Fort Warren (Massachusetts)

Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War. Fort Warren defended the harbor in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1861through the end of WWII, and during the Civil War served as a prison for Confederate officers and government officials. 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 National Historic Landmark and a tourism site. It was named for Revolutionary war hero Dr. Joseph Warren who sent Paul Revere on his famous ride. Dr. Warren was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

History

Fort Warren was built from 1833 to 1861 and was completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War. The Army engineer in charge during the bulk of the fort's construction was Colonel Sylvanus Thayer best known for his tenure as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. 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, as well as Northern political prisoners.

James M. Mason and John Slidell, the Confederate diplomats seized in the Trent affair, were among those held at the fort. Military officers held at Fort Warren...
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