Fort Phoenix

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We were in Fairhaven to visit Tom at his work (www.riggingonly.com) and drove out to the point nearby where we came upon Fort Phoenix. I'm not much of a history buff but here's a quick summary of why it wasn't bulldozed and replaced by waterfront housing:

The first naval battle (ships, not bellybuttons) of the American Revolution took place just off this point in Buzzard's Bay on May 13-14th 1775. The local (Fairhaven) militia commanded by Nathaniel Pope and Daniel Egery captured two British sloops.

Soon afterwards, the townspeople petitioned for the construction of a fort at Nolscot Point to protect Fairhaven Harbour. The original fort was built by Capt. Benjamin Dillingham and Eliza Hathaway from 1775-1777. It was armed with 11 cannon, several of which had been captured in the Bahamas by John Paul Jones.

The British raided the harbour on September 5-6 1778 and landed 4000 troops in New Bedford. These troops drove the small local militia from the fort, burned the barracks, broke up the gun platform and destroyed all but one of the cannons.

The fort was rebuilt following this attack and named after the mythical bird that rose from its own ashes.

Fort the rest (yawn) of the history and some pictures of some civil-war re-enactment types, click here