Camp Varnum is a

Rhode Island Army National Guard The Rhode Island Army National Guard (RIARNG) is the land force militia for the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It operates under Title 10 and Title 32 of the United States Code and operates under the command of the state governor while not in feder ...

training facility in the Boston Neck area of

Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupie ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was Fort Varnum, a coastal defense fort.

History

Fort Varnum was built as part of a general modernization of US coast defenses begun in 1940 with the outbreak of war in Europe and the Fall of France. The fort is named for General

James Mitchell Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the R ...

of the Revolutionary War. It was built to relocate previously-emplaced weapons to a more useful location nearer the entrance to

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sm ...

. The fort was sited to reinforce new 6-inch gun batteries at

Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...

Point Judith Point Judith is a village and a small Cape (geography), cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that ...

and

Fort Burnside Beavertail State Park is a public recreation area encompassing at the southern end of Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The state park's main attraction is the active Beavertail Lighthouse, the current tower of which dates from ...

in Jamestown. FortWiki article on Fort Varnum
/ref>Berhow, p. 205 The fort was intended to protect the West Passage of Narragansett Bay as part of the

Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

. Fort Varnum's main armament was Battery House, two 6-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts, completed in 1942. The battery was a relocation of Battery House at Fort Getty in Jamestown. Two 3-inch M1903 guns on pedestal mounts were planned for Battery Armistead, relocated from

Fort Kearny Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the western U.S. during the middle and late 19th century. The fort was named after Col. and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located along the Or ...

, now the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

Narragansett Bay Campus. However, these guns arrived in unusable condition, and Fort Varnum's commander asked that they be scrapped. They were stored instead and were never mounted. Better light weapons were provided in 1943 as Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat Battery (AMTB) 921, with four 90 mm guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts. Several

fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control i ...

stations were built in Narragansett disguised as beach cottages; these may date from the start of the Endicott Program circa 1900. Most have been destroyed; some survive at Camp Varnum. In 1947, with the war over, Fort Varnum's guns were scrapped along with almost all other US coast artillery weapons.

Present

Camp Varnum is a Rhode Island Army National Guard training facility, the home of the 243rd Regiment (Regional Training Institute).

References

* *

External links

List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists all CONUS and Canadian forts
{{Forts in Rhode Island Installations of the United States Army National Guard Varnum Military installations in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Narragansett, Rhode Island

History

Present

See also

References

External links