Fort Constitution | museum, park, fortification

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Originally named Fort William and Mary, this was a colonial defensive post at New Castle, New Hampshire. First fortified in 1632 on the island of New Castle at the mouth of the Piscataqua River estuary, the fort guarded access to the harbor at Portsmouth.

On December 14, 1774, a local mob of several hundred from the Portsmouth area, led by John Langdon, stormed the post and seized the powder, which was distributed through several New Hampshire towns for the use of the local militia.

The fort was renamed Fort Constitution. A fort of masonry and sods, with a citadel. was begun in 1794 under the First System. It was practically re-built in 1800-1801.
It was completed under the project of 1807 as a Second System work. This fort was an irregular work of masonry mounting thirty-six heavy guns. It was modernized under the Third System between 1836 and 1851.

As of 1851, it was intended to be armed with twenty-one 32-pounder seacoast guns, fourteen 24-pounder guns, four 18-pounder guns, six field pieces, seven 8" heavy seacoast howizters, two 13" mortars and four 10" heavy mortars, for a total of 58 guns.

Plans to construct a massive pentagonal granite fortress to complement a larger Fort McClary on the other side of the harbor was abandoned during the Civil War when rifled artillery made forts like this obsolete.