Fort Adams is a former

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

post in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

that was established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification, named for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

who was in office at the time. Its first commander was Captain John Henry who was later instrumental in starting the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. The current Fort Adams was built 1824–57 under the Third System of coastal forts; it is part of

Fort Adams State Park Fort Adams State Park is a public recreation and historic area preserving Fort Adams, a large coastal fortification located at the harbor mouth in Newport, Rhode Island, that was active from 1841 through the first half of the 20th century. The st ...

today.

History

The first Fort Adams was designed by Major Louis de Tousard of the Army Corps of Engineers as part of the first system of US fortifications. After some additions in 1809, this fort mounted 17 cannon and was garrisoned during the

by Wood's State Corps of Rhode Island

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

men. 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 report for December 1811 describes the fort as "an irregular star fort of masonry, with an irregular indented work of masonry adjoining it, mounting seventeen heavy guns. ... The barracks are of wood and bricks, for one company". After the War of 1812, there was a thorough review of the nation's fortification needs and it was decided to replace the older Fort Adams with a newer and much larger fort. This was part of what became known as the third system of US fortifications. The new fort was designed by Brigadier General

Simon Bernard Baron Simon Bernard (28 April 1779 – 5 November 1839) was a French general of engineers. Born in Dole, Simon Bernard was educated at the École polytechnique, graduating as second in the promotion of 1799 and entered the army in the corps of e ...

, a Frenchman who had served as a military engineer under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Bernard designed the new Fort Adams in the classic style and it became the most complex fortification in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

. It included a

tenaille A tenaille (archaic tenalia) is an advanced defensive-work, in front of the main defences of a fortress, which takes its name from resemblance, real or imaginary, to the lip of a pair of pincers. It is "from French, literally: tongs, from Late ...

and

crownwork A crownwork is an element of the trace italienne system of fortification and is effectively an expanded hornwork (a type of outwork). It consists of a full bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wa ...

, a complex outer work on the southern (landward) side, designed to break up and channel an assault force. The fort also had a detached

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

650 yards south of the main fort.Weaver, pp. 120–133 In the US, it is rivaled in size only by

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

in Hampton, Virginia and Fort Jefferson on the

Dry Tortugas Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. The archipelago's c ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Construction of the new fort began in 1824 under 1st Lt.

Andrew Talcott Andrew Talcott (1797–1883) was an American civil engineer and close friend of Civil War General Robert E. Lee. He did not serve during the Civil War, as he could not fight against the Union, nor fight against his brothers in the South. He trav ...

and continued at irregular intervals until 1857. From 1825 to 1838 construction was overseen by Lieutenant Colonel

Joseph Gilbert Totten Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...

, the foremost American military engineer of his day. In 1838 Totten became

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

and served until his death in 1864. Fort Adams in disrepair, 1968

The new Fort Adams was first garrisoned in August 1841, functioning as an active Army post until 1950. During this time the fort was active in five major wars (the Mexican–American War, American Civil War, Spanish–American War, World War I and World War II) but never fired a shot in anger. At the start of 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 ...

the post was commanded by

Benjamin Kendrick Pierce Benjamin Kendrick Pierce (August 29, 1790 – April 1, 1850) was a career officer in the United States Army. He was a son of New Hampshire Governor Benjamin Pierce and brother of President Franklin Pierce. Benjamin K. Pierce was a veteran of t ...

