Fort Stark is a former

military fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

New Castle, New Hampshire New Castle is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,000 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost town in New Hampshire and the smallest by area, and it is the only town in the state located entirely on i ...

, United States. Located at Jerry's Point (also called Jaffrey's Point) on the southeastern tip of New Castle Island, most of the surviving fort was developed in the early 20th century, following the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, although there were several earlier fortifications on the site, portions of which survive. The fort was named for

John Stark Major-General John Stark (August 28, 1728 – May 8, 1822) was an American military officer who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Ba ...

, a New Hampshire officer who distinguished himself at the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on the John Green farm in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. An American ...

in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. The purpose of Fort Stark was to defend the harbor of nearby

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard on Seavey's Island in Kittery, Maine, bordering Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The naval yard lies along the southern boundary of Maine on ...

. The fort remained in active use through the

Second World War 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 ...

, after which it was used for reserve training by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The property was partially turned over to the state of New Hampshire in 1979, which established Fort Stark Historic Site, and the remainder of the property was turned over in 1983. The grounds are open to the public during daylight hours.

History

18th century

The site of the present Fort Stark was first fortified in 1746 as Battery Cumberland, with nine 32-pounder

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

.Fort Stark at NorthAmericanForts.com
/ref> It was rebuilt in 1775 for the

, but the guns (two 32-pounders and six 24-pounders) were soon removed to arm other forts in the area. Several of the guns captured at nearby

Fort William and Mary Fort William and Mary was a colonial-era fortification in Great Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle ...

were used to rearm this fort in September 1775. The fort was garrisoned until 1778 and is one of several forts in the area that may have been named Fort Hancock during the Revolution. In 1794 a new battery for nine guns was built on the site as part of the First System of US fortifications; the remains of a circular stone

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

excavated in 1982, probably this one, can be seen in front of Battery Hunter.

19th century

During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

a company of 120 militiamen under Captain William Marshall garrisoned the redoubt. The guns at this time were a mix of 6-pounder and 9-pounder weapons. The redoubt was abandoned soon after the war ended in 1815. Plans were drawn up in 1861 for a large stone fort on the site, part of the Third System of fortifications, but the fort was never built. In 1873, the United States acquired the property as part of a modernization of seacoast defenses. The stone forts of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and earlier had been shown to be vulnerable to rifled cannon in that war, and new defenses centered on earthworks were planned. After modifying the plan for reduced cost in 1874, earthworks for eight 15-inch (381 mm) Rodman smoothbore guns were planned as the "Battery at Jerry's Point", with an additional three "heavy guns" in the old redoubt. However, funding was cut off in 1876 with the new battery about two-thirds complete. Minor construction occurred in 1879 and 1885–1886, but it appears the battery was never armed. A small portion of it can still be seen. In 1887 the Jerry's Point Lifesaving Station was built on the west side of the site, which remained in service until 1908 when the Portsmouth Harbor Lifesaving Station was built on Wood Island near

Fort Foster Fort Foster (now known as Fort Foster Historic Site) is a Second Seminole War era fort in central Florida, located south of current-day Zephyrhills in Pasco County. Fort Foster was originally built in December 1836 under the direction of L ...

. In 1885, the

Endicott Board Several boards have been appointed by US presidents or Congress to evaluate the US defensive fortifications, primarily coastal defenses near strategically important harbors on the US shores, its territories, and its protectorates. Endicott Board ...

recommended a large-scale fortification plan that eventually included Fort Stark. However, construction on the new fort did not begin until 1901. In 1898, shortly after the outbreak of the

, emergency batteries were constructed to quickly arm key points, as most of the Endicott batteries were still years from completion and it was feared the Spanish fleet would bombard the US East Coast. At Jerry's Point this consisted of two 8-inch (203 mm) M1888 guns mounted on converted carriages built for Rodman guns in the 1870s emplacements.Berhow, p. 205Fort Stark at FortWiki.com
/ref> These guns were removed in 1900 to arm new Endicott batteries elsewhere and to make room for the new batteries at Fort Stark.

