Fort Lee (Salem, Massachusetts)
Fort Lee | |
 Overgrown earthworks of the fort | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Salem, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Built | 1776 |
| NRHP referenceNo. | 94000285 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 14, 1994 |
Fort Leeis a historicAmerican Revolutionary Warfort inSalem, Massachusetts.The site, located at a high point next to Fort Avenue on Salem Neck, is a relatively rare fortification from that period whose remains are relatively unaltered. It is an irregular 5-pointedstar fort.[2]Although there is some documentary evidence that the Neck was fortified as early as the 17th century, the earthworks built in 1776 are the first clear evidence of the site's military use. Reportedly, the fort had a garrison of 3 officers and 100 artillerymen with 16 guns.[2][3]The site, of which only overgrown earthworks and a stonemagazinesurvive, was repaired in the 1790s,[3]and rebuilt for theAmerican Civil War.[4]A state cultural resource document states that the fort has not been much modified since the Revolution, and has not been built over.[5]It was garrisoned by theMassachusetts militiain theWar of 1812,abandoned afterwards,[3]and rebuilt with four 8-inchcolumbiadsin the Civil War.[4]An Army engineer drawing dated 1872 depicts the fort's five-pointed trace and the four Civil War gun positions.[6]It was also garrisoned during theSpanish–American War.[3]
The property was federalized in 1867, and transferred to the City of Salem in 1922. The site was briefly rehabilitated at the time of theUnited States bicentennialin 1976, with trails and interpretive signs, but these were later removed, and the site has again become overgrown.[5]Earthworks and a stone magazine remain.[2]The fort site was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1994.[1]
See also
[edit]- Fort Pickering
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Salem, Massachusetts
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts
- List of military installations in Massachusetts
References
[edit]- ^ab"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.April 15, 2008.
- ^abcRoberts, p. 405
- ^abcd"Massachusetts - Fort Lee".American Forts Network.Retrieved5 June2020.
- ^abManuel, p. 32
- ^ab"MACRIS inventory record for Fort Lee".Commonwealth of Massachusetts.Retrieved2020-06-05.
- ^Manuel, p. 37
- Manuel, Dale A. (Summer 2019). "Massachusetts North Shore Civil War Forts".Coast Defense Journal.Vol. 33, no. 3. Mclean, Virginia: CDSG Press.
- Roberts, Robert B. (1988).Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States.New York: Macmillan.ISBN0-02-926880-X.
External links
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Former military forts, reservations, and camps inMassachusetts | ||
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| Forts |
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- Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
- Buildings and structures in Salem, Massachusetts
- American Revolutionary War forts
- War of 1812 forts
- American Civil War forts
- Forts in Massachusetts
- National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Massachusetts
- American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places