, the brother of President Franklin Pierce. The fort's

, about 1/4 mile south of the main fort, was built during this war.FortWiki article on Fort Adams
/ref> From 1848 to 1853, Fort Adams was commanded by Colonel William Gates, a long serving veteran of both the

and the Mexican War. The fort's garrison was ordered to California and many of the soldiers lost their lives when the steamer SS ''San Francisco'' was wrecked, but not sunk, in a North Atlantic storm on December 24, 1853. In a report of 1854 Fort Adams was armed with 100 32-pounder seacoast guns, 57 24-pounder seacoast guns, and 43 24-pounder flank howitzers. All of these weapons were

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. History Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

. The flank howitzers were short-barreled guns deployed in casemates in the

and

to protect the fort against a landward assault.Duchesneau and Troost-Cramer, pp. 154-156 From 1859 to 1863 the fort was in the care of

Ordnance Sergeant Ordnance sergeant was an enlisted rank in the U.S. Army from 1832 to 1920. The Confederate States Army also had an ordnance sergeant position during its existence. Ordnance sergeants were part of the Army's Ordnance Department and were in charge o ...

Mark Wentworth Smith, a

veteran who was wounded at the

Battle of Chapultepec The Battle of Chapultepec was a battle between American forces and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle just outside Mexico City, fought 13 September 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The building, sitting ...

. Sergeant Smith died in 1879 at the age of 76, the oldest active duty enlisted soldier in the history of the Army.

Civil War

The War Department was concerned about the political sympathies of residents in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

during the

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 ...

, so the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

was moved in 1861 from Annapolis to Fort Adams. In September 1861, the academy moved to the Atlantic House Hotel in Newport and remained there for the rest of the war. Among the midshipmen assigned to the Naval Academy while it was at Fort Adams was Robley D. Evans who was wounded at

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

, North Carolina in 1865, commanded the battleship during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, and later commanded the Great White Fleet on the first leg of its epic around the world voyage. Among Evans' classmates at Fort Adams were future Rear Admiral

Charles Sigsbee Charles Dwight Sigsbee (January 16, 1845 – July 13, 1923) was a rear admiral in the US Navy. In his earlier career, he was a pioneering oceanographer and hydrographer. He is best remembered as the captain of , which exploded in Havana Harbor, ...

, who commanded the battleship , and future Captain

Charles Vernon Gridley Charles Vernon Gridley (24 November 1844 – 5 June 1898) was a captain in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and the Spanish–American War. Early life Gridley descended from Thomas Gridley (1612–1653), who emigrated from En ...

who commanded the cruiser at the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore ...

. In 1862 Fort Adams became the headquarters and recruit depot for the 15th Infantry Regiment. This regiment, along with several others, was organized into a regiment of three eight-company battalions, with the 3rd Battalion formed at Fort Adams in March 1864. From August to October 1863, Fort Adams was commanded by Brigadier General Robert Anderson, who had commanded

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battle ...

when it was attacked by Confederate forces in April 1861.

1870s upgrade

As part of a major upgrade to US seacoast defenses, in the 1870s Fort Adams' armament was modernized with eleven 15-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 b ...

s, thirteen 10-inch Rodman guns, and four 6.4-inch (100-pounder)

Parrott rifle The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. Parrott rifle The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and inven ...

s. Three new emplacements were built for the 15-inch guns; the remainder replaced older weapons in the fort, of which all but 20 32-pounders were removed by 1873. For mobile defense, four 4.5-inch siege rifles, four 3-inch Ordnance rifles, and four 10-inch mortars were provided. In 1894, four 8-inch converted rifles were added in a new battery south of the fort.

Twentieth century

Endicott period

As time went by, the fort's armament was upgraded to keep up with technological innovations. Major kinds of ordnance used at the fort included muzzle-loading cannon in the 19th century, rifled breech-loading artillery pieces in the early 20th century and anti-aircraft guns during and after

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 ...

. The fort received significant armament, in the form of batteries to the south of the main fort, under the Endicott and Taft programs from 1896 through 1907. These were to defend the East Passage of Narragansett Bay in combination with the new Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, 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 ...

