Conanicut Battery
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General Assembly Orders that a Fort Be Built
The General Assembly votes to “erect at fort at Beaver Tail, upon Conanicut, to contain six or eight heavy cannon." By December, when the British fleet of 70 ships sails up West Passage, the cannon have been withdrawn to Aquidneck Island. After securing Newport, the British quickly occupy the Conanicut Battery.
Battery Returns to Farmland
The British evacuate Jamestown in 1779. America’s French allies briefly man the fort before it is abandoned. Sheep and cows graze around the earthworks for the next 135 years.
Observation Bunkers Built Above the Battery
As World War I begins, six observation posts are built on Prospect Hill, east of the colonial battery. Observers in the underground posts use sighting instruments to take bearings on targets and telephone the data to the gun batteries around the bay.
Conanicut Battery Becomes a Jamestown Park
The United States Army deeds the land to the town of Jamestown, noting that reconfiguration of the land as a historic park would preserve a fragile remnant of the Revolution. Nine years later, the park is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Friends of Conanicut Battery Clear the Earthworks
The Battery has become overgrown. Ed Connelly leads the restoration of the earthworks and the installation of didactic signage. The Jamestown Historical Society forms a Battery Committee and in 2008 takes over the maintenance of the historic elements in the town park.