Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound
Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound | |
---|---|
Active | 1900-1950[1] |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Army Coast Artillery Corps |
Type | Coast artillery |
Role | Harbor Defense Command |
Part of |
|
Garrison/HQ | Fort H. G. Wright, Fishers Island, New York |
Motto(s) | Stop[2][3] |
Mascot(s) | Oozlefinch |
The Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound was a
History
Early Long Island Sound forts
Colonial period
Connecticut appears to have had few coastal fortifications in the colonial era. Unnamed forts are referred to in New Haven at the site of the later
Revolutionary War
Two relatively large and at least four small coastal forts were built in Connecticut during the
British and Loyalist (a.k.a. Tory) forces conducted several raids in Connecticut during the war. One was Tryon's raid under William Tryon in July 1779, which attacked New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk, with success in burning the latter two towns. The raid also captured New Haven and Black Rock Fort, but a subordinate of Tryon's limited his activities to destruction of military-related stores and ignored orders to burn the city.[16] In Fairfield, Fort Black Rock was besieged but not taken, but was unable to prevent the British from entering the town by another route. The most famous British raid in Connecticut was at New London and Groton under the traitor Benedict Arnold on 6 September 1781. His forces readily captured Fort Trumbull (defended by only 23 men and open on the landward side)[9] and overcame a stiff resistance at Fort Griswold in the Battle of Groton Heights. Contemporary patriot newspaper accounts allege that the British and Loyalist forces massacred many of the defenders of Fort Griswold after their surrender, starting with their commander, Colonel William Ledyard, who it was said was run through with his own sword after surrendering it.[17] The garrison of about 150 suffered 85 killed. The British forces went on to burn the city of New London.[18]
1783-War of 1812
Fort Trumbull was repaired in 1795 and 1799 under the first system of US fortifications, and was repaired in 1808 and rebuilt in 1813 with 18 guns under the second system, during the War of 1812.[19] Fort Griswold received little attention except some repairs in 1794, though it was garrisoned during at least part of the war.[19] The British were able to blockade New London for the duration of the war, keeping three warships under Stephen Decatur bottled up in the Thames River. Decatur had an earthwork fort (named for himself) built on Allyn's Mountain in Gales Ferry, just north of Groton.[20] Black Rock Fort in New Haven was rebuilt as the six-gun Fort Hale in 1809–1812.[21] Various other forts were rebuilt in the War of 1812, some with new names.[22] The most famous action in Connecticut of the War of 1812 was the bombardment of Stonington Borough on 9–12 August 1814. A force of four British warships under Sir Thomas Hardy demanded the town's surrender. The town refused, despite having only two 18-pounder cannon with which to defend itself. Three days of bombardment resulted in one elderly woman killed and a few of the defenders wounded, against reportedly 21 British sailors killed and 50 wounded.[23] Stonington's pair of 18-pounders are preserved in the borough to this day.
1816-1890
Although heavily-fortified locations were not attacked in the War of 1812, the British managed to bypass or suppress the weak defenses at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and burn Washington, DC. As a result, Congress approved a large-scale program of improved masonry forts, later called the third system of US fortifications, to replace the relatively small forts of the first and second systems. Connecticut received a complete rebuild of Fort Trumbull and a rebuilt water battery at Fort Griswold under this program.
The new (and current)
The Groton Monument was built near Fort Griswold in 1825–1830 to commemorate the Revolutionary War battle's dead. Fort Griswold's water battery was rebuilt in the 1840s for 20 guns. During the Civil War it was upgraded to accommodate 10-inch Rodman guns.[25]
Forts in Connecticut served as mobilization centers in the Civil War. Fort Trumbull became the headquarters of the 14th US Infantry regiment during the war. Fort Nathan Hale in New Haven was built in 1863 near the old Black Rock Fort as an earthwork mounting 18 guns, with bomb-proof shelters and magazines. In an unusual move, this fort was partially demolished after the war.[26][27]
The Civil War had shown that masonry forts were vulnerable to modern rifled cannon, particularly in the siege of Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia, in 1862. Also, the 15-inch (381 mm) smoothbore Rodman gun was introduced during the war. New earth-protected batteries were constructed in the 1870s at a number of locations to provide more survivable forts armed with the new weapons. However, Connecticut does not seem to have received any improved fortifications, and the program was terminated in 1878.
