The idea of a fort on the Penobscot was not new when the U.S. government purchased land for Fort Knox in 1844. The Board of Engineers, established and charged by the Secretary of War to make a plan for the defense of the United States, had listed a fort on the Penobscot as necessary, but a low priority, in 1821. Four years later, the board specifically identified the Narrows as the most effective site for the Penobscot's fort.
A fort on the Penobscot, along with more than 40 others on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, was part of a grand plan. As defined in 1821, these forts were designed to protect important harbors from enemy attack, deprive an enemy of strong positions, cover cities against attack, prevent rivers from being blockaded, and cover coastal and interior navigation. Backed by President James Monroe, the Board of Engineers proposed this plan to Congress at an estimated cost of nearly $18 million. Perhaps most importantly, this series of forts was designed to prevent an enemy invasion, such as that by England during the War of 1812.
The forts that were part of the plan used the most up-to-date engineering and armament technology. General Joseph Totten, chief of engineers and head of the Board of Engineers, named this group of forts the Third System. Over forty years, plans for the Third System included as many as 115 works, but in the end only 42 were actually built. Maine saw six Third System forts. Among these, Fort Knox, with its main building and outlying batteries, covers the largest area and is the earliest.
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In addition to the forts on the Atlantic coast shown here, Third System forts were also built to defend the Florida Strait off the coast of Florida, Pensacola Bay in Florida, Mobile Bay in Alabama, Ship Island Channel in Mississippi, New Orleans in Louisiana, and San Francisco Bay in California.
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