During the Civil War, Castle Island played a significant role in training recruits and testing artillery before shipment to the battlefield.
“A pleasanter or more useful five weeks… I do not think I ever passed than those during which I played soldier at Fort Independence in April and May, 1861.”
- Colonel Charles Francis Adams, grandson of President John Quincy Adams
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Rodman gun
Rodman gun at Fort Foote, near Washington D.C. This artillery piece was made in South Boston and likely tested at Castle Island. Earlier cannons were cast in iron that cooled from the inside out, making outer sections weaker. The Rodman process cooled the inside of the barrel with water allowing outer walls to harden into a more durable form.
- National Park Service
Parrot guns
A Boston company proposes to make “parrot guns.” Robert Parker Parrot was a West Point graduate who had served at Fort Independence. His “rifled cannon” did not fire a round cannonball but a conical shell. Grooves inside the barrel made the shell spiral, like a football, giving greater distance and accuracy.
- Massachusetts Archives
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Gleason Pictorial, 1852
Birthplace of Sylvanus Thayer, Braintree. Thayer’s bequests later helped establish Thayer Academy and the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. - John Phelan photo
Sylvanus Thayer
The current designs of Fort Independence (and Fort Warren on George’s Island) are mainly the work of Sylvanus Thayer. Often called “the Father of West Point” Thayer emphasized high standards for admission, performance, and character when serving as superintendent. Forced out by President Andrew Jackson who famously preferred the “Spoils System” for advancement, Thayer continued his career as a military engineer and retired with a reputation for competence and integrity
Civil War: Testing Weapons
South Boston residents regularly heard the sound of booming
cannons from Fort Independence. “Cannon and mortar
firing is practiced most every day” wrote one soldier. South
Boston foundries and machine shops turned out weapons
twenty four hours a day, seven days a
week. The South Boston Iron Works,
also known as Alger and Company, cast
472 Rodman cannons that were tested at
the fort before shipment to the battlefield.
Possible shell fragments have been found
as far away as Thompson Island.
- Boston City Directory, 1848-49