Brewster Islands Military Reservation
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Brewster Islands Military Reservation
OR:
Brewster Islands Military Reservation on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Brewster Islands Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located on
Great Brewster Island Great Brewster Island is one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, situated some offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further . Unlike the other out ...
and
Outer Brewster Island Outer Brewster Island, also known as Outward Island, is one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and is situated some 10 miles offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 20 acres, and consi ...
in
Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
as part of the
Harbor Defenses of Boston The Harbor Defenses of Boston was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Boston, Massachusetts from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coa ...
.


History

Outer Brewster Island was acquired by the US government in 1913, followed by Great Brewster Island in 1917. In 1920 there was a proposal to build a naval-type turret with two 16-inch guns on Great Brewster Island, but this was not implemented.
Calf Island Military Reservation Calf Island Military Reservation was a World War II coastal defense site located on Calf Island in Hull, Massachusetts. History In 1920 there was a proposal to build a naval-type turret with two 16-inch guns on Great Brewster Island, but this wa ...
was also considered, but the battery was finally built (without a turret) as
Fort Duvall Fort Duvall was a Coast Artillery fort, part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston, in Massachusetts. What was then called Spinnaker Island (Massachusetts), Hog Island in Hull, Massachusetts was acquired by the U.S. government in 1917, and the fort was ...
.Parkman, pp. 123-125 The Brewster Islands Military Reservation was built in World War II on these islands. Its mission was to protect
Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...
from possible air and naval attack. It never fired its guns, but it did play an important part in the defense of the harbor.Harbor Defenses of Boston at American Forts Network
/ref>


Great Brewster Island

This island had an observation post and mine casemate for controlling a
minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
in the harbor. The island also had an Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat Battery (AMTB), called AMTB 942. This AMTB battery had an authorized strength of four 90 mm guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts, as well as two towed 37 mm guns.Great Brewster Island at FortWiki.com
/ref> The facility on Great Brewster Island may have been renamed Camp Prescott in 1943.


Outer Brewster Island

This island had a battery of two 6-inch M1 guns on long-range shielded carriages, with a large magazine and
fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control i ...
bunker between them. The battery was initially called Battery 209, but later named Battery Jewell. A fire control tower and an SCR-296 radar were also on the island.Outer Brewster Island at FortWiki.com
/ref>


Present

The site today consists of the foundations of buildings and gun mounts, and the bunker of Battery Jewell.


See also

*
Seacoast defense in the United States Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before Military aviation, airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative t ...
*
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 artillery d ...
*
List of military installations in Massachusetts This is a list of current and former military installations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Current military installations in Massachusetts Joint facilities ;Bases * Joint Base Cape Cod (state designation, not federally recognized)


References

* * *


External links


Island Facts: Great Brewster Island at NPS.gov

List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts


{{FmrMAForts Military in Boston Buildings and structures in Boston Installations of the U.S. Army in Massachusetts Boston Harbor islands