Fort Wayne in Detroit served in the Civil War as a muster point, a training ground, and a support post. It continued in service for many years after the war, through World War II, and even through the Vietnam War. The "star fort" (as the locals call it) is in great shape, as are some of the other buildings on the site. Many buildings, however, have lost all or part of their roofs and are in bad shape. Work is underway to save some buildings, but unfortunately there is not enough money or volunteer labor to save them all. The Historic Fort Wayne Coalition, a large group of dedicated volunteers, is doing all that it can with its resources, and has even been able to make positive strides during the COVID crisis.
During the War of 1812 the British had taken Fort Shelby, and following the war it fell into disrepair and was destroyed by the city of Detroit. Fort Malden controlled the Detroit River from Amherstburg, Ontario, leaving American shipping on the Great Lakes vulnerable to Canada and the British. In response to negative activity along the border, Fort Wayne was built at the narrow point in the river, and area of South Detroit called Springwells.
Fort Wayne was originally built as a wooden fort with earthen ramparts behind the cedar beams. In 1848, a magnificent stone barracks was constructed. With the onset of the Civil War, the importance of the fort grew as there was concern that Canada would join with the Confederacy. In 1863, the wooden scarp was replaced with brick. The great engineer Montgomery Meigs, later Quartermaster General, superintended the construction - under the leadership of General Joseph Totten, now in the final years of his life. They used the new concept of a semi-detached scarp in his design, where the outside wall of the fort could be knocked down in a siege while the earthen ramparts would remain defensible.
A view of the original ramparts of Fort Wayne prior to the scarp being replaced with brick.
Here is a sketch of the cross-section of Fort Wayne, showing the design of the semi-detached scarp.
Additional firepower was to be placed on the ravelin, which had a view both up river and down river. The squared-off point of the ravelin was very close to the original bank of the river. Subsequent land fill operations have moved the river bank a substantial distance from the fort, and that land is used by the Corps of Engineers as a boat wharf. The ravelin, called a demilune on the drawings, had emplacements for 12 large guns, and was equipped with a hot-shot furnace (now gone).
The ravelin of Fort Wayne now stands away from the river bank, but when built was very near the bank. There were six positions for large-bore cannon on each face of the ravelin. A magazine stood in the center of the ravelin, accessible from the ditch of the fort. The fort is on the right in the picture below.
The ravelin was accessed through a postern in the flank of a bastion of the fort.
On the ramparts of the ravelin stood a long-gone hot-shot furnace for heating cannon balls before firing them at wooden ships. This is an historic photo of the shot furnace
The only casemates of Fort Wayne are in the bastions; all large cannon were to be mounted on the ramparts of the fort. The casemates in the eight bastion flanks were designed for flank howitzers – 24-pounder cannon designed primarily to fire canister shot. The fields of fire of these howitzers covered all the perimeter walls of the fort with no dead spaces. As Martha and the Vandellas put it, nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide!
A bastion flank showing the outside of the howitzer embrasures.
An interior shot of the howitzer positions in the flank of a bastion
In addition to the howitzer embrasures in the flanks of the bastions, a portion – about one-third of the length – of the face of each bastion contained loopholes for forward musket fire. These were tall enough to allow defenders to fire into the ditch or to the top of the glacis across the ditch. These galleries led to ready magazines, two in each bastion. As expected, the brick work in the casemates and rifle galleries is incredible.
Uniquely, the sally port of the fort is located in the flank of a bastion. Since only the bastions were casemated, this cut way down on the cost of construction and provided a well-protected entrance to the fort. The path to the sally port was curved through the glacis to eliminate the possibility of cannon fire directly reaching the gate. It was closed by a typical three-layer door with opposing grains in the wood and iron studs every six inches to deter the use of an axe to breach the gate.
This plan shows the curved path leading to the sally port at the bottom of the drawing.
Inside the outer gate was a chamber closed by another three-layer door, with loopholes opening into that chamber. If an attacker breached the outer door, they were under fire while attempting to breach the inner door.
A long gallery led from the sally port to the parade of the fort. Interestingly, grooves in the stone on the curve in this gallery can be viewed, where waggoneers cut the corner too close and the axels wore into the stone.
The magnificent stone barracks stands on the parade of the fort, dominating the site. Designed for five companies, it is very large and consists of four stories of rooms. Of particular interest are the loopholes in the ends of the barracks that command the ramparts of the fort. While the front and rear have large windows for ventilation, the ends provide a defensive capability. A very good compromise in the design of the barracks.
Fort Wayne is a wonderful place to visit, though due to Michigan COVID restrictions it is currently closed to the public. It is hoped that we will be able to re-open the fort this spring!
During the War of 1812 the British had taken Fort Shelby, and following the war it fell into disrepair and was destroyed by the city of Detroit. Fort Malden controlled the Detroit River from Amherstburg, Ontario, leaving American shipping on the Great Lakes vulnerable to Canada and the British. In response to negative activity along the border, Fort Wayne was built at the narrow point in the river, and area of South Detroit called Springwells.
Fort Wayne was originally built as a wooden fort with earthen ramparts behind the cedar beams. In 1848, a magnificent stone barracks was constructed. With the onset of the Civil War, the importance of the fort grew as there was concern that Canada would join with the Confederacy. In 1863, the wooden scarp was replaced with brick. The great engineer Montgomery Meigs, later Quartermaster General, superintended the construction - under the leadership of General Joseph Totten, now in the final years of his life. They used the new concept of a semi-detached scarp in his design, where the outside wall of the fort could be knocked down in a siege while the earthen ramparts would remain defensible.
A view of the original ramparts of Fort Wayne prior to the scarp being replaced with brick.
Here is a sketch of the cross-section of Fort Wayne, showing the design of the semi-detached scarp.
Additional firepower was to be placed on the ravelin, which had a view both up river and down river. The squared-off point of the ravelin was very close to the original bank of the river. Subsequent land fill operations have moved the river bank a substantial distance from the fort, and that land is used by the Corps of Engineers as a boat wharf. The ravelin, called a demilune on the drawings, had emplacements for 12 large guns, and was equipped with a hot-shot furnace (now gone).
The ravelin of Fort Wayne now stands away from the river bank, but when built was very near the bank. There were six positions for large-bore cannon on each face of the ravelin. A magazine stood in the center of the ravelin, accessible from the ditch of the fort. The fort is on the right in the picture below.
The ravelin was accessed through a postern in the flank of a bastion of the fort.
On the ramparts of the ravelin stood a long-gone hot-shot furnace for heating cannon balls before firing them at wooden ships. This is an historic photo of the shot furnace
The only casemates of Fort Wayne are in the bastions; all large cannon were to be mounted on the ramparts of the fort. The casemates in the eight bastion flanks were designed for flank howitzers – 24-pounder cannon designed primarily to fire canister shot. The fields of fire of these howitzers covered all the perimeter walls of the fort with no dead spaces. As Martha and the Vandellas put it, nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide!
A bastion flank showing the outside of the howitzer embrasures.
An interior shot of the howitzer positions in the flank of a bastion
In addition to the howitzer embrasures in the flanks of the bastions, a portion – about one-third of the length – of the face of each bastion contained loopholes for forward musket fire. These were tall enough to allow defenders to fire into the ditch or to the top of the glacis across the ditch. These galleries led to ready magazines, two in each bastion. As expected, the brick work in the casemates and rifle galleries is incredible.
Uniquely, the sally port of the fort is located in the flank of a bastion. Since only the bastions were casemated, this cut way down on the cost of construction and provided a well-protected entrance to the fort. The path to the sally port was curved through the glacis to eliminate the possibility of cannon fire directly reaching the gate. It was closed by a typical three-layer door with opposing grains in the wood and iron studs every six inches to deter the use of an axe to breach the gate.
This plan shows the curved path leading to the sally port at the bottom of the drawing.
Inside the outer gate was a chamber closed by another three-layer door, with loopholes opening into that chamber. If an attacker breached the outer door, they were under fire while attempting to breach the inner door.
A long gallery led from the sally port to the parade of the fort. Interestingly, grooves in the stone on the curve in this gallery can be viewed, where waggoneers cut the corner too close and the axels wore into the stone.
The magnificent stone barracks stands on the parade of the fort, dominating the site. Designed for five companies, it is very large and consists of four stories of rooms. Of particular interest are the loopholes in the ends of the barracks that command the ramparts of the fort. While the front and rear have large windows for ventilation, the ends provide a defensive capability. A very good compromise in the design of the barracks.
Fort Wayne is a wonderful place to visit, though due to Michigan COVID restrictions it is currently closed to the public. It is hoped that we will be able to re-open the fort this spring!