Fort Sewall is a historic coastal fortification in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...

. It is located at Gale's Head, the northeastern point of the main Marblehead peninsula, on a promontory that overlooks the entrance to

Marblehead Harbor Marblehead Harbor is a harbor located in Marblehead, Massachusetts, 17 miles northeast of Boston. It is considered the birthplace of the Continental Navy, forerunner of the United States Navy, and of United States Marine Corps Aviation. Descrip ...

. Until 1814 it was called Gale's Head Fort.

History

Gale's Head was first fortified in 1634, and was one of the oldest English coastal fortifications in the United States. A more permanent fortification was built in 1742 during

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in ...

and it served through the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

.Roberts, p. 410 Fort Sewall Tercentenary Marker

Gale's Head Fort was rebuilt in 1775 during the

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 Am ...

. It was garrisoned by Colonel John Glover's Marblehead Regiment in 1775–76. After the American Revolution, the federal government took over the property during an expansion of the nation's coast defenses from 1794 to 1807, which is known as the First System of U.S. fortifications. A

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

was added in 1794, with further rebuilding in 1799; magazines from both of these rebuildings remain. Fort Sewall was also rebuilt in 1809 with 8

guns A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be ...

as part of the Second System (1807 to 1820). The

secretary of war The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

's report on fortifications dated December 1811 describes the fort as "an enclosed work of masonry and sods, mounting eight heavy cannon, covered by a blockhouse...".

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

commanders of the fort (combined with

Fort Pickering Fort Pickering is a 17th-century historic fort site on Winter Island in Salem, Massachusetts. Fort Pickering operated as a strategic coastal defense and military barracks for Salem Harbor during a variety of periods, serving as a fortificatio ...

in Salem) from 1800 to 1812 included Capt. Alexander D. Pope 1800–1802, a detachment of Capt. Nehemiah Freeman's company 1802–1803, no federal garrison 1804–1808, and Capt. Stephen Ranney 1809–1812.

War of 1812

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 ...

, on April 3, 1814, took shelter under the guns of Fort Sewall from a pursuing pair of British

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s, HMS ''Tenedos'' and . Despite lacking the ammunition and powder needed to sink or drive off the two frigates, the fort's garrison was able to bluff the British by running out all of their guns and acting as though they were preparing to attack. Faced with a 44-gun frigate and the defensive batteries of a fort, the British elected to retreat, none the wiser. In 1814 the fort was named for

Samuel Sewall Samuel Sewall (; March 28, 1652 – January 1, 1730) was a judge, businessman, and printer in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay ''The Selling ...

(1757–1814), who served as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1800 until his death in 1814. He was the great-grandson of the Salem witch trials judge of the same name, also a chief justice of the colony's highest court. From April 1816 to March 1821 Fort Sewall was garrisoned by Company B of the Light Artillery Regiment with about 60 soldiers.Ancestry.com, U.S. Returns of Military Posts, 1806-1916.

Civil War

The fort fell into ruins after the War of 1812.Manuel, pp. 27–30 During 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 ...

Massachusetts militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. * Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) * Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) * Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April ...

troops were garrisoned at Fort Sewall, 12 pieces of artillery were mounted to defend Marblehead Harbor with the fort rebuilt accordingly, and a few Confederate prisoners of war were held there. The fort was nearly doubled in size by 1864 under

Army engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...

Major Charles E. Blunt, with a bombproof shelter added. A report on the fort's armament dated January 31, 1865 shows one 24-pounder

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

, eight 24-pounder rifled guns, and three 32-pounder rifled guns. From May 16, 1864 to August 15, 1864 Fort Sewall was garrisoned by the 11th Unattached Company of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia (formerly Company I, 8th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia). On August 15, 1864 the 11th Company was relieved by the 20th Unattached Company (formerly Company E,

4th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia The 4th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, sometimes known as the 4th Massachusetts Infantry, was a peacetime regiment of infantry that was activated for federal service in the Union Army for two separate tours during the American Civil ...

) which also garrisoned the fort at Salisbury Point in the town of Salisbury. The 20th Company was mustered out shortly after the end of the war on June 29, 1865.

Spanish–American War

Fort Sewall was seen as no longer needed as a coast defense fort following the Civil War. The last military use of Fort Sewall was during 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 ...

in 1898. It was used as the mobilization site for Battery H, 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, commanded by Captain Walter L. Pratt, from June to August, 1898. Battery H was raised in Chelsea and consisted of 3 officers and 58 enlisted men.Battery H at SpanAmWar.com
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Current use

On May 22, 1892 the Town of Marblehead voted to adopt the fort as a town park, but the fort reverted to federal control during the Spanish–American War in 1898. The fort was turned over to the town by the federal government in 1922, and is now open as a public park. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975.

References

* * * {{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures completed in 1644

Sewall Sewall is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Sewall (1835–1900), American shipbuilder and politician * Charles S. Sewall (1779–1848), American politician * Doug Sewall, American wheelchair curler * George P. Sewal ...

Buildings and structures in Marblehead, Massachusetts