Wikipedia

Fort Adams

For other uses, seeFort Adams (Ohio)andFort Adams, Mississippi.

Fort Adamsis a formerUnited States Armypost inNewport,Rhode Island, that was established on July 4, 1799, as aFirst Systemcoastal fortification,named for PresidentJohn Adams,who was in office at the time. Its firstcommanding officerwasCaptainJohn Henrywho was later instrumental in starting theWar of 1812.The current Fort Adams was built between 1824 and 1857 under the Third System of coastal forts; it is part ofFort Adams State Parktoday.

Fort Adams
Newport, Rhode Island
Fort Adams on 31 August 2005
TypeCoastal artillery post
Site information
Controlled byUnited States
Site history
Built1798–1799; 1824–1857
In use1799–1824; 1841–1953
Materialsgranite, shale and brick
Garrison information
Past
commanders		CaptainJohn Henry
Lieutenant ColonelBenjamin Kendrick Pierce
Brigadier GeneralRobert Anderson
ColonelHenry Jackson Hunt[1]
Fort Adams
Map
Interactive map showing the location of Fort Adams
Nearest cityNewport, Rhode Island
Coordinates41°28′43″N71°20′16″W/ 41.47866°N 71.33788°W/41.47866; -71.33788
Built1799, rebuilt 1824
ArchitectLouis de Tousard(1799),Simon BernardandJoseph G. Totten(1824)
NRHP referenceNo.70000014
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 28, 1970[3]
Designated NHLDDecember 8, 1976[2]
Plan of First System Fort Adams
Plan of Third System Fort Adams
Aerial view of Fort Adams
2016 view of the west front of Fort Adams. Note the Endicott-era fire control station.

History

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The first Fort Adams was designed byMajorLouis de Tousardof theUnited States Army Corps of Engineersas part of thefirst system of US fortifications.After some additions in 1809,[4]thisfortmounted 17 cannon and was garrisoned during theWar of 1812by Wood's State Corps of Rhode Islandmilitiamen.[5]TheUnited States Secretary of War's report for December 1811 describes the fort as "an irregularstar fortofmasonry,with an irregular indented work of masonry adjoining it, mounting seventeen heavy guns.... Thebarracksare of wood and bricks, for onecompany."[6]

After the War of 1812, there was a thorough review of the fortification needs of the United States and it was decided to replace the older Fort Adams with a newer and much larger fort. This was part of what became known as the Third System of U.S. fortifications. The new fort was designed byBrigadier GeneralSimon Bernard,aFrenchmanwho had served as amilitary engineerunderNapoleon Bonaparte.Bernard designed the new Fort Adams in the classic style and it became the most complex fortification in theWestern Hemisphere.It included atenailleandcrownwork,a complex outer work on the southern (landward) side, designed to break up and channel an assault force. The fort also had a detachedredoubt650 yards (594 m) south of the main fort.[7]In the United States, it is rivaled in size only byFort MonroeinHampton,Virginia, andFort Jeffersonon theDry Tortugasin Florida.[8]

Construction of the new fort began in 1824 underFirst lieutenantAndrew Talcott[9]and continued at irregular intervals until 1857. From 1825 to 1838 construction was overseen byLieutenant ColonelJoseph Gilbert Totten,the foremost American military engineer of his day. In 1838 Totten became U.S. ArmyChief of Engineersand served until his death in 1864.[10]

A section of historic Fort Adams in a neglected state in 1968.

The new Fort Adams was first garrisoned in August 1841, functioning as an active U.S. Army post until 1950. During this time the fort was active in five major wars – theMexican–American War(1846–1848),American Civil War(1861–1865),Spanish–American War(1898),World War I(1917–1918), andWorld War II(1941–1945) — but never fired a shot in anger.

At the start of theMexican–American Warin 1846, the post was commanded byBenjamin Kendrick Pierce,the brother of PresidentFranklin Pierce.The fort'sredoubt,about1⁄4mile (0.4 km) south of the main fort, was built during this war.[11][12][7]

From 1848 to 1853, Fort Adams was commanded byColonelWilliam Gates,a long-serving veteran of both the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. The fort's garrison was ordered to California and many of the soldiers lost their lives when the steamerSSSan Franciscowaswreckedin a NorthAtlanticstorm on December 24, 1853.

