Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE: (Rev. 6-72) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE New Hampshire COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Rockingham INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY DATE (Type all entries complete applicable sections) <iuL * *^ fiiiiiiti^ COMMON: Fort Constitution (Fort William and Mary. Site) AND/OR HISTORIC: Castle William and Mary (Fort William and Mary) 111 STREET ANDNUMBER: Walbach Street Uf Vii, fcM CITY OR TOWN: \ j ' .' CONGRES SIONAL DISTRICT: New Castle First STATE CODE COUNTY: CODE New Hampshire 33 Rockingham 015 |i|i;iiilis|iiiili!iiliiiili!iiiiii!i CATEGORY ACCESSIBLE OWNERSHIP STATUS (Check One) 0 THE PUBLIC D District Q Building 1^1 Public Public Acquisition: 1 1 Occupied Yes: XT] Restricted (S Site rj Structure CD Private Q '" Process RF1 Unoccupied <a- ] Unrestricted D Object | | Both | | Being Considered 1r^-i I Preservationr. work T in progresr L] No PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) CD Agricultural [ | Government CD Park 1 I Transportation 1 1 Comments Q£ CU.CD .Commercial Commercial CD Industrial [~~1Q Private Residence PI| 1 Other fSoecifv)CSpeni/v) 1- CD Educational CD Military Q Religious 1CD 1 Entertainment Q Museum (~~1Q) Scientific ^^ ..........^T,.-, -z_ liiiiiiiM OWNER'S NAME: , . State of New Hampshire Department of Resources and STATE' Division of Parks Rnoriomir. Dpy^l o-pm^rir' HampshireNew LLJ STREET AND NUMBER: f LJJ P. 0. Box 856 State House Annex to CITY OR TOWN: STATE: CODF Concord New Hampshire 03301 33 COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: COUNTY: Rockingham County Registry of Deeds Rockingham ST-R!)Eclctngfi^B CRdunty Courthouse TlflTnpt-on Road CITY OR1 TOWN: STATE , CODE Exeter New Hampshire 03833 33 TITLE OF SURVEY: /\\^A-^-^ New Hampshire State Historic Preservation Plan AsV hrn w § DATE OF SURVEY: November 30. 1970 CD Federal |g State n County L^t/ca H£Lt IVt DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: j-^J ,, c z ^ State of New Hampshire /[si JU/V 2 2 'm 1 c t — DepartPient of Resources and Economic Development———————— ——1=} —— . , .^— 3 CO STRETffT A"STD ND~M"BER: * f \ I\!Z1T"I/" A \ ***\ IV ^//L N/> m P. 0. Box 856 State House Annex \tp\^ ft£Q{g TE ^ O, CITY OR TOWN: STATE: \/*X CODE Concord New Hampshire OSSOi-^T^tz; -^LL l *• y m (Check One) llent D Good Q Fair \ | Deteriorated Ruins II Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) ercd [ | Unaltered Moved n Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AN D O'RI Gl N A L. (i f known) PH YSI C A U'~A PT= E A R AN C E Present and Original Physical Appearance: Fort Constitution, as built in ^808, was apparently a square shaped fortress measuring about 145' on a side A single bastion, about 32 x 22 feet, projected from the southwest corner on the land side and afforded flanking fire for the 10-foot wide arched gateway located in the center of the west wall. A keystone with the date 1808 is in the center of fhe arch.A. second" anc-Eoall^rx gate;s- the s&llyipbrt, is situated in the ..north'wall: The original 1808 walls,--now standing on three sides of the fort, are comprised of rubble stone topped by red-colored brick. Four brick structures the exrS name building, laundry, officers' barra ks, and enlisted men's barracks once stood parallel to the south wall and the commanding officer's house was situated near the center of the east wall. All of these structures are gone and oril-y portions !of the$r foundations remain. The brick magazine with its arched ceiling does exist as well as a sentry room. In 1862-66 alterations were begun but never completed in an effort to m modernize Fort Constitution. The 1808 brick and stone wall on the east side was demolished and replaced by a new granite wall built at a lower level, rn beyond the 1808 wall, and nearer the water. The new granite wall also arched partially around the outside of the 1808 walls on the north and south sides. 2: Never fully completed, the 1862-66 walls contained casemates for about 30 cannons. CO H Considerably reduced in activity after the Civil War, Fort Constitution toda TO is comprised of the foundations of incomplete alterations from different periods, including the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II, The aer - photograph shows-'the 18'62 -walls'around the-point:-To the'':-right of the apex the wall-is incomplete; in front of that opening is a rocky ledge. A road bisects the old fort; foundations of - old -barracks are-on either side'; rThe small 1808 magazine is to the right of the road; to the right of the gate- 'Way is;the sentry room. The bastion is on the southwest corner. An old mines building is located between the 1808 and 1862 walls pn the north side. Just Beyond the west wall are Coast Guard buildings.'1'Since the 19th century "walls are in poor condition, the fort has been tightly fenced to. prevent visitors from wandering into what has been a hazardous area. Recently, the Division o Parks has re-evaluated this site and work is now in progress to make the Fort accessible to the public by this June. Intrepretive signs will give the visitor a feeling for the changing kinds of fortification over a period of some 300 years. JUN 2 2 1975 NATtON/U- r REGISTER ^., bw/. ERIOD ("Check One or More as Appropriate) Q Pre-Columbian! ' D 16th Century 18th Century [~] 20th Century Q 15th Century D 17th Century 19th Century PECIFIC DATE(S) (it Applicable and Known) December 14 and 15 , 1774 REAS OF SIGNI FICANCE ( ck One or Morels Appropriate) " i . : ; l' *. '• , • "i L < ' '.'