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Harbor Defenses Of New Bedford
The Harbor Defenses of New Bedford was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of New Bedford, Massachusetts and the nearby Cape Cod Canal from 1900 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included a coast artillery fort (Fort Rodman, a.k.a. Fort Taber) and an underwater minefield. The command originated circa 1900 as the New Bedford Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of New Bedford in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of New Bedford in 1925.Stanton, pp. 455-481, 484Rinaldi, pp. 165-166Berhow, p. 430-434 History Early New Bedford forts ;American Revolution through War of 1812 Two forts were built in the New Bedford area in the American Revolution, a 6-gun (possibly 11-gun)Roberts, p. 407 unnamed fort (later named Fort Phoenix) in 1775 in what is now Fairhaven, and the 10-gun Acushnet Fort in 1776 at an uncertain location, possibly on Clark's Point at the site of the later Fort R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coastal Artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of cannons were highly important to military affairs and generally represented the areas of highest technology and capital cost among materiel. The advent of 20th-century technologies, especially military aviation, naval aviation, jet aircraft, and guided missiles, reduced the primacy of cannons, battleships, and coastal artillery. In countries where coastal artillery has not been disbanded, these forces have acquired amphibious capabilities. In littoral warfare, mobile coastal artillery armed with surface-to-surface missiles can still be used to deny the use of sea lanes. It was long held as a rule of thumb that one shore-based gun equaled three naval guns of the same caliber, due to the steadiness of the coastal gun which allowed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Board Of Fortifications
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 In 1885, US President Grover Cleveland appointed a joint Army, Navy and civilian board, headed by Secretary of War William Crowninshield Endicott, known as the Board of Fortifications (now usually referred to simply as the Endicott Board). The findings of the Board in its 1886 report illustrated a grim picture of neglect of America's coast defenses and recommended a massive $127 million construction program for a series of new forts with breech-loading cannons, mortars, floating batteries, and submarine mines for some 29 locations on the US coast. Coast Artillery fortifications built between 1885 and 1905 are often referred to as Endicott Period fortifications. The first board consisted of the following officers and civilians: * Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix is a Legendary creature, legendary immortal bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Originating in Greek mythology, it has analogs in many cultures, such as Egyptian mythology, Egyptian and Persian mythology. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, while others say that it simply dies and decomposes before being born again. In the ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'', a tool used by folklore studies, folklorists, the phoenix is classified as motif B32.Thompson. (2001: 581). The origin of the phoenix has been attributed to Ancient Egypt by Herodotus and later 19th-century scholars, but other scholars think the Egyptian texts may have been influenced by classical folklore. Over time, the phoenix motif spread and gained a variety of new associations; Herodotus, Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Pope Clement I, Lactantius, Ovid, and Isidore of Sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey's Raid
Grey's raid was a series of raids carried out in Massachusetts by British forces under the command of Major-General Charles Grey in September 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. Grey, leading 4,000 troops, raided the towns of New Bedford and Fairhaven along with Martha's Vineyard as part of the northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga. The raids were one of the first in a series of attacks executed by the British against American coastal communities. Grey's force was originally intended as a relief force for the British garrison at Newport, Rhode Island that was Battle of Rhode Island, briefly under siege, but they arrived after the American besiegers had already retreated. General Henry Clinton (American War of Independence), Sir Henry Clinton diverted Grey's troops to carry out raids instead. On September 5 and 6, Grey raided New Bedford and Fairhaven, encountering significant resistance only in Fairhaven. His troops destroyed storehouses, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Falcon (1771)
Twenty-two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Falcon''. They are named after an exceptionally fast bird of prey. * was a "ballinger" (a moderate-size oared vessel) dating from 1334. She was sold in 1352. * was a ship in service from 1461 to 1485. * was a pinnace in service from 1544 to 1578. * was a ship of 180 bm in service in 1603. * was a 24-gun ship purchased in 1646. She was gone by 1659. * was a 6-gun vessel captured from the Royalists in 1646. She was last listed in 1653. * was a 10-gun ship captured from the Dutch in 1652. She was used as a fireship in 1653 and sold in 1658. She was also known as ''Golden Falcon''. * was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1666. She was upgraded to a 42-gun fourth rate in 1668, but reverted to a 36-gun fifth rate in 1691. In 1694 she was captured by the French in the Mediterranean. * was a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1694. In 1695 she was captured by three French ships off Dodman. She was recaptured in 1703 and bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots (also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or Whigs) were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who opposed the Kingdom of Great Britain's control and governance during the colonial era and supported and helped launch the American Revolution that ultimately established American independence. Patriot politicians led colonial opposition to British policies regarding the American colonies, eventually building support for the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted unanimously by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. After the American Revolutionary War began the year before, in 1775, many patriots assimilated into the Continental Army, which was commanded by George Washington and which ultimately secured victory against the British Army, leading the British to end their involvement in the war and acknowledge the sovereign independence of the colonies, reflected in the Treaty of Paris, which led to the establishment of the Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Off Fairhaven
