Fort Wolcott
Encyclopedia
Fort Wolcott was a fortification on the small Goat Island (Rhode Island)
in Newport Harbor of Narragansett Bay
less than 1 mile west of the city of Newport, Rhode Island
. The attacks on the HMS St John (1764)
and HMS Liberty (1768)
occurred near the fort.
. The fort with 12 guns lasted until 1724.
. In 1738, defenders of Rhode Island built a stone fortification on the site with perhaps fifty guns.
In 1764, residents of Newport, Rhode Island, took over Fort George and fired shots at the HMS St. John
with a crew that allegedly stole from local merchants. In another early act of rebellion against British rule, Rhode Islanders in 1769 burned the British customs ship HMS Liberty
when it drifted to the north end of Goat Island.
, and armed it with 28 guns. In 1794, the City of Newport sold Goat Island to the federal government for $1,500 to maintain a fort to defend Newport Harbor. Control of Fort Washington passed from the Rhode Island state militia to United States Army artillery and engineering companies. The Army rebuilt Fort Washington and outfitted it with 38 guns. The first United States Army officer to command the fort was Captain William Littlefield, a native of Newport who had served during the American Revolution. Captain Littlefield assumed his duties in either June or July of 1794 which marked the beginning of a presence of the United States Armed Forces in Newport which continues to this day. (Only West Point, New York can claim a longer continuous presence of the US Armed Forces.)
and a signer of the Declartion of Indpendence.
The Army assigned Captain John Henry (spy)
, who was instrumental in starting the War of 1812, to Fort Wolcott in the late 1790s. From 1798 to 1800, the American government rebuilt the earthworks of the fort. After 1802 Fort Wolcott was the primary fort defending Newport harbor along with the smaller Fort Adams
which was activated in 1799. The Army repaired Fort Wolcott in 1808. Secretary of War William Eustis
on 19 December 1809 (American State Papers, Volume 016, page 245.) records 12 guns mounted within Fort Wolcott and 18 more guns mounted on the flank batteries to the north and south of the fort.
By the time of the War of 1812
, Fort Wolcott along with Fort Adams
, Fort Greene, Fort Hamilton
, North Battery, Fort Dumpling, and Tonomy Hill defended Newport harbor and strategically important Narragansett Bay. Fort Wolcott, built of stone cemented with lime, featured a brick-and-stone magazine, sally-port, ditch, furnace, and bomb-proof brick barracks. Armaments included five long range 32-pounder guns.
President James Monroe
visited the garrison on 28 June 1817 and left with a positive impression. By 1818, Fort Wolcott featured 28 guns. After 1821, Fort Wolcott absorbed troops from the other forts in Rhode Island and hosted the only continuous army garrison in the state. Meteorological observations began by 1822. In 1823 or 1824, Americans constructed the first Newport Harbor Lighthouse at the north end of Goat Island.
in 1841.
The United States Government built the present Goat Island Lighthouse at the northern tip of the island in 1842 to replace the old lighthouse which had been moved to Prudence Island.
Goat Island hosted the training ship squadron of United States Naval Academy
during the American Civil War
. The War Department still stationed an ordnance sergeant at the fort to maintain its artillery pieces as late as the 1870s.
at the nearby Newport Navy base.
has maintained a cutter at Goat Island since at least the late 1960s. The cutter Point Turner (WPB 82365) served her entire 31 year career at Goat Island from when she was commissioned on 14 April 1967 until she was decommissioned on 3 April 1998. The tradition of having a Coast Guard cutter stationed at Goat Island resumed when the Marine Protector Class Coastal Patrol Boat Tiger Shark (WPB 87359) was commissioned on 16 July 2005.
Goat Island (Rhode Island)
Goat Island is a small island in Narragansett Bay and is part of the city of Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. The island is connected to the Easton's Point neighborhood via a causeway bridge. Goat Island is home to the Newport Harbor Light , The Marina Cafe & Pub, Belle Mer, and the Goat Island South...
in Newport Harbor of 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...
less than 1 mile west of the city of Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. The attacks on the HMS St John (1764)
HMS St John (1764)
HMS St. John was a Royal Navy ship attacked in 1764 by American colonists in Newport, Rhode Island.-History:Rhode Islanders were violently opposed to the passage of the Sugar Act in 1764, because the colony's main industry was producing rum from molasses...
and HMS Liberty (1768)
HMS Liberty (1768)
HMS Liberty was a British ship that was burned in 1769 by American colonists in Newport, Rhode Island as one of the first acts of open defiance against the British crown.-History:The ship was originally owned by John Hancock...
occurred near the fort.
Fort Anne
An earthen Fort Anne, built on Goat Island in 1702 or 1703 during the War of Spanish Succession, took the name of the reigning Queen Anne of Great BritainAnne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
. The fort with 12 guns lasted until 1724.
Fort George
In 1730, the fort returned to service under a new name, Fort George after King George II of Great BritainGeorge II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
. In 1738, defenders of Rhode Island built a stone fortification on the site with perhaps fifty guns.
In 1764, residents of Newport, Rhode Island, took over Fort George and fired shots at the HMS St. John
HMS St John (1764)
HMS St. John was a Royal Navy ship attacked in 1764 by American colonists in Newport, Rhode Island.-History:Rhode Islanders were violently opposed to the passage of the Sugar Act in 1764, because the colony's main industry was producing rum from molasses...
with a crew that allegedly stole from local merchants. In another early act of rebellion against British rule, Rhode Islanders in 1769 burned the British customs ship HMS Liberty
HMS Liberty (1768)
HMS Liberty was a British ship that was burned in 1769 by American colonists in Newport, Rhode Island as one of the first acts of open defiance against the British crown.-History:The ship was originally owned by John Hancock...
when it drifted to the north end of Goat Island.
