| Fort Delaware State Park | |
|---|---|
 An aerial view of Fort Delaware State Park | |
  Location in Delaware Show map of Delaware Fort Delaware State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | New Castle County, Delaware, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°35′22″N75°34′03″W / 39.5894444°N 75.5675°W /39.5894444; -75.5675[1] |
| Area | 248.55 acres (100.58 ha)[2] |
| Elevation | 3 feet (0.91 m) |
| Established | 1951 |
| Administered by | Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control |
| Website | Official website |
Fort Delaware State Park is a 248-acre (100 ha), 1 mi (1.6 km) longDelaware state park onPea Patch Island in the mid channel of theDelaware River near its entrance intoDelaware Bay. It is a low, marshy island inNew Castle County,Delaware, facingDelaware City on the Delaware shore andFinns Point on theNew Jersey shore.Fort Delaware was built on Pea Patch Island by theUnited States Army in 1815, near the conclusion of theWar of 1812, to protect theharbors ofWilmington, Delaware andPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. The fort was burned and rebuilt in the years prior to theAmerican Civil War, and soon after the start of the war the fort was converted to aPrisoner of War camp. Fort Delaware continued to protect the mouth of the Delaware River throughWorld War I andII. Pea Patch Island and Fort Delaware was declared surplus land by theUnited States Department of Defense in 1945.
Fort Delaware State Park, one of the firststate parks in Delaware, was established in 1951. The park, which can only be accessed byferry, is open for historic programs at Fort Delaware. The fort is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. In addition to historical preservation, Fort Delaware State Park is also open forpicnicking andhiking. The island also provides a significantwetlands stop for migratory birds includingherons along theAtlantic Flyway.[3]
Visitors to the park may reach it by ferry from Delaware City orFort Mott State Park inNew Jersey. Fort Delaware State Park is 0.5-mile (800 m) from Delaware City via theForts Ferry Crossing. Passengers aboard the ferry are granted access to Fort Mott State Park.
Pea Patch Island emerged as a mud bank in the Delaware River in the 18th century. According tofolklore, theisland received its name after a ship full ofpeas ran aground on it, spilling its contents and leading to a growth of the plant on the island.[4] In the 1790s,Pierre L'Enfant suggested the use of the island as part of the defenses ofNew Castle, Delaware andPhiladelphia. During the War of 1812, aseawall anddykes were built on the island, with a view to building amartello tower there.[5]
By 1814, the island had grown sufficiently large for the construction ofFort Delaware. A five-pointed woodenstar fort was built 1815–1824. However, this fort was wrecked by a fire in 1831. Construction began on a much largerpolygonal fort in 1836, but this project was derailed by a decade-long legal battle over which state owned the island, which was won by Delaware. Construction then began in 1848 on the current fort, with an irregular pentagon design about the size of the previous star fort. The current brick and concrete fort was substantially complete by 1860.[6][7] During theAmerican Civil War, Fort Delaware was used by theUnion as a camp forConfederate prisoners, in particular those captured in 1863 at theBattle of Gettysburg.[7] Many of the prisoners who died at the fort are buried at nearbyFinns Point National Cemetery inNew Jersey.
After the release of the last of the remaining Civil War prisoners, only a small caretaker force was left behind at Fort Delaware, and it was largely abandoned in 1870.[7] By 1898, rising tensions betweenSpain and the United States led to Fort Delaware once again serving as a potential frontline in protecting the ports of the Delaware River. TheUnited States Congress authorized the installation of three 16-inch (41 cm) guns at the south end of Pea Patch Island as part of theEndicott program, with batteries for smaller guns elsewhere on the island.. The guns were installed in 1898, at the time of theSpanish–American War. On the shores flanking the island,Fort DuPont andFort Mott were built with modern weapons, and preparations were made to lay underwater minefields in the river. Agarrison was once again in place at Fort Delaware until 1903, when another small caretaker force was left.
The fort was garrisoned once again in 1917, following the United States entry into World War I, but most troops left in 1919. Fort Delaware was manned again during World War II following the December 7, 1941Attack of Pearl Harbor. The defenses around Pea Patch Island were disarmed during World War II, asFort Miles at the mouth of the Delawareestuary superseded them.[8] The guns were removed in 1943, the fort was abandoned in 1944, and it was declared "surplus property" in 1945. In the early 20th century, theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged a channel around the island, using the infill to double the island's size on its northern end.
Ownership of Pea Patch Island and Fort Delaware was transferred to the state of Delaware in 1947. Fort Delaware State Park was opened to the public in 1951.[7]
Fort Delaware State Park is a center of historic Civil War interpretation. Reenactors provide a glimpse into the past of Pea Patch Island. Visitors may have the chance to watch ablacksmith at work, take part in the firing of agunpowder charge of an 8-inch (20 cm)Columbiad gun or assist a laundress at work.[3]
A group of reenactors pays special attention to Captain George Ahl and his band of former confederate soldiers who formed the1st Delaware Heavy Artillery. Captain Ahl obtained permission from the War Department to form a battery of Confederate prisoners who could prove they had beenconscripted into the Confederate Army. Upon taking an oath of allegiance they were permitted to join the Federal Army. Volunteers have recreated Ahl's Battery at Fort Delaware State Park. They have assumed the identities of members of the battery. The reenactors give demonstrations of what life was like for the members of the 1st Delaware Heavy Artillery.[9]
The Fort Delaware Society is a non-profit group dedicated to the preservation and historical interpretation of Fort Delaware.[10]
Fort Delaware State Park is home to amigratory birdrookery, considered to be the largestheronry north ofFlorida.[4]Ornithologists believe thatibises,egrets, andherons began nesting on the northern part of Pea Patch Island in the 1950s or 1960s on land that was deposited there by theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1900s. The population of birds at Fort Delaware State Park grew from about 2,000 pairs of nesting birds to 12,000 pairs as they were pushed from their nesting areas on the mainland by man. Scientists have become concerned about the decreasing population of birds on Pea Patch Island. The present estimate of nesting pairs stands at 7,000.[4] Studies have shown that nearly half the chicks born at the heronry within the last five years[when?] have died before they were old enough to leave their parents care.[citation needed]
Other than coastal erosion, scientists have found little at the park to threaten the herons, ibises, and egrets. It is believed that changing land-use in theestuary and surrounding land has affected the populations. Representatives from local, state and federal governments have teamed together with non-profit wildlife organizations, business, and industry to create a Special Area Management Plan to help change the downward trend in bird populations at Fort Delaware State Park. SinceBeach erosion affecting Pea Patch Island was recognized as a potential threat to the Fort in 1999, theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers erected a 3,500 feet (1.1 km)seawall during the winter of 2005-2006.[11]
