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  1. #1
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    Redoubts in Early American Forts

    I know we have more than a few history buffs, so thought I'd post this...

    I was down in Destin for vacation and took the kids over to Pensacola for the day to see the Air Museum and Fort Barrancas which is an old Spanish Water Battery that was enhanced by America by adding a larger fort. Part of the addition included a Redoubt located about 1/2 mile from the main fort. I've only ever read about these but have never seen one on any other similar forts on the East coast.

    Is anyone aware of any other forts in the US with a Redoubt? According to the literature, the use of redoubts was a common defense in the 1800's so I was a bit curious why I've not seen this before.

  2. #2
    macwilkin is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by cavscout View Post
    I know we have more than a few history buffs, so thought I'd post this...

    I was down in Destin for vacation and took the kids over to Pensacola for the day to see the Air Museum and Fort Barrancas which is an old Spanish Water Battery that was enhanced by America by adding a larger fort. Part of the addition included a Redoubt located about 1/2 mile from the main fort. I've only ever read about these but have never seen one on any other similar forts on the East coast.

    Is anyone aware of any other forts in the US with a Redoubt? According to the literature, the use of redoubts was a common defense in the 1800's so I was a bit curious why I've not seen this before.
    You'll find redoubts in a number of places; the Battle of Yorktown in the Revolution, for example, and the siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War. Ft. Ticonderoga has redoubts, as well as a number of fortifications from the 18th & 19th centuries.

    Regards,

    Todd

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    Thanks Todd. Doing a search on American Redoubts I do find several references to the American Revolution. I've visited several of the southern East Coast forts (Fort Macon, Fort Pulaski, Fort Frederica) and we do not see this as often apparently. Seems more common in the North.

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    macwilkin is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by cavscout View Post
    Thanks Todd. Doing a search on American Redoubts I do find several references to the American Revolution. I've visited several of the southern East Coast forts (Fort Macon, Fort Pulaski, Fort Frederica) and we do not see this as often apparently. Seems more common in the North.
    You might want to see if your local library and/or bookstore can get Seacoast Fortifications of the United States: an introductory history by Emmanuel R. Lewis. I picked up a copy of this book back in the early 90's when I visited Ft. Winfield Scott (aka Fort Point) in San Francisco. Ft. Point is great, if you ever get the chance to visit.

    There also a new book out (June '07) entitled Fortress America: the forts that defended America, 1600-present by J.E. Kaufmann. I imagine the park librarian will order a copy for us; he is a member of a Civil War fortifications study group, so I'm sure he'll have a review of it soon.

    Personally, I'm a big "buff" of the forts of the Indian Wars, especially in Arizona, but coast artillery is fun as well.

    Regards,

    Todd

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    Good leads Todd.

    I've also been browsing various definitions of "redoubt" and it appears that many of our southern forts actually have what could be called a redoubt ie Fort Pulaski. It has the earthen works which are inside the moat of the fort but are outside the main defensive walls.

    They can be seen on the right side of this photo


  6. #6
    macwilkin is offline
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    Here's another web site worth perusing:

    http://www.cdsg.org/

    T.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by cajunscot View Post
    You'll find redoubts in a number of places; the Battle of Yorktown in the Revolution, for example, and the siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War. Ft. Ticonderoga has redoubts, as well as a number of fortifications from the 18th & 19th centuries.

    Regards,

    Todd

    I believe there are several around my area also. The siege of Petersburg involved a lot of entrenchment. One of the most notable today is known as" The Crater". This is where Union troops tunneled under the Confederate lines and set off a huge explosive charge.
    Last edited by Jerry; 28th July 07 at 07:16 AM.
    "A day spent in the fields and woods, or on the water should not count as a day off our allotted number upon this earth."
    Jerry, Kilted Old Fart.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by JerMc View Post
    I believe there are several around my area also. The siege of Petersburg involved a lot of entrenchment. One of the most notable today is known as" The Crate". This where Union troops tunneled under the Confederate lines and set off a huge explosive charge.

    One of these days, I NEED to get up there to see that place in person.
    You see, my great, great, great grandfather was Robert L. Neel of South Carolina's 27th Regiment, Chisholm's Company (CSA). He died in the Battle of Petersburg (Virginia) on August 8, 1864, probably in that infamous mine explosion. So ya'll know, it was the one seen at the opening of Cold Mountain.

  9. #9
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    Robert's Rules of Redouts?

    The San Juan Islands, in Washington State between the Olympic Penninsula and Vancouver Island, BC was once home to two encampments: British Camp and American Camp. There was a time in the 1800s when we almost went to war with Great Britian in a little skirmish known as the Pig War. Both America and Great Britain (via the Hudson's Bay Company) claimed ownership of the islands, and so both had stationed soldiers there. The British had a nice area on the lee side, with a beautiful harbor area. The Americans were on a rocky outcrop on the other side, with very stark facilities. As the story goes, a pig owned by a guy on one side (I can't remember who's pig it was) got loose and into the garden of guy on the other side, tempers flared, things escalated, and the war started. Fortunately, there was another little skirmish known as the American Civil War going on at the time, so the incident was never supported by either side and it ended as abruptly as it started.

    Now for the historical factoid. The redouts at the American Camp were constructed by a young West Point trained Army engineer officer named Lt Roberts. He went on to become famous as the author of Robert's Rules of Order.

  10. #10
    macwilkin is offline
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    Quote Originally Posted by Irish in Tacoma View Post
    The San Juan Islands, in Washington State between the Olympic Penninsula and Vancouver Island, BC was once home to two encampments: British Camp and American Camp. There was a time in the 1800s when we almost went to war with Great Britian in a little skirmish known as the Pig War. Both America and Great Britain (via the Hudson's Bay Company) claimed ownership of the islands, and so both had stationed soldiers there. The British had a nice area on the lee side, with a beautiful harbor area. The Americans were on a rocky outcrop on the other side, with very stark facilities. As the story goes, a pig owned by a guy on one side (I can't remember who's pig it was) got loose and into the garden of guy on the other side, tempers flared, things escalated, and the war started. Fortunately, there was another little skirmish known as the American Civil War going on at the time, so the incident was never supported by either side and it ended as abruptly as it started.

    Now for the historical factoid. The redouts at the American Camp were constructed by a young West Point trained Army engineer officer named Lt Roberts. He went on to become famous as the author of Robert's Rules of Order.
    The garden belonged to an American, and the pig in question belonged to a HBC employee.

    The American officer commanding was Capt. George Pickett, who later went on to serve in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

    San Juan is now a NPS site:

    http://www.nps.gov/archive/sajh/Pig_War_new.htm

    Cheers

    Todd

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