Coastal Forts of Narragansett Bay
United States military defenses in Rhode Island have deterred attack since the American Revolution, many on the Atlantic coastal sites used by Narragansett Indians and colonial settlers for lookouts. Some of the fort sites still show multiple layers from multiple wars. Some were intentionally prominent to intimidate, others were completely hidden from the water. Some have nothing tangible left. As a child sixty years ago, I explored these Conanicut Island forts.Their dangerous and thrilling tunnels were available to us then. By now, many batteries and bunkers have been demolished, filled, or blocked off. Lately (2023) I am photographing from the forts looking out, making the viewer the sentinel. This is the very beginning of the series, and my approach may change.
Anchor for Anti Submarine Net across East Passage, Fort Wetherill, 2023
![Anchor for Anti Submarine Net across East Passage, Fort Wetherill, 2023](/img/s/v-10/p1582452817-11.jpg)
Battery Varnum Gun Turret, Fort Wetherill, 2021
![Battery Varnum Gun Turret, Fort Wetherill, 2021](/img/s/v-10/p1535501804-11.jpg)
Observation Post near Conanicut Battery, Prospect Hill, 2021
![Observation Post near Conanicut Battery, Prospect Hill, 2021](/img/s/v-10/p1535502123-11.jpg)
Battery House, Fort Getty, 2021
![Battery House, Fort Getty, 2021](/img/s/v-10/p1535501925-11.jpg)
Snow Angel, Battery Whiting, Fort Burnside, 2022
![Snow Angel, Battery Whiting, Fort Burnside, 2022](/img/s/v-10/p1535502101-11.jpg)
Battery Varnum, Fort Wetherill, 2021
![Battery Varnum, Fort Wetherill, 2021](/img/s/v-10/p1535501936-11.jpg)
Battery Dickenson, Fort Wetherill, 2021
![Battery Dickenson, Fort Wetherill, 2021](/img/s/v-10/p1535501898-11.jpg)
DEM Dock and Site of Fort Dumpling, Fort Wetherill, 2021
![DEM Dock and Site of Fort Dumpling, Fort Wetherill, 2021](/img/s/v-10/p1535501812-11.jpg)
History Sign and Buoys, DEM Marine Fisheries Building, Fort Wetherill, 2023
All photographs ©Sandy Sorlien