Fort Liberty
With the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775, the fort was renamed as Fort Liberty. In 1776, American patriots armed Fort Liberty with 25 guns and built various breastworks to defend the City of Newport. In December 1776 the British army occupied Newport without resistance and renamed the fort "Fort George." The British left Newport in November 1779. The French army under Count de Rochambeau occupied Newport in 1780 and used the fort as part of their defenses until their departure in 1781.Fort Washington
In 1784, Rhode Islanders repaired the fort, renamed it Fort Washington after General George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, and armed it with 28 guns. In 1794, the City of Newport sold Goat Island to the federal government for $1,500 to maintain a fort to defend Newport Harbor. Control of Fort Washington passed from the Rhode Island state militia to United States Army artillery and engineering companies. The Army rebuilt Fort Washington and outfitted it with 38 guns. The first United States Army officer to command the fort was Captain William Littlefield, a native of Newport who had served during the American Revolution. Captain Littlefield assumed his duties in either June or July of 1794 which marked the beginning of a presence of the United States Armed Forces in Newport which continues to this day. (Only West Point, New York can claim a longer continuous presence of the US Armed Forces.)
Fort Wolcott
The Army rebuilt the fort again in 1798 as part of the first system of Seacoast defense in the United States and renamed it Fort Wolcott, commemorating the services of the late Oliver Wolcott, a general of the Connecticut militia, a member of the Continental CongressContinental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
and a signer of the Declartion of Indpendence.
The Army assigned Captain John Henry (spy)
John Henry (spy)
John Henry was a spy and adventurer of mysterious origins. It is reputed that he was born in Dublin, Ireland, probably between 1750 and 1775, although 1776 is the more accepted year....
, who was instrumental in starting the War of 1812, to Fort Wolcott in the late 1790s. From 1798 to 1800, the American government rebuilt the earthworks of the fort. After 1802 Fort Wolcott was the primary fort defending Newport harbor along with the smaller Fort Adams
Fort Adams
Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, was established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification. Its first commander was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812.-History:...
which was activated in 1799. The Army repaired Fort Wolcott in 1808. Secretary of War William Eustis
William Eustis
William Eustis was an early American statesman.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and studied at the Boston Latin School before he entered Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1772. He studied medicine under Dr. Joseph Warren and helped care for the wounded at the Battle of Bunker...
on 19 December 1809 (American State Papers, Volume 016, page 245.) records 12 guns mounted within Fort Wolcott and 18 more guns mounted on the flank batteries to the north and south of the fort.
By the time of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Fort Wolcott along with Fort Adams
Fort Adams
Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, was established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification. Its first commander was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812.-History:...
, Fort Greene, Fort Hamilton
Fort Hamilton
Historic Fort Hamilton is located in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst, and is one of several posts that are part of the region which is headquartered by the Military District of Washington...
, North Battery, Fort Dumpling, and Tonomy Hill defended Newport harbor and strategically important Narragansett Bay. Fort Wolcott, built of stone cemented with lime, featured a brick-and-stone magazine, sally-port, ditch, furnace, and bomb-proof brick barracks. Armaments included five long range 32-pounder guns.
President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
visited the garrison on 28 June 1817 and left with a positive impression. By 1818, Fort Wolcott featured 28 guns. After 1821, Fort Wolcott absorbed troops from the other forts in Rhode Island and hosted the only continuous army garrison in the state. Meteorological observations began by 1822. In 1823 or 1824, Americans constructed the first Newport Harbor Lighthouse at the north end of Goat Island.
Decommissioning
The Army transferred the garrison from Fort Wolcott on 22 May 1836 to fight in the First Seminole War. This left Rhode Island without an active coast defense fort until the opening of the new Fort AdamsFort Adams
Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, was established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification. Its first commander was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812.-History:...
in 1841.
The United States Government built the present Goat Island Lighthouse at the northern tip of the island in 1842 to replace the old lighthouse which had been moved to Prudence Island.
Goat Island hosted the training ship squadron of United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
during the American Civil War
American 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 War Department still stationed an ordnance sergeant at the fort to maintain its artillery pieces as late as the 1870s.
Naval activities
In 1869, the Navy founded a United States Naval Torpedo Station on the site of the former Fort Wolcott. This naval facility greatly expanded during the succeeding century, and the Navy Torpedo Factory on Goat Island produced many torpedoes for the Navy through World War I and World War II. The Navy nevertheless closed the torpedo station in 1951 and created Naval Undersea Warfare CenterNaval Undersea Warfare Center
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons systems associated with undersea warfare...
at the nearby Newport Navy base.
Coast Guard
In addition to the Goat Island lighthouse, the Coast GuardCoast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
has maintained a cutter at Goat Island since at least the late 1960s. The cutter Point Turner (WPB 82365) served her entire 31 year career at Goat Island from when she was commissioned on 14 April 1967 until she was decommissioned on 3 April 1998. The tradition of having a Coast Guard cutter stationed at Goat Island resumed when the Marine Protector Class Coastal Patrol Boat Tiger Shark (WPB 87359) was commissioned on 16 July 2005.