The Harbor Defenses of Boston was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Boston, Massachusetts from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1895 as the Boston Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Boston in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Boston in 1925.Stanton, pp. 455-481Coast Artillery Organization: A Brief Overview at the Coast Defense Study Group websiteRinaldi, pp. 165-166Berhow, p. 430-434
History Early Boston forts Colonial period Boston Harbor's principal coastal fort of the colonial era was Castle William, whose site was first fortified in 1634 and called "the Castle" until 1692, when it was renamed for William III, the King of England at the time. It is one of the oldest continuously fortified sites in the northeastern United States; however, the site of Fort William and Mary near Portsmouth, New Hampshire was fortified at least two years previously. The fort was rebuilt and expanded many times (six times prior to the American Revolution, once during it, and twice afterward), and in 1797 was named Fort Independence. The fort is on Castle Island, which was connected to the mainland by a causeway in 1928.Roberts, pp. 402-404
Revolutionary War The major event in the Boston area in the first year of the American Revolution was the Siege of Boston from 19 April 1775 to 17 March 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington besieged British forces in the city. The British built several forts as a result, notably on Governor's Island and Noddle's Island.Boston-area Revolutionary forts at American Forts Network In January 1776 artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York was brought to the Boston area under Henry Knox, providing the Patriot forces with more and larger cannon than they previously had. In the first week of March these weapons were used to engage the enemy. The turning point was the capture and fortification of Dorchester Heights on 5 March, allowing the Continental Army to bombard the British fleet in the harbor. The British evacuated Boston on 17 March under a truce, taking the ships carrying their army to Halifax, Nova Scotia. However, they damaged and destroyed Castle William and its ordnance as best they could, to deny its use to the Patriots.
Patriot forces occupied and rebuilt the British forts in the area to the best of their abilities, including Castle William (also called Fort Adams)Shurtleff, pp. 495-496 and the forts on Governor's and Noddle's Islands. A new fort was built in 1776 on Telegraph Hill in Hull and named Fort Independence.Fort Independence (Hull) at American Forts Network In 1778-1780 a force of French Marines from D'Estaing's fleet greatly expanded the fort (probably assisted by Patriot forces), supervised by Chief Engineer du Portail, a French military engineer officer assisting the Continental Army at General Washington's direction.Wade, p. 11Roberts, pp. 408-409
1783-War of 1812 In 1794 Castle William/Fort Adams was repaired to some extent.Fort Independence (Boston) at American Forts Network In 1797 or 1799 (references vary) President John Adams visited the fort. At that time it was renamed Fort Independence and a complete rebuilding was projected. The fort in Hull lost the name and was called either the Allerton Battery or "the French fort" afterwards. The name "Fort Adams" went to a fort in Newport, Rhode Island completed in 1799. The newly christened Fort Independence was rebuilt 1801-1803 under the first system of US fortifications and was designed by French-born engineer officer Jean Foncin.Parkman, p. 10 It had 42 guns in the fort, with two outer batteries for six guns each, and could house two companies of about 100 men each, with an external wooden barracks for six additional companies.Fort Independence (Boston) at FortWiki.comWade, p. 242 In 1808-1812 Fort Warren (renamed Fort Winthrop in 1834) was built on Governor's Island under the second system of US fortifications, with 12 guns in the fort and 20 guns in two water batteries.Wade, pp. 139-141, 242Fort Winthrop at FortWiki.comRoberts, p. 413 After the outbreak of the War of 1812 the fort on Noddle's Island was rebuilt with state resources as Fort Strong, named for Governor Caleb Strong.Noddle's Island at American Forts NetworkWade, p. 177
1816-1890 Major new defenses for Boston were built under the third system of US fortifications. In 1833 work was to begin on a rebuilding and expansion of Fort Independence as a granite fort, but commencement was delayed until 1836 due to funding problems cause by an inflation spike. The rebuilt fort was substantially complete by 1848, although repairs and other work continued until 1861.Parkman, pp. 19-20 Another large granite fort was begun in 1833 on George's Island and named Fort Warren; the previous fort of that name on Governor's Island was renamed Fort Winthrop. The new Fort Warren, designed for 300 guns, was completed in 1861.Fort Warren at FortWiki.comRoberts, pp. 411-412 A large central citadel with 16 guns was added to Fort Winthrop and its water batteries were rebuilt for seven guns each.Weaver, pp. 104–114 The supervising builder of Forts Independence, Warren, and Winthrop was Sylvanus Thayer, best known as Superintendent of West Point although he spent most of his career building the Boston forts.
Boston Harbor was not attacked in the Civil War; however, the forts served as mobilization centers and Fort Warren was a POW camp. Rearmament of the forts with the new Rodman guns, primarily 15-inch and 10-inch caliber, began during the war, most likely along with some 100-, 200-, and 300-pounder Parrott rifles.
