Fort Carroll (1)

Fort Carroll (1) (1848-1921) - Originally designed as a late Third System Coastal Defense fort constructed in the middle of the Patapsco River off Hawkins Point, Maryland. Named 8 Oct 1850 for Charles Carroll (1737-1832), the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence at that time. Three Endicott Period batteries were completed in 1900. Officially abandoned in Mar 1921 and sold in 1958.

Fort Carroll Panorama From Fort Armistead

Fort Carroll (1) History

Established to protect the entrance to Baltimore Harbor.

Construction began in 1848 under the supervision of Bvt. Col. Robert E. Lee of the Army Corps of Engineers. Lee continued to supervise the construction until Sep 1852 when he was called to duty as the Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Fort Carroll was a hexagonal fort on 3.4 acres of man-made island. The unprotected masonry walls were to be 10 foot thick and 40 foot high and they reached to the water's edge on all sides. The Fort was designed to mount 225 guns in three tiers of brick casemates and a barbette tier above that but difficulties with settling caused suspension of work before the walls reached their design height. Only one tier was completed and that was not fully complete in some places.

U.S. Civil War

About thirty cannon were mounted at Fort Carroll during the U.S. Civil War to protect the entrance to Baltimore Harbor. Torrential rains flooded the fort’s magazines in April 1864 and the powder and ammunition were moved to Fort McHenry.

Post U.S. Civil War

After the U.S. Civil War Fort Carroll was in caretaker status and deteriorated significantly.

Endicott Period

As a result of the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the Endicott Board recommendations, three Endicott Period batteries were constructed on two of the South facing walls of the fort. Construction began in 1899 and was completed in the summer of 1900. The fort was garrisoned by detachment from Fort McHenry during this period. Part of the Harbor Defense of Baltimore.

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

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Towson	2	12"	Barbette Carriage	1898-1899-1900-1918	$ 79,937	Guns to Fort Wadsworth, Battery Ayres
Battery Heart	2	5"	Balanced Pillar Mount	1899-1900-1900-1917	$ 12,300	Guns to France
Battery Augustin	2	3"	Masking Parapet Mount	1899-1900-1900-1920	$ 7,600
Source: CDSG

Fort Carroll Plan 1921

World War I

During World War I the guns were removed from Battery Towson and Battery Heart for service elsewhere and by 1920 the guns from Battery Augustin had also been removed. The Army officially abandoned Fort Carroll in March 1921 and removed all remaining equipment to Fort Howard (1).

Current Status

The Fort was sold to Benjamin N. Eisenberg in 1958 for about ten thousand dollars. Several entities leased the property from the Eisenberg family for various purposes but none proved viable and the property is unoccupied and decaying.

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Location: In the middle of the Patapsco River off Hawkins Point, Maryland. Maps & Images Lat: 39.214757 Long: -76.519303 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 4.5'

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 377
• Weaver, John R. II, A Legacy in Brick and Stone: America Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, Redoubt Press, McLean, 2001, First Printing, ISBN 1-57510-069-X, page 126-129

Links:

• Fort Carroll Story
• Fort Carroll
• Lighthouse Friends - Fort Carroll]
• North American Forts - Fort Carroll
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

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