Fort Mansfield | |
---|---|
Part of Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound | |
Napatree Point, Westerly, Rhode Island | |
Coordinates | 41°18′23″N71°53′05″W / 41.30639°N 71.88472°W |
Type | Coastal Defense |
Site information | |
Owner | State of Rhode Island, public beach |
Controlled by | Town of Westerly |
Open to the public | yes |
Site history | |
Built | 1901 |
Built by | United States Army |
In use | 1901-1926 |
Battles/wars | none |
Fort Mansfield was a coastal artillery installation located on Napatree Point, a long barrier beach in the village of Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island.
Fort Mansfield and similar forts stretching from Galveston, Texas to Maine can be traced back to a joint Army-Navy Board created in 1883 known as the Gun Foundry Board. Its 1884 report warned of the defenseless condition of the USA's coasts and recommended a system of fortifications to protect harbors and coastal cities from invasion. In 1885, this Board was replaced by what has become known as the Endicott Board which issued formal recommendations for a major coastal defense network in 1886. Fort Mansfield was one of numerous coastal artillery installations constructed in the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound as part of the coastal defense network for New York City. It was named in honor of Joseph K. Mansfield (1803–1862), who served as an engineer officer during the Mexican–American War and was eventually promoted to Inspector General of the Army; he was killed at the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War.
In 1898, the United States government purchased 60 acres (240,000 m2) on Napatree Point, a long, narrow spit of land jutting out from Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The fort was located on a bend in the spit beyond which was called Sandy Point. Construction of the fort began the following year. When the fort was first occupied in 1901, it was considered a sub-post of Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut. But when the fort was staffed to full capacity in 1902, its status changed to an independent battery. The fort's main armament consisted of Battery Wooster, two 8-inch M1888 (203 mm) disappearing guns; Battery Crawford, two 5-inch M1897 guns (127 mm) on balanced pillar carriages; and Battery Connell, two 5-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts. The balanced pillar was a type of retractable carriage that soon proved impractical and was disabled in the up position. Battery Wooster was named for David Wooster, a Revolutionary War general who died in the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Battery Crawford was named for Emmet Crawford, an Army officer killed pursuing Geronimo in 1886. Battery Connell was named for James W. Connell, an Army officer killed in the Philippine–American War. [1] [2]
War games held in 1907 proved that the fort had a fatal flaw. Any attacking vessel could approach Fort Mansfield from a "dead angle" along the Rhode Island coast which the fort's long-range 8 inch cannon did not cover. The installation could be bombarded with impunity, and an invading party could assault the fort opposed by nothing better than small-arms fire, depending on where it landed. A report on the war games stated, "I believe I could capture Ft. Mansfield with a fleet of coal barges, equipped with 6-inch rapid fire guns". [3]
Because of this fatal design flaw, the fort was removed from the list of active coastal artillery posts in 1909 and placed in caretaker status. By 1911, only 18 men were left to man the post. That dropped to six men in 1916, and the guns were removed in 1917 for potential service on the Western Front. [4] That small contingent remained until 1926, when the government placed the land up for sale. One developer proposed that nearby land on Sandy Point be divided into some 674 plots, but the land was purchased by a private syndicate eager to prevent it from being used for "cheap little houses" that might affect the exclusive character of Watch Hill. The sale was finalized in 1928.
All the government buildings were demolished during the winter of 1928–29, leaving the three concrete gun emplacements behind. Batteries Wooster and Crawford survive to this day, although overgrown; but Battery Connell has succumbed to sea erosion, which has pushed the beach back some 200 feet (61 m) since the fort was built. What remains of Connell can sometimes be seen at low tide.
During World War II, a battery of two 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 guns was proposed for the Watch Hill area at the Oak's Inn Military Reservation in Misquamicut, Rhode Island, but it was never built. The Oak's Inn site had a battery of four 155 mm guns on "Panama mounts" from 1942 through 1944. [5] [6]
In August 2009, a small group of young adults interested in historical preservation began a cleanup project on Fort Mansfield. They found roots to be the major source of cracks and deterioration, so foliage was cut back. The fort's decay has slowed because of the lack of the roots' pressure against the structure.[ citation needed ]
This project proved beneficial in alleviating some of the stresses upon the fort. In 2011, the Watch Hill Fire Department placed railings along the top edges of the main building. They also placed steel covers blocking the steps, preventing access to the lower level of the site.[ citation needed ]
Fort Totten is a former active United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located on the Willets Point peninsula on the north shore of Long Island. Fort Totten is at the head of Little Neck Bay, where the East River widens to become Long Island Sound. While the U.S. Army Reserve continues to maintain a presence at the fort, the property is now owned by the City of New York.
Fort Adams is a former United States Army post in Newport, Rhode Island, that was established on July 4, 1799, as a First System coastal fortification, named for President John Adams, who was in office at the time. Its first commanding officer was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812. The current Fort Adams was built between 1824 and 1857 under the Third System of coastal forts; it is part of Fort Adams State Park today.
