Fort Wool
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Fort Wool
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Fort Wool Island from the Miss Hampton boat cruise
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| Location | Island between Willoughby Spit and Old Point Comfort, Hampton, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 36°59′12″N 76°18′04″W / 36.98667°N 76.30111°WCoordinates: 36°59′12″N 76°18′04″W / 36.98667°N 76.30111°W |
| Area | 15 acres (6.1 ha) |
| Built | 1819 |
| NRHP Reference # | 69000339 |
| VLR # | 114-0041 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 25, 1969 |
| Designated VLR | November 5, 1968 |
Fort Wool was a seacoast fortification located in the mouth of Hampton Roads approximately one mile south of Fort Monroe. The island fortress was designed by Brigadier General of engineers Simon Bernard, an expatriated Frenchman who had served under Napoleon as his chief engineer, was one of more than forty forts started after the War of 1812 when the British boldly sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to burn the Capital. Started upon a shoal of ballast stones that were dumped as sailing ships entered Hampton's harbor called Rip Raps, the fort was to have three tiers of casemates and a parapet mounting a total of 232 muzzle-loading cannons, although it never reached this size. Originally named Castle Calhoun for the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, Fort Wool was built to maintain a crossfire with Fort Monroe, located directly across the channel, thereby protecting the entrance to the harbor.
In 1902, as a result of the Endicott Board's findings, all of the original fort, except 8 casemates, was demolished and new fortifications were constructed. The new armament mounted on five batteries of two to four guns remained in place for decades, although modifications were made from time to time. Only six of the original three-inch guns remained in 1942, when two were sent to Fisherman Island (Virginia). A modern battery of two new long-range six-inch guns was constructed on top of one of the old Endicott period batteries during World War II. The outmoded fort was finally abandoned by the military in 1953.
Brigadier-general of engineers Simon Bernard was tasked by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun to create or improve fortifications for the protection of vital U.S. ports. Bernard's plan was to build more than forty new forts, including Fort Wool, which he had named Fort Calhoun. The fort was to have three tiers of casemates and a parapet with a total of 232 muzzle-loading cannons mounted, and was to be manned by a garrison of 1,000 soldiers. It was to built on a 15 acre (61,000 m²) artificial island southeast of Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia. Construction got underway in 1819 when crews started dumping granite boulders into the water. It took four years to bring the rock pile up to the a 6-foot tall island called for in the plans.
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Wikipedia