Fort Adams (1798, 1808, 1824) (Newport, Rhode Island)

 museum, place with historical importance, fortification

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This fort was originally built in 1798 under the First System an an irregular work of masonry, with irregular indented work of masonry adjoining it, mounting seventeen guns. It was repaired and extended in 1808 under the Second System. The current fort was built as part of the Third System of fortifications beginning in 1824.

Joseph Totten used Fort Adams as his main test subject in developing the massive masonry works that would become the Third System. As a result, Fort Adams incorporates many features that were later dropped from other forts.

During the Civil War, Fort Adams was used as the United States Naval Academy.

As of 1851, it was intended to be armed with fifty-nine 42-pounder seacoast guns, ninety-nine 32-pounder seacoast guns, fifty-eight 24-pounder guns, twenty-one 18-pounder guns, thirteen 12-pounder guns, twelve field pieces, eighty-three flank howitzers, twenty-seven 8" heavy seacoast howizters, seven 8" light howitzers, three 13" mortars, seven 10" heavy mortars, five 10" light mortars, seven 8" light mortars, seven 16" stone mortars and twenty-five coehorn mortars, for a total of 464 guns.