Endicott period
The
Heavy weapons included a rare 15-inch (381 mm)
Generally, the heavy batteries were built first, followed by the 3-inch and then the 6-inch batteries. However, the Spanish–American War broke out in early 1898. Most of the Endicott batteries were still years from completion, and it was feared the
Fort Mansfield was intended to guard the strait between Westerly, Rhode Island and Fishers Island. However, an exercise in 1907 showed that the nearby beach could be invaded in a sector the guns could not cover, thus the fort was vulnerable to capture.[34] The fort was placed in caretaker status in 1909 and disarmed to provide guns for World War I in 1917. It was abandoned and sold in 1928.[35]
Naval and related facilities grew in importance in the Long Island Sound area from the Endicott era through World War II. In 1872 the New London Navy Yard was established on the present site of the
In 1911–1914, unusually, Fort H. G. Wright's 10-inch and 12-inch guns were replaced with similar weapons, probably due to their use for live-fire practice. The fort's offshore location allowed its guns to be fired frequently, probably training troops from the entire Northeast.[1][40]
World War I
The
By this time, pedestal mounts for 6-inch guns were known to be superior to disappearing mounts, being able to more rapidly track targets with a faster rate of fire. Thus, most disappearing guns (except the M1897, shorter than the others) were dismounted for use as field guns, while most of the few pedestal guns dismounted were returned to the forts soon after the war. The removed 6-inch disappearing guns (primarily M1903 and M1905) were stored and many returned to service in World War II.
As a result of the above policies, in 1917-18 the mortar batteries at Fort H. G. Wright and Fort Terry were halved and all 6-inch M1903 and M1905 guns removed, along with Fort Terry's pair of 5-inch guns (these appear to have been relocated to North Hill at Fort H. G. Wright, along with two other 5-inch guns (most likely from Fort Mansfield), until scrapped in 1919).[31][29] No 10-inch or 12-inch guns in CD Long Island Sound were removed, possibly due to their use for live-fire practice. Fort Michie's four pedestal-mounted 6-inch M1900 guns remained, along with three M1897 guns at Fort H. G. Wright and two at Fort Terry.
References indicate the authorized strength of CD Long Island Sound in World War I was 38 companies, including 13 from the
Interwar
During and after World War I two- or three-gun
During World War I, in response to rapid improvements in
On 1 July 1924 the harbor defense garrisons completed the transition from a company-based organization to a regimental one, and on 9 June 1925 the commands were renamed from "Coast Defenses..." to "Harbor Defenses...".
A coast defense exercise conducted in HD Long Island Sound in 1930 was notable for including aircraft and
On 21 September 1938 the 1938 New England hurricane severely damaged most of Fort Michie's garrison buildings.
In 1937 Fort H. G. Wright's 10-inch and 12-inch guns were replaced, probably due to live-fire practice; the 10-inch guns by weapons taken from Fort Wetherill in Rhode Island.[40]
World War II
Early in World War II numerous temporary buildings were again constructed to accommodate the rapid mobilization of men and equipment. The 2nd Battalion and two additional batteries of the 11th Coast Artillery Regiment were activated on 1 July 1939. Another battery was activated 1 August 1940, with a searchlight battery on 10 February 1941.[1] The 242nd Coast Artillery Regiment was activated on 16 September 1940.[4][47]
After the
The 16-inch batteries were supplemented by new two-gun
Two
As the new defenses were built, in 1942-43 the vast majority of the older guns were scrapped, although the 12-inch guns at Fort H. G. Wright and Fort Michie remained until 1945. However, the 6-inch pedestal guns and some of the 3-inch guns were retained in service through the end of the war.[29]
At least five
The
Following mobilization in 1940 HD Long Island Sound was subordinate to
On 13 September 1943 the 3rd Battalion of the 242nd Coast Artillery was transferred to the 23rd Coast Artillery in the Harbor Defenses of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and redesignated as part of that regiment. On 4 May 1942 the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound were inactivated and consolidated with the Harbor Defenses of New York. HD Long Island Sound was disbanded on 22 May 1944.[53] The removal of most weapons and an Army-wide shift from a regimental to a battalion-based system meant more organizational changes in Long Island Sound's defenses. On 23 February 1944 the 11th Coast Artillery was effectively disestablished, and on 7 October 1944 the 242nd Coast Artillery was redesignated as the 190th and 242nd Coast Artillery Battalions, which themselves were disestablished on 1 April 1945. Personnel from these units were absorbed by HD New York while remaining in the Long Island Sound area.[4][54]
Post World War II
Following the war, it was soon determined that gun defenses were obsolete, and they were scrapped by the end of 1948, with remaining harbor defense functions turned over to the Navy.
In 1967-72 Fort Nathan Hale and Black Rock Fort were reconstructed and remain open to the public.
Fort Trumbull remained in Navy hands until 1996. The fort soon became a state park, with the offices removed from the gun casemates.
Fort Terry was an Army biological warfare laboratory from 1952 to 1954, at which time it became the Plum Island Animal Disease Center of the US Department of Agriculture.[56]
Fort Michie and Great Gull Island were acquired by the American Museum of Natural History to study migratory terns in 1949, and the program remains in place.
Present
Fort Trumbull in New London and Fort Griswold (with the adjacent Groton Monument) in Groton are well preserved and restored and are open to the public in state parks. Some historic cannon are at both forts. Fort Trumbull has an elevator allowing access to the upper portions of the fort. The pair of 18-pounders that defended Stonington Borough in the War of 1812 remain on display in a town park.
In New Haven, Fort Nathan Hale and Black Rock Fort are also open to the public. The site of Fort Stamford in Stamford has some remains of the fort. A park is at the site of Fort Saybrook in Old Saybrook, but little or nothing remains of the fort.
Many of the garrison buildings of
Coat of arms
- Blazon
- Shield: The shield is gold, and bears a blue diagonal stripe, known as a bend, on which are three silver towers. The bend with its towers represents the defenses' line of three forts, Wright, Michie, and Terry, placed diagonally across the entrance of the Sound. On each side of the bend is a narrow parallel strip of black, symbolizing the iron defenses.[2][3]
- Crest: The crest is the head of a fish hawk (or osprey) in natural colors, which bird abounds in that vicinity.[2][3]
- Motto: The motto is a command to the enemy, Stop.[2][3]
- Background: The coat of arms was initially approved in 1919 for the Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound. In 1924 the osprey head crest was adopted by the 11th Coast Artillery Regiment.[2][3]
See also
- Seacoast defense in the United States
- Harbor Defense Command
- List of coastal fortifications of the United States
References
- ^ a b c d e Gaines, p. 9
- ^ a b c d e Berhow, p. 573
- ^ a b c d e Coats of arms, pp. 123-125, 127
- ^ a b c Stanton, pp. 455-481
- ^ a b Coast Artillery Organization: A Brief Overview at the Coast Defense Study Group website
- ^ a b Rinaldi, pp. 165-166
- ^ a b Berhow, pp. 430-434
- ^ Black Rock Fort (New Haven) at American Forts Network
- ^ a b Roberts, pp. 120, 124-125
- ^ a b Fort Saybrook at American Forts Network
- ^ Roberts, pp. 117, 120, 121
- ^ Black Rock Fort (Black Rock) at American Forts Network
- ^ Long Point Fort at American Forts Network
- ^ Roberts, pp. 123-124
- ^ Fort Stamford at American Forts Network
- ^ Townshend, Charles Hervey (1879). The British invasion of New Haven, Connecticut. New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse, and Taylor. pp. 9, 23.
Tryon 1779 new haven.
- ^ The Pennsylvania Gazette, 26 September 1781
- ^ Constance Luyster, Administrative Trainee, State Historical Commission (July 30, 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Fort Griswold". National Park Service.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) and accompanying photographs - ^ a b Forts Trumbull and Griswold at American Forts Network
- ^ Fort Decatur at American Forts Network
- ^ Roberts, p. 120
- ^ a b Connecticut forts at American Forts Network
- ^ Steenburg, Nancy, "Attack on Stonington", Connecticut Explored, Summer 2012
- ^ Weaver, pp. 132–135
- ^ History of Fort Griswold at Friends of Fort Griswold website
- ^ Fort Nathan Hale at American Forts Network
- ^ Fort Nathan Hale at FortWiki.com
- ^ a b Map of HD Long Island Sound at FortWiki.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Berhow, pp. 207-208
- ^ Fort H.G. Wright at FortWiki.com
- ^ a b Fort Terry at FortWiki.com
- ^ Congressional serial set, 1900, Report of the Commission on the Conduct of the War with Spain, Vol. 7, pp. 3778–3780, Washington: Government Printing Office
- ^ Fort Tyler at FortWiki.com
- ^ "Military Exercise Exposed Fort Mansfield's Flaw, Westerly Sun, 20 April 2014". Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Fort Mansfield at FortWiki.com
- ^ "History of Cutchogue-New Suffolk". cutchoguenewsuffolk.org. Archived from the original on 29 April 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
- ^ Prior to 1931 construction of submarines contracted by Electric Boat was subcontracted to other yards, primarily the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts.
