Fort Independence (Massachusetts)
Encyclopedia
Fort Independence is a granite star fort
that provided harbor defenses for Boston, Massachusetts. Located on Castle Island, Fort Independence is the oldest continuously fortified site of English
origin in the United States. The first primitive fortification was placed on the site in 1634 and replaced in 1701 with a more substantial structure known as Castle William. Re-built after it was abandoned by the British during the American Revolution
, Castle William was renamed Fort Adams and then Fort Independence. The existing granite fort was constructed between 1833 and 1851. Today it is preserved as a state park
and fires occasional ceremonial salutes. Fort Independence was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1970.
cannons and three smaller guns. One of the first commanders of the fort was Captain Richard Davenport who supervised the post from 1645 until 1665 when he was struck by lightning within the fort and killed. His successor, Captain Roger Clap, commanded the fort from 1665–1686. The timber fort was taken down and a new fort of brick was constructed in its place in 1701. The new fort was designed by Wolfgang William Romer
, the chief engineer of British forces in the American colonies. The earlier incarnations of the fort were simply known as "the Castle," however the larger 1701 fort was called "Castle William" in honor of King William III of England
.
In the years leading up to the American Revolution
, Castle William became a refuge for British officials during periods of unrest and rioting in Boston. Violence in the wake of events such as the Stamp Act crisis
in 1765 and the Boston Massacre
in 1770 forced provincial leaders and British soldiers to take shelter within the fort.
As the American Revolution erupted in 1775, American forces quickly commenced the Siege of Boston
and British forces made Castle William their primary stronghold. It was not until the Continental Army
led by George Washington
managed the fortification of Dorchester Heights
that Castle William was threatened and the British evacuated Boston in March 1776. Before leaving Castle William, the British set fire to the fort and destroyed it.
On December 7, 1797, the fort was renamed Fort Independence during a ceremony attended by President
John Adams
. The following year, the fortification and the island were turned over to the United States government. During the War of 1812
, a squadron of the British navy repeatedly captured American merchant and fishing vessels in Massachusetts Bay
, however they never attempted an attack on the port of Boston owing largely to the strength of Fort Independence.
Sylvanus Thayer
, one of the nation's leading military engineers of the time. The new fort would have walls 30 feet (9.1 m) high and 5.5 feet (1.7 m) feet thick. It was constructed primarily out of granite from Rockport, Massachusetts
and completed in 1851. At the height of its strength during the American Civil War
, the fort mounted 96 cannon, many of which were 15-inch Rodman gun
s capable of firing a 450 pound shot more than 3 miles (4.8 km).
At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Fort Independence was garrisoned by the Fourth Battalion Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. The battalion set the fort in order and were trained in infantry and artillery drill, eventually forming the nucleus of the 24th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. At least two other infantry regiments were trained at Fort Independence during the Civil War—the 11th Massachusetts
and the 13th Massachusetts
.
Following the Civil War, Fort Independence gradually fell out of use, its importance reduced by the larger Fort Warren
which had also been constructed under the direction of Sylvanus Thayer. In the 1880s, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead designed a series of parkways and parks in Boston known as the Emerald Necklace
. Olmstead had originally envisioned a parkway to be known as the Dorchesterway that would connect Castle Island (via a new earthen causeway) to the rest of the Emerald Necklace. The Dorchesterway was never realized, however the city of Boston did undertake a large scale project in the 1890s to create a park-like environment around Fort Independence. In 1890, Castle Island (excluding the fort) was ceded by the United States government. The city of Boston commenced filling the marshes separating Castle Island from South Boston in 1890 with the intention of creating green space and promenades. The process was finished in the 1920s and Castle Island ceased to be an island. The fort itself was ceded by the federal government to the city of Boston in 1908.
In 1898, during the Spanish-American War
, the U.S. government briefly reclaimed Castle Island, however it was quickly returned to the city of Boston in 1899. The military again took control of Fort Independence during World War I
and World War II
and anti-aircraft guns were added. During World War I, the fort was used primarily as a depot for small arms ammunition and during World War II, it was used by the United States Navy
as a degaussing
station for de-magnetizing the hulls of ships. At the close of both conflicts, the fort was promptly returned to the custody of the city of Boston.
In 1962, the U.S. government permanently deeded Castle Island and Fort Independence to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is now overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
and the non-profit Castle Island Association. Over the course of its history, a shot was never fired in anger from Fort Independence by United States forces.
