Newport – Day 2 … Fort Adams, endless stone walls and of course, geese.

The tour of the fort starts in front of this granite block facsimile.

It represents the current fort which replaced the original build from 1799 that was named to honor President John Adams. Construction began in 1824 and was completed by 1857, though soldiers were stationed here in 1841. Designed by a French engineer who was an aide to Napoleon, it was a temporary site of the Naval Academy before the Civil War.

Entering through the east gate you’re surrounded by granite, shale and brick.

The grooves my husband is examining were cut to give traction to the mules and horses who were dragging supplies and canons up the ramp.

Fort Adams is an impressive place.

The parade field alone is over six and a half acres. For reference… Fort Sumter, Fort McHenry and Fort Ticonderoga could all easily fit inside.

Behind the bust of John Adams are the officer’s quarters.

Some still in their original condition. Every room of the fort was defensible. See the light shining through in the back? That’s a rifleman’s slit.

I love history and have visited all the forts mentioned above, but strategically and for sheer firepower? Adams puts the others to shame.

There were 117 canons on three tiers mounted in the west wall alone. This is a 32 pounder. A serious boomer and the reason most of its 8 man crews suffered severe hearing loss.

I won’t bore you with all the facts I find fascinating. For those who are interested, the full history is here.

https://fortadams.org/discover-the-fortress/fort-adams-history/full-history/

But before I end this pictorial essay….

I have to show you the “listening tunnels”.

Back in the day, enemies who couldn’t breach the fort’s walls tried to tunnel underneath them and blow them up from underground.

So a half mile network of tunnels was built and manned.

Ready made holes on the side made it easier to start a countermining attack.

It was dark and damp and the farther you went, the smaller it became.

A few people in our group had to turn back due to claustrophobia.

Rats?

This one was fake, but it was put there to remind tourists they’re never truly alone down here.

I could have happily explored the entire system…

But our guide brought us back to the light.

Fort Adams was designed to garrison 200 soldiers in peacetime and 2,400 in time of war. She could hold 468 cannon but was never armed or staffed at full strength. As a testament to her superb defensive planning, the fort never saw action and was decommissioned in the early 1950’s.