Harbor Defenses of Boston

Harbor Defenses of Boston
Active	1895-1950
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
Type	Coast artillery
Role	Harbor Defense Command
Garrison/HQ	Fort Banks, Winthrop, MA
Mascot(s)	Oozlefinch

The Harbor Defenses of Boston was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command. It coordinated the coast defenses of Boston, Massachusetts from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both coast artillery forts and underwater minefields. The command originated circa 1895 as the Boston Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Boston in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Boston in 1925.

Boston Harbor's principal coastal fort of the colonial era was Castle William, whose site was first fortified in 1634 and called "the Castle" until 1692, when it was renamed for William III, the King of England at the time. It is one of the oldest continuously fortified sites in the northeastern United States; however, the site of Fort William and Mary near Portsmouth, New Hampshire was fortified at least two years previously. The fort was rebuilt and expanded many times (six times prior to the American Revolution, once during it, and twice afterward), and in 1797 was named Fort Independence. The fort is on Castle Island, which was connected to the mainland by a causeway in 1928.

The major event in the Boston area in the first year of the American Revolution was the Siege of Boston from 19 April 1775 to 17 March 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington besieged British forces in the city. The British built several forts as a result, notably on Governor's Island and Noddle's Island. In January 1776 artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York was brought to the Boston area under Henry Knox, providing the Patriot forces with more and larger cannon than they previously had. In the first week of March these weapons were used to engage the enemy. The turning point was the capture and fortification of Dorchester Heights on 5 March, allowing the Continental Army to bombard the British fleet in the harbor. The British evacuated Boston on 17 March under a truce, taking the ships carrying their army to Halifax, Nova Scotia. However, they damaged and destroyed Castle William and its ordnance as best they could, to deny its use to the Patriots.

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