Fort William and Mary was a colonial fortification in 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. It was captured by Patriot forces, recaptured, and later abandoned by the British in the Revolutionary War. The fort was renamed Fort Constitution in 1808 following rebuilding. The fort was further rebuilt and expanded through 1899 and served actively through World War II.
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.
House Island is a private island in Portland Harbor in Casco Bay, Maine, United States. It is part of the City of Portland. The island is accessible only by boat. Public access is prohibited, except for an on-request tour sanctioned by the island's owners. House Island includes three buildings on the east side and Fort Scammell on the west side. The buildings are used as vacation rentals and other summer residences. The island's name derives from the site of an early European house, believed that built by Capt. Christopher Levett, an English explorer of the region.
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. After the 1940s, it was recognized that fixed fortifications were obsolete and ineffective against aircraft and missiles. However, in prior eras foreign fleets were a realistic threat, and substantial fortifications were built at key locations, especially protecting major harbors.
Plymouth Light, also known as Gurnet Light, is a historic lighthouse located on Gurnet Point at the entrance to Plymouth Bay in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The light is accessible only by passing through the town of Duxbury, which lies to the north. The tower is located inside the earthworks of Fort Andrew, which existed in the Civil War, War of 1812, and Revolutionary War.
Fort Pickering is a 17th-century historic fort site on Winter Island in Salem, Massachusetts. Fort Pickering operated as a strategic coastal defense and military barracks for Salem Harbor during a variety of periods, serving as a fortification from the Anglo-Dutch Wars through World War II. Construction of the original fort began in 1643 and it saw use as a military installation into the 20th century. Fort Miller in Marblehead also defended Salem's harbor from the 1630s through the American Civil War. Fort Pickering is a First System fortification named for Colonel Timothy Pickering, born in Salem, adjutant general of the Continental Army and secretary of war in 1795. Today, the remains of the fort are open to the public as part of the Winter Island Maritime Park, operated by the City of Salem.
Fort Sewall is a historic coastal fortification in Marblehead, Massachusetts. It is located at Gale's Head, the northeastern point of the main Marblehead peninsula, on a promontory that overlooks the entrance to Marblehead Harbor. Until 1814 it was called Gale's Head Fort.
Fort Wolcott was a fortification on the small Goat Island in Newport Harbor of Narragansett Bay less than 1 mile west of the city of Newport, Rhode Island. The attacks on HMS St John and HMS Liberty occurred near the fort.
Fort Glover was a fort in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Fortifications on the site existed during the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the Spanish–American War. The fort was located on what is now Riverhead Beach on Bubier Road in Marblehead, sited to guard the beach and the Marblehead Neck causeway. It was demolished in 1917.
Fort Defiance was a fort that existed from 1794 to after 1865 on Fort Point in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The location protecting the inner harbor was also called Watch House Point.
Eastern Point Fort was a fort that was garrisoned or maintained from 1863 to 1867 on Eastern Point in Gloucester, Massachusetts, built for the American Civil War. References indicate the name has also been used to refer to the much-older Stage Fort across the harbor.
The Fort at Salisbury Point was a fort in use from 1863 to 1865 in Salisbury, Massachusetts, during the American Civil War. It was also called the Fort at Salisbury Beach. It was a nine-gun earthwork located at the mouth of the Merrimack River at what is now the Salisbury Beach State Reservation, where eventual erosion washed it away. A 1903 reference states it was on the site of the Revolutionary War Fort Nichols, but that site is in doubt, and may have been at the location called Salisbury Point in Amesbury, several miles up the river. The Fort at Salisbury Point was sometimes referred to by local civilians as Fort Nichols in the Civil War era. The fort was designed and built under the supervision of Major Charles E. Blunt of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. An armament report dated June 30, 1866 lists nine heavy guns and one 12-pounder field gun. The heavy guns were three 8-inch smoothbore Rodman guns, three 42-pounder rifled guns, and three 30-pounder rifled guns. From November 1864 to June 1865 it was garrisoned by the 20th Unattached Company of Massachusetts militia. The Museum at Salisbury Point commemorates the soldiers who fought in the war.
Fort Philip was a fort built in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War and rebuilt in 1808, which also served in the War of 1812 to around 1815. It was in Newburyport, Massachusetts on the northern end of Plum Island, known as Lighthouse Point, guarding the mouth of the Merrimack River. The 1808 rebuilding was part of the second system of US fortifications. The secretary of war's report on fortifications in December 1808 states that "...a battery of wood, filled in with sand and surmounted with sod, has been erected. It... was constructed of wood on account of the shifting sands." A subsequent report in December 1811 describes the fort as "...an enclosed battery, built of earth and timber, mounting five heavy guns... ." The site eventually washed away in the 1830s. A militia artillery battery was stationed in the area in the Spanish–American War.
Fort Standish was a fort built in 1863 for the American Civil War on Saquish Head in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was named for Myles Standish, military leader of the Plymouth Colony in the 1620s, and augmented the nearby Fort Andrew on Gurnet Point. It was designed and constructed under the supervision of Major Charles E. Blunt of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The fort had five gun emplacements with five 8-inch smoothbore guns, along with a bombproof shelter, two magazines, and a well. Outside the fort were a barracks, officers' quarters, and a mess hall. From January to June 1865 the fort was garrisoned by the 27th Unattached Company of Massachusetts militia.
Fort Miller was a coastal defense fort in Marblehead, Massachusetts, in existence circa 1630–1900. Circa 1861 it was renamed for James Miller, a colonel in the War of 1812, distinguished for his actions in the Battle of Lundy's Lane. He was later Collector of the Port in nearby Salem from 1824 to 1849.
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 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.
Stage Fort was a fort that existed from 1635 to 1898 on Stage Head in what is now Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