. .' ' » ^i./ ' I Urban Planning . Aboc iglnal [^~| Education . .. (^ 'Other' (Specify; ' | | ' Prehistoric PI Engineering f ., . , [Z ReJigj.on/P.hi- | | Historic [~~1 Industry [*~T A'gn culture " _ - '[~] Invention [ [^ Science Q Architecture || Landscape n Sculpture ; Q' Art Architecture | | Social/Human­ | | Commerce | | Literature itarian [~~[ Communications [5§ Military Q Theater [~1 Conservation PI Music rn Transportation TATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Military: As-a result of information brought by Paul*Revere on December 13, 1774 from Boston to the Committee of Safety in Portsmouth, the Sons of Liberty planned an assault which resulted in the capture of Fort William an Mary, December 14, 1774. This uprising against the general authority of the z King was probably the first oveMrt act of the American Revolution. Nothing remains of this fort constructed in the 17th century and repaired as o needed in laterxe'ars except the base of its walls which were used when Fort Constitution was built on the same site in 1808. Later modified in 1862-66.Port Constitution now lies in ruins. However, it serves to remind u us that here, from 1632^txT 1950, was an armed fort. Fort William and Mary was situated on a rocky ledge on the northeast point h- of New Castle Island and about 200 yeard south of the main channel of the Piscataqua River, thus guarding the approaches to Portsmouth Harbor. As uo early as 1632 there is indication that a fort had been built on the north­ east point ofcjNew ;Castle: ,Island. By 1694 th^j harborjdefense^ occupying, .the point was known as Castle William and Mary in honor of the King and Queen brought tp,|the thrpne by- the:,Glorious Revolution, in ,1,688,. , ) .,.. ....,.,. u ., LU LJ On December 13, 1774 Paul Revere brought the news of a Br^ttsh.embargo on munitions of ware and the probable arrival of a large garrison of British troops at Castle William and*Mary. This news raised an alarm in the town. The next day the Portsmouth Sons of Liberty, with others from New Castle and Rye, in all about 400 men, under the leadership of the Committee of Safety embarked in two boats for New Castle Island. Coming as something of a surprise in a time of peace, the commander of the Captain John Cochran, realized that he could do nothing with his garrison of five men. Therefore he prudently discharged several cannons well over the heads of the advancing multitude, and permitted the fort and military stores to be taken without further resistance. One hundred barrels of powder, 60 stand of small arms, and 16 cannon were removed over a period of two days and carried to Durham, New Hampshire. From here the supplies were distributed throughout neighboring towns and eventually was used on the British regiments in the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. During four months in the summer of 1775 Fort William and Mary also served as a place of refuge for John Wentworth, the last Royal Governor of New Hampshire, prior to his flight to Boston. Continued on Continuation Sheet 1 C. L. Parsons, "The Capture of Fort William and Mary," Proceedings of the New Hampshire Historical Society, IV (1906), 18-47. Irene St. Gelais, "Fort Constitution/William & Mary: Background Informatio (Concord, NHJ Department of Resources and Economic Development, February 1967 Charles W. Snell, "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nominati n Form" (Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, Office of Archeology and Hist ric Preservation, Division of History, January 11, 1972). Squires, J. Duane, Fort William and Mary. From Colonial Times .to., the..,,. ,: Revolutionary War (CConcordtf: The Society of ColoniaT Wars in'the"State"of Nev Hamps hi re fl nd th e New Hampshire Amerir.ari P^yr> 1 i--f f> r ar>f-An [ = »1 r.rm liiiilillliiliiilliii! 972) LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGIJ'JDE CO_O_R_DJ N AXES DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY DEFINING THti CtNTER POINT OF A PHOPERTY OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES LATITU DE LONGITUDE LATITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds .