Fort Greene (Rhode Island)

Fort Greene
Easton's Point, Newport, Rhode Island
Fort Greene
Location in Rhode Island
Coordinates 41°29′49″N 71°19′18″W / 41.49694°N 71.32167°W / 41.49694; -71.32167
Type Coastal Defense
Site information
Owner City of Newport, Battery Park
Open to
the public		 yes
Site history
Built circa 1794
Built by United States Army
In use circa 1794-1815
Materials stone
Demolished circa 1820
Battles/wars War of 1812
Fort Greene
Part of Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay
Point Judith, Narragansett, Rhode Island
Fort Greene
Location in Rhode Island
Coordinates 41°22′53″N 71°29′00″W / 41.38139°N 71.48333°W / 41.38139; -71.48333
Type Coastal Defense
Site information
Owner US Army Reserve, State of Rhode Island
Controlled by US Army Reserve, Fishermen's Memorial State Park
Open to
the public		 yes (part)
Site history
Built 1943
Built by United States Army
In use 1943-present
Battles/wars World War II
16-inch casemated gun, similar to those at Fort Greene.
6-inch gun M1905 on shielded barbette carriage at Fort Columbia State Park, Washington state, similar to the guns of BCN 211 near Point Judith Light.

Fort Greene may refer to either of two locations in Rhode Island. The first was a small fort built circa 1794 at Battery Park in the Point section of Newport, last active in the War of 1812.[1] The second is a United States Army Reserve installation in the Point Judith area of Narragansett, Rhode Island. During World War II this was a coastal defense fort, and together with Fort Church in Little Compton, it superseded all previous heavy gun defenses in the Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay. Both forts were named for General Nathanael Greene of the Revolutionary War, who was born in Rhode Island.[2]

Fort Greene in Newport

Fort Greene in Newport was built as part of the First System of US seacoast fortifications circa 1794. The location is now Battery Park at Easton's Point (now usually called The Point), which was sometimes called North Point in the 18th century. It was on the site of a previous battery built in the American Revolution with state resources, called the North Battery.[3][4] The seawall remains from Fort Greene and is curved at this point.[5]

Fort Greene mounted approximately 12 guns and was intended to house a company of about 100 men, but was never completed.[6] The fort was described in the Secretary of War's report for December 1811 as "an elliptical stone battery... now in a state of ruin".[7] Contemporary forts in Newport included the first Fort Adams and Fort Wolcott.[8] In the War of 1812 the fort was garrisoned by the Newport Artillery. It appears to have been abandoned at some time after that war.

Fort Greene in Narragansett

Fort Greene in Narragansett 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 goal was to replace all previous heavy weapons, many of which were over 35 years old, with long-range 16"/50 caliber Mark 2 guns. Lighter weapons would be replaced by 6-inch guns on high-angle shielded barbette carriages. Ammunition magazines and the 16-inch guns would be in casemated bunkers to protect against air attack.[9]

The fort was intended to protect the approaches to Narragansett Bay as part of the Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay, and with a range of over 45,000 yards (41,000 m) it could protect the eastern approaches to Long Island Sound 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 room bunker. BCN 211 with two 6-inch guns was on the South Reservation, along with four "Panama mounts" (circular concrete platforms) for towed 155 mm guns.[10] One of the gun positions of BCN 211 now holds the Point Judith Fishermen's Memorial; a path is also available to the top of the bunker. A Panama mount remains on the beach near BCN 211. 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.[2]

Several fire control stations were built in Narragansett disguised as beach cottages; 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 at the Camp Varnum National Guard facility, formerly Fort Varnum.

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 Coast Artillery fire control system. The Fort Greene Army Reserve facility, on the east reservation, includes the former 16-inch Battery Hamilton.[11] The former 6-inch gun battery (BCN 211) remains near Point Judith Light, on the former south reservation, also part of the state park. One emplacement of this battery holds the actual fishermen's memorial, and a Panama mount is on the beach in front of BCN 211.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wade, pp. 57, 59
  2. 1 2 FortWiki article on Fort Greene
  3. ↑ Wade, p. 16
  4. ↑ North Battery at American Forts Network
  5. ↑ Fort Greene (Newport) at American Forts Network
  6. ↑ Wade, p. 57
  7. ↑ Wade, p. 243
  8. ↑ Wade, p. 59
  9. ↑ Berhow, p. 205
  10. ↑ Berhow, p. 205
  11. ↑ "Operational Range Assessment Program Phase II Report, Fort Nathaniel Greene" (PDF). EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc. October 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
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