Acushnet Fort
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Acushnet Fort was a fort that existed from 1776 to around 1820 on Eldridge Point in
New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
. It was originally built with
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
resources during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
in 1776 with ten guns. Rebuilt in 1808 under the federal second system of fortifications, it could accommodate 40 men and had six guns and a magazine. The fort's exact location, especially in the Revolution, is uncertain. The fort appears in the
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 ...
's reports for 1808 and 1811; thus it was a federal fort at that time.Wade, pp. 141, 236, 242, 248 In 1808 the entry is: "At the entrance of the inner harbor of New Bedford, two miles below the town, a small enclosed work has been erected of stone, brick, and sod. It commands the entrance into the harbor for a mile and a half in a direct line...". In 1811 the entry is: "At Eldridge Point, which commands the entrance of the harbor; an enclosed work of masonry, mounting six heavy guns...". The "two miles below the town" implies the fort was at or near Clark's Point, later the site of
Fort Rodman Fort Taber District or the Fort at Clark's Point is a historic American Civil War-era military fort on Wharf Road within the former Fort Rodman Military Reservation in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The fort is now part of Fort Taber Park, a 47- ...
. Another possibility is the area of Fairhaven known as Poverty Point or Oxford Point, part of which was once owned by the Eldredge family, although this is north of the harbor entrance. Fairhaven was part of New Bedford until 1812. A list of fort commanders shows that the Eldridge Point fort was commanded by Captain James Thomas of the
Dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat ...
in 1810–1811, followed by 1st Lt. Henry Whiting, also of the Dragoons, in 1811–1812. By the time Fort Rodman was built in the 1850s, the fort no longer existed.


See also

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Harbor Defenses of New Bedford The Harbor Defenses of New Bedford was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of New Bedford, Massachusetts and the nearby Cape Cod Canal from 1900 to 1950, beginning with the ...
*
Fort Phoenix Fort Phoenix is a former American Revolutionary War-era fort located at the entrance to the Fairhaven-New Bedford harbor, south of U.S. 6 in Fort Phoenix Park in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. The fort was originally built in 1775 without a name, and a ...
*
List of military installations in Massachusetts This is a list of current and former military installations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Current military installations in Massachusetts Joint facilities ;Bases * Joint Base Cape Cod (state designation, not federally recognized)


References

* * History of Massachusetts Acushnet Acushnet New Bedford, Massachusetts Demolished buildings and structures in Massachusetts {{fort-stub