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Fort Wolcott
Fort Wolcott was a fortification on the small Goat Island in Newport Harbor of Narragansett Bay less than 1 mile west of the city of Newport, Rhode Island. The attacks on and occurred near the fort. Fort Anne An earthen Fort Anne, built on Goat Island in 1702 or 1703 during the War of Spanish Succession, taking the name of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. 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 Britain. 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 ''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 ''Liberty'' when it drifted to the north end of Goat Island. Fort Liberty With the outbreak of the American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. It is home to the Newport Harbor Light (1842), residences, a restaurant, event space, and hotel. It was also home to several military forts and to the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station, and was the site of the attacks on and . Colonial History Narragansett Indians called the island "Nante Sinunk" and sold it in 1658. Early Newport colonists used the island as a goat pasture.Denlson, Frederic; Redi, J. A.; and Reid, R. A.; ''Narransett Sea and Shore'', Providence, RI, 1879; and Seavey, George L.; ''Rhode Island's Coastal Natural Areas'' (accessed Oct. 12, 2009) The island's name has also been attributed to early colonists' discovery of a breed of goats nicknamed the New American Goat. An earthen fort was built on Goat Island in 1703 during the War of Spanish Succession, and it was named "Fort Anne" af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. The term "Continental Congress" most specifically refers to the First and Second Congresses of 1774–1781 and, at the time, was also used to refer to the Congress of the Confederation of 1781–1789, which operated as the first national government of the United States until being replaced under the Constitution of the United States. Thus, the term covers the three congressional bodies of the Thirteen Colonies and the new United States that met between 1774 and 1789. The First Continental Congress was called in 1774 in response to growing tensions between the colonies culminating in the passage of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament. It met for about six weeks and sought to repair the fraying relationship between Britain and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Dumpling
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ("to make"). From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek '' phrourion'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Battery
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is related to the Old High German ''nord'', both descending from the Proto-Indo-European unit *''ner-'', meaning "left; below" as north is to left when facing the rising sun. Similarly, the other cardinal directions are also related to the sun's position. The Latin word ''borealis'' comes from the Greek '' boreas'' "north wind, north", which, according to Ovid, was personified as the wind-god Boreas, the father of Calais and Zetes. ''Septentrionalis'' is from ''septentriones'', "the seven plow oxen", a name of ''Ursa Major''. The Greek ἀρκτικός (''arktikós'') is named for the same constellation, and is the source of the English word ''Arctic''. Other languages have other derivations. For example, in Lezgian, ''kefer'' can mean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rose Island (Rhode Island)
Rose Island is an island in Narragansett Bay off Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It is allegedly named "Rose Island" because at low tide the island appears to be shaped like a rose. (accessed Oct. 9, 2009) The Island is only accessible by boat. The island and its lighthouse are run by the private, non-profit Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation. History The Native American name for Rose Island was "Conockonoquit". Fortifications were constructed during the American Revolution on the island. In 1798, the U.S. government began constructing on Rose Island, but never completed the fort. Units of the U.S. Infantry were stationed the ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Hamilton Historic District
The Fort Hamilton Historic District is a historic district including all of Rose Island in Newport, Rhode Island. The district includes Rose Island Light and an early U.S. military fortification designed in part by Major Louis de Tousard. The fort was named after Alexander Hamilton, and was part of the first system of US fortifications.William Abbatt, ''The Magazine of American History with notes and queries'', Volume 11, (A. S. Barnes, 1884) pg. 49/ref> History The earliest fortifications on Rose Island were built in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War around the time of the Battle of Rhode Island. Later construction took place from 1798 to 1801 but was left largely unfinished except for a long barracks building used by the U.S. Infantry. The Secretary of War's report on fortifications for December 1811 describes Fort Hamilton as "a regular unfinished work of masonry of four bastions, two of which are circular. (The fort can house) 300 men".Wade, p. 243 In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Easton's Point