A report of 1854 stated that Fort Adams was armed with 100 32-pounder seacoast guns, 57 24-pounder seacoast guns, and 43 24-pounder flankhowitzers.All of these weapons weresmoothborecannon.The flank howitzers were short-barreled guns deployed incasematesin the tenaille and redoubt to protect the fort against a landward assault.[13]

From 1859 to 1863 the fort was in thecareofOrdnance SergeantMark Wentworth Smith, a Mexican–American War veteran who was wounded at theBattle of Chapultepec.He died in 1879 at the age of 76, the oldest active-dutyenlistedsoldier in the history of the U.S. Army.[14]

Civil War

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TheUnited States Department of Warwas concerned about the political sympathies of residents inMarylandduring theAmerican Civil War,so theUnited States Naval Academywas moved in 1861 fromAnnapolis,Maryland, to Fort Adams. In September 1861, the academy moved to the Atlantic House Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, and remained there for the rest of the war.

Among the midshipmen assigned to the Naval Academy while it was at Fort Adams wasRobley D. Evanswho was wounded atFort Fisher,North Carolina,in 1865, commanded thebattleshipUSSIowaduring the Spanish–American War in 1898, and later commanded theGreat White Fleeton the first leg of its epic around-the-world voyage of 1906–1908. Among Evans' classmates at Fort Adams were futureRear AdmiralCharles Sigsbee,who commanded the battleshipUSSMaine,and future CaptainCharles Vernon Gridley,who commanded theprotected cruiserOlympiaat theBattle of Manila Bayon 1 May 1898.

In 1862 Fort Adams became the headquarters and recruit depot for the U.S. Army's15th Infantry Regiment.This regiment, along with several others, was reorganized into a regiment of three eight-companybattalions,with the 3rd Battalion formed at Fort Adams in March 1864.

From August to October 1863, Fort Adams was commanded by Brigadier GeneralRobert Anderson,who had commandedFort Sumterwhen it was attacked by Confederate forces in April 1861, beginning the American Civil War.

1870s upgrade

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As part of a major upgrade to U.S. seacoast defenses, Fort Adams' armament was modernized in the 1870s with eleven 15-inch (381 mm)Rodman guns,thirteen 10-inch (254 mm) Rodman guns, and four 6.4-inch (163 mm) (100-pounder)Parrott rifles.Three new emplacements were built for the 15-inch (381 mm) guns; the remainder replaced older weapons in the fort, of which all but 20 32-pounders were removed by 1873. For mobile defense, four4.5-inch (114 mm) siege rifles,four3-inch (76.2 mm) Ordnance rifles,and four 10-inch (254 mm) mortars were provided. In 1894, four8-inch (203 mm) converted rifleswere added in a newbatterysouth of the fort.[13]

Twentieth century

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Endicott period

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As time went by, the fort's armament was upgraded to keep up with technological innovations. Major kinds of ordnance used at the fort included muzzle-loading cannon in the 19th century, rifledbreech-loadingartillerypieces in the early 20th century, andanti-aircraft gunsduring and afterWorld War II.The fort received significant armament, in the form of batteries to the south of the main fort, under theEndicott and Taft programsfrom 1896 through 1907.[11]These were to defend the East Passage ofNarragansett Bayin combination with the newFort WetherillinJamestown,Rhode Island, as part of theCoast Defenses of Narragansett Bay.

The Endicott and Taft-period batteries at Fort Adams were:[11][15]

Name No. of guns Gun type Carriage type Years active
Greene-Edgerton 16 12-inch (305 mm) coast defense mortarM1890 barbetteM1896 1898–1942
Reilly 2 10-inch (254 mm) gun M1888 disappearingM1896 1899–1917
Talbot 2 4.72-inch (120 mm) Armstrong gun pedestal 1899–1919
unnamed 1 8-inch (203 mm) gun M1888 convertedRodman carriage 1898–1899?
Bankhead 3 6-inch (152 mm) Armstrong gun pedestal 1907–1913
Belton 2 3-inch (76.2 mm) gun M1903 pedestal M1903 1907–1925