. The Endicott and Taft period batteries at Fort Adams were:Berhow, p. 204 Batteries Greene-Edgerton, Reilly, and Talbot were built 1896–1899 and were the first of these to be completed. Battery Greene-Edgerton included sixteen mortars, all of which were at first called Battery Greene, but the battery was divided into two groups of eight in 1906. Battery Talbot, one of a number of batteries added on the East Coast at the outbreak of the

in 1898, included two 4.72-inch Armstrong guns. One gun of Battery Talbot is preserved at Equality Park in Newport; another is at

Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and n ...

near Charleston, South Carolina and was in

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

circa 1920–1977. An unnamed battery of a single 8-inch M1888 gun on a converted 1870s carriage also existed briefly from 1898. In 1907 two additional batteries were completed, Battery Bankhead with three 6-inch Armstrong guns and Battery Belton with two 3-inch M1903 guns. Battery Greene-Edgerton was named for General

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...

of the Revolutionary War and Lt. Colonel Wright P. Edgerton, a professor at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. Battery Reilly was named for Captain Henry J. Reilly, killed in the China Relief Expedition near

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

on 15 August 1900, who previously served at Fort Adams. Battery Talbot was named for

Silas Talbot Captain Silas Talbot (January 11, 1751June 30, 1813) was an American military officer and slave trader. He served in the Continental Army and Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, and is most famous for commanding from 1799 ...

, an Army officer from Rhode Island in the Revolutionary War who later became a Navy officer and commanded USS ''Constitution'' 1799–1801. Battery Bankhead was named for Brevet Major General James Bankhead, who served in the War of 1812, Second Seminole War, and Mexican–American War. Battery Belton was named for Francis S. Belton, who served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. In 1913 Battery Bankhead was disarmed and its three 6-inch guns sent to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

World War I

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

, author and playwright, whose 1973 novel ''Theophilus North'' is set in Newport, served a three-month enlistment in the Army's Coast Artillery Corps at Fort Adams during World War I. Wilder rose to the rank of corporal in the Army. In World War I, Fort Adams served as the headquarters for the

, as well as a training center in both world wars. The

United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...

(CAC) was chosen to man all US heavy artillery in that war, as they were the only part of the Army with experience using big guns, along with a significant number of trained personnel. Four heavy artillery regiments and two heavy artillery brigade headquarters were organized at Fort Adams and served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, with troops of

Coast Defense Command 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 ...

s from Maine, Rhode Island, New York, and elsewhere as their cadre. These included two of the four US

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 ...

regiments that saw action in that war (with French-made weapons) and their brigade headquarters. The railway gun units were designated the 52nd and 53rd Artillery Regiments (CAC) (originally the 7th and 8th Provisional Regiments), and the 30th Separate Artillery Brigade (Railway) (CAC) (originally the 1st Expeditionary Brigade). The 51st Artillery Regiment (CAC) (originally the 6th Provisional Regiment), 66th Artillery Regiment (CAC) and the 34th Artillery Brigade (CAC) were also organized at Fort Adams and sent to France, but only the 51st completed training in time to see action. The two 10-inch guns of Battery Reilly were dismounted in 1917 for potential service as railway guns, but after considerable delay they were sent to Fort Warren near Boston in 1919 to replace guns removed from that fort. Eight of the sixteen mortars at Battery Greene-Edgerton were removed in 1918 for potential railway artillery service; this was also done as a forcewide program to improve the rate of fire due to overcrowding in the mortar pits during reloading. Some sources state that Battery Talbot's guns were redeployed to Sachuest Point 1917–1919, a few miles from Fort Adams. However, Army records show that these guns came from

Fort Strong Fort Strong is a former U.S. Army Coast Artillery fort that occupied the northern third of Long Island in Boston Harbor. The island had a training camp during the American Civil War, and a gun battery was built there in the 1870s. The fort was ...

in the

Coast Defenses of Boston The Harbor Defenses of Boston was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Boston, Massachusetts from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coa ...