's well known works. A monument outside the west battery
of the fort marks the grave of Lieutenant Robert F. Massie who was killed in a duel there on December 25, 1817. According to folklorist Edward Rowe Snow
, Massie was so popular with the soldiers stationed at Fort Independence that they took out their frustration on his killer, Lieutenant Gustavus Drane, by walling him up within a vault in the fort. Edgar Allan Poe, while serving with the 1st United States Artillery Regiment
at Fort Independence purportedly heard the tale and was inspired, according to Snow, to write The Cask of Amontillado
.
The legend that purportedly inspired Poe is not entirely accurate. The duel took place, however the victor, Lieutenant Drane, was not murdered by the fort's soldiers but continued in his military career and was later promoted to the rank of captain. After the Second World War Lietenant Massie's remains were moved to the cemetery at Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts.
Star fort
A star fort, or trace italienne, is a fortification in the style that evolved during the age of gunpowder, when cannon came to dominate the battlefield, and was first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy....
that provided harbor defenses for Boston, Massachusetts. Located on Castle Island, Fort Independence is the oldest continuously fortified site of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
origin in the United States. The first primitive fortification was placed on the site in 1634 and replaced in 1701 with a more substantial structure known as Castle William. Re-built after it was abandoned by the British during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Castle William was renamed Fort Adams and then Fort Independence. The existing granite fort was constructed between 1833 and 1851. Today it is preserved as a state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
and fires occasional ceremonial salutes. Fort Independence was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1970.
Castle William
The site of Fort Independence has been occupied by various fortifications since 1634. The first fort to be constructed on Castle Island was an earthen fort in which cannon were mounted to defend the colonial town of Boston from attack by sea. The first fort soon fell into disrepair and was rebuilt, mainly out of timber, in the 1640s. At this time, the fort mounted six sakerSaker (cannon)
The saker was a medium cannon slightly smaller than a culverin developed during the early 16th century and often used by the English. It was named after the Saker Falcon, a large falconry bird native to the Middle East....
cannons and three smaller guns. One of the first commanders of the fort was Captain Richard Davenport who supervised the post from 1645 until 1665 when he was struck by lightning within the fort and killed. His successor, Captain Roger Clap, commanded the fort from 1665–1686. The timber fort was taken down and a new fort of brick was constructed in its place in 1701. The new fort was designed by Wolfgang William Romer
Wolfgang William Romer
Wolfgang William Romer was a Dutch military engineer, born at The Hague. He was the third son, in a family of six sons and five daughters, of Mathias Romer of Düsseldorf and Anna Duppengiezeer. Mathias was ambassador to Holland from the Elector Palatine, who stood godfather to Wolfgang at his...
, the chief engineer of British forces in the American colonies. The earlier incarnations of the fort were simply known as "the Castle," however the larger 1701 fort was called "Castle William" in honor of King William III of England
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
.
In the years leading up to the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, Castle William became a refuge for British officials during periods of unrest and rioting in Boston. Violence in the wake of events such as the Stamp Act crisis
Stamp Act 1765
The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp...
in 1765 and the Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre, called the Boston Riot by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support...
in 1770 forced provincial leaders and British soldiers to take shelter within the fort.
As the American Revolution erupted in 1775, American forces quickly commenced the Siege of Boston
Siege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
and British forces made Castle William their primary stronghold. It was not until the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
led by George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
managed the fortification of Dorchester Heights
Fortification of Dorchester Heights
The Fortification of Dorchester Heights was a decisive action early in the American Revolutionary War that precipitated the end of the siege of Boston and the withdrawal of British troops from that city....
that Castle William was threatened and the British evacuated Boston in March 1776. Before leaving Castle William, the British set fire to the fort and destroyed it.
Fort Adams
After it was evacuated, the fort was quickly re-built by American forces in 1776. Although still referred to, at times, as Castle William, the fort was officially known as Fort Adams in the years following the Revolution. In 1785, the legislature of Massachusetts designated the fort as a prison, in which capacity it served until 1805.On December 7, 1797, the fort was renamed Fort Independence during a ceremony attended by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
. The following year, the fortification and the island were turned over to the United States government. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, a squadron of the British navy repeatedly captured American merchant and fishing vessels in Massachusetts Bay
Massachusetts Bay
The Massachusetts Bay, also called Mass Bay, is one of the largest bays of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the distinctive shape of the coastline of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Its waters extend 65 miles into the Atlantic Ocean. Massachusetts Bay includes the Boston Harbor, Dorchester Bay,...
, however they never attempted an attack on the port of Boston owing largely to the strength of Fort Independence.
Existing structure
Work on the present fort began in 1833 and was supervised by ColonelColonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
Sylvanus Thayer
Sylvanus Thayer
Colonel and Brevet Brigadier General Sylvanus Thayer also known as "the Father of West Point" was an early superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point and an early advocate of engineering education in the United States.-Biography:Thayer was born in Braintree, Massachusetts,...
