Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is named for Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren, who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride, and was later killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The name was transferred in 1833 from the first Fort Warren – built in 1808 – which was renamed Fort Winthrop.
Fort Warren is a pentagonal bastion fort, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833 to 1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War. Fort Warren defended the harbor in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1861 through the end of World War II, and during the Civil War served as a prison for Confederate officers and government officials, including Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens. The fort remained active through the Spanish–American War and World War I, and was re-activated during World War II. It was permanently decommissioned in 1947, and is now a tourist site. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 as a masterpiece of coastal engineering of the pre-Civil War period, and for its role in the Civil War.
Early history
Fort Warren was built from 1833 to 1861 and was completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War as part of the third system of US fortifications.
The Army engineer in charge during the bulk of the fort's construction was Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, who is best known for his tenure as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. It was the fifth largest of the 42 third system forts. The overall plan was pentagonal in shape, slightly irregular to make the best use of the island's terrain. The fort features excellent granite work. A demilune (half-moon) battery protecting the north sally port is a rare feature in US forts. The fort was originally designed for over 200 guns, including some mortars and flank howitzers. During the Civil War it was armed with 15-inch and 10-inch Rodman smoothbore guns.
Civil War
During the Civil War, the island fort served as a prison for captured Confederate army and navy personnel, elected civil officials from the state of Maryland, and Northern political prisoners. The fort was commanded by Colonel Justin Dimick from 1861 to 1864. Dimick was noted for his humane and compassionate treatment of the Confederate prisoners held at the fort. Of over 1,000 Confederate prisoners at the fort, only 13 died there, giving Fort Warren a much lower mortality rate than any other prisoner of war camp (Union or Confederate) during the Civil War.
James M. Mason and John Slidell, the Confederate diplomats seized in the Trent affair, were among those held at the fort. Confederate military officers held at Fort Warren included Richard S. Ewell, Isaac R. Trimble, John Gregg, Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson, Simon Bolivar Buckner Sr., and Lloyd Tilghman. High-ranking civilians held at Fort Warren include Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens and Confederate Postmaster General John Henninger Reagan. The prison camp had a reputation for humane treatment of its detainees. When the camp commander's son, Lieutenant Justin E. Dimick, left Fort Warren for active duty in the field with the Second U.S. Artillery, he was given a letter from Confederate officers in the camp urging good care should he be captured. (He was later mortally wounded at Chancellorsville in May, 1863.)
On August 19, 1863, six prisoners of war attempted an escape from the prison. Two were caught while still on the island, two were caught while sailing toward Canada and the prison authorities claimed to believe that the other two drowned, no trace of them after swimming toward shore apparently having been found.
The famous Union marching song John Brown's Body was written at the fort using a tune from an old Methodist camp song, and was performed at a flag-raising there on 12 May 1861. The song was carried to the Army of the Potomac by the men of the "Webster Regiment" (12th Massachusetts Infantry), who had mustered in at Fort Warren. Julia Ward Howe heard this song while visiting Washington, DC. At the suggestion of her minister, Howe was encouraged to write new words. The Battle Hymn of the Republic, which was initially published as a poem, was later matched with the melody of the "John Brown" song and became one of the best remembered songs of the Civil War era.