I wrote about this fort in my November 14 and 16 Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog entries. This fort was constructed to keep an enemy fleet out of the Chesapeake Bay after the experience with the British in that war. It and Fort Monroe to the north would provide a crossfire to stop an enemy.
From Wikipedia.
Fort Wool is a decommissioned island fortification now known as Rip Raps Island. originally it was named Castle Calhoun of Fort Calhoun after Secretary of War John C. Calhoun and later renamed for Major General John Ellis Wool (1784-1869).
The general was a veteran of three wars: War of 1812, Mexican War and the Civil War. He was the oldest general on either side during the Civil War.
Fort Wool was one of 40 forts constructed after the War of 1812. This was known as the Third System of U.S. forts. It was constructed on a shoal of ballast stones dumped by ships entering the Chesapeake Bay and was originally constructed to have three tiers of gun chambers as well as a barbette tier at the top, altogether mounting 216 cannons.
--Old Secesh
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