Fort Constitution | |
Location | New Castle, New Hampshire |
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Coordinates | 43°04′17″N70°42′34″W / 43.0715°N 70.7095°W |
Built | Early 17th century |
NRHP reference No. | 73000169 [1] |
Added to NRHP | July 09, 1973 |
Fort William and Mary was a colonial-era fortification in Great Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle," was situated on the island of New Castle, New Hampshire, at the mouth of the Piscataqua River estuary. It was renamed Fort William and Mary circa 1692, after the accession of the monarchs William III and Mary II to the British throne. [2] It was captured by Patriot forces, recaptured, and later abandoned by the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The fort was renamed Fort Constitution in 1808 following rebuilding, in light of increasing hostilities with the British again, especially from its Royal Navy, resulting in the subsequent War of 1812. The fort was further rebuilt and expanded through 1899, following the Spanish-American War. It served actively through the first half of the 20th century to World War II. [3]
First fortified by the English Army prior to 1632, the fort guarded access to the harbor at Portsmouth. It was later manned by the successor British Army and served as the colony's main munitions depot and seaport. The fort also served to protect Kittery (then part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay colony and later in future state of Maine) on the opposite shore of the harbor, which was raided numerous times by the tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy during the French and Indian Wars (1753-1763). Shadrach Walton, British colonial administrator and soldier, commanded the fort during different periods at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century.
In 1774, it was the only permanently occupied military post in New Hampshire.
On December 14, 1774, local Patriots from the Portsmouth area, led by local political leader and rebel activist John Langdon, stormed the post (overcoming a six-man caretaker detachment) and seized the garrison's gunpowder supply, which was distributed to local militia through several New Hampshire towns for potential use in the looming struggle against Great Britain. On the following day, patriots led by colonial military officer John Sullivan again raided the fort, this time seizing with greater effort of numerous heavy artillery of cannon, ammunition and supplies for the rebel cause.
Following the Revolution, the fort was called "Castle Fort" or "Fort Castle". [2] The new state of New Hampshire gave the ground around Fort Point, on which the old fort stood, to the federal government in 1791. In 1800, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was established upriver on Fernald's Island (now part of Seavey's Island), and the fort was rebuilt under the Second System of U.S. coastal defense fortifications. Brick and masonry walls were doubled in height, and new brick buildings were added inside. Work was completed in 1808 and the defense renamed "Fort Constitution". [4] On July 4, 1809, an accidental explosion marred Independence Day / Fourth of July celebrations at the fort, killing a number of soldiers and civilians. Two years later, the U.S. Secretary of War's report on fortifications for December 1811 described Fort Constitution as "an enclosed irregular work of masonry, mounting 36 heavy guns... (with) brick barracks for two companies..." [5] During the War of 1812 the fort was occupied and expanded with Walbach Tower, a Martello tower with a single 32-pounder cannon, being built in 1814, just before the conflict ended. [6]
Over four decades later, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), Fort Constitution was projected to be rebuilt as a three-tiered granite fort under the new expanded, more formidable Third System of U.S. coastal defense fortifications. However, advances in weaponry, particularly the development and use of armored, steam-powered warships with heavy rifled guns, rendered the masonry walls design obsolete before they were finished. The fort's construction was abandoned in 1867 following the Civil War with the older now-obsolete Second System fort still largely intact and two walls from the revised expanded Third System cut short, built around parts of it. [4] At some point in the Civil War era, four 100-pounder (6.4 inch, 163 mm) Parrott rifled cannon were mounted at the fort, and remained there at least four more decades through late 1903. [3]
In 1897, construction began on Battery Farnsworth, located under the hill on which the ruins of the former Walbach Tower of 1814 stand, as part of the large-scale War Department's Board of Fortifications began the latest improvements with the Endicott Program of seacoast fortifications. It was part of the larger surrounding Coast Defenses of Portsmouth, along with nearby Fort Stark and Fort Foster in Kittery to the north. The battery was completed in 1899, a year after the successful conclusion of the Spanish-American War. Named for Union Army Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth (1837-1863), killed at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War, the new reinforced-concrete installation, built partly below ground in a deep trench as the new protective style required, included two 8-inch (203 mm) M1888 guns on recently developed disappearing carriages. [3] The battery was accompanied in 1904 by the construction of adjacent Battery Hackleman, named for Union General Pleasant A. Hackleman, with two 3-inch (76 mm) M1903 guns on pedestal mounts. A mine casemate for an underwater minefield in the harbor was built; Battery Hackleman was built primarily to defend this minefield against naval minesweepers vessels. These were similar to numerous other Endicott-style fortifications built all along the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coasts throughout the country outside of major cities on river mouths, harbors, and inlets / bays during the late 1890s and early 1900s. [3]
After the American entry into World War I in April 1917, many guns were removed from coast defenses for shipment across the Atlantic Ocean to potential service on the Western Front in northern France, against the attacking German Empire and its Imperial German Army. Both 8-inch guns of Battery Farnsworth were removed in October 1917 for use as railway artillery and were not returned to the fort. Following the war, in 1920 a mine casemate was built next to Battery Farnsworth to replace a similar facility at nearby Fort Stark. [3]
In the Second World War (1939/1941-1945), Battery Hackleman's 3-inch guns were sent to a new battery of the same name further south at Fort H. G. Wright on Fisher's Island, New York. They were replaced by two 3-inch (76 mm) M1902 guns taken from Battery Hays (named for Union Army General Alexander Hays, killed at the Civil War Battle of the Wilderness) at Fort Stark. In 1940-1944 the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment of the U.S. Army, and a mine observation station was built atop Battery Farnsworth. Following the surrender of the Axis Powers, Battery Hackleman was disarmed by 1948 and the fort was turned over to the Coast Guard. Battery Hackleman was eventually demolished, but Battery Farnsworth can still be seen as part of the subsequent state park. [3]
With the site given back to the State of New Hampshire by the American military in 1961, the new Fort Constitution State Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is today open to the public.
