var text1800='New Bedford became the world’s foremost whaling port by the middle of '
text1800=text1800+'the nineteenth-century. The port’s upriver location provided natural '
text1800=text1800+'protection from coastal gales, but not the storms of national and '
text1800=text1800+'international controversy. A British raid during the American '
text1800=text1800+'Revolution demonstrated the vulnerability of the port in 1778 when ' 
text1800=text1800+'seventy vessels and twenty-six storehouses were left in ruin. The ' 
text1800=text1800+'need for coastal defense was obvious again during the War of 1812.'

var text1800Light='Local merchants erected the first wooden beacon at Clark`s Point,'
text1800Light=text1800Light+' at the south '
text1800Light=text1800Light+'entrance to the harbor, in 1797.  Not much is known of '
text1800Light=text1800Light+'this first '
text1800Light=text1800Light+'structure.  The first lighthouse erected by the government was a'
text1800Light=text1800Light+' 42-foot stone tower(photo right) built in 1804 to help guide'  
text1800Light=text1800Light+' whalers and other '
text1800Light=text1800Light+'vessels entering the harbor.'

var text1840='It was not until the late 1840’s that local and national ' 
text1840=text1840+'efforts were combined to seriously plan for the construction of a ' 
text1840=text1840+'permanent military installation. On September 24, 1857, the federal ' 
text1840=text1840+'government purchased the Edward Wing Howland farm on Clark’s Point ' 
text1840=text1840+'for the project.<BR><BR>'
text1840=text1840+'Granite from Fall River, MA. and Sullivan, ME. was&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'shipped to Clark`s Point for the&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'construction of the three-tiered fort, which would serve as a link&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'in the coastal defense system of federal forts from Fort Preble,&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'near Portland, ME to Fort Wright off of Long Island, NY.<BR>'
text1840=text1840+'Before the fort could be completed the Civil War had&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'begun. Both Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew and Mayor Issac C.&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'Taber feared that Confederate raiders would leave Union shipping&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'centers in ruin. During the war, Confederate ships Jefferson Davis,&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'Florida, Alabama, Tascony and Tallahassee prowled Long Island Sound&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'and Buzzards Bay. The fear was then realistic as many local ships&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'were captured and destroyed and the New Bedford whaling fleet caught&nbsp;' 
text1840=text1840+'upon open seas, decimated.'

var text1840Cont='Not content to wait for state or&nbsp;' 
text1840Cont=text1840Cont+'federal aid, Mayor Taber and the City Council made plans for&nbsp;' 
text1840Cont=text1840Cont+'self-defense. Superintendent of Streets, Adolphus Ashley supervised&nbsp;' 
text1840Cont=text1840Cont+'the construction of the earthwork fort on Clark’s Point just to the&nbsp;' 
text1840Cont=text1840Cont+'west of the granite fort-in-construction'



var text1860='On May 11, 1861, the earthworks fort was completed and operational.'
text1860=text1860+'&nbsp;Brass and iron&nbsp;'
text1860=text1860+'cannons were mounted to protect the Clark’s Cove and Acushnet River&nbsp;'
text1860=text1860+'approaches to the city.&nbsp; This temporary defensive position was named&nbsp;' 
text1860=text1860+'Fort Taber, in honor of the city`s chief executive at that time.<BR><BR>'

var text1860b = 'In cooperation with the town of Fairhaven, four Home and Coast Guard&nbsp;' 
text1860b=text1860b+'Companies and an Artillery Company were quickly recruited to man&nbsp;' 
text1860b=text1860b+'Forts Taber and Phoenix. By May 23, 1861, The New Bedford Morning&nbsp;' 
text1860b=text1860b+'Mercury advises a well worth visit for citizens to Fort Taber to&nbsp;' 
text1860b=text1860b+'observe “bristling guns and neatly uniformed troops” which now&nbsp;' 
text1860b=text1860b+'present quite a formidable appearance.” Later in that year when the&nbsp;' 
text1860b=text1860b+'Great Stone Fleet left the city to blockade southern ports, Fort&nbsp;' 
text1860b=text1860b+'Taber’s guns gave a roaring send-off. <BR><BR>By&nbsp;'
text1860b=text1860b+'the spring of 1863 the walls of the granite fort were completed to&nbsp;'
text1860b=text1860b+'such a height as to block Fort Taber’s(earthen fort) view of the Acushnet'
text1860b=text1860b+' River.'

