When Washington, D.C., burned to the ground during the War of 1812, it was clear that there were some holes in the national defense plan.
President James Monroe, determined to correct this, made it part of his inaugural address in 1817. To help with this, Napoleon’s former lieutenant Simon Bernard was added to the committee established the previous year to help formulate the nation’s first policy. Unified Coastal Defense System.
In 1821, the Council announced plans to build over 40 forts. One of them is: Fort Adams in Newport. Work on the fort began in 1824.
Fort celebrates 200 yearsth This year marks that anniversary, but the days of lifeguards on Narragansett Bay are long gone. Now, as Rhode Island’s second most visited state park, it is open to tours, picnics, and concerts.
However, What and Why RI readers have asked questions about the fort that relate to its original purpose: “Why is Fort Adams pentagonal?”
History of the Pentagonal Fort
This goes back to Bernard and Monroe’s decision to add Europeans to their design team.
“Bernard was educated in Vauban-style fortifications, became chairman of the fortification committee, and designed much of the defense,” said Robert McCormack, Fort Adams’ director of visitor experience.
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McCormack said pentagonal fortifications, also called fortresses or star fortifications, evolved along with cannon in the mid-15th century. It started in Italy but soon became popular in France as well. By the 16th century, the French architect Marquis Vauban modified this style.
“One of the main advantages of a pentagonal bastion, or bastion, is that there is no place for an attacker to retreat around the bastion,” McCormack said in an email. “When an army attempts to storm a Vauban-style fort, the garrison is attacked from multiple directions. Not only does the attacking army have to face frontal fire, but the pentagonal shape This also means that they can expect to be exposed to flank fire.”
Why is Fort Adams pentagonal?
Given Brenton’s Point’s location at the mouth of the bay, it was a natural location for a fort. In fact, one was already built there.
According to the paper, Major Louis Toussard designed “irregular clearings at the old Brenton’s Point so that about 20 guns could cover the eastern passage and an equal number could fire in the direction of Newport.” It is said that he was doing so. Fort Adams TrustIt opened in 1799. Fort Adams was named after President John Adams.
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When Bernard’s team arrived at the fort, it was considered “worse than useless.” Instead, they preferred the pentagonal design that Bernard was familiar with from Europe. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Totten arrived to supervise the work in his 1825 year.
Totten had to make modifications based on geography.
“However, Fort Adams, like several other forts of the time, is not a true polygon,” McCormack wrote. “Fort Adams was designed to repel foreign attacks by land and sea, so military architects designed the fortifications to prevent enemy land attack options on all areas except the southern tip. We chose to “push” it into the northern tip of the peninsula. Additionally, by placing the fort at the end of the peninsula, the architects were able to extend the seaward defenses while shortening and modifying the rest of the fortress to suit the terrain. ”
So I ended up with a slightly irregular polygon, but definitely an improvement over “irregular openwork”.
How to get to Fort Adams
Admission to the state-owned park is free, but the fort itself, a National Historic Landmark, is operated through the nonprofit Fort Adams Trust.
Guided and self-guided tours are offered seasonally Charges apply.
For 200th In addition to the commemorative ceremony, a series of special events will be held in 2024, including lectures, tours, and fundraising events. For more information, please visit his website: fortadams.org.
“What and Why RI” is a weekly feature from the Providence Journal that explores our readers’ curiosities. If you have any questions about Rhode Island, big or small, please email us at: klandeck@gannett.com. She loves good questions.