Endicott Period

Construction began on the newly named Fort Stark in 1901 and was completed in 1905. Four batteries were originally built: Battery Hunter with two 12-inch (305 mm) M1895 guns on

disappearing carriage A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate bac ...

s, Battery Kirk with two 6-inch (152 mm) M1903 guns on disappearing carriages, and Batteries Hays and Lytle, each with two 3-inch (76 mm) M1902 guns on pedestal mounts. Battery Hunter was named for Major General

David Hunter David Hunter (July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886) was an American military officer. He served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He achieved notability for his unauthorized 1862 order (immediately rescinded) emancipating slaves ...

of the Civil War, Battery Kirk was named for Brigadier General Edward N. Kirk, Battery Hays was named for Major General

Alexander Hays Alexander Hays (July 8, 1819 – May 5, 1864) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. Early life and career Hays was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel Hays, a m ...

, and Battery Lytle was named for Brigadier General William Haines Lytle. Each of the last three were killed in action in the Civil War. Facilities for controlling an underwater minefield in the harbor were added in 1907-1909; Batteries Hays and Lytle were built primarily to defend this minefield against

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s. As with other US seacoast forts, Fort Stark was garrisoned by the

United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artiller ...

. The fort was part of the Coast Defenses of Portsmouth (Harbor Defenses after 1925), along with

and

Fort Constitution Fort William and Mary was a colonial-era fortification in Great Britain's worldwide system of defenses, defended by soldiers of the Province of New Hampshire who reported directly to the royal governor. The fort, originally known as "The Castle ...

World War I

After the

American entry into World War I The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and an a ...

the two 6-inch (152 mm) guns of Battery Kirk were dismounted for use on the Western Front on field carriages. These guns were sent to France and returned to the United States after the war, but were not returned to Fort Stark. A history of the Coast Artillery in World War I states that none of the regiments in France equipped with 6-inch guns completed training in time to see action before the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

.History of the Coast Artillery Corps in WWI
/ref> In 1918 Battery Kirk was converted into the Post Telephone Switchboard room. The Mine Command station, built in 1909, was converted into the "H" Station in 1921 when the mine complex was moved to

World War II

In 1940-1944, the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment. In 1941 the former lifesaving station was occupied by the Navy and would become the Navy HECP. The "H" Station was occupied by the Army, who used it as a temporary HECP until 1944, when a new reinforced concrete structure was built on top of Battery Kirk that would house both the Army and Navy operations until 1948. Although most of the heavy guns in the Portsmouth area were superseded by the new 16-inch (406 mm) gun battery at

Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort, first built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by U.S. troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secre ...

, Battery Hunter's 12-inch guns remained in service until February 1945, several months after the guns at Fort Dearborn entered service. The original Batteries Hays and Lytle were deactivated in 1942. Battery Hays' two 3-inch guns were sent to Battery Hackleman at Fort Constitution, while a new Battery Lytle was built just south of Battery Hunter, consisting of two concrete pads atop the 1870s earthworks. A 90 mm gun battery, called Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat Battery 953 (AMTB 953), was authorized for Fort Stark but not built.

Postwar

With all the guns scrapped, the fort was deactivated in 1948 and turned over to the Navy in 1950. The Navy used the fort for harbor defense purposes until 1953, when it became a reserve training center for a

Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit A Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit (MIUWU) was a component of the United States Navy's Force Protection Package tasked with providing seaward security to joint logistics over-the-shore operations from either a port or harbor complex or unimp ...

until 1980. In 1963, two Navy 3-inch (76 mm) guns were placed on the "new" Battery Lytle's gun blocks as a memorial to , lost while operating from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Years later, one gun was returned to the shipyard, while the other gun was left derelict after a 1978 storm dislodged its mounting block. The fort is now a state park, with a small museum in the Visitors' Center that includes the remaining 3-inch gun. Visitors are welcome to view the gun batteries and HECP and enjoy the views of the Atlantic Ocean.

References

Notes

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External links

Fort Stark State Historic Site
New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts
{{authority control State parks of New Hampshire Parks in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Stark Stark Stark Stark New Castle, New Hampshire