Beverly Fort (Beverly, Massachusetts)

Beverly · Massachusetts · American Revolutionary War

Quick BriefBeverly Fort was a fort that existed from 1775 to 1776 during the American Revolutionary War on Hospital Point in Beverly, Massachusetts. A Patriot militia earthwork was originally located on the hill behind the later-built lighthouse at Beverly Harbor at Paul's Head (aka Hospital Point). The J-shaped earthwork of the fort still exists today. It was reoccupied in 1814 during the War of 1812.

Coastal defense

History & Significance

Beverly Fort was constructed as a Patriot militia defense work at the entrance to Beverly Harbor, a critical maritime hub during the Revolutionary War. Located on Hospital Point at the end of Bayview Avenue, the fort took the form of a J-shaped earthwork typical of hasty fortifications erected to protect colonial harbors and shipping interests.

The port of Beverly was instrumental in early naval operations of the war; the first ship commissioned by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War was the privateer HANNAH, a 60 ft. schooner armed with guns and cannons, which was fitted out and sailed from John Glover's Wharf in Beverly under Captain Nicholas Broughton in 1775. The defences of Beverly harbor in 1776 consisted of a sand bag battery armed with two field pieces and other works on which were mounted two 18- and two 12-pound cannon.

The fort was briefly active during the initial phase of conflict and abandoned shortly thereafter. A smallpox quarantine hospital was built on the site in 1801; it was used by the state militia as barracks in 1814, but burned down in 1849. The J-shaped earthwork of the fort still exists today, making Beverly Fort among the surviving Revolutionary War field fortifications in Essex County.