- ^ "The New London Ship and Engine Company". The Day. New London, Connecticut. March 11, 1915. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "The Demise of the Lake Torpedo Boat Company (from Weir)". Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
- ^ a b c Fort H. G. Wright at FortWiki.com
- ^ US Army Railway Guns in World War I
- ^ Williford, pp. 92-99
- ^ Coast Artillery Corps Units in France in WWI
- ^ Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound at American Forts Network
- ^ Miller, Vol. II, p. 109
- ^ Ordnance, pp. 147-149
- ^ a b National Guard Coast Artillery regiment histories at the Coast Defense Study Group
- ^ ""Minor Joint Army and Navy Exercises – Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound", Coast Artillery Journal, July 1930, vol. 73 no. 1, pp. 18-26" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
- ^ Camp Hero at FortWiki.com
- ^ Indicator loop school on Fishers Island
- ISBN 0-387-32940-4.
- ^ Conn, pp. 33-35
- ^ Clay, Steven E. (2010). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941, vol. 2 (PDF). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press. pp. 1009–1010.
- ^ Stanton, pp. 489, 492
- ^ 242nd Engineer Detachment deployment in 2014 at CTNG Facebook page
- ^ Wheelis, pp. 225-228
- Berhow, Mark A., ed. (2015). American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide (Third ed.). McLean, Virginia: CDSG Press. ISBN 978-0-9748167-3-9.
- Coats of Arms and Badges of the Coast Artillery Corps, Coast Artillery Journal, August 1923, vol. 59 no. 2, pp. 123-142 Archived 2019-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
- Conn, Stetson; Engelman, Rose C.; Fairchild, Byron (2000) [1964]. Guarding the United States and its Outposts. United States Army in World War II. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army. Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
- Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, Coast Defense Journal, vol. 23, issue 2, p. 9
- Miller, H. W., LTC, USA (1921). Railway Artillery, Vols. I and II. Washington: US Government Printing Office.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Ordnance Corps, US Army (1922). American Coast Artillery Materiel. Washington: Government Printing Office.
- Parkman, Aubrey (1978). Army Engineers in New England 1775-1975. Waltham, MA: US Army Corps of Engineers, New England Division.
- Rinaldi, Richard A. (2004). The U. S. Army in World War I: Orders of Battle. General Data LLC. ISBN 0-9720296-4-8.
- Roberts, Robert B. (1988). Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-926880-X.
- Stanton, Shelby L. (1991). World War II Order of Battle. Galahad Books. ISBN 0-88365-775-9.
- Wade, Arthur P. (2011). Artillerists and Engineers: The Beginnings of American Seacoast Fortifications, 1794–1815. CDSG Press. ISBN 978-0-9748167-2-2.
- Weaver II, John R. (2018). A Legacy in Brick and Stone: American Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, 1816-1867, 2nd Ed. McLean, VA: Redoubt Press. ISBN 978-1-7323916-1-1.
- Weir, Gary E. (2000). Building American Submarines, 1914-1940. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific. ISBN 0-89875-066-0.
- ISBN 0674016998).
Further reading
- De Kay, James Tertius (2013). The Battle of Stonington. Annapolis: ISBN 978-1-591142-02-7.
- Lewis, Emanuel Raymond (1979). Seacoast Fortifications of the United States. Annapolis: Leeward Publications. ISBN 978-0-929521-11-4.
External links
- Map of HD Long Island Sound at FortWiki.com
- Insignia of the Coast Artillery Corps at the Coast Defense Study Group
- American Forts Network, lists forts in the US, former US territories, Canada, and Central America
- List of all US coastal forts and batteries at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
- FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts