Fort Washington

Fort Washington was an important tool for teaching the New England militia, stationed in Cambridge, to prepare for the Siege of Boston, in the first year of The American Revolution and is the only fortification that has survived in Cambridge since up until this day. This fort, erected by General George Washington and his troops, may not have been the biggest fortification, but it played an integral role in preparing the gathered New England militias, alerting the British of the dedication of the patriots and forcing the British troops to evacuate Boston.

Following General George Washington’s arrival in Cambridge in July of 1775, the gathered militias did not see much fighting, as the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill had already taken place. However Washington worked to bring the militias together to create an effective army and teach them to prepare for an extended conflict. In the time Washington was in Cambridge, the militia devoted much of its time to making fortification in and around the city of Cambridge to protect it from any British attack.

Fort Washington is a relatively small fortification consisting of two half moon batteries designed to fit about 50 to 60 troops. Fort Washington was erected not with the intention of attacking the British but as a defense just in case the British ever tried to invade Cambridge again. Furthermore, at this point in time Washington already knew that he was going to be erecting an even bigger fortification at Dorchester Heights and used the fortification of Fort Washington as a practice for the American troops.

Today Fort Washington is a fenced in park with three cannons in it. The cannons were not there when Washington erected this fort, as the militias in Cambridge did not have any large weapons yet. The first large weapons that the Continental Army had in the area were brought by Henry Knox from Fort Ticonderoga, some of which stand on the Cambridge Common today, but those were to be used at Dorchester Heights. The cannons that one can see at Fort Washington today were brought there in 1858 from Fort Warren in the Boston Harbor.

Fort Washington is a perfect example of how Cambridge was fortified throughout the Siege of Boston. Several other forts with earthworks were set up throughout the city but Fort Washington is the only one that has survived. Although small, it commemorates the hard work and bravery of the American soldiers in The Revolutionary War and depicts Washington’s plan to keep Cambridge safe and his use of his time in Cambridge to work to develop an American Army capable of facing the British. Fort Washington was one of many fortifications in Cambridge that forced the British to evacuate March 17, 1776 and has become an important historic symbol of Revolutionary Cambridge. 

 

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