Fort William and Mary

	Fort Constitution
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	New Castle, New Hampshire
Coordinates	43°04′17″N 70°42′34″W / 43.0715°N 70.7095°W
Built	Early 17th century
NRHP reference No.	73000169
Added to NRHP	July 09, 1973

Fort William and Mary was a colonial era fortification in Britain's worldwide system of defenses in its British Empire, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the colonial 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). Following American Independence, three decades later, the fort was renamed Fort Constitution following a rebuilding by 1808, in light of increasing hostilities with the British again, especially from its Royal Navy, resulting in the subsequent War of 1812 (1812-1815). The fort was further rebuilt and expanded through the 19th century to 1899, following the Spanish-American War of 1898. It served actively through the first-half of the 20th century to World War II (1939/1941-1945).^[3]

Colonial period

First fortified by the English Army prior to 1632, the fort guarded access to the harbor at Portsmouth and served as the colony's main munitions depot and seaport. The fort also served to protect nearby Kittery (in future Maine), on the opposite / northern 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 commanded the fort during different periods at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century.

American Revolution

In 1774, it was the only permanently occupied military post in New Hampshire.

1774 Raids

On December 14, 1774, local Patriots from the Portsmouth area, led by John Langdon, stormed the post (overcoming a six-man caretaker detachment) and seized the Royal British 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, December 15, 1774, patriots led by John Sullivan again raided the fort, this time seizing numerous heavy artillery of cannon, ammunition and supplies.

Fort Constitution

Following the Revolution, the fort was called Castle Fort or Fort Castle.^[2] The state gave Fort Point, on which the 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) by the newly-established United States Department of the Navy, and the fort was rebuilt under the Second System of U.S. coastal defense fortifications. Walls were doubled in height and new brick buildings were added. Work was completed in 1808 and the defense renamed "Fort Constitution".^[4] On July 4, 1809, an accidental explosion marred Independence Day celebrations at the fort, killing a number of soldiers and civilians. The U.S. Secretary of War's report on fortifications for December 1811 describes 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]

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Fort Constitution was projected to be rebuilt as a three-tiered granite fort under the new expanded Third System of U.S. coastal defense fortifications. However, advances in weaponry, particularly armored, steam-powered warships with heavy rifled guns, rendered the masonry design obsolete before it was finished. The fort's construction was abandoned in 1867 with the older now-obsolete Second System fort largely intact and two walls from the revised expanded Third System built around parts of it.^[4] At some point in the Civil War era, four 100-pounder (6.4 inch, 163 mm) Parrott rifles were mounted at the fort, and remained there at least through late 1903.^[3]

Battery Farnsworth, 8-inch disappearing gun emplacement, Fort Constitution, 1905

In 1897, construction began on Battery Farnsworth, located under the hill on which the ruins of Walbach Tower stand, as part of the large-scale War Department's Board of Fortifications began the Endicott Program of seacoast fortifications. It was part of the Coast Defenses of Portsmouth, along with Fort Stark and Fort Foster. The battery was completed in 1899. Named for Brigadier General Elon J. Farnsworth, the installation included two 8-inch (203 mm) M1888 guns on disappearing carriages.^[3] The battery was accompanied in 1904 by Battery 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.^[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 for use as railway artillery in October 1917 and were not returned to the fort. Following the Great War, in 1920 a mine casemate was built next to Battery Farnsworth to replace a similar facility at nearby Fort Stark.^[3]

In World War II Battery Hackleman's 3-inch guns were sent to a new battery of the same name at Fort H. G. Wright on Fisher's Island, New York. They were replaced by two 3-inch (76 mm) M1902 guns from Battery Hays at nearby Fort Stark. During the war, in 1940-1944 the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment. Also, a mine observation station was built atop Battery Farnsworth. Battery Hackleman was disarmed by 1948 and the fort was turned over to the United States Coast Guard. Battery Hackleman was demolished, but Battery Farnsworth can still be seen.^[3]

Given back to the State of New Hampshire by the American military in 1961, The new Fort Constitution State Park was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places (maintained by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior) in 1973 and is today open to the public.

The lighthouse

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.

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Roberts, pp. 498-499
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fort Constitution at FortWiki.com
^ ^a ^b Weaver, pp. 101–103
^ Wade, p. 241
^ Fort Constitution from American Forts Network

Bibliography

Roberts, Robert B. (1988). Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-926880-X.
Wade, Arthur P. (2011). Artillerists and Engineers: The Beginnings of American Seacoast Fortifications, 1794–1815. CDSG Press. ISBN 978-0-9748167-2-2.
Weaver II, John R. (2018). A Legacy in Brick and Stone: American Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, 1816-1867, 2nd Ed. McLean, VA: Redoubt Press. ISBN 978-1-7323916-1-1.

External links

Fort Constitution Historic Site New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Fort Constitution from American Forts Network
Detailed account of raids
List of documented participants in raids
Additional information at the University of New Hampshire
Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse History
List of all US coastal forts and batteries at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.

[Roberts498-2] Roberts, pp. 498-499

[FWiki1-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fort Constitution at FortWiki.com

[Weaver1-4] Weaver, pp. 101–103

[5] Wade, p. 241

[6] Fort Constitution from American Forts Network

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Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States 2 Israel 2