Front II and Bastion B

Front II and Bastion B at Fort Warren

BHN/B. Knotts

Quick Facts

Location:

Georges Island

MANAGED BY:

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation

The casemates of Front II were designed for housing the lower ranked enlisted soldier. Sleeping accommodations ranged from triple-decked, double platformed bunks to single metal bedsteads. These casemate rooms housed enlisted soldiers and prisoners at various times, numbering anywhere from 9 to 80 individuals at one time.

The terreplein supported the main line of mostly Rodman cannon. These smooth bore cannons fired a 10-inch diameter iron ball. In the 1880s, grooved rifled sleeves were inserted in the bore, increasing its distance and accuracy. The terreplein can be accessed at the top of the stairway.

In the once open courtyard of Bastion B sits Battery Jack Adams. Installed in 1899, Adams held one 10-inch disappearing rifle. This rifle was loaded while sheltered from enemy fire behind a concrete wall. A counterweight raised the gun to firing position, and after firing the recoil pushed the barrel of the gun backward and down ready for reloading.

Fortify Your Vocabulary

Casemate: A bombproof enclosure located in the rampart and under the terreplein, designed to house cannon.

Terreplein: The grassy, cannon bearing level on top of the fronts, bastions, and coverface.

Battery: A unit of one or more guns or mortars situated together to fire on a single target.