The Battle off Fairhaven was the first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War. It took place on May 14, 1775, in Buzzards Bay off Fairhaven, Massachusetts (then part of Dartmouth, Massachusetts) and resulted in Patriot militia retrieving two vessels that had been captured by . The patriots also captured the 13 man crew of the Royal Navy, the first naval prisoners of the war. Context On April 19, 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the British Province of Massachusetts Bay. Following the battle, the militia that had mustered to oppose the British besieged the city of Boston where the British troops were located. On 13 May 1775, HMS ''Falcon'' caught two patriot vessels whose owners, Jesse Barlow and Simeon Wing—the latter's vessel commanded by his son Thomas—were from Sandwich, Massachusetts. Engagement A group of 30 patriots from Fairhaven were led by Captain Daniel Egery and Captain Nathaniel Pope of Fairhave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acushnet Fort
Acushnet Fort was a fort that existed from 1776 to around 1820 on Eldridge Point in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was originally built with Commonwealth resources during the American Revolution in 1776 with ten guns. Rebuilt in 1808 under the federal second system of fortifications, it could accommodate 40 men and had six guns and a magazine. The fort's exact location, especially in the Revolution, is uncertain. The fort appears in the Secretary of War's reports for 1808 and 1811; thus it was a federal fort at that time.Wade, pp. 141, 236, 242, 248 In 1808 the entry is: "At the entrance of the inner harbor of New Bedford, two miles below the town, a small enclosed work has been erected of stone, brick, and sod. It commands the entrance into the harbor for a mile and a half in a direct line...". In 1811 the entry is: "At Eldridge Point, which commands the entrance of the harbor; an enclosed work of masonry, mounting six heavy guns...". The "two miles below the town" implies the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The town shares a harbor with the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, New Bedford, a place well known for its whaling and fishing heritage; consequently, Fairhaven's history, economy, and culture are closely aligned with those of its larger neighbor. The population of Fairhaven was 15,924 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Original land purchase Fairhaven was first settled in 1659 as "Cushnea," the easternmost part of the town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Dartmouth. It was founded on land purchased by English settlers at the Plymouth Colony from the Wampanoag people, Wampanoag sachem Massasoit, and his son, Wamsutta. Dartmouth, divided and redivided In 1787, the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Phoenix
Fort Phoenix is a former American Revolutionary War-era fort located at the entrance to the Fairhaven-New Bedford harbor, south of U.S. 6 in Fort Phoenix Park in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. The fort was originally built in 1775 without a name, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Just off the fort, in Buzzards Bay, was the first naval engagement of the American Revolution, the Battle of Fairhaven on 14 May 1775. On 5–6 September 1778, the fort was destroyed by the British when they raided the harbor. A force under Major Israel Fearing drove off the British, both at the fort and when they attempted an attack on the town the next day. The fort was then renamed Fort Fearing. In 1784 it was given the name "Fort Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rose from its own ashes. The fort was rebuilt in 1798, and rebuilt again in 1808 with 12 guns with Commonwealth resources, contemporary with but not part of the second system of US fortifications. In the Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army during the American Revolutionary War, British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war. However, Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war in the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris two years later, in 1783, in which the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Submarine Mines In United States Harbor Defense
The modern era of defending American harbors with controlled mines or Naval mine, submarine mines (originally referred to as "torpedoes") began in the post-Civil War period, and was a major part of US Seacoast defense in the United States, harbor defenses from circa 1900 to 1947. Brief history In 1866, the United States Army Corps of Engineers established the U.S. Army Engineer School, Engineer School of Application at Fort Totten (Queens), Willets Point, New York. The first commander of this school, Major Henry Larcom Abbot, was almost single-handedly responsible for designing and supervising the program of research and development that defined the strategy and tactics for the mine defense of American harbors. Abbot experimented with underwater explosives, fuzes, cabling, and electrical equipment for over a decade before publishing the first manuals on the use of mines in coast defense in 1876–77. At least one experimental controlled minefield was emplaced at this time, at Fort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