Fort Mott, located in Pennsville, Salem County, New Jersey, United States, was part of the Harbor Defenses of the Delaware, a three-fort defense system designed for the Delaware River during the Reconstruction era and Endicott program modernization periods following the American Civil War and in the 1890s. The other two forts in the system were Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Delaware. It was active for the Spanish American War and World War I. It was closed in 1944, and sold to the state of New Jersey to become Fort Mott State Park.
Dutch Island is an island lying west of Conanicut Island at an entrance to Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, United States. It is part of the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island, and has a land area of 0.4156 km². It was uninhabited as of the United States Census, 2000. The island was fortified from the American Civil War through World War II and was known as Fort Greble from 1898 to 1947.
Fort H. G. Wright was a United States military installation on Fishers Island in the town of Southold, New York, just two miles off the coast of southeastern Connecticut, but technically in New York. It was part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound, along with Fort Terry, Fort Michie, and Camp Hero. These forts defended the eastern entrance of Long Island Sound and thus Connecticut's ports and the north shore of Long Island. The fort was named for Union General Horatio G. Wright, a former Chief of Engineers who was born in Clinton, Connecticut.
Fort Wetherill is a former coast artillery fort that occupies the southern portion of the eastern tip of Conanicut Island in Jamestown, Rhode Island. It sits atop high granite cliffs, overlooking the entrance to Narragansett Bay. Fort Dumpling from the American Revolutionary War occupied the site until it was built over by Fort Wetherill. Wetherill was deactivated and turned over to the State of Rhode Island after World War II and is now operated as Fort Wetherill State Park, a 51-acre (210,000 m2) reservation managed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
Napatree Point in Rhode Island, often referred to simply as Napatree, is a long sandy spit created by a geologic process called longshore drift. Up until the Hurricane of 1938, Napatree was sickle-shaped and included a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) long northern extension called Sandy Point. Napatree now extends 1.5 miles (2.4 km) westward from the business district of Watch Hill, a village in Westerly, Rhode Island forming a protected harbor. It is the southernmost and westernmost point of mainland Rhode Island.
Brewster Islands Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located on Great Brewster Island and Outer Brewster Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts as part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston.
Fort Heath was a US seacoast military installation for defense of the Boston and Winthrop Harbors with an early 20th-century Coast Artillery fort, a 1930s USCG radio station, prewar naval research facilities, World War II batteries, and a Cold War radar station. The fort was part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston and was garrisoned by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. The fort's military structures have been replaced by a residential complex, including the luxurious Forth Heath Apartments, and recreation facilities of Small Park, which has both a commemorative wall and an historical marker for Fort Heath.
Fort Duvall was a Coast Artillery fort, part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston, in Massachusetts. What was then called Hog Island in Hull, Massachusetts was acquired by the U.S. government in 1917, and the fort was constructed in the early 1920s. It had only one gun battery, Battery Long, but it mounted the largest caliber weapons in the entire harbor defense system: a pair of 16-inch guns. These were the 16-inch gun M1919, of which only seven were deployed; 16-inch weapons deployed later were supplied by the Navy.
Fort Dawes was a World War II Coast Artillery fort located on Deer Island in Winthrop/Boston, Massachusetts. It was part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston.
Fort Standish was a coastal fort completed in 1907 and located on Lovell's Island in Massachusetts. Named after Myles Standish, the fort would serve to host up to 7 batteries until it was disarmed and deactivated in 1947. It was also named Lovell's Island Military Reservation during the early part of its existence. It was part of the Coast Defenses of Boston.
The 10-inch Gun M1895 (254 mm) and its variants the M1888 and M1900 were large coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1895 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Most were installed on disappearing carriages, with early installations on barbette mountings. All of the weapons not in the Philippines were scrapped during World War II. Two of the surviving weapons were relocated from the Philippines to Fort Casey in Washington state in the 1960s.
Fort Church was a World War II United States Army coastal defense fort in Little Compton, Rhode Island. Together with Fort Greene near Point Judith, it superseded all previous heavy gun defenses in the Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay.
Fort Greene is a United States Army Reserve installation in the Point Judith area of Narragansett, Rhode Island. During World War II this was a coastal defense fort, and together with Fort Church in Little Compton, it superseded all previous heavy gun defenses in the Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay. It is named for General Nathanael Greene of the Revolutionary War, who was born in Rhode Island.
Camp Varnum is a Rhode Island Army National Guard training facility in the Boston Neck area of Narragansett, Rhode Island. During World War II it was Fort Varnum, a coastal defense fort.
Fort Kearny was a coastal defense fort in the Saunderstown area of Narragansett, Rhode Island from 1901 to 1943. It was a prisoner-of-war camp for German prisoners in 1945. It is now the Narragansett Bay Campus of the University of Rhode Island. In many sources it is spelled Fort Kearney.
Oak's Inn Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located in Misquamicut, Rhode Island in the town of Westerly, overlooking Misquamicut State Beach. It was part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound. Today, the site is a residential development.
The Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1895 as an Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Narragansett Bay in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay in 1925.
The Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Long Island Sound and Connecticut from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The area defended included the approach via the Sound to New York City, the port cities and manufacturing centers of New London, New Haven, and Bridgeport, and eventually included the submarine base and shipyard in Groton. The command originated circa 1900 as an Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound in 1925.