Fort Revere

Fort Revere
Part of Harbor Defenses of Boston
Allerton Point, Hull, Massachusetts
Fort Revere Park overlooking Allerton and Hull.
Fort Revere Location in Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°18′17″N 70°54′21″W / 42.30472°N 70.90583°W / 42.30472; -70.90583Coordinates: 42°18′17″N 70°54′21″W / 42.30472°N 70.90583°W / 42.30472; -70.90583
Type	Coastal Defense
Site information
Owner	Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Open to the public	yes
Condition	some batteries buried, remainder in good condition
Site history
Built	1776, 1898-1906
Built by	Patriot forces, French Marines, United States Army
In use	1776-1782, 1901-1947
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Fort Revere is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) historic site situated on a small peninsula located in Hull, Massachusetts. It is situated on Telegraph Hill in Hull Village and contains the remains of two seacoast fortifications, one from the American Revolution and one that served 1898-1947. There are also a water tower with an observation deck, a military history museum and picnic facilities. It is operated as Fort Revere Park by the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.

Telegraph Hill, the site of Fort Revere, was first fortified by Patriot forces in 1776 during the American Revolution and called Fort Independence. In 1797 that name was transferred to the fort on Castle Island, which retains the name to this day. The fort on Telegraph Hill may have been called the Allerton Battery after 1797. It was used to protect Boston Harbor. By January 1777 the fort had embrasures for 15 guns, plus two detached batteries with an unknown number of guns and a military hospital nearby. By early 1778 the fort mounted 22 guns. In August 1778 French Marines from D'Estaing's fleet were stationed at the fort, supervised by Chief Engineer du Portail (a French general assisting the Continental Army) at General Washington's direction. Through 1780 they greatly expanded the fort, probably with considerable help from Patriot forces. French activities presumably included the hilltop redoubt, detached batteries, a new 30-gun water battery, new barracks, hospital, and subsequent cemetery (still visible today).

After the transfer of the fort's name in 1797 it was known locally as "the French fort". With no recorded activity in the War of 1812, the fort probably fell out of use after 1815. New fortifications were proposed for the Telegraph Hill area in the 1830s under the Third System of US fortifications, but none were built. The remains of the fort were demolished or covered over during Fort Revere's World War I-era buildup. Telegraph Hill became a semaphore station in the 1840s, later a telegraph station, and still later a radio station.