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QUAINT AND HISTORIC FORTS OF NORTH AMERICA
QUAINT AND HISTORIC FORTS OF NORTH AMERICA
COLONIAL MANSIONS OF MARYLAND AND DELAWARE BY JOHN MARTIN HAMMOND With sixty-five illustrations from original photographs. Large octavo. Handsomely bound in cloth. Gilt top. In a box. A Limited Edition , printed from type which has been distributed. $5.00 net. The Outlook, N. Y. C. “A book of elegance in form, illustration, and subject.” J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY Publishers Philadelphia QUAINT AND HISTORIC FORTS OF NORTH AMERICA BY JOHN MARTIN HAMMOND AUTHOR OF “COLONIAL MANSIONS OF MARYLAND A
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PREFACE
PREFACE
An account of the most famous fortifications of North America is, in reality, a cross section of the military history of the continent; and whatever ingenuity there may be in this method of presenting the conspicuous deeds of valor of the American people will, it may be hoped, add interest to the following pages. So many races of men have wrestled for the North American continent in, historically speaking, so brief a space of time! We behold the Indian in possession though we do not know who was
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STRONGHOLDS OF THE PAST
STRONGHOLDS OF THE PAST
The tourist on the coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia—for in summer hundreds of people seek out this pleasant land for its cheerful climate—may come upon a little bay on the easternmost verge of the land where is a deep land-locked inlet protected from elemental fury by a long rocky arm thrust out from the shore into the sea. He will not be able to surmise from the present aspect of his surroundings that this was the site of mighty Louisburg, the greatest artificial stronghold (Quebec bein
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FORT INDEPENDENCE (CASTLE WILLIAM) CASTLE ISLAND—BOSTON HARBOR
FORT INDEPENDENCE (CASTLE WILLIAM) CASTLE ISLAND—BOSTON HARBOR
That Bostonians are thankful people truly appreciating their public blessings is amply proved by the way in which they turn out to Fort Independence, Castle Island, now a part of the Marine Park of their city, for the fresh air and unexciting recreation it offers. Other citizens of other cities create parks from their historic places and, then, content to know that they have them when they want them, allot the day and night watchmen entire seclusion in these domains. With Bostonians it is differ
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FORT COLUMBUS, OR JAY GOVERNOR’S ISLAND—NEW YORK HARBOR
FORT COLUMBUS, OR JAY GOVERNOR’S ISLAND—NEW YORK HARBOR
Even Governor’s Island, once a smiling garden, appertaining to the sovereigns of the province, was now covered with fortifications, inclosing a tremendous block-house,—so that this once peaceful island resembled a fierce little warrior in a big cocked hat, breathing gunpowder and defiance to the world!—Washington Irving, “Knickerbocker’s New York.” The graceful little island of Washington Irving is described in a recent publication of the government printing office at Washington after the follow
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TICONDEROGA LAKE CHAMPLAIN—NEW YORK
TICONDEROGA LAKE CHAMPLAIN—NEW YORK
One could desire to be at the bold promontory of Ticonderoga in 1609, when the virgin woodside gazed anxiously at Samuel Champlain, that intrepid French adventurer, as he fired his bell-mouthed musket against the mystified Iroquois. The echoes of the discharge of this ancient firearm were seldom allowed to die in these wildernesses until the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, until the complete ascendency of white man over red had been established. Standing upon the ramparts of the old fort on
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CROWN POINT LAKE CHAMPLAIN—NEW YORK
CROWN POINT LAKE CHAMPLAIN—NEW YORK
It would be hard, gazing upon Crown Point to-day, to realize the storms and terrors it let loose upon the English colonists not quite two hundred years ago. Girt by the smiling waters of one of America’s most beautiful lakes, overtopped by a verdant mountain, and gazing out upon green fields in the shade of majestic woodlands, all of the atmosphere of the place is one of peace and aloofness from the pain of human suffering. Yet the name “Crown Point” was a sinister thing in the early days of the
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THE HEIGHTS OF QUEBEC (THE CITADEL, CASTLE ST. LOUIS) CANADA
THE HEIGHTS OF QUEBEC (THE CITADEL, CASTLE ST. LOUIS) CANADA