Since 1771 the fort has been home to a lighthouse. The current installation, the Portsmouth Harbor Light, was completed in 1878. Its Fourth Order Fresnel lens remains a valuable aid to navigation. The tower and the grounds immediately around it are open for scheduled tours.
Fort Schuyler is a preserved 19th century fortification in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It houses a museum, the Stephen B. Luce Library, and the Marine Transportation Department and Administrative offices of the State University of New York Maritime College. It is considered one of the finest examples of early 19th century fortifications. The fort was named in honor of Major General Philip Schuyler of the Continental Army.
Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and nickname of South Carolina, as "The Palmetto State". The fort was renamed for the U.S. patriot commander in the Battle of Sullivan's Island, General William Moultrie. During British occupation, in 1780–1782, the fort was known as Fort Arbuthnot.
Fort McClary is a former defensive fortification of the United States military located along the southern coast at Kittery Point, Maine at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. It was used throughout the 19th century to protect approaches to the harbor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. The property and its surviving structures are now owned and operated by the State of Maine as Fort McClary State Historic Site, including a blockhouse dating from 1844.
Fort Totten is a former active United States Army installation in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located 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 Preble was a military fort in South Portland, Maine, United States, built in 1808 and progressively added to through 1906. The fort was active during all major wars from the War of 1812 through World War II. The fort was deactivated in 1950. It is now on the campus of Southern Maine Community College.
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.
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.
Fort Levett was a former U.S. Army fort built on Cushing Island, Maine, beginning in 1898. Located in Cumberland County, Maine, in Casco Bay near Portland, Maine, the fort was heavily fortified with guns for coastal defense. Conceived under the Endicott Program in 1885 and begun in the wake of the Spanish–American War, Fort Levett was manned during both world wars. It was part of the Coast Defenses of Portland, later renamed the Harbor Defenses of Portland, a command which protected Portland's port and naval anchorage from 1904 to 1950. The fort's name is sometimes misspelled "Leavitt".
Odiorne Point State Park is a public recreation area located on the Atlantic seacoast in the town of Rye near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the United States. Among the park's features are the Seacoast Science Center and the remains of the World War II Fort Dearborn. The park offers opportunities for hiking, cycling, picnicking, fishing, and boating.
Salisbury Beach Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located in Salisbury, Massachusetts.
The 12-inch coastal defense gun M1895 (305 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 low-angle barbette mountings. From 1919, 19 long-range two-gun batteries were built using the M1895 on an M1917 long-range barbette carriage. Almost all of the weapons not in the Philippines were scrapped during and after World War II.
Fort Revere is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) historic site situated on a small peninsula located in Hull, Massachusetts. It is situated on Telegraph Hill in Hull Village and contains the remains of two seacoast fortifications, one from the American Revolution and one that served 1898–1947. There are also a water tower with an observation deck, a military history museum and picnic facilities. It is operated as Fort Revere Park by the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.
Fort Stark is a former military fortification in New Castle, New Hampshire, United States. Located at Jerry's Point on the southeastern tip of New Castle Island, most of the surviving fort was developed in the early 20th century, following the Spanish–American War, although there were several earlier fortifications on the site, portions of which survive. The fort was named for John Stark, a New Hampshire officer who distinguished himself at the Battle of Bennington in the American Revolution. The purpose of Fort Stark was to defend the harbor of nearby Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The fort remained in active use through the Second World War, after which it was used for reserve training by the US Navy. The property was partially turned over to the state of New Hampshire in 1979, which established Fort Stark Historic Site, and the remainder of the property was turned over in 1983. The grounds are open to the public during daylight hours.
Fort Foster, now part of Fort Foster Park, is a historic fort active 1901–1946 on the southwest tip of Gerrish Island in the Kittery Point area of Kittery, Maine. The park includes beaches and trails. Battery Bohlen and Battery Chapin were the major parts of the fort.
The Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the nearby Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine from 1900 to 1950, both on the Piscataqua River, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1900 as the Portsmouth Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Portsmouth in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth in 1925.
The Harbor Defenses of Boston was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Boston, Massachusetts from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1895 as the Boston Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Boston in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Boston in 1925.
The Harbor Defenses of New Bedford was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of New Bedford, Massachusetts and the nearby Cape Cod Canal from 1900 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included a coast artillery fort and an underwater minefield. The command originated circa 1900 as the New Bedford Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of New Bedford in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of New Bedford 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.
The 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment was a Coast Artillery regiment in the United States Army. It was the garrison of the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth in World War II. The 22nd CA (HD) Regiment was active from February 1940 until broken up in March 1944 as part of an Army-wide reorganization.