, one of the nation's leading military engineers of the time. The new fort would have walls 30 feet (9.1 m) high and 5.5 feet (1.7 m) feet thick. It was constructed primarily out of granite from Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,952 at the 2010 census. Rockport is located approximately 25 miles northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula...
and completed in 1851. At the height of its strength during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the fort mounted 96 cannon, many of which were 15-inch Rodman gun
Rodman gun
Rodman gun refers to a series of American Civil War-era columbiads designed by Union artilleryman Thomas Jackson Rodman . The guns were designed to fire both shot and shell. These heavy guns were intended to be mounted in seacoast fortifications. They were built in 8-inch, 10-inch, 13-inch,...
s capable of firing a 450 pound shot more than 3 miles (4.8 km).
At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Fort Independence was garrisoned by the Fourth Battalion Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. The battalion set the fort in order and were trained in infantry and artillery drill, eventually forming the nucleus of the 24th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. At least two other infantry regiments were trained at Fort Independence during the Civil War—the 11th Massachusetts
11th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The 11th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. Organized in Boston in May 1861, the 11th Massachusetts was made up mostly of men from Boston, but also from Charlestown and Dorchester...
and the 13th Massachusetts
13th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The 13th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. It was formed on July 16, 1861 at Fort Independence in Boston, Massachusetts. Its original commander was Colonel Samuel H. Leonard....
.
Following the Civil War, Fort Independence gradually fell out of use, its importance reduced by the larger Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
which had also been constructed under the direction of Sylvanus Thayer. In the 1880s, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead designed a series of parkways and parks in Boston known as the Emerald Necklace
Emerald Necklace
The Emerald Necklace consists of an chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula, although it was never fully constructed.-Overview:The Necklace...
. Olmstead had originally envisioned a parkway to be known as the Dorchesterway that would connect Castle Island (via a new earthen causeway) to the rest of the Emerald Necklace. The Dorchesterway was never realized, however the city of Boston did undertake a large scale project in the 1890s to create a park-like environment around Fort Independence. In 1890, Castle Island (excluding the fort) was ceded by the United States government. The city of Boston commenced filling the marshes separating Castle Island from South Boston in 1890 with the intention of creating green space and promenades. The process was finished in the 1920s and Castle Island ceased to be an island. The fort itself was ceded by the federal government to the city of Boston in 1908.
In 1898, during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, the U.S. government briefly reclaimed Castle Island, however it was quickly returned to the city of Boston in 1899. The military again took control of Fort Independence during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and anti-aircraft guns were added. During World War I, the fort was used primarily as a depot for small arms ammunition and during World War II, it was used by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a degaussing
Degaussing
Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field. It is named after Carl Friedrich Gauss, an early researcher in the field of magnetism...
station for de-magnetizing the hulls of ships. At the close of both conflicts, the fort was promptly returned to the custody of the city of Boston.
In 1962, the U.S. government permanently deeded Castle Island and Fort Independence to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is now overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)
The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...
and the non-profit Castle Island Association. Over the course of its history, a shot was never fired in anger from Fort Independence by United States forces.
Edgar Allan Poe
A persistent, though mostly apocryphal story involving Fort Independence was allegedly the inspiration behind one of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's well known works. A monument outside the west battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of the fort marks the grave of Lieutenant Robert F. Massie who was killed in a duel there on December 25, 1817. According to folklorist Edward Rowe Snow
Edward Rowe Snow
Edward Rowe Snow was an American author and historian.-Life:He was the son of Edward Sumpter and Alice Snow...
, Massie was so popular with the soldiers stationed at Fort Independence that they took out their frustration on his killer, Lieutenant Gustavus Drane, by walling him up within a vault in the fort. Edgar Allan Poe, while serving with the 1st United States Artillery Regiment
1st Air Defense Artillery (United States)
The 1st Air Defense Artillery is an air defense artillery regiment in the United States Army first formed in 1821.-Lineage:Constituted 1 June 1821 in the Regular Army as the 1st Regiment of Artillery, and organized from existing units with Headquarters at Fort Independence Regiment broken up 13...
at Fort Independence purportedly heard the tale and was inspired, according to Snow, to write The Cask of Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado
"The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book....
.
The legend that purportedly inspired Poe is not entirely accurate. The duel took place, however the victor, Lieutenant Drane, was not murdered by the fort's soldiers but continued in his military career and was later promoted to the rank of captain. After the Second World War Lietenant Massie's remains were moved to the cemetery at Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts.