Fort Philip (also spelled Fort Phillips)[1] was a fort built in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War and rebuilt in 1808, which also served in the War of 1812 to around 1815. It was in Newburyport, Massachusetts on the northern end of Plum Island, known as Lighthouse Point, guarding the mouth of the Merrimack River.[1][2][3] The 1808 rebuilding was part of the second system of US fortifications. The secretary of war's report on fortifications in December 1808 states that "...a battery of wood, filled in with sand and surmounted with sod, has been erected. It... was constructed of wood on account of the shifting sands."[3] A subsequent report in December 1811 describes the fort as "...an enclosed battery, built of earth and timber, mounting five heavy guns... ."[4] The site eventually washed away in the 1830s.[2] A militia artillery battery was stationed in the area in the Spanish–American War.[5]
| Fort Philip | |
|---|---|
| Plum Island, Newburyport, Massachusetts | |
  Fort Philip Location in Massachusetts  Fort Philip Fort Philip (the United States) | |
| Coordinates | 42°48′55″N 70°49′5″W / 42.81528°N 70.81806°W |
| Type | Coastal defense |
| Site information | |
| Condition | no remains, beach eroded |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1776, 1808 |
| In use | 1776–1781, 1808–1815 |
| Materials | wood, earthworks |
| Demolished | circa 1830 |
| Battles/wars | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Heitman, Francis B. (1903). Historical Register And Dictionary Of The United States Army: 1789-1903, vol. 2. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p. 533.
- ^ a b "Massachusetts - Fort Philip". American Forts Network. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ a b Wade, p. 235
- ^ Wade, p. 242
- ^ Roberts, p. 407
- 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.
- Wade, Arthur P. (2011). Artillerists and Engineers: The Beginnings of American Seacoast Fortifications, 1794–1815. CDSG Press. ISBN 978-0-9748167-2-2.