Fort Andrews Guardhouse is now the Peddocks Island Visitor Center, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
The development of rifled artillery during the Civil War rendered masonry forts such as Fort Warren on Georges Island obsolete. Masonry forts had no problem stopping a cannonball, for these didn’t travel with much velocity, nor were they very accurate, so the chance of blasting a hole in a fort wall by hitting the same spot over and over again was slim. However, rifled artillery had an inner barrel with a spiral grove cut into it. When fired, bullet-shaped shells were sent spinning like footballs, increasing not only their accuracy, but also their range and velocity. The effect these shells had on masonry forts was first demonstrated during the Union bombardment of Fort Pulaski on April 10-11, 1862 (Fort Pulaski National Monument). The walls of the “indestructible fort” were breached in less than thirty hours, forcing the Confederates to surrender…and effectively ending the days of the masonry fortresses.
After the war ended, the United States government realized the vulnerability of the existing forts, but with much of the country in ruins, financially it was not able to do much about the situation other than to outfit the forts with modern guns. It wasn’t until the threat of war with Spain came about in the 1880s that President Grover Cleveland formed a military commission to come up with ideas for coastal defense upgrades. The new system, initiated by Secretary of War William Endicott and referred to as the Endicott System of Coastal Defenses, called for the installation of small concrete and rebar batteries that could withstand the impact of the rifled shells. While much smaller than traditional forts, they were armed with guns that could damage the armor-plated hulls of modern ships. Before the dawn of aviation, any invasion of the United States would most likely come from the sea.
Fort Andrews was established in 1897 on Peddocks Island as part of the Endicott System. It did not have fortress walls as did previous forts. Instead, it was a collection of support buildings such as administrative offices, barracks, officers’ quarters, and supply warehouses. Construction on these buildings took place between 1904 and 1912. In addition, five batteries were installed between 1898 and 1904. Batteries Cushing and Whitman were mortar batteries, while batteries McCook, Rice, and Bumpus were manned with pedestal mounted artillery of various caliber.
During both World War I and II, additional temporary wooden buildings were constructed. Those from World War I were removed after the war, and buildings from World War II have also long since deteriorated and have been removed. The lone exception is the fort’s chapel, which was renovated in 2011.
Fort Andrews Chapel on Peddocks Island, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
During World War II, the fort was used to house members of the Italian Service Unit (ISU). These men were some of the 50,000 stateside Italian POWs who pledged an oath to the United States after Italy surrendered and declared war on Germany in October 1943 (15,000 refused to pledge and were sent to a POW camp in Texas). The U. S. did not want to return them to Italy due to the expense and use of resources, plus many fascist Italians were joining the German army. The unit existed from May 1944 until October 1945. The men were given U. S. Army uniforms and paid a wage but were mainly used for manual labor on military bases across the United States. In the Boston area, the ISU—around 1,000 men—originally lived at Camp McKay in South Boston, but after numerous fights with local residents who still saw them as the enemy responsible for the deaths of their sons, they were moved permanently to Fort Andrews and remained there until the war was over.
Fort Andrews was in operation until 1947, at which time it was abandoned. Today, other than the Guardhouse, which serves as the Peddocks Island Visitor Center, all of the buildings are closed. Most of the batteries are in poor condition and cannot be explored, but part of Battery Whitman is still accessible. The restoration of the Guardhouse and Chapel cost $12 million, so as of now, neither the state of Massachusetts nor the National Park Service has any plans to renovate other buildings. See the Touring Fort Andrews web page here on National Park Planner for detailed information about the fort buildings.
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Last updated on January 9, 2024
