Coastal artillery gun at Fort Columbia State Park

Fort Greene is a

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

installation in the

Point Judith Point Judith is a village and a small cape, on the coast of Narragansett, Rhode Island, United States, on the western side of Narragansett Bay where it opens out onto Rhode Island Sound. It is the location for the year-round ferry service that ...

area of

Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupie ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

this was a coastal defense fort, and together with Fort Church in Little Compton, it superseded all previous heavy gun defenses in the

Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay The Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Harbor Defense Command, harbor defense command. It coordinated the coastal defence and fortification, coast defenses of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island from ...

. It is named for General

Nathanael Greene Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...

of the Revolutionary War, who was born in Rhode Island.FortWiki article on Fort Greene
/ref>

History

Fort Greene was built as part of a general modernization of US coast defenses, begun in 1940 with the outbreak of war in Europe and the

Fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...

. The goal was to replace all previous heavy weapons, most of which were over 35 years old, with long-range ex-Navy

16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun The 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 gun and the near-identical Mark 3 were guns originally designed and built for the United States Navy as the main armament for the South Dakota-class battleship (1920), ''South Dakota''-class battleships and s. The succe ...

s. Lighter weapons would be replaced by 6-inch guns on high-angle shielded barbette carriages. Ammunition

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and the 16-inch guns would be in

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

d bunkers to protect against air attack. The fort was intended to protect the approaches to

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. S ...

as part of the

, and with a range of over it could protect the eastern approaches to

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

as well. It was mirrored by Fort Church in Little Compton near Sakonnet Point. Three reservations were acquired for Fort Greene 1939-1942, which was initially known as the Point Judith Military Reservation. The East Reservation was at the present Fort Greene Army Reserve Center, while the West and South Reservations are the present Fishermen's Memorial State Park. The South Reservation was near Point Judith Light. Battery Hamilton, or Battery Construction Number (BCN) 108, was on the East Reservation and had two 16-inch guns. BCN 109 was on the West Reservation and was designed for two 16-inch guns, but was never armed. To the west of BCN 109, also in the park, is a Plotting, Switchboard, and Radio (PSR) bunker. BCN 211 with two 6-inch guns was on the South Reservation, along with four "

Panama mount The Panama Mount is a form of gun mount for fixed coastal artillery developed by the U.S. Army in Panama during the 1920s. Widely used during the buildup to and during World War II by the United States military, it was typically equipped with ...

s" (circular concrete platforms) for towed 155 mm guns.Berhow, p. 205 The Point Judith Fishermen's Memorial is next to the bunker of BCN 211; a path is also available to the top of the bunker. No interpretation of the military facilities in the park is provided. In 1947, with the war over, Fort Greene's guns were scrapped along with almost all other US coast artillery weapons. Several

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 ...

stations were built in Narragansett, disguised as beach cottages as part of the

Coast Artillery fire control system In the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, the term fire-control system, fire control system was used to refer to the personnel, facilities, technology and procedures that were used to observe designated targets, estimate their positions, calculate ...

; these may date from the start of the Endicott Program circa 1900. Most have been destroyed; one (badly damaged by storms) is near BCN 211, and some survive and have been restored at the Camp Varnum

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

facility, formerly

Fort Varnum Camp Varnum is a Rhode Island Army National Guard training facility in the Boston Neck area of Narragansett, Rhode Island. During World War II it was Fort Varnum, a coastal defence and fortification, coastal defense fort. History Fort Varnum w ...

Present

A former 16-inch gun battery (BCN 109), which was never armed, is in the campground of Fishermen's Memorial State Park on the former west reservation, along with a Plotting, Switchboard, and Radio (PSR) bunker housing a plotting room as part of the

. The Fort Greene Army Reserve facility, on the east reservation, includes the former 16-inch Battery Hamilton. The former 6-inch gun battery (BCN 211) remains near Point Judith Light, on the former south reservation, also part of the state park. The fishermen's memorial is next to the bunker, and one of the gun blocks is on the (much eroded) beach in front of BCN 211.

Gallery

File:PointJudithRIPanMt01.jpg, 6-inch gun position at BCN 211, former Fort Greene south reservation File:PointJudithRI6inBunker01.jpg, Ammunition and fire control bunker for BCN 211, former Fort Greene south reservation File:PointJudithRIFCTower01.jpg, Former

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 battery, coastal batteries, or adjust the aim of guns by spotting shell splashes. Fire control to ...

resembling a barn silo, former Fort Greene west reservation File:PointJudithRIFireControl02.jpg, Storm-damaged former fire control tower resembling a beach cottage, former Fort Greene south reservation

References

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External links

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 Rhode Island Greene, Narr Military installations in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Narragansett, Rhode Island Military installations established in 1943 1943 establishments in Rhode Island

History

Present

Gallery

See also

References

External links