Fort Sullivan (briefly Fort Sherbrooke) was a 19th-century military fortification in

Eastport, Maine Eastport is a city and archipelago in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 census, making Eastport the least-populous city in Maine. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainlan ...

. It lay opposite

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada, and served as an important coastal defense for the easternmost

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during the 19th century. As part of the establishment of New Ireland 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 ...

, British Commodore

Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, 1st Baronet, GCB (5 April 1769 – 20 September 1839) was a British Royal Navy officer. He took part in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in February 1797, the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 and the ...

conquered the fort in 1814 and renamed it Fort Sherbrooke after

John Coape Sherbrooke General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, (29 April 1764 – 14 February 1830) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean (including Sicily), and Spa ...

, the

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Construction

In 1808, the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

decided to build a fort in Eastport, Massachusetts (now Maine), to protect against possible threats from Britain and other European powers then engaged in warfare. In 1808 or 1809, Major Lemuel Trescott oversaw the construction of the garrison atop Clark's Hill in the village. The fort contained a four-gun circular earthwork, a wooden blockhouse, and barracks. Fort Sullivan reportedly took its name circa March 1813.

British control

During the

, in an effort to establish New Ireland, the British forced the American garrison to surrender Fort Sullivan to a British fleet under command of Commodore

, on 11 July 1814. British naval forces ultimately took control over the entire coast east of

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, renaming it New Ireland. Even after the war, Britain claimed that Moose Island, Maine, (including Fort Sullivan and the entire village of Eastport) lay on the British side of the border separating United States of America from their loyal colony of

and so left eight hundred troops in the fort, which they renamed Fort Sherbrooke after

, to hold the territory. The British demanded that the inhabitants of Eastport take oaths of allegiance to their crown; some complied, others evaded, and many removed to undisputed American territory. Through negotiations with the British in 1817, Americans renounced their claims to larger islands farther east and regained control over Eastport on 30 June 1818. Two active battalions of the Regular Army (1-5 Inf and 2-5 Inf) perpetuate the lineage of the old 40th Infantry Regiment, which was on garrison duty at Fort Sullivan when it was captured by the British.

Coastal fort

The post surgeon began meteorological observations at the fort in 1822. The Army stationed officer Nathaniel Dana in the 1st U.S. Artillery at Fort Sullivan on 15 April 1822, when and where his wife bore his son, future major general Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana. First Lieutenant George Sears Greene, who would serve as a major general in the Union Army during the

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and was noted for his defense of

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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 ...

, commanded Fort Sullivan from 1831 until 1835. Tragically, Greene's wife and three children died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

during his assignment to Fort Sullivan. The fort had a small garrison until the late 1830s, when disputes over the border with New Brunswick in northern Maine threatened to break out into war. The

Webster–Ashburton Treaty The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty that resolved several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (the region that became Canada). Signed under John Tyler's presidency, it r ...

of 1842 settled the boundary dispute. During

, the Army constructed earthwork batteries in the area. Company C of the

Maine Coast Guard The state of Maine organized seven companies of militia infantry for coast guard duties in the Union Army during the American Civil War. They primarily served to garrison coastal fortifications in Maine, with two companies sent to the Defens ...

mustered in at Eastport on 16 May 1864, stationed at Fort Sullivan, and mustered out 6 September 1865, under Captain Thomas P. Hutchinson.

Decommissioning

Fort Sullivan powder magazine, Eastport, Maine 2012

In 1873, the Army ceased using and occupying Fort Sullivan. In 1877, the government sold the property at Fort Sullivan. The new owners moved the northernmost barracks quarters to its present location at 74 Washington Street. Other parts of the fort collapsed over time. Ruins of an old powder magazine still exist off McKinley Street, and are the only surviving ''in situ'' remains of the fort.

Barracks Museum

The Border Historical Society now owns and operates one of the remaining early 19th century officers quarters as the Barracks Museum, a site listed in

National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Maine This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Maine. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Maine, Un ...

. Exhibits include the history of Fort Sullivan, the area

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and

ground fishing Bottom fishing, also called legering in the United Kingdom, is fishing of the bottom ( demersal zone) of a deep body of water such as lake or ocean, targeting groundfish such as sucker fish, bream, catfish and crappie. It is contrasted with ...

industries, local history and

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

. The museum is open in July and August.

References

* George J. Varney wrote an article, "History of Eastport, Maine", in ''A Gazetteer of the State of Maine'' in 1886, availabl

* David Zimmerman, ''Coastal Fort: A History of Fort Sullivan Eastport, Maine''. Border history fathom series, no. 3. Eastport, Moose Island, Me: Research Committee, Border Historical Society, 1984.

External links

Barracks Museum
- Border Historical Society {{Navboxes , list = {{FmrMEMilitary {{National Register of Historic Places {{Protected areas of Maine {{Washington County, Maine Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine, Sullivanr Sullivan Sullivan Protected areas of Washington County, Maine Museums in Washington County, Maine History museums in Maine Military and war museums in Maine Buildings and structures in Eastport, Maine Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Maine 1808 establishments in Massachusetts