Milford chronicle., 1958-09-26
Fort Delaware Again
Open To The Public

continued from page one)
foot motor launch, having ship-to.
shore radio and meeting all U. S
Coast Guard safety requirements
is being used for trips to the island
leaving the dock at foot of Clinton
Street, in Delaware City, at As
minute intervals between 8 a. m
and 4 p. M, Saturdays and Sun
days.
Recent completion of a new 450-
foot pier on Pea Patch Island has
made possible resumption of reg
ular boat schedule. Now, even, al
low tide, boats can safely approach
the new pier according to Peter
Geldof, Jr., superintendent of State
Parks. In 1855, before shifting silt
and mud made docking impossible
except at high tide, the old fort
ress had 5000 visitors during five
open week-ends.
The approach of the centennial
years of the Civil War, in which
Fort Delaware played a prominent
though somewhat unpleasant role
is expected to stimulate interest in
the fort and attract thousands OF
visitors to Pea Patch Island.
In recent months, considerable
repair of damaged areas has been
accomplished and the grounds have
been cleared of weeds and debris.
Much additional improvement is
planned before the fort is opened
for what will be its first full sea-
son next Spring.
Despite the fact that it was
never called upon to carry out its
original mission-that of defend
ing the water approaches to Phil
adelphia and the Delaware Valley
Fort Delaware has had a long
and colorful history.
The original Fort Delaware,
wooden structure, was built in
1913 on an island that traditional
ly grew" from the shipwreck, on
sand bar, in early colonial times,
of boat loaded with peas. In 1921,
a mason fort replaced the original
frame structure and this, in turn,
was replaced in 1888.
A great tidal wave washed every
thing off the island IN 1846, and,
one year later, Congress appro-
priated one million dollars for con-
struction of what was to be the
largest and most modern u. S. fort
of that era. Another million dol
lars and ten years labor were ex-
pended before this bastion, the
present fort, was completed ap-
proximately one hundred years ago.
q Pressed into service in 1862 as
a prison for captured Confe1eracy
soldiers, Fort Delaware soon be-
came famous-or infamous-de-
pending upon whether one lives
north of the. Potomac or is from a
southern state.
AS many as 10000 prisoners,
mostly military, but some political,
were at one time confined on the
island. Crowded conditions, pro-
ducing filth and vermin, caused
outbreaks of ccntagion and result
ed in the deaths of hundreds of
prisoners and their burial on the
opposite New Jersey shore, far
from home. After Appomattox, de-
cision was made to transfer or re-
lease the prisoners who had sur
vived Imprisonment on Pea Patch
Island.
Tranquility came to the island
and its pentagon-shaped fortifica-
ton in 1865, with the departure of
the last prisoner, and little actiyi-
ty was apparent until 1898 when
the fort was re-armed and refur-
bished for possible Spanish-Ameri-
can War service. Aside from the fir
ing of an occasional salute from
the forts new 16-inch disappear
ing guns, the peace and quiet was
unbroken during the War with
Spain.
During 1918, Fort Delaware
was restored to active duty" and
fully manned, only to be virtually
abandoned between World Wars.
The old fort saw its last military
activity in 1941, when a small con-
tingent of troops were stationed
there. Two years later, the big dis
appearing guns were removed from
the fort for salvage as scrap iron,
and, in 1914, the fort was closed
down. After being declared surplus
to military need in 1945, Pea Patch
Island reverted back to the State
Z of Delaware, which had ceded it to
the government more than a GEN.
tury earlier, and was placed under
the jurisdiction of the State Parks
Commission.
Aware of the historical signifi-
canoe of the old fort and alarmed
at the prospect of its being aban-
dohed aud forgotten by future gen.
erations., group of public spirited
citizens organized the Fort Della
ware Society. This group, with the
cooperation of the State Parks
Commission, initiated cleaning up
of the area surrounding the Fort;
establishment of boat service be-
tween the mainland and the island,
and the publicizing of Fort Della
ware as u tourist attraction.
The fort has not been fully re-
stored, but, instead, stands as q
ghost fortress. replete with empty
port holes. ramparts and barracks,
and parade ground, that, in the
stiffness of night, seems to echo
the sound OF marching feet from
the distant past.