That hardy mariner, Jacques Cartier, sailed up the St. Lawrence River in 1535, but it was not until 1608, when Champlain’s vessel brought the first permanent colonists of New France, that Quebec was founded. The storm-tossed little caravel entered the St. Lawrence in the early summer of that year. Champlain landed his miscellaneous following, built “L’Habitation,” as he named the first official residence in Quebec, and laid the foundations of a small fort, an act portentous of the stirring event
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FORT ANNAPOLIS ROYAL ANNAPOLIS—ANNAPOLIS BASIN, NOVA SCOTIA
FORT ANNAPOLIS ROYAL ANNAPOLIS—ANNAPOLIS BASIN, NOVA SCOTIA
More by accident than by design the Sieur de Monts, in 1604, with his oddly assorted band of adventurers on the foggy Bay of Fundy, steered into the rocky entrance which leads into the beautiful landlocked basin of present-day Annapolis in Nova Scotia. One of his followers, the Baron de Potrincourt, was so enchanted by the beauty of the scene that he asked a grant of land here. This was given him, and upon this land in the next year he built himself first a fort, then a house, and then several m
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THE CITADEL AT HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA
THE CITADEL AT HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA
The province of Acadia had been in English possession for nearly half a century when, in 1749, the powers that were in the Mother Country decided that Annapolis, the little game-cock city of the peninsula, whose history went back to 1605, was not a fitting place for the capital of the province. Its harbor, while beautiful and secure, was not large enough for the purposes that England had in mind; moreover, it was on the western side of the peninsula, so that to get to it from Europe one must pas
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FORT GEORGE CASTINE—MAINE
FORT GEORGE CASTINE—MAINE
The little town of Castine, on the Penobscot River, Maine, is a favorite resort for summer visitors, who are attracted by its fine air, its abundance of sea food, and its accessibility to the interior of the country. These same considerations together with the fine strategic location of Castine Peninsula at the head of Penobscot Bay, guarding the entrance to the Penobscot River, influenced the French adventurers of three hundred and more years ago to plant their settlement of Pentagoet and to bu
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FORT FREDERICK PEMAQUID—MAINE
FORT FREDERICK PEMAQUID—MAINE
The English clenched hand which answered the brandishing of the French mailed fist at Pentagoet, now Castine, was Fort Frederick at Pemaquid, that anciently-known peninsula which marks the entrance to the Kennebec River. Parts of the walls of old Fort Frederick are still standing, its entire outlines are plainly to be discerned, and it is a favorite point of visit with the many people who make their homes in this part of the Maine coast during the summer months. Pemaquid, itself, is one of those
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FORT NIAGARA AT MOUTH OF NIAGARA RIVER—NEW YORK
FORT NIAGARA AT MOUTH OF NIAGARA RIVER—NEW YORK
The main building of old Fort Niagara, “The Castle,” is probably the oldest piece of masonry in the State of New York, having been constructed by the French in 1726. The stone-work of the barracks, a structure 134 by 24 feet with walls only eight feet in height, goes back to 1757, and in this year was, also, built the magazine. The bake-house, replacing a former one on the same site, was put up by the British in 1762 and the two stone block-houses by them in 1771 and 1773. In the two hundred and
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FORT ONTARIO OSWEGO—NEW YORK
FORT ONTARIO OSWEGO—NEW YORK
It was in 1722 that Oswego, New York, was made the site of an armed camp and, at that, it was more through the stubborn determination of Governor Burnet of the colony that the thing should be done than through any willingness of the staid burghers of the State Assembly to co-operate with their executive in schemes leading to future good. As a matter of fact, Governor Burnet is said to have paid the bill for establishing his little fort out of his own pocket, though he may have made this sum up i
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FORT MICHILLIMACKINAC AND FORT HOLMES MACKINAC ISLAND—MICHIGAN
FORT MICHILLIMACKINAC AND FORT HOLMES MACKINAC ISLAND—MICHIGAN
It was a conjunction of the Church and the State which began the career of Fort Michillimackinac, more than three centuries ago, at Saint Ignace, a point on the Canadian side of the Straits of Mackinac; the Church in the person of the restless Father Marquette and the State in the form of its indefatigable military servant, the Sieur de la Salle. In 1673 Father Marquette established the mission of Saint Ignace in a thriving village of the Ottawas, who were, Francis Parkman tells us, among the mo
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FORT MASSAC NEAR METROPOLIS—ILLINOIS
FORT MASSAC NEAR METROPOLIS—ILLINOIS
The far too far-seeing French in 1702, in furtherance of their design of dominion in North America, despatched a detachment of about thirty men from Kaskaskia under the temporal command of M. Juchereau de St. Denis and the spiritual direction of fiery Father Mermet to establish a trading post, mission and fort, as near as convenient to the mouth of the Ohio River to guard the southern access to this vital means of travel. The result of this expedition was the establishment of Fort Massac, the si
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WEST POINT, ITS ENVIRONS AND STONY POINT AT ENTRANCE TO HUDSON HIGHLANDS—NEW YORK
WEST POINT, ITS ENVIRONS AND STONY POINT AT ENTRANCE TO HUDSON HIGHLANDS—NEW YORK
The long trough of land which runs 384 miles from New York to Montreal, consisting of the Hudson River Valley, Lakes George and Champlain and the Richelieu River Valley, is without doubt the most vital of American natural highways and its importance has been recognized from the earliest days of American history. The French in the days when the lilies of France waved over half of the American continent sent their war parties down this depression to prey upon the English settlements, and hence cam
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FORT CONSTITUTION (FORT WILLIAM AND MARY) GREAT ISLAND NEAR PORTSMOUTH—NEW HAMPSHIRE
FORT CONSTITUTION (FORT WILLIAM AND MARY) GREAT ISLAND NEAR PORTSMOUTH—NEW HAMPSHIRE
The records of the War Department at Washington say that Fort Constitution reservation “contains twelve acres. It is situated on a rocky projection in the Piscataqua River at the entrance to the harbor of the City of Portsmouth. It is about three miles below the city on the west side of the river, on the eastern end of ‘Great Island,’ being the most eastern end of New Hampshire. It was formerly an English fort called ‘William and Mary’ and was occupied by United States troops in 1806.” The locat
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FORT MIFFLIN ON THE DELAWARE—PHILADELPHIA
FORT MIFFLIN ON THE DELAWARE—PHILADELPHIA
A visit to Fort Mifflin, Mud Island, on the Delaware River, Pennsylvania, to-day reveals a star-shaped fort of familiar pattern and of most substantial construction. It has the distinction of being within the corporate limits of one of the largest cities on the continent of North America,—Philadelphia,—yet a more deserted or forlorn looking spot it would be hard to imagine. Without benefit of policemen or any of the familiar marks of a great city, it might well serve in a “movie” for an ancient
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FORT McHENRY BALTIMORE
FORT McHENRY BALTIMORE
The spot whereon the flag-staff stood which bore the stars and stripes that fervid morning upon which Francis Scott Key arose, saw that our flag was still there and jotted down the national anthem on the back of an envelope before going down to breakfast, still conspires with a large and lusty successor of this first staff to keep Old Glory flying in the heavens. The immediate surroundings, the harbor outlook, the busy city now sending its clamor over the point on which the old fort stands, all
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FORT MARION ST. AUGUSTINE—FLORIDA
FORT MARION ST. AUGUSTINE—FLORIDA
The ancient city of St. Augustine, the oldest place of European settlement on the North American continent, is on the east coast of Florida at the mouth of the St. Augustine River and at the northern end of a long lagoon formed by Anastatia Island, which separates the waters of the lagoon and of the Atlantic Ocean. Our interest in the quaint spot may be concentrated in Fort Marion, a Spanish bravo which has fought the city’s battles for more than three hundred and fifty years. Probably the most
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LA FUERZA, MORRO CASTLE, AND OTHER DEFENCES HAVANA—CUBA
LA FUERZA, MORRO CASTLE, AND OTHER DEFENCES HAVANA—CUBA
The city of Havana was located where it stands to-day in 1519, after a four years’ unsatisfactory trial of a site on the opposite, or south, coast of the island. It jogged along comfortably through all of the ordinary perils of that time until 1538, when it was attacked and sacked by a French privateersman. The authorities in the home country determined to provide some means of defence for the baby metropolis, and one Hernando de Soto, an impecunious adventurer who had followed Pizarro to Peru,
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FORT SAN CARLOS PENSACOLA BAY—FLORIDA
FORT SAN CARLOS PENSACOLA BAY—FLORIDA
Pensacola Bay is a lozenge-shaped body of water, the entrance to which from the Gulf is at the southern point of the figure, and the southern side is formed by Santa Rosa Island, which stretches out in a long sandy line here to divide sea and inland water. On the western shore, near the head of the bay, is situated the busy city of Pensacola, one of the most active shipping points on the Gulf and also one of the most ancient. About six miles south of Pensacola, and near the mouth of the bay, is
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THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO GOLDEN GATE—CALIFORNIA
THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO GOLDEN GATE—CALIFORNIA
Hand in hand with the Military went the Church during Spain’s days of dominion in the New World. Where the soldier walked, there too, came the priest. At first when all of the New World was new, when the hold of the Old World was insecure, it was the soldier who pointed the path, but when Spain’s hand had a firm grasp upon her possessions it was the priest who took the lead. The records of Spain on the east coast of America are records of bloodiness and cruel oppression. On the west coast where
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FORT ADAMS AND NEWPORT’S DEFENSIVE RUINS NEWPORT—RHODE ISLAND
FORT ADAMS AND NEWPORT’S DEFENSIVE RUINS NEWPORT—RHODE ISLAND
There is an odd little cluster of islands on the eastern side of the entrance to Narragansett Bay. The most important of these is Aquidneck and on the southern extremity of Aquidneck Isle is situated Newport. At the southern extremity of Newport is Brenton’s Point and on Brenton’s Point is Fort Adams. This is the proper way to build up a climax! Picture to yourself a sunny Fourth of July in 1799; this is the day on which Fort Adams is to be dedicated with imposing ceremonies. From out of the lit
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FORT MONROE OLD POINT COMFORT—VIRGINIA
FORT MONROE OLD POINT COMFORT—VIRGINIA
Morning bugle call, the evening gun, grey ships of war stealing in from a misty sea with long plumes of soft black smoke, military uniforms on the streets and trig bright houses are, probably, the average civilian’s impressions of a stay at Old Point Comfort where is located Fort Monroe. “Fort” or “Fortress,” for the place changes its sex indifferently according to the state of mind of the speaker, it probably satisfies the popular conception of a mighty stronghold of defence more completely tha
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FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE NEAR CHARLESTON—SOUTH CAROLINA
FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE NEAR CHARLESTON—SOUTH CAROLINA
The bombardment of Fort Sumter from Fort Moultrie began at dawn of April 12, 1861, and continued without remission for about 36 hours, or until noon of the second day. During that time, though shot and shell played havoc with the walls of both the besiegers and the besieged, no human being was hurt,—a strange preliminary, indeed, to the most murderous civil war since the invention of gunpowder in the history of the world. This has been called the first time in history that two forts waged battle
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FORT PULASKI AT MOUTH, SAVANNAH RIVER—GEORGIA
FORT PULASKI AT MOUTH, SAVANNAH RIVER—GEORGIA
The trip from beautiful Savannah to the battered ruins of the once famous brick fortress, Pulaski, takes one through that gold and green country which one comes to associate with the name of this charming southern city. Fort Pulaski is that great hexagon of brick which one sees from incoming steamers on Cockspur Island at the mouth of the muddy Savannah River, and all the country round about is marshy, reedy land, cut up by big and little streams with no hills to be seen and only scraggy pine tr
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FORT MORGAN MOBILE BAY—ALABAMA
FORT MORGAN MOBILE BAY—ALABAMA
Mobile Bay, that pear-shaped body of water, with its far-reaching system of water tributaries, has been a scene of settlement and fortification since the early days of French attempts at settlement in the New World. There was, to begin with, Fort Louis de la Mobile, which protected the infant first settlement of Mobile, precursor of the city of to-day. In various guises Fort Louis passed from one to another of the different races of men with which the history of Mobile Bay is associated. Then th
