Fort Wool: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:FortWool.JPG|180px|right|thumb|Battery [[Ferdinand Claiborne]].]] |
[[Image:FortWool.JPG|180px|right|thumb|Battery [[Ferdinand Claiborne]].]] |
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Originally called "Rip-raps", '''Fort Wool''' was built upon a shoal of [[Sailing ballast|ballast stones]] that were dumped as the ships entered Hampton's harbor. Fort Wool was designed by Simon Bernard, a Frenchman who had served under Napoleon, and was one of more than forty forts started after the War of 1812 when the British boldly sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to burn the Capital. Originally named Castle Calhoun for the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, it was built to maintain crossfire with Fort Monroe, across the channel. In 1902, as a result of the Endicott Board's findings, all of the original fort, except 8 casemates, was demolished and new fortifications were constructed. The new armament remained in place for decades, although modifications were made from time to time. Some of the original guns remained through World War II when two new guns were installed. |
Originally called "Rip-raps", '''Fort Wool''' was built upon a shoal of [[Sailing ballast|ballast stones]] that were dumped as the ships entered Hampton's harbor. Fort Wool was designed by Simon Bernard, a Frenchman who had served under Napoleon, and was one of more than forty forts started after the War of 1812 when the British boldly sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to burn the Capital. Originally named Castle Calhoun for the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, it was built to maintain crossfire with Fort Monroe, across the channel. In 1902, as a result of the Endicott Board's findings, all of the original fort, except 8 casemates, was demolished and new fortifications were constructed. The new armament remained in place for decades, although modifications were made from time to time. Some of the original guns remained through World War II when two new guns were installed. The outmoded fort was finally abandoned by the military in 1953.<ref name=NatReg>{{cite web|title=Fort Wool National Register Nomination|url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/Hampton/114-0041_Fort_Wool_1969_Final_Nomination.pdf|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|accessdate=28 July 2011}}</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Revision as of 17:30, 17 December 2012
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2008) |
Fort Wool | |
 Fort Wool Island from the Miss Hampton boat cruise | |
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| Location | Island between Willoughby Spit and Old Point Comfort, Hampton, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Built | 1819 |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000339 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 25, 1969 |
Originally called "Rip-raps", Fort Wool was built upon a shoal of ballast stones that were dumped as the ships entered Hampton's harbor. Fort Wool was designed by Simon Bernard, a Frenchman who had served under Napoleon, and was one of more than forty forts started after the War of 1812 when the British boldly sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to burn the Capital. Originally named Castle Calhoun for the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, it was built to maintain crossfire with Fort Monroe, across the channel. In 1902, as a result of the Endicott Board's findings, all of the original fort, except 8 casemates, was demolished and new fortifications were constructed. The new armament remained in place for decades, although modifications were made from time to time. Some of the original guns remained through World War II when two new guns were installed. The outmoded fort was finally abandoned by the military in 1953.[2]
History
Originally conceived in 1817, plans called for Castle Calhoun, the original name of Fort Wool, to have three tiers of casemates and a parapet with a total of 232 cannons to be built on a 15 acre (61,000 m²) artificial island southeast of Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia. The for was to be manned by a garrison of 1,000 soldiers. Construction got underway in 1819 when crews started dumping granite boulders into the water. It took four years to bring the rock pile up to the a 6-foot tall island called for in the plans.
The first level of casemates was finished in 1830.
Construction continued through the 1830s, when a young second lieutenant and engineer in the U.S. Army, Robert E. Lee was stationed there. Lee was an assistant to Captain Andrew Talcott and helped manage the final construction Fort Wool and its larger opposite on the mainland, Fort Monroe. Lee was given the task of stabilizing the island in 1834 as his first independent command. He found that the island wouldn't hold the weight of the two tiers of casemated and brought more stone in to stabilize it, but the fort never reached its intended size.
It was during this time when Andrew Jackson came to escape from the heat of Washington, D.C.. Construction and repairs continued for decades, because the foundation was unstable.
The Fort played a crucial role for the Union forces during the American Civil War. In addition to aiding in controlling entrance to the harbor of Hampton Roads, prisoners were confined in the fort. After the Civil War it was named Fort Wool for the Union Major General John Ellis Wool, who captured Norfolk in the early part of the war.
The Fort was modernized in the early 20th century, and served as the part of the harbor's defense during World War I and World War II.
The outmoded fort was finally abandoned by the military in 1953.[2]
Civil War
World War I
World War II
During World War I submarine nets were stretched across the harbor from this point. In the 1950s, the southern man-made island of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was constructed next to Fort Wool, and used as the southernmost anchor for the tunnels. A small earthen causeway connected the man-made island with that of Fort Wool. The bridge-tunnel opened to traffic in 1957.
Decommissioned
The outmoded fort was finally abandoned by the military in 1953.[2] After being decommissioned, it was given to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1967 and in 1970, the City of Hampton developed it into a park. The Fort Wool passenger ferry, Miss Hampton II, allows tourists boarding in Hampton to visit the island during most of the year, but it can also be briefly glimpsed by passengers in westbound vehicles prior to entering the southern end of the tunnel portion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which carries Interstate 64 across the mouth of the harbor.
The island, now called Rip Raps, continues to settle in modern times, and occasionally the casemates of the original fortress are put off-limits for safety reasons. It remains a major draw for tourists, who usually include it in a visit to Fort Monroe. During the summer months, it is served by various harbor tour boats.
Notes
- As of 2005, the availability of public tours of both Fort Wool and Fort Monroe are subject to Homeland Security Alert conditions.
- On 28 April 2007, a garrison flag was raised over Fort Wool for the first time. This took place during a parade of tall ships sailing past the fort, part of the 400th anniversary celebrations of the settlement of Jamestown.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Fort Wool National Register Nomination" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 28 July 2011.