Fort Nathan Hale, also known as Fort Hale Park, Black Rock, is a city park located on the east shore of

New Haven Harbor New Haven Harbor is an inlet on the north side of Long Island Sound in the state of Connecticut]. The harbor area is an inlet carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago. The city of New Haven and ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. It includes the site of a 1659 fort, a Revolutionary War-era

fort 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'' ...

, and a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

-era fort. The fort was named after

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured b ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

's official hero. Since 1921, the site has been owned by the state of Connecticut. It has been used as a park and maintained as a historical site by the City of New Haven. Educational programs are given throughout the year to students attending local schools. The site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1970. In 1970 the listing included three

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, one

contributing site In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, and three

contributing structures In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

. and

History

In early 1776, the

colony of Connecticut The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

commissioned the construction of a fort on a point of rock that stretched out into the harbor to protect the port of New Haven from the British. This was the location of an earlier unnamed fort from circa 1657, and on this site was erected Black Rock Fort. Unfortunately for the colonists, in 1779 British General

William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...

, during his raid of Connecticut coastal communities, captured Black Rock Fort along with its nineteen defenders, but only after they had run out of ammunition. The British burned the barracks as they left. From 1807 to 1812, the abandoned fort was reconstructed with six guns as Fort Nathan Hale under the second system of US fortifications, and it served to defend the port from the British once again during the

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 bega ...

. In 1863, Fort Nathan Hale II was built alongside the original fort, out of concern that Southern raiders might strike the city during the

, but the fort saw no battle action. This fort contained deep, earthen, bomb-proof bunkers and mounted 18 guns. Unusually, the fort was partially demolished after the war.Fort Black Rock at FortWiki.com
/ref> In the Spanish–American War of 1898, an "emergency" battery of six 10-inch

Rodman gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed by ...

s was built, as the Spanish fleet potentially threatened the east coast.

The fort as a historical recreation area

The site has been known as a historic site since 1921, when Congress deeded the fort to the State, which turned it over to the city to maintain. The site was turned into a popular bathing and picnic area but pollution and the

hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

brought such recreation to an end. The site, neglected, became overgrown and the fort fell into decay. In 1967, the Fort Nathan Hale Restoration Project was founded by a group of concerned citizens interested in the restoration and preservation of Fort Nathan Hale. Brought back to life in time for the nation's bicentennial, Fort Nathan Hale was rededicated on July 5, 1976. Both Fort Nathan Hale and Black Rock Fort have been reconstructed and include a newly restored drawbridge, moat, ramparts, powder magazines and "bombproof" bunker. Through the efforts of FNHRP, funds are raised annually to maintain, staff and promote the facility. In addition to the reconstructed forts, the site features a memorial flag court with replicas of flags flown during the Colonial Era, the American Revolution, War of 1812, the Civil War, and today. The court also features a copy of the Nathan Hale statue by Bela Lyon Pratt that was dedicated at Yale University in 1914 (another copy of the statue stands outside CIA headquarters in Virginia). The statue depicts a young Hale, hands bound behind his back, just before being executed by British forces for espionage. Each year over 7,000 visitors from countries around the world tour the historic site.FNHRP.
About Fort Nathan Hale
'. December 31, 2005.

References

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External links

Official Site

Fort Nathan Hale at DEP

Fort Tours: Fort Nathan Hale
{{National Register of Historic Places Nathan Hale Tourist attractions in New Haven, Connecticut Parks in New Haven, Connecticut

Buildings and structures in New Haven, Connecticut Connecticut in the American Revolution Buildings and structures completed in 1659 National Register of Historic Places in New Haven, Connecticut 1659 establishments in Connecticut American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places

History

The fort as a historical recreation area

See also

References

External links