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FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI—LOUISIANA
FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI—LOUISIANA
The two forts which were the scene of Farragut’s first brilliant exploit in running by the enemy’s works with wooden vessels have not been regularly garrisoned since 1871 and have been maintained only in a casual sort of a fashion. Stronger and newer defences have taken their place, though these two spots have had a long and honorable existence in the defence of the mouth of America’s greatest river and of its picturesque French-Spanish-American chief city, New Orleans. Situated 32 nautical mile
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FORT SNELLING NEAR ST. PAUL—MINNESOTA
FORT SNELLING NEAR ST. PAUL—MINNESOTA
The historic post of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, for more than a generation after its establishment, in 1819, the most remote western outpost of the United States, is situated at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, eight miles southeast of Minneapolis by river and six miles from St. Paul. It lies in a region of rare natural beauty, in the vicinity of the Falls of Minnehaha, Bridal Veil Falls, and other points locally notable and is, itself, no mean attraction to the many visito
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FORT LARAMIE AT THE FORKS OF THE PLATTE RIVER—WYOMING
FORT LARAMIE AT THE FORKS OF THE PLATTE RIVER—WYOMING
One of the most famous of the western Indian forts of the United States is situated on the west bank of the Laramie River, one and a half miles above the junction of that stream with the Platte. Though deserted the post is still a picturesque figure, recalling the days when it administered authority for seven hundred miles around. The property now comprises part of the ranch of Mr. John Hunton. Before the white man had established a habitation where Fort Laramie stands the whole of the country o
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THE ALAMO AND FORT SAM HOUSTON SAN ANTONIO—TEXAS
THE ALAMO AND FORT SAM HOUSTON SAN ANTONIO—TEXAS
The Alamo, which is famous for its heroic defence against the Mexicans by Travis and his men, is situated in San Antonio, Texas, and is the point of pilgrimage annually for many hundreds of the visitors to the southwestern United States. On the outskirts of San Antonio is the modern great military plant, Fort Sam Houston, the Alamo’s lusty successor. The Alamo, as late as 1870, was used for military purposes by the United States government, but of recent years it has been preserved purely as a m
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OTHER WESTERN FORTS
OTHER WESTERN FORTS
FORT PHIL KEARNEY, NEBRASKA; FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS; FORT FETTERMAN, WYOMING; FORT BRIDGER, WYOMING; FORT KEOGH, MONTANA; FORT DOUGLAS, UTAH One of the most dreadful Indian fights in the history of the Middle West is associated with Fort Phil Kearney, on the Platte River, Nebraska, which was in 1848, at the time of its establishment, the only United States post between Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 350 miles distant, and Fort Laramie, 420 miles to the west. It stood midway between the Mississippi
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FORT VANCOUVER COLUMBIA RIVER—WASHINGTON
FORT VANCOUVER COLUMBIA RIVER—WASHINGTON
To delve into the history of Fort Vancouver, or Vancouver Barracks as it is known to-day, is to recall that time when the far northwest of the United States was in the making, when there was no definite boundary between England, Spain, Russia and the American nation in this part of the American continent and when all of these great nations, with the addition of France and little Portugal, to boot, were claimants to the Columbia River and the wildernesses which it held tributary. The first white
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FORT YUMA AT HEAD OF NAVIGATION, COLORADO RIVER—CALIFORNIA
FORT YUMA AT HEAD OF NAVIGATION, COLORADO RIVER—CALIFORNIA
The comedian of Uncle Sam’s military posts is old Fort Yuma on the Colorado River at the southwestern extremity of California. To mention the name in a barrack-room where there are seasoned soldiers is to call forth a reminiscent smile and the old story of the hen that laid hard-boiled eggs. These and that other one of the officers, who when they die at Fort Yuma and appear before his Satanic Majesty (by some strange miscarriage of justice) shiver with cold and send back to the fort for their bl
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