Fort Foster, now part of Fort Foster Park, is a historic fort active 1901-1946 on the southwest tip of Gerrish Island in the

Kittery Point Kittery Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Kittery, Maine, Kittery, York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. First settled in 1623, Kittery Point traces its history to the first seafarers who c ...

area of

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost town in t ...

. The park includes beaches and trails.Fort Foster at PortsmouthNH.com
/ref> Battery Bohlen and Battery Chapin were the major parts of the fort.Fort Foster at NorthAmericanForts.com
/ref>

History

The land was acquired by the U.S. federal government in 1872 and the fort was built from 1898 to 1901 as part of the large-scale Endicott Program. Other forts of this era in the Coast Defenses of Portsmouth included

Fort Constitution Fort William and Mary was a colonial fortification in Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle," was situ ...

and

Fort Stark Fort Stark is a former military fortification in New Castle, New Hampshire, United States. Located at Jerry's Point (also called Jaffrey's Point) on the southeastern tip of New Castle Island, most of the surviving fort was developed in the ea ...

.Fort Foster at FortWiki.com
/ref>Berhow, p. 205 The site was a sub-post of Fort Constitution and was named for

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

-era Brevet Major General

John G. Foster John Gray Foster (May 27, 1823 – September 2, 1874) was an American soldier. A career military officer in the United States Army and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, he served in North Carolina, North and South Caroli ...

of New Hampshire. Fort Foster originally had two gun batteries: Battery Bohlen with three 10-inch (254 mm) M1895

disappearing gun A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate back ...

s and Battery Chapin with two 3-inch (76 mm) M1902 guns on pedestal mounts. Battery Bohlen was built in 1898-1901 and Battery Chapin was completed in 1904. Battery Bohlen was named for Brigadier General

Henry Bohlen Henry Bohlen (October 22, 1810 – August 22, 1862) was a German-American Union Army, Union Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General of the American Civil War. Before becoming the first foreign-born Union general in the Civil War, he f ...

, killed in the Civil War, and Battery Chapin was named for Brigadier General Edward Chapin, also killed in the Civil War. In 1909 a secondary control station for an underwater minefield in the harbor was added; Battery Chapin was built primarily to defend this minefield against

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s. After the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry ...

in early 1917, many guns were removed from coast defenses for potential service on the Western Front. Most of these weapons were not sent overseas or did not see action. All three 10-inch (254 mm) guns of Battery Bohlen were removed for potential use as

railway artillery A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...

in October 1917, and were returned to the fort in September 1919. Observation Tower

During World War II Fort Foster's heavy guns were superseded by a new 16-inch (406 mm) gun battery at

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. ...

. The 10-inch guns of Battery Bohlen were scrapped in 1942. However, new construction also took place at Fort Foster as part of the general improvement of US coast defenses that began in 1940. In 1940-1944 the

Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth The Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the nearby Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine from 1900 to 1950, ...

were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment. A new mine control station and mine casemate were built near the former 10-inch battery, along with two new gun batteries at a different location. Battery 205, begun in 1942, was to have two 6-inch (152 mm) M1 guns on shielded

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...

carriages with a bunker for ammunition and

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 ...

, but construction was suspended in 1944 and the battery was never armed. A six-story

fire control tower A fire control tower is a structure located near the coastline, used to detect and locate enemy vessels offshore, direct fire upon them from coastal batteries, or adjust the aim of guns by spotting shell splashes. Fire control towers came into g ...

was constructed to spot targets for this battery. Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat Battery (AMTB) 952 was also built at Fort Foster in 1943, with an authorized strength of two fixed 90 mm guns and two towed 90 mm guns. The remaining batteries were deactivated in 1946 and the fort was closed in 1948. The site was used as a recreation area for

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

personnel from then until the 1950s. It was transferred to the Town of Kittery's Public Works Department and later expanded by another land purchase.

Present

The buildings are closed except the Mine Observation Tower, now a public restroom. An admission fee is charged for access. There are swimming beaches and views of the entrance to

Portsmouth Harbor The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the riv ...

, Whaleback Light,

Portsmouth Harbor Light Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse located within Fort Constitution in New Castle, New Hampshire, United States. History The station was established in 1771 and was the 10th of 11 light stations established prior to the America ...

and

Gallery

File:FortFoster10Emp01.jpg, 10-inch disappearing gun emplacement, mostly buried, Battery Bohlen File:FortFosterBunk01.jpg, Mine casemate built in World War II File:FortFosterFCT01.jpg, Mine control station built in World War II

References

* * {{cite book , last = Lewis , first = Emanuel Raymond , title = Seacoast Fortifications of the United States , publisher = Leeward Publications , year = 1979 , location = Annapolis , isbn = 978-0-929521-11-4

External links

Fort Foster Park on Facebook

Geology of Fort Foster Park beaches

List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts
Forts in Maine Buildings and structures in Kittery, Maine Parks in Maine Protected areas of York County, Maine

History

Present

Gallery

References

See also

External links