Fort Sewall is a historic coastal fortification in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends into the northern part of Massachusetts Bay. Attache ...

. It is located at Gale's Head, the northeastern point of the main Marblehead peninsula, on a promontory that overlooks the entrance to Marblehead Harbor. Until 1814 it was called Gale's Head Fort.

History

Gale's Head was first fortified in 1634, and was one of the oldest English coastal fortifications in the United States. A more permanent fortification was built in 1742 during

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

and it served through the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

.Roberts, p. 410 Fort Sewall Tercentenary Marker

Gale's Head Fort was rebuilt in 1775 during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. It was garrisoned by Colonel John Glover's

Marblehead Regiment The 14th Continental Regiment, also known as the Marblehead Regiment and Glover's Regiment, was raised as a Massachusetts militia regiment in 1775, and taken into the Continental Army establishment during the summer of 1775. When the Continent ...

in 1775–76. After the American Revolution, the federal government took over the property during an expansion of the nation's coast defenses from 1794 to 1807, which is known as the First System of U.S. fortifications. A

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

was added in 1794, with further rebuilding in 1799; magazines from both of these rebuildings remain. Fort Sewall was also rebuilt in 1809 with 8

guns A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, ...

as part of the Second System (1807 to 1820). 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 on fortifications dated December 1811 describes the fort as "an enclosed work of masonry and sods, mounting eight heavy cannon, covered by a blockhouse...".

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 ...

commanders of the fort (combined with Fort Pickering in Salem) from 1800 to 1812 included Capt. Alexander D. Pope 1800–1802, a detachment of Capt. Nehemiah Freeman's company 1802–1803, no federal garrison 1804–1808, and Capt. Stephen Ranney 1809–1812.

War of 1812

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 be ...

, on April 3, 1814, took shelter under the guns of Fort Sewall from a pursuing pair of British

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

s, HMS ''Tenedos'' and . Despite lacking the ammunition and powder needed to sink or drive off the two frigates, the fort's garrison was able to bluff the British by running out all of their guns and acting as though they were preparing to attack. Faced with a 44-gun frigate and the defensive batteries of a fort, the British elected to retreat, none the wiser. In 1814 the fort was named for Samuel Sewall (1757–1814), who served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1800 until his death in 1814. He was the great-grandson of the Salem witch trials judge of the same name, also a chief justice of the colony's highest court. From April 1816 to March 1821 Fort Sewall was garrisoned by Company B of the Light Artillery Regiment with about 60 soldiers.Ancestry.com, U.S. Returns of Military Posts, 1806-1916.

Civil War

The fort fell into ruins after the War of 1812.Manuel, pp. 27–30 During the

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 polici ...

Massachusetts militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. *Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) * Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) *Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April 20 ...

troops were garrisoned at Fort Sewall, 12 pieces of artillery were mounted to defend Marblehead Harbor with the fort rebuilt accordingly, and a few Confederate prisoners of war were held there. The fort was nearly doubled in size by 1864 under

Army engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...

Major Charles E. Blunt, with a bombproof shelter added. A report on the fort's armament dated January 31, 1865 shows one 24-pounder

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 ...

gun, eight 24-pounder

rifled In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the ...

guns, and three 32-pounder rifled guns. From May 16, 1864 to August 15, 1864 Fort Sewall was garrisoned by the 11th Unattached Company of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia (formerly Company I, 8th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia). On August 15, 1864 the 11th Company was relieved by the 20th Unattached Company (formerly Company E, 4th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia) which also garrisoned the fort at Salisbury Point in the town of Salisbury. The 20th Company was mustered out shortly after the end of the war on June 29, 1865.

Spanish–American War

Fort Sewall was seen as no longer needed as a coast defense fort following the Civil War. The last military use of Fort Sewall was 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 = (clock ...

in 1898. It was used as the mobilization site for Battery H, 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, commanded by Captain Walter L. Pratt, from June to August, 1898. Battery H was raised in Chelsea and consisted of 3 officers and 58 enlisted men.Battery H at SpanAmWar.com
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Current use

On May 22, 1892 the Town of Marblehead voted to adopt the fort as a town park, but the fort reverted to federal control during the Spanish–American War in 1898. The fort was turned over to the town by the federal government in 1922, and is now open as a public park. It 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 ...

in 1975.

References

* * * {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures completed in 1644

Sewall Sewall is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Sewall (1835–1900), Shipbuilder and American Democratic politician from Maine * Charles S. Sewall (1779–1848), American politician * Doug Sewall, American wheelchair curl ...

Buildings and structures in Essex County, Massachusetts