Fort Getty

Fort Getty (1900-1948) - An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established in 1900 on Conanicut Island, Jamestown, Rhode Island on the site of previous fortifications. Named in G.O. 78, 25 May 1903 after Col. George W. Getty, 4th U.S. Artillery, (Bvt MG, U.S. Volunteers), who died 1 Oct 1901, at Forest Glen, Maryland. Abandoned in 1948.

Fort Getty 1909 Detachment Barracks

Endicott Period

Part of the Harbor Defense of Narragansett Bay.

Battery construction began in 1901 and continued through 1905. All three of the batteries were accepted for service on the same day, 7 Jun 1910. Post construction was very limited with only one 10 man barracks and one storehouse constructed. The 10 man barracks doubled as the caretakers quarters during the years the post was in caretaker status. The garrison was first established 16 Jul 1909.

Fort Getty Endicott Period Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Tousard	3	12"	Disappearing	1901-1903-1910-1942	$ 222,000
Battery House (1)	2	6"	Pedestal	1901-1905-1910-1942	$ 35,282	Guns & Carriages to Battery House (2), Fort Varnum 1942
Battery Whiting (1)	2	3"	Pedestal	1903-1903-1910-1942	$ 13,715	Guns & Carriages to Battery Whiting (2), Fort Burnside 1942
Source: CDSG

Fort Getty Plan circa 1938

World War I

A sub post of Fort Greble and a garrison for artillery troops during World War I. The fort went back into caretaker status after the end of the war.

World War II

By the beginning of World War II all of the Endicott Period batteries were obsolete and by the end of 1942 all of the armament had been either salvaged or redistributed to higher priority installations. The 12" guns and carriages of Battery Tousard were ordered scrapped as a part of the first nationwide scrap drive of the war. The 3" guns and carriages of Battery Whiting were transferred to Beavertail Point 20 Jul 1942. The 6" guns and carriages of Battery House were transferred to Boston Neck on 20 Jul 1942. The only armament added to the post was Battery AMTB 922 built in front of Battery Tousard. This battery had four 90mm guns, two in fixed mounts and two in mobile mounts.

In 1941 post construction built up the fort to some 40 temporary World War II structures including fourteen 63 man barracks, five mess halls and all the support structures required to support the troops. During the war some German POWs were kept at Fort Getty for training as post war German civil servants. The post was declared surplus by the army in 1948 after the end of the war.

Fort Getty World War II Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery AMTB 922	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Pedestal Mobile	1942-1943-1943-194?	$ 4,651
Source: CDSG

Fort Getty Plan circa 1944

Current Status

Part of Fort Getty City Park. No period guns or carriages in place.

{"selectable":false,"width":"500"}

Location: Fort Getty City Park, Jamestown, Conanicut Island, Rhode Island. Maps & Images Lat: 41.492282 Long: -71.397958 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: '

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 701
• U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Narragansett Bay, (HDNARB-AP-45), 1 Feb 1945, CDSG
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Getty
• Wikipedia - Fort Getty

Visited: No

Fort Getty Picture Gallery

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!