Fort George | |
Location | Wadsworth St. off Battle Ave., Castine, Maine |
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Coordinates | 44°23′27″N 68°48′20″W / 44.39083°N 68.80556°W |
Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
Built | 1779 |
NRHP reference No. | 69000007[1] |
Added to NRHP | December 30, 1969 |
Fort George (also sometimes known as Fort Majabigwaduce, Castine, or Penobscot) was a palisaded earthwork fort built in 1779 by Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War in Castine, Maine. Located at a high point on the Bagaduce Peninsula, the fort was built as part of an initiative by the British to establish a new colony called New Ireland.
The fort was the principal site of the British defense during the Massachusetts-organized Penobscot Expedition, a disastrous attempt in July and August of 1779 to retake Castine in response to the British move. The British re-occupied Castine in the War of 1812 from September 1814 to April 1815, rebuilding Fort George and establishing smaller forts around it, again creating the New Ireland colony. The remains of the fort, now little more than its earthworks, are part of a state-owned and town-maintained park.