Batteries Greene-Edgerton, Reilly, and Talbot were built between 1896 and 1899 and were the first of these to be completed. Battery Greene-Edgerton included sixteen mortars, all of which were at first called Battery Greene, but the battery was divided into two groups of eight in 1906. Battery Talbot, one of a number of batteries added on theUnited States East Coastat the outbreak of theSpanish–American Warin 1898, included two4.72-inch (120 mm) Armstrong guns.[11]One gun of Battery Talbot is preserved at Equality Park in Newport.Rhode Island; another was inWesterly,Rhode Island, circa 1920–1977 and now is atFort MoultrienearCharleston,South Carolina.[16]An unnamed battery of a single8-inch M1888gun on a converted 1870s carriage also existed briefly from 1898. In 1907 two additional batteries were completed, Battery Bankhead with three6-inch Armstrong gunsand Battery Belton with two3-inch M1903 guns.[11][15]

Battery Greene-Edgerton was named for Major GeneralNathanael Greeneof theAmerican Revolutionary Warand Lieutenant Colonel Wright P. Edgerton, a professor at theUnited States Military Academy.Battery Reilly was named for Captain Henry J. Reilly, killed in theChina Relief ExpeditionnearPekingon 15 August 1900 during theBoxer Rebellionwho previously served at Fort Adams.[17]Battery Talbot was named forSilas Talbot,a U.S. Army officer from Rhode Island in the American Revolutionary War who later became aUnited States Navyofficerand commanded thefrigateUSSConstitutionfrom 1799 to 1801. Battery Bankhead was named forBrevetMajor GeneralJames Bankhead,who served in the War of 1812,Second Seminole War,and Mexican–American War. Battery Belton was named for Francis S. Belton, who served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War.[11]

In 1913 Battery Bankhead was disarmed and its three 6-inch (152 mm) guns sent to Hawaii.[11]

World War I

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The United States enteredWorld War Iin April 1917. During the war, Fort Adams served as the headquarters for theCoast Defenses of Narragansett Bay,as well as a training center. TheUnited States Army Coast Artillery Corps(CAC) was chosen to man all U.S. heavy artillery in that war, as it was the only part of the U.S. Army with experience using big guns and had a significant number of personnel trained in the operation of such guns. Four heavy artillery regiments and two heavy artillerybrigadeheadquarters were organized at Fort Adams and served in France, with troops ofCoast Defense CommandsfromMaine,Rhode Island, New York, and elsewhere as theircadre.These included two of the four U.S.railway artilleryregiments that saw action in that war (using French-made weapons) and their brigade headquarters. The railway gun units were designated the 52nd and 53rd Artillery Regiments (CAC) (originally the 7th and 8th Provisional Regiments), and the 30th Separate Artillery Brigade (Railway) (CAC) (originally the 1st Expeditionary Brigade). The 51st Artillery Regiment (CAC) (originally the 6th Provisional Regiment), 66th Artillery Regiment (CAC), and 34th Artillery Brigade (CAC) also were organized at Fort Adams and sent to France, but only the 51st completed training in time to see action.[18][19][20]Thornton Wilder,author and playwright whose 1973 novelTheophilus Northis set in Newport, served a three-month enlistment in theUnited States Army Coast Artillery Corpsat Fort Adams during World War I. Wilder rose to the rank ofcorporalin the Army.[citation needed]

The two 10-inch (254 mm) guns of Battery Reilly were dismounted in 1917 for potential service as railway guns, but after considerable delay they were sent toFort WarrennearBoston,Massachusetts, in 1919 to replace guns removed from that fort. Eight of the sixteen mortars at Battery Greene-Edgerton were removed in 1918 for potential railway artillery service; this was also done as a force-wide program to improve the rate of fire due to overcrowding in the mortar pits during reloading.[11]

Some sources state that Battery Talbot's guns were redeployed toSachuest Point,a few miles from Fort Adams, from 1917 to 1919. However, U.S. Army records show that these guns came fromFort Strong,Massachusetts, in theCoast Defenses of Boston.[21]

World War I ended on 11 November 1918. With the war over, Battery Talbot was disarmed in 1919 and its guns sent to Newport and Westerly as memorials. At some time after the war three3-inch (76.2 mm) M1917anti-aircraftguns were deployed at the fort, supplemented by at least twomobile 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns(or possiblymobile 75 mm guns) onWhite truckorFordModel Tchassis.[13]Battery Belton's two 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns were transferred toFort Wetherillin 1925 to replace obsolescent M1902 guns there. This left the eightmortarsof Battery Greene-Edgerton as Fort Adams' only armament.[11][15]