The Civil War showed that masonry forts were vulnerable to rifled cannon; the classic example was the siege of Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia in 1862. Also, Parrott rifles had shown an alarming tendency to burst when fired. In the 1870s a major rebuilding of coast defenses was projected. These were centered on earth-protected batteries of Rodman guns along with some Parrott rifles. However, all funding for new fortifications was cut off in 1879 before much had been accomplished in the Boston area. The existing forts were at least partially rearmed with Rodman guns. The external batteries of Fort Winthrop were rebuilt for Rodman guns,Commins, Mabel P., "Fort Winthrop: Its Past and Present History", The Bostonian, Vol. II, August 1895, pp. 491-501, access date 24 March 2016 (web page title "National Magazine") and the southeast bastion of Fort Warren was roofed over with massive brick arches. A plaque at the fort states that it was a prototype casemated battery for 15-inch Rodmans, certainly rare in the US and possibly unique. In 1879 Fort Independence was placed in caretaker status and was not further used as a fort, although it was re-occupied as a torpedo and mine depot in the Spanish–American War. Fort Winthrop also went into caretaker status about the same time, also with some re-use in that war.
Endicott period
The Board of Fortifications was convened in 1885 under Secretary of War William Crowninshield Endicott to develop recommendations for a full replacement of existing coast defenses. Most of its recommendations were adopted, and construction began in 1892 on new forts to defend the Boston area. Two underwater minefields also guarded the harbor. Construction continued during the command of John L. Tiernon; most of the forts were completed by the end of 1904, and the last was completed in 1907. The complex geography of the harbor area required seven forts to defend it, including the rebuilding of parts of Fort Warren on George's Island. The six new forts were Fort Banks and Fort Heath in Winthrop, Fort Strong on Long Island, Fort Andrews on Peddocks Island, Fort Revere on Point Allerton in Hull (on the site of the Revolutionary War's Fort Independence), and Fort Standish on Lovells Island.Berhow, pp. 205-206Map of Harbor Defenses of Boston at FortWiki.com The heavy weapons were as follows: Fort Banks had sixteen 12-inch (305 mm) mortars in the "Abbot Quad" configuration (four pits in a square with four mortars per pit) to concentrate their fire; it was the first mortar battery of the Endicott program completed. Nearby Fort Heath had three 12-inch guns on disappearing carriages. Fort Strong had five 10-inch (254 mm) disappearing guns while Fort Andrews had sixteen 12-inch mortars with the pits in an open-back line to improve reloading. Fort Warren was rebuilt with two 12-inch and five 10-inch disappearing guns, Fort Revere had two 12-inch guns on barbette carriages, and Fort Standish had four 10-inch guns. Medium-caliber weapons included two 4.72-inch (120 mm) Armstrong guns at Fort Strong, two 6-inch (152 mm) guns and two 5-inch (127 mm) guns at Fort Andrews, six 6-inch guns and two 5-inch guns at Fort Revere, and five 6-inch guns at Fort Standish. Smaller weapons were also provided to defend the minefields against minesweepers; these were primarily several models of 3-inch (76 mm) guns with an odd pair of 4-inch (102 mm) guns at Fort Warren.
As the new forts entered service, by 1908 Forts Independence and Winthrop (which had a magazine explosion in 1902) were removed from use.Seasholes, p. 326
The battery of two 4.72-inch (120 mm) Armstrong guns at Fort Strong was among many hastily added following the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898.Congressional serial set, 1900, Report of the Commission on the Conduct of the War with Spain, Vol. 7, pp. 3778–3780, Washington: Government Printing Office Most of the Endicott batteries were years from completion, and it was feared the Spanish fleet would bombard the US east coast. In 1917, during World War I, these guns were transferred to Sachuest Point in Middletown, Rhode Island and removed from service in 1919, shortly after the war ended. One is preserved as a memorial in Ansonia, Connecticut.Gun and Carriage cards, National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 156, Records of the Chief of Ordnance, Entry 712
In 1909 a vast landward defense system was proposed for the Boston area, 70 miles long with its ends at Lynn and Hingham, but none of it was built.Parkman, p. 122
In 1910 four M1890 12-inch (305 mm) mortars were removed from Fort Andrews and sent to the Philippines; two of these survive at Battery Geary, Fort Mills, Corregidor.Berhow, p. 233 These weapons saw action in the Japanese invasion in 1941-42. At Fort Andrews they were replaced by M1908 mortars in 1913.Fort Andrews at FortWiki.com
In 1911-12 eight of Fort Banks' sixteen M1886 12-inch (305 mm) mortars were replaced with M1890 mortars; the remainder were replaced in 1915. Also, in 1912-13 the fort's structure was largely replaced due to inferior concrete, and the magazines were expanded.Fort Banks at FortWiki.com
In 1914 a one-gun 10-inch (254 mm) battery at Fort Warren was disarmed and abandoned due to inferior concrete; this was Battery Jack Adams inside the stone fort.Fort Warren (2) at FortWiki.com
World War I