Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Boston
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Bastion C is the only bastion retaining its original form and protective outworks. It is one of five arrowhead-shaped corners which were built as the fort’s strongest strategic locations. The bastion form was developed in Italy at the end of the 15th century to enable gunners to fire parallel to the main walls. Prior to that time, defenders within a fort could not mount a crossfire which would effectively cover the space at the foot of the walls. In Bastion C were located the fort bakery, commissary storerooms and mess halls. These uses remained largely unchanged though World War II.
Bastion C is the only bastion retaining its original form and protective outworks. It is one of five arrowhead-shaped corners which were built as the fort’s strongest strategic locations. The bastion form was developed in Italy at the end of the 15th century to enable gunners to fire parallel to the main walls. Prior to that time, defenders within a fort could not mount a crossfire which would effectively cover the space at the foot of the walls. In Bastion C were located the fort bakery, commissary storerooms and mess halls. These uses remained largely unchanged though World War II.(inscription above the title) Floor plan of Bastion C, as it was used in 1863
(Forts, Castles • Military) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
From this vantage point it is possible to see the principal elements of Ft. Warren’s defense system. These are based on the 17th century, military theories developed by Louis XIV’s chief engineer, Sebastien de Vauban, and were modified to meet 19th century requirement. In theory, and attacking ship would be pounded by heavy fire from the ramparts. The fort’s earthen coverface and escarpments would absorb enemy fire from the channel. Any landing party would be raked by fire from outworks such as the coverface. If the enemy reached the moat they would be caught in a crossfire between cannon mounted in the flak walls of the bastions and rifle fire from the curtain wall.
“An army marches on its stomach,” Napoleon famously said---a statement that held true at Fort Warren. Soon after its construction, two unfinished casemates (bunkers) in Bastion C were equipped with tables and benches and pressed into service as mess halls. In the early 1900s one casemate was converted into a bakery; the other held kitchen stores. In the Second World War the bakery was changed back into a kitchen and mess hall. When they could, soldiers livened up their plain rations by hooking fish or shooting waterfowl.
Among the notable political prisoners confined in these rooms were James Murray Mason and John Slidell, two Confederate envoys to Great Britain. Their arrest on board the British steamer Trent provoked an international incident and nearly brought Great Britain into the Civil War. The envoys were released after two months imprisonment on order from President Lincoln in January, 1862. Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, was imprisoned for six months after the end of the War. He was at first held in solitary confinement, but later enjoyed more comfortable quarters, special meals and access to the fort library.
From the beginning, Fort Warren’s heart was the six-acre parade ground. When the Civil War broke out soon after the fort was completed, the area was still covered in construction debris. Newly enlisted Massachusetts regiments cleaned it up as they trained. To increase morale, they sang as they worked, eventually coming up with the famous lyrics for “John Brown’s Body.” Since that time the parade ground has been used for drills, inspection, parades and calisthenics, as well as off-duty sports such as baseball and football. The oldest maples and horse chestnuts on the perimeter date back to the 1880s.
The Charlestown Navy Yard served the nation for 174 years as a base of the building, outfitting, repair, and modernization of ships. During World War II, the yard’s busiest years, almost 50,000 men and women worked here, around the clock, seven days a week, as part of America’s massive war effort. The gatehouse in which you are standing was built in 1959. It replaced the old Main Gate shown in the photograph built in 1901. Courtesy Boston Globe.
Built c. 1680, this is the last remaining structure from 17th –century Boston. Patriot and silversmith Paul Revere owned the building from 1770 to 1800. He left this house for his famous Midnight Ride on April 18, 1775. After use as a tenement and storefront in the 19th century, the house was saved from demolition and restored. It opened as a museum in 1908.
Rutledge College was the first first building to be erected at
South Carolina College. At that time it served as Residence
Hall, Lecture Hall, Chapel, Library, Faculty Housing and
Laboratory. Rutledge College was named for John and
Edward Rutledge, both Governors of South Carolina. In 1855
the building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt immediately.
After the Civil War the east wing was used as quarters by
the Federal Military commander of the Columbia District.
During that time the Columbia Post Office and the Office of
the State Treasurer were in the west wing and the House
of Representatives met in the chapel. Today Rutledge
College is used as a chapel and a residence hall and
houses the Department of Religious Studies.
Welcome to the Woodlawn Cemetery Potters' Field. "Potters' Field" is a historical designation, going back to the time of the Bible, when a field outside of the settlement was set aside to bury travelers and strangers to the community. A field used for such a purpose would be a non-productive field with poor soil not suitable for crops, perhaps used by potters to dig for clay; thus the term "Potters' Field".
Bain built the queen's road to Fort Beaufort via the Ecca Pass and the road through Pluto's Vale as military roads in 1837-45. His house was then near here on the Ecca Heights. He became interested in Geology in 1837 during the construction of the Queen's Road and in the area visible from this spot he worked out the stratigraphy of the Karoo System, and discovered that fossil reptiles occur in it. Bain was the father of South African Geology.
In this vicinity - at that time an outspan - in April 1837, Thomas Philipps, J. P. on behalf of the British Settlers of 1820 presented a bible to a party of Voortrekkers led by Jacobus Uys encamped here on their way to the North.
The Old Bellamy Road intersects Highway 17 near this point. In 1824, the First session of the 18th United States Congress appropriated $20,000.00 to develop a public road in the Territory of Florida between Pensacola and St. Augustine. It was to follow as nearly as possible on the pre-existing Old Mission Trail. The St. Augustine to Tallahassee segment was contracted to John Bellamy. He completed this in 1826, using Native American guides and his own slaves. Remnants of the old sand road are used today and part of the Bellamy Road forms the county line between northwest Putnam and Southwest Clay County.
Both a squadron of the British navy and severe weather challenged the famed Chesapeake Flotilla off Cedar Point on June 1, 1814. The modest fleet of armed barges was assembled by Joshua Barney to harass British ships. With an inadequate professional navy in the War of 1812, Barney's flotilla was the best hope for disrupting British operations on the Bay.
After advancing on the superior British squadron, the flotilla escaped into the Patuxent and became trapped by enemy ships.
A saw mill has been on this site since circa 1820. The present structure has been restored using most of the "American" saw mill parts dating from 1910. The mill has not operated since the fatal injury of H. Robb Cecil on 22 April 1959. Restoration was completed in 1987 by William J. "Bill" Clements.
In the 18th century, enslaved African Americans were housed in outlying barns and buildings of the plantation, as well as in the passageways of the manor house. By the 19th century, approximately ten slave cabins were constructed between the ravine and the agricultural fields within partial view of the house.
In the late 19th century
this area was the largest
lumber port in the world
Built 1831 by Martin Taber to
accommodate travelers to Buffalo.
Located on Indian Trail which later
became Aurora-Buffalo Plank Road.
Property was in Mile Strip, first
part of Elma to be developed
from Buffalo Creek Reservation
1914—1918
