Fort Standish (Plymouth, Massachusetts)

Fort Standish
Saquish Head, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Fort Standish is located in Massachusetts
Fort Standish
Fort Standish
Location in Massachusetts
Fort Standish is located in the United States
Fort Standish
Fort Standish
Fort Standish (the United States)
Coordinates41°59′43.13″N 70°37′53.85″W / 41.9953139°N 70.6316250°W / 41.9953139; -70.6316250
TypeCoastal defense
Site information
Ownerprivate
Open to
the public
no
Conditionearthworks remain
Site history
Built1863
In use1863–1870
Materialsearthworks
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Fort Standish was a fort built in 1863 for the American Civil War on Saquish Head in Plymouth, Massachusetts.[1][2] It was named for Myles Standish, military leader of the Plymouth Colony in the 1620s, and augmented the nearby Fort Andrew on Gurnet Point. It was designed and constructed under the supervision of Major Charles E. Blunt of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The fort had five gun emplacements with five 8-inch smoothbore guns, along with a bombproof shelter, two magazines, and a well. Outside the fort were a barracks, officers' quarters, and a mess hall.[3][4] From January to June 1865 the fort was garrisoned by the 27th Unattached Company of Massachusetts militia.[5]

The fort was placed in caretaker status following the Civil War, remaining so at least through World War I.[4] The military reservation was purchased by the federal government and declared inactive in 1870. Reportedly, the fort and/or the reservation were used in the Spanish–American War and World War I.[6] The land was sold in 1925 to a private buyer.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Massachusetts - Fort Standish (1)". American Forts Network. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  2. ^ Heitman, Francis B. (1994) [1903]. Historical Register And Dictionary Of The United States Army: 1789-1903, vol. 2 (Reprint. ed.). Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co. p. 547. ISBN 080631401X.
  3. ^ Manuel, p. 51
  4. ^ a b "Project Fact Sheet, Formerly Used Defense Sites, for the former Fort Standish Military Reservation, Plymouth, MA; Project Number D01MA051901". Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Used Defense Sites Ordnance and Explosive Waste. US Army Corps of Engineers. 13 November 1995. Archived from the original on 3 May 2002. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  5. ^ Unattached Companies Massachusetts Vol Militia at CivilWarArchive.com, from Dyer's Compendium
  6. ^ Roberts, p. 411