Surprises at Ft. Warren

A weekend planned with my niece Claire and cousin Janet in Boston with expectations to be immersed in Revolutionary War history among the Brahmans of Massachusetts. On our wish list is listening to music, so Google  "folk music, Boston, August 9"  Up pops some free outdoor concerts on Georges Island one of the Boston Harbor islands. Yet another "Who knew there were Harbor Islands?" For 15$ we can take a round trip ferry ride, hear music, picnic on a beautiful summer day.

When we arrive,in front of us is a large stone fort, Fort Warren. If it is outside Boston, then it must be from the War of Independence, right? No, it was built  in 1850 with the realization that the eastern seaboard was ill protected after  the White House was burned by the British in the war of 1812. 

Ft. Warren was first used in 1861, as a Civil War prison camp for about 1200 inmates including political prisoners James Mason and John Slidell, the Confederate diplomats seized from the Trent as they were traveling to Europe to gain support for their cause. It was also the prison for the sucessionist Maryland legislators, and men who acted as bounty hunters for the Union, then switched sides. Two of these were imprisoned, made to walk by their graves on their way to being hung as traitors.

The fort itself looks like 4 massive square stone walls surrounding a flat area of grass in the center that served for parade grounds, baseball field, and general social and exercise space.  Harder to spot are the star like points at each corner that gave the army more areas for defense. The entrance is preceded by a 20 foot drawbridge, then 3 sets of doors that an attacking army would need to navigate in order to penetrate to the inside.

The prisoners and soldiers all lived together in the stone rooms of the fort. Because it was not originally built to be a prison, the rooms for the commanding officers who were to reside there were decorated with relative elegance-chandeliers and all. From the visitor center display, it also seemed that captured officers ate better than enlisted Union soldiers. So this was not one of the 'notorious' prisons.

The events sign read  1:00-2:00 Civil War dress up. We ran over to the display  just inside the fort to find a woman in an outfit of the time and one adult Union and one adult Confederate uniform complete with canteens and rifles. Couldn't resist, though Claire and I both were hesitant to wear the confederate uniform (!)

Later that night, we see  this very eerie scene, Radiators in the Moonlight, looking like a futuristic city of highrises.