Fort Delaware


The back of the fort as seen from Fort Mott.

We noticed on one of our visits to Fort Mott that a ferry runs among 3 forts: Forts Mott, Delaware, and DuPont. I found out Fort Delaware is on its own island, Pea Patch Island, in the middle of the River. It is only accessible by the ferry and is where the Civil War soldiers buried at Finn’s Point came from. We tried to board the ferry once, but it stopped its route early that day due to “bad weather” (which lasted a whopping 15 minutes). So we tried again 2 weeks later and finally got there.
Once on the island, we were greeted by a tram of sorts, which drove us right up to the fort entrance; I was surprised to discover the fort has a moat around it. To the right are the remains of 2 batteries, and off to the left are reconstructed barracks (the prison and original barracks were dismantled not long after the Civil War ended).


The batteries


The reconstructed barracks

A small portion of the barracks may have been remade, but the fort itself is pretty much in the same shape as it was during its prime in 1864. The floors and walkways are pretty uneven as a result. There are a few people dressed in Civil War-era clothes who can tell you more than you care to know about the fort. One woman bragged about the 40+ flush toilets – “not even Mr. Lincoln has those in the White House.” There are tours, but we chose to walk around on our own, as we most always do.


OMFG teh Orbz!!111


The concession guy was definitely not in 1864 character.

Author: Stu