French and Indian War. The fort was attacked on August 2, 1756, by a mixed force of French troops and Native Americans, mostly Lenape warriors. The fort’s garrison surrendered the strongpoint to these attackers, who celebrated their victory and destroyed the stockade.
King Sandile kaNgqika 'Aa! Mgolombane!' was a ruler of the Right Hand House of the Xhosa Kingdom. A dynamic leader, he led the Xhosa armies in several of the Xhosa-British Wars.
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The First Battle of Garua took place from 29 to 31 August 1914 during the Kamerun campaign of the First World War between German and invading British forces in northern Kamerun at Garua. It was the first significant action to take place in the campaign and resulted in the German repulsion of the British force.
Jongumsobomvu Maqoma was a Xhosa chief and a commander of the Xhosa forces during the Cape Frontier Wars. Born in the Right Hand House of the Xhosa Kingdom, he was the older brother of Chief Sandile kaNgqika and nephew to King Hintsa. In 1818, he commanded the forces of his father, Ngqika, who seemingly was trying to overthrow the government and become the king of the Xhosa nation. In 1822, he moved to the so-called neutral zone to take land but was expelled by the British troops.
In the Colonies and former Boer Republics which became the Union of South Africa in 1910, several unofficial military decorations and medals were instituted and awarded during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Sir Harry Smith's Medal for Gallantry is an unofficial military decoration for bravery, awarded for actions following the siege of Fort Cox in December 1850, at the beginning of the 8th Cape Frontier War. The medal was privately instituted in 1851 by Major General Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith Bt GCB, at the time the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope.
The Eighth Xhosa War was a war between the British Empire and Xhosa as well as Khoikhoi forces, between 1850 and 1853. It was the eighth of nine Xhosa Wars.
32°33′42″S26°41′31″E / 32.56167°S 26.69194°E
