Fort Levett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fort Levett |
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| Part of Harbor Defenses of Portland | |
| Cushing Island, Maine | |
12-inch casemated gun, similar to those at Battery Foote, Fort Levett.
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 Fort Levett
Location in Maine
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| Coordinates | 43°38′35″N 70°11′43″W / 43.64306°N 70.19528°W |
| Type | Coastal Defense |
| Site information | |
| Owner | private |
| Controlled by | private |
| Open to the public |
no |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1898 |
| Built by | United States Army |
| In use | 1898-1948 |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Fort Levett was a former U.S. Army fort built on Cushing Island, Maine starting in 1898. It is located in Cumberland County, Maine, in Casco Bay near Portland, Maine. The fort was strongly built with many guns for coastal defense.
The idea for Fort Levett came from the Endicott Program in 1885. Construction began after the Spanish–American War. Fort Levett was used during both World War I and World War II. It was part of the Harbor Defenses of Portland, which protected Portland's port and naval anchorage from 1904 to 1950. Sometimes, the fort's name is spelled "Fort Leavitt" by mistake.
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History of Fort Levett
Fort Levett was built on about 140 acres (0.57 km²) of Cushing Island. Important leaders, like the Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson, visited this coastal defense fort in 1909.
Fort Levett was part of a group of forts that guarded Portland Harbor and Casco Bay. This group was called the Coast Defenses of Portland (later renamed Harbor Defenses after 1925). Other forts in this network included Fort Williams on Portland Head, Fort McKinley on Great Diamond Island, and Fort Preble. Older forts like Fort Scammel and Fort Gorges were no longer used for defense after the 1870s.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers built these forts. The Army's Ordnance Department kept them in good condition. After 1907, soldiers from the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps manned them.
Who Was Fort Levett Named After?
Fort Levett was named after Captain Christopher Levett. He was an English explorer who explored the New England coast a long time ago. He was also the first European to try and settle what is now Portland, Maine.
King Charles I of England gave Levett about 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land. Levett wanted to build a city there and call it York, after his hometown in England. (Today, York County, Maine has the same name as Levett's birthplace.) Levett started a small settlement in 1623. He left some people from Yorkshire behind and went back to England. However, the settlement did not succeed, and the colonists were never heard from again. Levett himself never returned to Maine.
Building the Fort and Its Guns
Construction of Fort Levett began in 1898 on land bought in 1894. Most of the fort was finished by 1903. At first, the fort had five main gun areas, called batteries:
- Battery Bowdoin was named for James Bowdoin, a former governor of Massachusetts (which included Maine back then). It had three 12-inch M1895 disappearing guns.
- Battery Kendrick was named for Henry Lane Kendrick, an Army officer. It had two 10-inch M1895 disappearing guns.
- Battery Ferguson was named for Major William Ferguson. It was finished in 1906 and had two 6-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts.
- Battery Daniels was named for Lieutenant Napoleon Daniels. It had two 3-inch M1898 guns (also called 15-pounder guns) on special mounts that could hide the guns.
- The fort also had some 6-pounder rapid-fire guns for a short time.
Besides its big guns, Fort Levett also had a wireless telegraph station. To get water for the soldiers, the army dug four wells on Cushing Island. The island also had a large summer hotel very close to the guns. The War Department worried that firing the guns would damage the hotel. They also noted that hotel guests would be "practically in the fort." The army decided not to buy the hotel. Instead, they built cook tents and other buildings nearby. The fort also had a small hospital for the soldiers. All the first buildings were done by 1905.
Fort Levett was a smaller part of Fort Williams. By 1910, it was mostly in "caretaker status." This meant only a small group of soldiers stayed there for maintenance because there was no immediate danger.
Fort Levett in World War I
By 1915, World War I was happening in Europe. Warships called dreadnought battleships were getting better and could shoot farther. Because of this, experts suggested that Fort Levett get a new, more modern gun battery. This new battery would have guns that could shoot much farther.
This new battery was named Battery Foote in 1919, after Colonel Stephen M. Foote, an artillery officer who died that year. Battery Foote had two 12-inch M1895 guns on new, high-angle M1917 barbette carriages. These carriages allowed the guns to shoot with increased range. This battery was finished in 1920. At first, these types of batteries were built in the open and used camouflage to hide. However, they were very open to attacks from the air. The older disappearing gun batteries were also vulnerable.
The two 10-inch guns of Battery Kendrick were supposed to be removed in 1917 for a railway artillery program. But they were not sent out and were soon put back in place. Fort Levett was actively used during World War I, likely starting when the United States joined the war in 1917. After World War I, the two 3-inch guns of Battery Daniels were removed. At some point between the wars, the fort went back to caretaker status.
Fort Levett in World War II
In June 1939, a survey showed that most of the 28 buildings at Fort Levett were in "poor" or "uninhabitable" condition. By June 1940, the fort was still in caretaker status. But things changed quickly. After the Fall of France in mid-1940, the United States prepared its coastal defenses. The National Guard was called to duty, and a plan to modernize coastal defenses began.
During World War II, the Harbor Defenses of Portland were manned by the 8th Coast Artillery Regiment and the 240th Coast Artillery Regiment. By June 1941, the old buildings at Fort Levett were fixed up. Also, 26 temporary buildings were added or planned. This increased the fort's capacity from 124 to 758 soldiers.
The main part of the World War II modernization plan was to add new 16-inch gun batteries. They also kept long-range 12-inch batteries like Battery Foote. New long-range 6-inch gun and 90 mm gun batteries were also added. The older disappearing gun batteries, which had been used for 25–45 years, were removed. The most important 16-inch battery for Portland's defenses was Battery Steele on Peaks Island.
During the war, Battery Foote was protected by a casemate (a strong concrete room) against air attacks. A new four-gun 90 mm Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) battery, called AMTB 962, was also added. All other batteries at Fort Levett were removed by 1943, except for the two 6-inch guns of Battery Ferguson, which stayed until after the war.
After the Wars
After World War II ended in 1945, all U.S. coastal defense guns were removed by 1948. Fort Levett was no longer needed and was sold by the government. It was bought by a group of people living on Cushing Island after it was no longer a military fort. Today, Forts Levett and McKinley are private condominium associations.