The Point (or less commonly, "Easton's Point") is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Newport, Rhode Island and has one of the highest concentrations of colonial houses in the United States. The neighborhood sits between Washington Street and Farewell Street/America's Cup in Newport looking out on Goat Island, former home to the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station. History Nicholas Easton, a founder of Newport, first settled in the area in the 17th century. Easton's heirs divided the property into lots in 1725 and sold parcels to many of Newport's early tradesmen and merchants. Many of the early inhabitants attended the nearby Quaker Meeting House or Touro Synagogue. None of the streets were originally named after people because of a Quaker tradition, so 1st (now Washington), 2nd, and 3rd Streets were intersected by streets with tree names (Elm, Poplar, Willow, Walnut, Chestnut, Cherry, Pine, Sycamore, and Cypress). Marsh Street was formerly the site of a marsh, and Bridge Street was th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Greene (Newport, Rhode Island)
Fort Greene in Newport, Rhode Island was a small fort built circa 1794 at Battery Park in the Point section of Newport, last active in the War of 1812. It was named for General Nathanael Greene of the Revolutionary War, who was born in Rhode Island. It was built as part of the First System of US seacoast fortifications circa 1794. The location is now Battery Park at Easton's Point (now usually called The Point), which was sometimes called North Point in the 18th century. It was on the site of a previous battery built in the American Revolution with state resources, called the North Battery. The seawall remains from Fort Greene and is curved at this point. Fort Greene mounted approximately 12 guns and was intended to house a company of about 100 men, but was never completed. The fort was described in the Secretary of War's report on fortifications for December 1811 as "an elliptical stone battery... now in a state of ruin". Contemporary forts in Newport included the first Fort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brenton Point
Brenton Point State Park is a public recreation area occupying at the southwestern tip of Aquidneck Island in the town of Newport, Rhode Island. The state park offers wide vistas of the Atlantic Ocean where it meets Narragansett Bay. The park lies adjacent to the Newport Country Club, part of Newport's Ocean Drive Historic District. It is managed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Parks and Recreation, and is overseen by the staff at nearby Fort Adams State Park. History Brenton Point bears the name of Governor William Brenton, an early settler who owned the land as a large farm in the 17th century. Brenton called the area "Hammersmith," a name which survives in the name of Hammersmith Farm, an estate on the point later owned by the family of First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis. In 1776, during the American Revolution, a battery was set up on the southwest part of Brenton Point as a coastal defense. Between 1876 and 1883, lawyer and busines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It began when the United States declared war on 18 June 1812 and, although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by Congress on 17 February 1815. Tensions originated in long-standing differences over territorial expansion in North America and British support for Native American tribes who opposed US colonial settlement in the Northwest Territory. These escalated in 1807 after the Royal Navy began enforcing tighter restrictions on American trade with France and press-ganged men they claimed as British subjects, even those with American citizenship certificates. Opinion in the US was split on how to respond, and although majorities in both the House and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Eustis
William Eustis (June 10, 1753 – February 6, 1825) was an early American physician, politician, and statesman from Massachusetts. Trained in medicine, he served as a military surgeon during the American Revolutionary War, notably at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He resumed medical practice after the war, but soon entered politics. After several terms in the state legislature, Eustis won election to the United States Congress in 1800, serving as a moderate Democratic-Republican. He briefly returned to state politics after losing reelection in 1804, and was chosen to be Secretary of War in 1809 by President James Madison. Due in part to his inexperience at managing the army and a lack of preparedness, the military failures in the early months of the War of 1812 were laid on his shoulders, leading to his resignation. Madison then appointed Eustis Minister to the Netherlands, a post he held from 1814 until 1818. After another period in Congress, he was elected Governor of Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretary Of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation between 1781 and 1789. Benjamin Lincoln and later Henry Knox held the position. When Washington was inaugurated as the first President under the Constitution, he appointed Knox to continue serving as Secretary of War. The secretary of war was the head of the War Department. At first, he was responsible for all military affairs, including naval affairs. In 1798, the secretary of the Navy was created by statute, and the scope of responsibility for this office was reduced to the affairs of the United States Army. From 1886 onward, the secretary of war was in the line of succession to the presidency, after the vice president of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
