Defending a Rich Target

Defending a Rich Target. History of the stone fort at Clark's Point. In 1840, the Army Board of Engineers met in Boston to plan a defense for the Atlantic Coast. New Bedford was considered important because of its fine harbor and industrial base. Major R. Delafield, (considered the "Father of American Seacoast Artillery") and Captain Robert E. Lee (later to become Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia) drew up plans for a granite fort at Clark's Point. $50,000 was authorized by the federal government for the construction of a 5-sided, 3-level fort. In 1857, the government paid $7000 for Edward Wing Howland's farm as the site for the fort. Building began in 1857 after construction of a stone pier on the east side of the Point. The pier was used for off-loading granite. Old whaleships were used to transport the stone from Sullivan, Maine. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the fort's walls were incomplete. In 1862, Lt. Henry Martyn Robert (author of Robert's Rules of Order) was appointed Superintendent of Construction. The first cannon were installed in 1863. With the end of the Civil War in 1865, construction slowed to a halt. In 1869, the beacon of Clark's Point Lighthouse was moved atop the fort. In 1871, construction ended with the second level. The unused blocks may still be seen along the shore today. The Army officially named the fort in honor of New Bedford native Lt. Colonel Logan Rodman, of the 38th Massachusetts Infantry, who fell at the head of his Regiment in the assault on Port Hudson, LA in 1863. Although the fort never "saw the flame of battle,” it served as a deterrent to those who considered New Bedford and its whaling fleet as a rich target., Captions (clockwise from top right) , . The stone fort, in 1889, shown with old and new Clark's Point Lighthouses. , . Fort Plan 1857 , . Map of Fort Taber Park and facilities , . 12-inch Rodman smoothbore heavy artillery rifle in one of the fort's gun bay embrasures