. With World War I over, Battery Talbot was disarmed in 1919 and its guns sent to Newport and Westerly as memorials. At some time after the war three 3-inch M1917 anti-aircraft guns were deployed at the fort, supplemented by at least two mobile 3-inch guns (or possibly mobile 75 mm guns) on

White truck The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the compa ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

chassis. Battery Belton's two 3-inch guns were transferred to Fort Wetherill in 1925 to replace obsolescent M1902 guns there. This left the eight mortars of Battery Greene-Edgerton as Fort Adams' only armament.

World War II

In the Second World War a peak strength of over 3,000 soldiers were assigned to 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 ...

. In September 1940 the 243rd Coast Artillery Regiment of the

Rhode Island National Guard The Rhode Island National Guard consists of the: *Rhode Island Army National Guardbr>*Rhode Island Air National Guardbr>** 102nd Information Warfare Squadron ** 143d Airlift Wing ** 281st Combat Communications Group ** 282nd Combat Communication ...

was mobilized and sent to Fort Adams to reinforce the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

's 10th Coast Artillery Regiment. The two regiments garrisoned several coast defense forts and anti-aircraft installations under the Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay. During the war, Fort Adams and most of the other Endicott Period forts in Rhode Island were 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 ...

and their guns were scrapped. However, the previous anti-aircraft guns at the fort were replaced by two 90 mm guns with several 40 mm guns and

.50 caliber machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...

s. An Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat Battery (AMTB 925), with two 90 mm guns on mobile mounts, was also at Fort Adams by December 1943.Schroder, p. 120 As the war progressed, the number of troops was gradually reduced to about 500 by the end of the war in 1945. Section 2, Fort Adams, disrepair, 1968

State Park

In 1953, the Army transferred ownership of Fort Adams to the Navy, which still uses some of the grounds for family housing. In 1965, the fort, and most of the surrounding land, was given to the state of Rhode Island for use as

. In 1976, Fort Adams was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, in recognition for its distinctive military architecture, which includes features not found in other forts of the period. In 1994, the Fort Adams Trust was formed, which provides guided tours at the fort and oversees ongoing restoration work at the fort. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

lived at the former commanding officer's quarters (now called the

Eisenhower House Eisenhower House, formerly known as the Commandant's Residence or Quarters Number One of Fort Adams, is a historic house that is part of Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. History The building was built by George C. Mason & Son i ...

) during his summer vacations in Newport in 1958 and 1960. From the early 1950s until the mid-1970s Fort Adams fell victim to neglect, the elements and vandalism. Through the efforts of State Senator Eric O'D. Taylor, in the 1970s Fort Adams was cleaned up and open for tours and was used for the filming of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television miniseries ''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, ...

''. The tour program was cancelled about 1980 due to budget cutbacks by the State of Rhode Island. Since 1981, the Fort Adams grounds have been host to the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hir ...

, and the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

. In the early 1990s, Fort Adams was subjected to an environmental remediation program which made the fort safe for public access. About this time, the Fort Adams Trust was formed to oversee public programs and restoration of the fort. In 1995 the Fort Adams Trust began giving tours at the fort from May to September. Since that time, the fort has had several areas of the fort restored as well as having its land defenses cleared of overgrowth. In 2012, the park was the official venue for the

America's Cup World Series The America's Cup World Series are match races and fleet regattas used as heats for the 2013 America's Cup and the 2017 America's Cup. The Yachts AC45 and AC45F The World Series uses AC45 catamarans, a one-design wingsail catamaran designed spec ...

in Newport.

Notable persons associated with Fort Adams

* Robert Anderson – Commander of

and Civil War general *

John G. Barnard John Gross Barnard (May 19, 1815 – May 14, 1882) was a career engineer officer in the U.S. Army, serving in the Mexican–American War, as the superintendent of the United States Military Academy and as a general in the Union Army during the Am ...

– Army engineer, Civil War general and Superintendent of

. * Alexander Dallas Bache – Army engineer and Superintendent of the

United States Coast Survey United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. * Pierre G. T. Beauregard – Confederate Civil War general. *

– French army general, military engineer under

and designer of Fort Adams. *

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...

– Civil War general, Governor of Rhode Island and United States Senator. *

Fox Conner Fox Conner (November 2, 1874 – October 13, 1951) was a Major general (United States), major general of the United States Army. He served as operations officer for the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, and is best remembered as a ...

– AEF Operations Officer in the First World War and mentor to General and President Dwight Eisenhower. *

George W. Cullum George Washington Cullum (25 February 1809 – 28 February 1892) was an American soldier, engineer and writer. He worked as the supervising engineer on the building and repair of many fortifications across the country. Cullum served as a general ...

– Civil War general and Superintendent of

. * Henry A. du Pont –

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient, president of the Wilmington & Northern Railroad Company and United States Senator. * Dwight Eisenhower – Vacationed at Fort Adams while he was president. * William P. Ennis – Army lieutenant general born at Fort Adams. * Robley D. Evans – Navy rear admiral and commander of the Great White Fleet. *

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 ...

– Civil War general. * William Gates – long serving Army officer. * John Henry – First commander of Fort Adams and adventurer. *

Henry Jackson Hunt Henry Jackson Hunt (September 14, 1819 – February 11, 1889) was Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was ...

– Civil War general and artillery commander at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. *

Lyman Lemnitzer Lyman Louis Lemnitzer (August 29, 1899 – November 12, 1988) was a United States Army general who served as the fourth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1960 to 1962. He then served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1 ...

– Army general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. *

John B. Magruder John Bankhead Magruder (May 1, 1807 – February 18, 1871) was an American and Confederate military officer. A graduate of West Point, Magruder served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and was a prominent Confede ...

– Confederate Civil War general. * Franklin Pierce – General, Senator and President of the United States. *

William S. Rosecrans William Starke Rosecrans (September 6, 1819March 11, 1898) was an American inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and U.S. Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War. He was ...

– Civil War general. *

Isaac Ingalls Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...

– Civil War general. * Thomas W. Sherman – Civil War general. * Joseph G. Totten – Oversaw construction of Fort Adams and Chief Engineer of the United States Army. * Louis de Tousard – Revolutionary War hero and designer of the first Fort Adams. *

– Author. Parts of his book

Theophilus North ''Theophilus North'' is a 1973 autobiographical novel, the last novel written by Thornton Wilder. In 1988 it was adapted for the film '' Mr. North''. Plot summary In 1926 Theophilus North, 29 years old, leaves his four years employment at a Ne ...

were inspired by his experiences while stationed at Fort Adams during the First World War. *

William Griffith Wilson William Griffith Wilson (November 26, 1895 – January 24, 1971), also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W., was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA is an international mutual aid fellowship with about two million members worldwide ...

– Best known as "Bill W". Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Stationed at Fort Adams during the First World War.

Gallery

File:Entrance to old Fort Adams.JPG, Entrance, 1968 File:Fort Adams neglected 3.jpg, 1968 File:Fort Adams Windows.jpg File:Fort Adams 02.jpg File:Fort Adams 01.jpg File:Fort Adams Cave.jpg, Tunnel File:Fort Adams Cannon.jpg File:Fort Adams 03.jpg File:Fort Adams Newport Rhode Island.jpg, Fort Adams in 2008 File:Aerial view of Fort Adams, Newport, R.I (66447).jpg, Postcard view

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
Fort Adams at FortWiki

Fort Adams, Newport Neck, Newport, Newport, RI
at the

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER)
Fort Tours: Fort Adams, RIReport on the Restoration of Fort Adams II prepared by William B. Robinson
from the Rhode Island State Archives {{authority control Adams State parks of Rhode Island Adams Mexican–American War forts Rhode Island in the American Civil War Adams National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island 1799 establishments in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Newport, Rhode Island Museums in Newport, Rhode Island Military and war museums in Rhode Island Adams Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island 1953 disestablishments in Rhode Island Military installations established in 1799