Fort Useless (Provincetown, Massachusetts)

Provincetown · Massachusetts · Civil War

History & Significance

Long Point is a peninsula located in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the extreme tip of Cape Cod. In March 1863, the Massachusetts General Court appropriated $1 million for coastal defenses, and construction began on earthworks at Provincetown.

The outer battery consisted of three 32-pound guns and a powder magazine, while the inner battery, connected by a 1,650-foot wooden walkway, consisted of six 32-pound guns and two magazines. A barracks for quartering a company of soldiers, officer's quarters, and stables were constructed south of the inner battery.

The garrison consisted of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia units, with soldiers initially serving 90 days, followed by 100-day recruits until November 1864, then one-year reenlistments who mustered out in May 1865. The fortification was built in response to Confederate commerce raiders—at least six Provincetown schooners were captured and burned, and the CSS Alabama and privateer Tacony harassed shipping along the coast.

Despite these threats, locals mocked the batteries, calling them Fort Useless and Fort Ridiculous, aware they were protected against an enemy that never materialized. Today, nothing remains of the site except an earthen mound, the last remnant from the military post.

Map

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Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Point_(Cape_Cod)
• https://provincetownindependent.org/history/2025/07/09/forts-useless-and-ridiculous/
• https://historyofmassachusetts.org/massachusetts-in-the-civil-war/
• https://www.northamericanforts.com/East/masouth.html

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