Outer Boston Harbor: scenic Georges Island

Fort Warren on Georges Island, Massachusetts: sally port leading into the pentagonal fort

Seven miles offshore from downtown Boston, Georges Island is where you want to be on a clear, sunny day to explore the Boston Harbor island scenery. The landscape of Georges Island is defined by the historic granite structures of Fort Warren. Walk along its ramparts to view the surroundings: Boston Light on Little Brewster Island to the east, the city skyline to the west, and nearby Lovells Islands to the north across The Narrows—the only deep-water channel that leads to the inner harbor. The island's strategic location for defending the Boston area, during times when the enemy—including pirates—was only expected by sea, becomes obvious.  

Fort Warren is named to honor 18th century physician, soldier and Revolutionary War hero Joseph Warren (1741-1775), who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Massachusetts. Ranger-guided tours of the fort are provided. The visitor center has detailed information available and interesting exhibits at display. If you plan to explore sites on your own, you will appreciate informative plaques at various sites. The following picture tour is supplemented by texts as given on selected plaques. 

Georges Island Visitor Center at the ferry landing site

View from east-side rampart: sally port and Boston skyline

Walking through the sally port into the pentagonal fort with its arrowhead-shaped corners, first-time visitors are impressed by the grassy parade ground:

From the beginning, Fort Warren's heart was the six-acre parade ground. When the Civil War broke out soon after the fort was completed, the area was still covered in construction debris. Newly enlisted Massachusetts regiments cleaned it up as they trained. To increase morale, they sang as they worked, eventually coming up with the famous lyric for “John Brown's Body.” Since that time the parade ground has been used for drills, inspection, parades and calisthenics, as well as off-duty sports such as baseball and football. The oldest maples and horse chestnuts on the perimeter date back to the 1880s.

Grassy parade ground inside Fort Warren with powder magazin

The northeast corner of the fort is Bastion C, which retains its original form and protective outworks. Here, the mess halls and the fort bakery were located:

The rank and financial status of Ft. Warren residents determined the quality of meals they ate. Rations for Union soldiers consisted of fresh beef with potatoes three times a week, salt beef, pork or ham three times a week, and baked beans on Sunday. Confederate soldier prisoners ate the same rations, but cooked their meals in large pots outside their rooms instead of eating in the mess halls. Southern political prisoners and officers who could afford it made outside arrangements with Boston caterers. The “North Carolina Mess,”composed of prisoners from Cape Hatteras, purchased extras such as cheese and crackers, sausages and cakes for 16¢ (unicode:¢)  a day.

Historic Fort Warren bakery

Across the bakery, you will find one of many stairways that allow you to walk up to the ramparts:

This spiral granite staircase leads to the ramparts level above and to an observation tower built during the Spanish-American War. In addition to providing a higher vantage point, the ramparts supported heavy artillery which were mounted on semi-circular tracks called traverses. During the Civil War, a walk on the ramparts was a welcome relief for the Confederate prisoners. Writing of an excursion by steamboat to Ft. Warren in 1872, the American novelist William Dean Howells recalled “the green thick turf covering the escarpments, the great guns loafing on the crest of the ramparts, and the sentries pacing up and down with their gleaming muskets.”

 

Rampart with semi-circular tracks on which artillery was mounted

Stairs connecting west-side rampart with powder magazine

Walking around the ramparts, you may have noticed the building on the parade ground. This is a  powder magazine:

There were nine magazines within the fort's bastions and fronts during the Civil War, all of them located at the parade ground level. They were lined with wood to prevent a soldier's gun or belt buckle from striking against the granite walls and causing a spark, which could set off an explosion of the volatile black powder. This large magazine for the storage of bulk ordnance supplies was part of an 1869 modernization plan. Its isolated location, heavy construction and surrounding wall reflect further efforts to protect the garrison from chance explosion. Additional magazines were built at the same time on top of the coverface close to the long-range artillery. 

 

 

Powder Magazine

Wall building with rampart, cannon and parapet on its roof

 

Getting to Georges Island

Over the summer season, Georges Island services are offered from Boston Harbor (Long Wharf) and Hingham: https://www.bostonharborislands.org/ferryschedule2021/.

Map of Georges Island

References and more to explore

Georges Island. National Park Service. URL: https://www.nps.gov/places/georges-island.htm.

Georges Island/Fort Warren. The Cultural Landscape Foundation. URL: https://tclf.org/georges-island-fort-warren.

A view of the single drumlin that makes up Georges Island. Picture in https://bostongeology.com/boston/geology/islands/islands.htm.