Dutch Island (Rhode Island)
Encyclopedia
Conanicut Island
Conanicut Island is the second largest island in Narragansett Bay, in the state of Rhode Island. It is connected on the east to Newport, Rhode Island, on Aquidneck Island by the Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, and on the west to North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on the...
at an entrance to Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, USA. The island is a part of the town of Jamestown, Rhode Island
Jamestown, Rhode Island
Jamestown is a town located in Newport County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 5,405 at the 2010 census. Jamestown is situated almost entirely on Conanicut Island, the second largest island in Narragansett Bay.-History:...
, and has a land area of 0.4156 km² (102.7 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s). It was uninhabited as of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
History
Abraham Pietersen Van Deusen
Abraham Pietersen van Deursen , aka Abraham Pietersen van Deusen, was an immigrant from Holland who settled in New Amsterdam and become one of the Council of 12 that was the first representative democracy in the Dutch colony...
of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
established a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
on the island to trade with the Narragansett Indians, trading Dutch goods, cloths, implements, and liquors for the Indians' furs, fish, and venison. Several years later the Dutch built Fort Ninigret
Fort Ninigret
Fort Ninigret is an historic fort or trading post site at Fort Neck Road in Charlestown, Rhode Island purportedly built and occupied by either Native Americans or early European settlers in the seventeenth century.-History:...
nearby. In 1654 English colonists purchased the island from the Indians. In 1825 the federal government acquired 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) at the southern end of the island, and on January 1, 1827, Dutch Island Light
Dutch Island Light
Dutch Island Light is an historic lighthouse on Dutch Island off Jamestown, Rhode Island.In 1825 the federal government acquired at the southern end of the island, and on January 1, 1827, Dutch Island Light was established to mark the west passage of Narragansett Bay and to aid vessels entering...
was established to mark the west passage of Narragansett Bay and to aid vessels entering Dutch Island Harbor. The first 30 feet (9.1 m) tower was built of stones found on the island. The government constructed a new 42 feet (12.8 m) brick tower in 1857 with a fog bell added in 1878. As of 2007, the island is part of the Bay Islands Park system of Rhode Island owned by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM). The island is easily accessible by kayak today off the coast of Conanicut Island
Conanicut Island
Conanicut Island is the second largest island in Narragansett Bay, in the state of Rhode Island. It is connected on the east to Newport, Rhode Island, on Aquidneck Island by the Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, and on the west to North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on the...
(Jamestown). No remnants of the Dutch trading post exist today, but a lighthouse and military buildings remain on the island.
Fort Greble
The Fort was named in honor of 1st Lt. John T. Greble, 2d Arty., U. S. A., the first officer of Regular Army killed in Civil War. In 1863 the land was sold to the Federal Government, and island was completely taken over by 1864.American Civil War
During the American Civil WarAmerican 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 island was used by the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored)
14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored)
14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery was an African American artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:...
. This same time period saw the creation of the first earth work defenses on the Island, and sporadic construction continued on the island after the Civil War ended.
Spanish American War
Following the Civil War, gun batteries were placed on Dutch Island, and by the late 19th century the defensive works had grown to become Fort Greble. Construction was spurred by the Spanish-American War, which included tunnels and gun emplacements, and the fort was enlarged until 1902. In 1897, Battery Hale was completed with the emplacement of Endicott Period 10" disappearing guns. This was followed by the establishment of Battery Mitchell with 3 - 6" disappearing guns, and Battery Sedgwick with 8 - 12" mortars. Finally 1900 saw the completion of Battery Ogden with it 2 - 3" rapid fire guns.Inter-war period training exercises
The New York Times reported that on June 26, 1908, a combined arms training exercise, between regular and militia military units from Fort Adams, and Fort Greble were conducted. Soldiers and their commanders launched a combined land and sea, simulated attack on the island. The residents of Newport and Jamestown were kept awake all night by the sound of the fort's guns going off. A copy of this newspaper report can be found at the New York Times website:http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C07E1DA153EE233A25754C2A9609C946997D6CF
World War I & II
The fort was home to as many as 495 soldiers during World War I, but was later abandoned in favor of other nearby installations. During World Wars I and II, Fort Greble was actively used as a German prisoner-of-war camp. The fort was active till the mid-1920 as part of the Narragansett Bay Coastal Defenses, and discontinued from service in 1947.While posted at Fort Greble, on April 2 of 1912, Corporal William W. Lee, loaded two pounds of the wrong powder into the morning reveille gun. ( re-enactors typically use about 4 ounces or 8 tablespoons of black powder) Cpl Lee pulled the lanyard to discharge the ceremonial gun to awaken the troops and the breech blew up. Parts tore through his jaw and lodging in his brain. His wounds were fatal. His grave is not located on the island, but in Jamestown's town cemetery on Narragansett Ave.
See also
- Dutch Island LightDutch Island LightDutch Island Light is an historic lighthouse on Dutch Island off Jamestown, Rhode Island.In 1825 the federal government acquired at the southern end of the island, and on January 1, 1827, Dutch Island Light was established to mark the west passage of Narragansett Bay and to aid vessels entering...
- Fort NinigretFort NinigretFort Ninigret is an historic fort or trading post site at Fort Neck Road in Charlestown, Rhode Island purportedly built and occupied by either Native Americans or early European settlers in the seventeenth century.-History:...
- Jamestown, Rhode IslandJamestown, Rhode IslandJamestown is a town located in Newport County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 5,405 at the 2010 census. Jamestown is situated almost entirely on Conanicut Island, the second largest island in Narragansett Bay.-History:...
- Abraham Pietersen van DeusenAbraham Pietersen Van DeusenAbraham Pietersen van Deursen , aka Abraham Pietersen van Deusen, was an immigrant from Holland who settled in New Amsterdam and become one of the Council of 12 that was the first representative democracy in the Dutch colony...