A Bibliography
Fort Sullivan
Charleston, South Carolina, during the American Revolution.
of Congress,
Collection.
After the war, the government abolished the Corps of Engineers and allowed the forts to deteriorate.
In 1794, under the threat of war with England, Congress passed its
fortification construction bill,
which authorized work at 20 locations on the Atlantic coast. A few months later, it added one more
harbor-Annapolis, Maryland-to the list of
The Secretary of War instructed that these defenses consist of earthen or timber batteries,
blockhouses, barracks, and magazines. To garrison them and eventually to direct construction and
repair, in 1794 Congress created a Corps of Artillerists and Engineers consisting of 1,000
and
men. The Corps'
lacked experience in managing construction. Therefore, the War
Department hired "temporary engineers," mostly Frenchmen, to plan the structures and "agents of
fortification" to purchase construction materials, employ laborers, and, at times, supervise the work.'
This program was not entirely a federal project. The temporary engineers had to consult with state
governors and obtain their approval of plans and sites for fortifications. The government encouraged
the states to cede sites for defenses. Some states also furnished the armament for the forts and, at
certain locations, appointed representatives to supervise construction.*
The temporary engineers, including men like Stephen Roche-Fontaine and Charles
who had
served as engineers in the Continental Army, and the agents of fortification concluded most of their
work in 1795. The defenses were a scaled down version of the War Department's original plan. War
hysteria had dissipated and Congress was unwilling to pass large appropriations for further
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