var text1860c='The granite fort was a worthy successor to the earthen fort,&nbsp;' 
text1860c=text1860c+'its presence a deterrent to any Confederate raider.&nbsp;' 
text1860c=text1860c+'The earthworks were then dismantled and the guns were mounted within the&nbsp;' 
text1860c=text1860c+'<A href="javascript:void(0)" onClick=win_2("glossary.html#casemate",600,500)'
text1860c=text1860c+'>casemates';
text1860c=text1860c+'</a> of the new fort. Fort Taber was no more, but in the public&nbsp;'
text1860c=text1860c+'mind the new stone fort was but a continuation of the original. As&nbsp;' 
text1860c=text1860c+'the granite fort was yet unnamed and appeared on government records&nbsp;' 
text1860c=text1860c+'simply as “the fort at Clark’s Point” it was natural to refer to it&nbsp;' 
text1860c=text1860c+'locally as Fort Taber. The local diction persists even today.'

var text1880='With the Civil War’s conclusion the War Department&nbsp;'
text1880=text1880+'ceased construction of the fort in 1871 leaving the third tier&nbsp;'
text1880=text1880+'uncompleted(see image at right).  The unused granite blocks went into the&nbsp;' 
text1880=text1880+'construction of the seawall, that lines the beach located on the eastern shore of'
text1880=text1880+' the point.<BR><BR>The Clark`s Point Lighthouse, and the lightkeeper`s quarters '
text1880=text1880+'were relocated to the top, western corner of the 2nd tier'

var text1880b='During the Civil War years Captain Henry Martyn Robert was&nbsp;'
text1880b=text1880b+'placed in charge of the construction of the fort. It was around this time, '
text1880b=text1880b+'after attending a chaotic church meeting, that he began writing the '
text1880b=text1880b+'Robert`s&nbsp;'
text1880b=text1880b+'Rules of Parliamentary Procedure. First published in 1876, it remains the'
text1880b=text1880b+'&nbsp;standard guide to parliamentary procedure to this day.'

var text1890 = 'In 1898 the entire military property was officially named in honor of&nbsp;'
text1890=text1890+'Lt. Col. William Logan Rodman of New Bedford, killed in the Civil&nbsp;' 
text1890=text1890+'War battle at Port Hudson, Louisiana.<BR><BR>'

var text1890b = 'In 1899 the Barton-Walcott batteries on the West and East sides of Fort Taber were constructed.'

var text1900='At the turn of the century, Fort Rodman was place on caretaker basis,&nbsp;' 
text1900=text1900+'with a small body of troops to insure the protection of weapons and&nbsp;' 
text1900=text1900+'federal property. During that period, the remainder of the&nbsp;' 
text1900=text1900+'modernized seacoast artillery batteries were completed. &nbsp;'
text1900=text1900+' See <A HREF="clarkspointmap.html#myTop">interactive map</A>'
text1900=text1900+' for details of weapons and placements'

var text1900b = 'In 1902 construction was completed on bunkers Craig and Cross.  These bunkers '
text1900b=text1900b+'would make fine additions to the western coastal fortifications.'

var text1900c = 'In 1911 Ernest Briars took photos of his brother Cyril Briars(right),' 
text1900c=text1900c+'  and his comrades who were stationed '
text1900c=text1900c+'at Fort Rodman prior to the beginning of World War I.  Below are some of '
text1900c=text1900c+'those photos.'


var text1920 = 'The roaring twenties saw the completion of Battery Milliken.  Named in honor of New' 
text1920=text1920+' Bedford native 2nd Lieutenant Alfred W. Milliken.  With it`s 2 '
text1920=text1920+'immense 12-inch guns, it protected Buzzard`s Bay for a radius of 16 miles(see '
text1920=text1920+'<A HREF="clarkspointmap.html#myTop">fortifications map</A>).'

