Fort Wool (1)

Fort Wool (1) (1826-1946) - First named Fort Calhoun and renamed Fort Wool in 1862 during the U.S. Civil War for Union General John E. Wool. Conceived in 1817 and built on an artificial island southeast of Fort Monroe. It served to guard Virginia's Hampton Roads harbor through World War II. It became a Hampton City Park in 1970.

Fort Wool	Fort Wool, Old Battery Remains
Fort Wool on Rip Rap Island

History of Fort Wool

Part of the Harbor Defense of Chesapeake Bay.

Construction began on the artificial island in 1818 and by 1823 had raised the island to a height of six feet above high tide and construction of the fort itself was begun. Fort Wool was to have three tiers of casemates and a barbette tier ( 4 tiers designed to mount 232 guns). About half of the second casemate and one tier was completed when work stopped in 1830 because the island was sinking at a rate of eight inches a year. Additional stone was added to the island and work resumed on the casemates in 1858. The U.S. Civil War halted construction.

2nd Lt. Robert E. Lee was stationed at Fort Monroe between 1831 and 1834 and paticipated in the construction of both Fort Monroe and Fort Calhoun(Wool). Lee's participation in the construction of Fort Calhoun(Wool) was limited to tasks involving the addition of more stone to island itself. His immediate supervisor was Captain Andrew Talcott who was in charge of construction at both forts.¹

Endicott Period

Five Endicott Period gun batteries were built between 1902 and 1908. Four of the batteries were built as a main gun line facing north and the fifth battery faced south.

Fort Wool (1) Endicott Period Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Claiborne	2	6"	Disappearing Carriages	1903-1908-1908-1918	$ 55,000	Guns to Battery Gates 1918
Battery Dyer	2	6"	Disappearing Carriages	1903-1908-1908-1917	$ 55,000	Guns to France 1917
Battery Gates	2	6"	Disappearing Carriages	1903-1908-1908-1942	$ 55,000	Converted to Battery 229
Battery Hindman	2	3"	Pedestal Mount	1903-1905-1905-1946	$ 13,444
Battery Lee (2)	4	3"	Pedestal Mount	1902-1905-1905-1943	$ 40,000	Guns & carriages to Fort Story
Source: CDSG

Fort Wool Plan

World War II

Garrisoned during World War I and World War II.

Fort Wool (1) World War II Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery 229	2	6"	Shielded LR Barbette	1943-1944-1944-NA	$ 262,330	Located on old Battery Gates
Source: CDSG

Current Status

Miss Hampton II Tour Boat to Fort Wool

Turned over to the State of Virginia in 1967, it became a Hampton Roads City Park in 1970. Daily boat trips began in 1985.

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Location: Located in Virginia's Hampton Roads harbor on a man-made island adjacent to the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel entrance. Access by boat. Maps & Images Lat: 36.98592 Long: -76.30122 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation:

Sources:

1. R. E. Lee, the biography by Douglas Southall Freeman (4 vols., complete online version), page 103

• 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 826

Links:

• NorthAmericanForts - Fort Wool
• Short History of Fort Wool
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

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Visited: 23 Jul 2010