Fortsberg
Fortsberg is located in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Fortsberg
LocationSoutheast of Coral Bay, Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Coordinates18°20′45″N 64°42′20″W / 18.345833°N 64.705556°W / 18.345833; -64.705556
Area101 acres (41 ha)
Built1760
NRHP reference No.76002218[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 1, 1976

Fortsberg, a fortification overlooking Coral Bay in Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands also known as Frederiksvaern, was built in 1760. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

The preceding fort on the site was seized by slaves in a November 23, 1733, rebellion. The slaves "massacred the garrison and occupied most of the plantations of St. John. The plantation owners fled to Mr. Durlo's plantation, now Caneel Bay, which was fortified and successfully defended. Two attempts by the Danes to supress [sic] the rebellion were unsuccessful. Finally aid was secured from the Governor of Martinique. Four hundred French soldiers encamped near Fortsberg and the rebellion was suppressed after a campaign of six months."[2]

The listing included two contributing structures and one contributing site.[1] The fort is a 120-by-60-foot (37 m × 18 m) structure with high walls and four bastions, built over ruins of an earlier one dating from 1723. Ruins of an unidentified structure are nearby.[2]

The second structure is the ruins of a supporting shore battery, about 1,000 feet (300 m) southeast of the fort. It has a 37-by-54-foot (11 m × 16 m) interior area. As of 1976, five historic cannons survived in the battery, although without their carriages.[2]

The fort was occupied by British military in 1801 and during 1807 to 1815, during the Napoleonic Wars.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Russell Wright, Annie Hillary, Thomas R. Richards, and Margaret Proskauer (May 17, 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fortsberg / Frederiksvaern". National Park Service. Retrieved May 25, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) With three photos from 1976.


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