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Fort Scammel

The fort was designed for harbor defense, with cannon batteries designed to protect the main shipping channel into Portland harbor, along with Fort Preble. The...
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The fort was designed for harbor defense, with cannon batteries designed to protect the main shipping channel into Portland harbor, along with Fort Preble. The fort was made of stone, brick, and earth, and initially mounted fifteen guns and a 10-inch mortar. The Secretary of War's report on fortifications for 1811 describes Fort Scammell as "a circular battery of masonry with circular flanks, mounting fifteen heavy guns, is covered in the rear with a wooden blockhouse. Of all the forts in Casco Bay, Fort Scammell was the only fort to fire a shot and be fired upon in battle, in early August 1813. The island was later the site of an immigration quarantine station from 1907 to 1937.
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