Fort Getty is a town park in

Jamestown, Rhode Island Jamestown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island in the United States. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. Jamestown is situated almost entirely on Conanicut Island, the second largest island in Narragansett Bay. It also includes the u ...

, on

Conanicut Island Conanicut Island is the second-largest island in Narragansett Bay in the American state of Rhode Island. It is connected on the east to Newport on Aquidneck Island via the Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, and on t ...

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 ...

. From 1900 through

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 a military fort. The Town of Jamestown later received the property and opened it as a park, primarily a campground.Jamestown Park information
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History

Fort Getty's construction began in 1901 to defend the West Passage of Narragansett Bay as part of the

Coast Defenses of Narragansett Bay The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

(renamed Harbor Defenses in 1925). The fort was named for Colonel

George W. Getty George Washington Getty (October 2, 1819 – October 1, 1901) was a career military officer in the United States Army, most noted for his role as a division (military), division commander in the Army of the Potomac during the final full year of t ...

, who had a distinguished career in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

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 ...

, and afterward. The fort's three gun batteries were completed by 1905 but for some reason were not accepted until 1910. They were Battery Tousard with three 12-inch M1900 guns (305 mm) on

disappearing carriage 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 bac ...

s, Battery House with two 6-inch M1900 guns (152 mm) on pedestal mounts, and Battery Whiting with two 3-inch M1903 guns (76 mm) on pedestal mounts. Battery Tousard was named for Louis de Tousard, an engineer and artillery officer with much involvement in early American fortifications. Battery House was named for Major General James House, who commanded

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 ...

in Newport in 1811. Battery Whiting was named for Levi Whiting, an artillery officer in the War of 1812.FortWiki article on Fort Getty
/ref>Berhow, p. 205 Fort Getty went into caretaker status soon after completion, but was garrisoned in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a sub-post of

Fort Greble Fort Greble was an American Civil War-era Union fortification constructed as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during that war. Named for First Lieutenant John Trout Greble, the first West Point graduate killed in the U.S. Civil War, it p ...

. Early in World War II the fort's location was largely superseded by new defenses centered on Fort Church and

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 ...

. In 1942, the 12-inch guns were scrapped, Battery House's 6-inch guns were relocated to Fort Varnum, and Battery Whiting's 3-inch guns were relocated to

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 ...

. The fort became a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

for German prisoners. However, in 1943 a new Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat Battery, AMTB 922 with four 90 mm guns arrived. Two of the guns were on fixed mounts and two were on towed mounts. In 1948, the fort was disestablished, as were essentially all US coast defenses.

Visiting today

Dutch Island, the site of the former

, lies near the fort and is a short boat ride from Fort Getty Park. The park also has facilities for

RVs A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...

. As of 2015, there are 83 seasonal RV sites and 24 tent sites. The gun batteries have been partially buried but portions are still visible. The park has many amenities including a dock at the tip of Beaverhead and a pavilion which is popularly used for birthdays, graduations, and weddings.

References

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External links

Fort Getty Contact information

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 Parks in Rhode Island Getty Buildings and structures in Newport County, Rhode Island Protected areas of Newport County, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Jamestown, Rhode Island World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States Military installations closed in 1948

History

Visiting today

See also

References

External links