Fort Terry

Fort Terry
Part of Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound
Plum Island, Southold, New York
12-inch mortars, similar to those at Battery Stoneman, Fort Terry
Fort Terry Location in New York
Coordinates	41°10′48″N 72°11′42″W / 41.18000°N 72.19500°W / 41.18000; -72.19500
Type	Coastal Defense
Site history
Built	1897-1906
Built by	United States Army Corps of Engineers
In use	1898-1946 (as coastal fort) 1952-54 (as military research facility) 1954-?(as civilian research facility)
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Fort Terry was a coastal fortification on Plum Island, a small island just off Orient Point, New York, USA. This strategic position afforded it a commanding view over the Atlantic entrance to the commercially vital Long Island Sound. It was established in 1897 and used intermittently through the end of World War II. In 1952, it became a military animal and biological warfare (BW) research facility, moving to civilian control in 1954 as the Plum Island Animal Disease Center. However, the biological warfare mission continued under civilian control until 1969, when the US ended offensive BW research. The island is now being considered for sale or conversion to a wildlife refuge.

First “owned” by the Corchaug and Montaukett Indian tribes the Plum Island was sold to Samuel Wyllys for a coat, a barrel of biscuits and 100 fishhooks. The original fort was constructed after the federal government acquired Plum Island from Abraham S. Hewitt, a former mayor of New London, Connecticut, for $25,000. It is not clear how Hewitt became owner of the property.

Fort Terry, named for Major General Alfred Terry, began construction in 1897 under the Endicott Program as part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound, and was expanded several times from the time of the Spanish–American War through World War II. The initial federal purchase was for 150 acres; however, the rest of the island was turned over to the federal government in 1901.

In 1898, before any of Fort Terry's batteries were completed, the Spanish-American War broke out. It was feared the Spanish fleet would bombard the US east coast. A number of weapons were purchased from the UK and hastily mounted to give the nascent fort system some modern armament. By March 1898 a 4.7 inch/45 caliber gun was mounted at Battery Kelly under this program. It was later transferred to the Sandy Hook Proving Ground in New Jersey, possibly in 1903. A pair of emplacements for modern 8-inch M1888 guns on modified 1870s-era Rodman carriages were also built at nearby Fort Tyler, but these seem to have not been armed.