Fort Delaware
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Fort Delaware
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Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island
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| Location | Fort Delaware State Park, Pea Patch Island, New Castle County, Delaware, USA |
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| Nearest city | Delaware City, Delaware |
| Area | 288 acres |
| Built | 1846-1868 |
| Architect | Joseph G. Totten |
| Architectural style | Third System |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000226 |
| Added to NRHP | December 16, 1971 |
Coordinates: 39°35′24″N 75°34′19″W / 39.59000°N 75.57194°W
Fort Delaware is a harbor defense facility, designed by chief engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts, and privateer officers. A three-gun concrete battery, later named Battery Torbert, was built inside the fort in the 1890s and designed by Maj. Charles W. Raymond. By 1900, the fort was part of the three point concept, working closely with Fort Mott in Pennsville, N.J. and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Del. The fort and the island currently belong to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and encompasses a living history museum, located in Fort Delaware State Park.
In 1794, the French military engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant was surveying for defensive sites. He identified an island that he called "Pip Ash" as an ideal site for the defense of the prize of American commerce and culture.
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