Polygonal Fort
Captain Delafield designed the second version of Fort Delaware "as a huge bastioned polygonal form to be built in masonry." Delafield desired his fort to be "a marvel of military architecture on Pea Patch." In 1836, excavation work progressed on the north side of the island. Grillage timbers were driven into the island's soft mud to serve as a base for the foundation of Delafield's fort. In 1838, Joseph T. Hudson of New Jersey (descendent of Dr. Henry Gale) sent legal representation to the island, claiming he had legal rights to the island. Delafield's fort was never built due to this decade long legal battle over island ownership. The suit was eventually decided in Hudson's favor; the government was obligated to pay him $1,005.00 for the island.
Read more about this topic: Fort Delaware
Famous quotes containing the word fort:
“So here they are, the dog-faced soldiers, the regulars, the fifty-cents-a-day professionals riding the outposts of the nation, from Fort Reno to Fort Apache, from Sheridan to Stark. They were all the same. Men in dirty-shirt blue and only a cold page in the history books to mark their passing. But wherever they rode and whatever they fought for, that place became the United States.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)