var text1920b = 'The Battery Milliken was a self-supporting unit with systems that included power, ' 
text1920b=text1920b+'chemical warfare service units, plotting room, radio and signal operations, '
text1920b=text1920b+'and storage of projectiles and powder within a reinforced concrete, gas-proof '
text1920b=text1920b+'underground facility.'

var text1940 = 'During the late summer of 1940, National Guard Coastal Artillery regiments and some '
text1940=text1940+'regular Army Coast Artillery units were activated and brought to full strength.'
text1940=text1940+'  It was at this time that Fort Rodman received it`s compliment of troops;'
text1940=text1940+'however '
text1940=text1940+'being that the barracks and quarters were not completed yet, the majority of the '
text1940=text1940+'enlisted men were housed in tents.'

var text1940b = 'On the 8th of December 1941, a state of war was declared, and Fort Rodman responded'
text1940b=text1940b+' with all the other coastal forts.  Guards were anxious and suspicious of all ' 
text1940b=text1940b+'movements; tensions ran high and the ordinance was frequently and lovingly ' 
text1940b=text1940b+'inspected by the battery commander as well as by the lowliest private.'
text1940b=text1940b+'  Newspaper reports at the time talk of incidents of German submarines within '
text1940b=text1940b+'the general area of Buzzards Bay and Newport Rhode Island.'

var text1960 = 'Shortly after the end of World War 2 the Fort Rodman complex was declared surplus.'
text1960=text1960+'  The massive 12-inch guns were removed and salvaged.  The 2-155mm'
text1960=text1960+' semi-mobile rifles, were towed to Fort Banks in Winthrop, Massachusetts.'
text1960=text1960+'&nbsp;&nbsp;The smaller guns, such as the ones found at batteries Craig, Cross,'
text1960=text1960+' and Barton-Walcott 1 and 2 were removed also.'

var text1960b = 'Though the fort was not used as an active coastal defensive station, it still '
text1960b=text1960b+'provided an area for Army Reserve Training through the end of the Vietnam War.'
text1960b=text1960b+'&nbsp; Finally in the 1970`s, the entire Fort Rodman complex'
text1960b=text1960b+'&nbsp;acreage was partially sold to the City of New Bedford for future '
text1960b=text1960b+'educational, and park purposes.'

var text1960c = 'It was not until the late 1970`s that the first Fort Taber society was formed, '
text1960c=text1960c+'known as the "Friends of Fort Taber".&nbsp;&nbsp;At this time the fort enjoyed'
text1960c=text1960c+' a renewal period as individuals and groups volunteered their time to help '
text1960c=text1960c+'restore the aging fort.&nbsp;&nbsp;<BR>During the national Bi-Centennial '
text1960c=text1960c+'celebration of 1976, the Fort Rodman area was used as a site for historical '
text1960c=text1960c+'re-creations.'

var text2000 = 'With the change of the millenia, came change for the old fort.  By the year 2000 '
text2000=text2000+'renewed interest in the area by members of the original committee and the '
text2000=text2000+'mayor`s office, spawned the creation of the Fort Taber Historical Association.'

var text2000b ='&nbsp;&nbsp;A new bicycle/walk path now surrounds the point, bringing patrons '
text2000b=text2000b+'to each of the historical fortifications.'

var text2010 = 'At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, The fort continually improves. '
text2010=text2010+'The military museum and the many outdoor activities centered around the fort, '
text2010=text2010+'have rejuvenated the fort and spawned interest in the area and its rich history.'

var text2010b ='The Fort Taber-Fort Rodman Military Museum has been a central component '
text2010b=text2010b+'of the Fort Rodman experience.  The many contributions and donations, in both material'
text2010b=text2010b+' and volunteer hours, have made the museum an international attraction.&nbsp;&nbsp;With visitors'
text2010b=text2010b+' from nations outside of the U.S. being impressed by the museums display of New Bedfords'
text2010b=text2010b+' rich military history.'

var text2010c = 'During the latter part of 2009, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang approved the construction of an addition to the'
text2010c=text2010c+' museum building. Thus allowing the display of the many items donated to the museum, that previously'
text2010c=text2010c+' could not be displayed because of limited space.'