World War II

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In the Second World War a peak strength of over 3,000 soldiers were assigned to theHarbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay.In September 1940 the243rd Coast Artillery Regimentof theRhode Island National Guardwas mobilized and sent to Fort Adams to reinforce theRegular Army's10th Coast Artillery Regiment.The two regiments garrisoned several coast defense forts andanti-aircraftinstallations under the Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay. The United States entered the war on 7 December 1941, and during the war Fort Adams and most of the other Endicott Period forts in Rhode Island were superseded by new defenses centered onFort ChurchandFort Greeneand their guns were scrapped.[15]However, the previous anti-aircraft guns at the fort were replaced by two90-millimeter gunswith several40 mm Bofors gunsand.50-caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns.[22]An Anti-Motor Torpedo BoatBattery (AMTB 925), with two 90-millimeter guns on mobile mounts, was also at Fort Adams by December 1943.[23]As the war progressed, the number of troops was gradually reduced to about 500 by the end of the war in August 1945.

Another section, 1968

State Park

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In 1953, the U.S. Army transferred ownership of Fort Adams to the U.S. Navy, which still uses some of the grounds for family housing[citation needed].PresidentDwight D. Eisenhowerlived at the former commanding officer's quarters (now called theEisenhower House) during his summer vacations in Newport in 1958 and 1960.

From the early 1950s until the mid-1970s, Fort Adams fell victim to neglect, the weather, and vandalism. In 1965, the fort and most of the surrounding land was given to the State of Rhode Island for use asFort Adams State Park.In 1976, Fort Adams was declared aNational Historic Landmarkin recognition of its distinctive military architecture, which includes features not found in other forts of the period.[24]Through the efforts of State Senator Eric O'D. Taylor, in the 1970s Fort Adams was cleaned up, opened for tours, and used for the filming of thePBStelevision miniseriesThe Scarlet Letter.The tour program was cancelled circa 1980 due to budget cutbacks by the State of Rhode Island. Since 1981, the Fort Adams grounds have been host to theNewport Jazz Festivaland theNewport Folk Festival.

In the early 1990s, Fort Adams was subjected to an environmental remediation program which made the fort safe for public access. In 1994, the Fort Adams Trust was formed; to provide guided tours at the fort and oversee restoration work there. In 1995 the Fort Adams Trust began giving tours at the fort from May to September. Since that time, the fort has had several areas of the fort restored as well as having its land defenses cleared of overgrowth, and the trust's restoration efforts are ongoing..

In 2012, the park was the official venue for theAmerica's Cup World Seriesin Newport.

Notable persons associated with Fort Adams

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  • Entrance, 1968
  • 1968
  • Tunnel
  • Fort Adams in 2008
  • Postcard view

See also

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References

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  1. ^Duchesneau, John T.; Troost-Cramer, Kathleen (2014).Fort Adams: A History.The History Press.ISBN9781625850584.Retrieved15 March2017.
  2. ^"Fort Adams".National Historic Landmark summary listing.National Park Service. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-07.Retrieved2008-06-29.
  3. ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.April 15, 2008.
  4. ^Wade, p. 141
  5. ^Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, pp. 23–24
  6. ^Wade, p. 242
  7. ^abWeaver, pp. 120–133
  8. ^Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, pp. 32–35
  9. ^Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, p. 27
  10. ^Ann Johnson, "Material Experiments: Environment and Engineering Institutions in the Early American Republic,"Osiris,NS 24 (2009), 53–74.
  11. ^abcdefghiFortWiki article on Fort Adams
  12. ^Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, pp. 37–40
  13. ^abcDuchesneau and Troost-Cramer, pp. 154–156
  14. ^Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, pp. 44–46
  15. ^abcdBerhow, p. 204
  16. ^Berhow, p. 233
  17. ^Arlington Cemetery entry for Henry J. Reilly (1845–1900)
  18. ^Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, pp. 146–147
  19. ^Rinaldi, Richard A. (2004).The U. S. Army in World War I: Orders of Battle.General Data LLC. pp. 156–166.ISBN0-9720296-4-8.
  20. ^History of the Coast Artillery Corps in World War I
  21. ^Gun and Carriage cards,National Archives and Records Administration,Record Group 156, Records of theChief of Ordnance,Entry 712
  22. ^Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, p. 167
  23. ^Schroder, p. 120
  24. ^"NHL nomination for Fort Adams".National Park Service.Retrieved2015-02-17.

Bibliography

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