New Hampshire History Excavated Fort Constitution New Castle

In 1969 a group of Archeology students led by Henry A Sargent did an excavation at Fort Constitution. See article below

Reproduced from an original postcard published by the Hugh C. Leighton Company, Portland, Maine

Distant View of Fort Constitution Photo from N H Historical Society

       

The Fort William and Mary Blockhouse. Detail from a 1705 plan from the Trustees of the British Museum, from a copy at the New Hampshire Historical Society.

1705 site plan from the Trustees of the British Museum, from a copy at the New Hampshire Historical Society.

Repairs were made in 1722 under Lieutenant Governor John Wentworth I, and additional repairs and more guns were added in 1757 under Royal Governor Benning Wentworth. However, the basic structure of the fort remained the same. Throughout the colonial era, the average complement of men was only four to eight, with 20 to 40 additional soldiers added in the summer or in times of crisis.
In 1771-1772 a major improvement to the fort was made when a barbette battery was built protected by a stone wall about seven feet high, with several gun embrasures. The first harbor light was installed here in 1771, which was at first only a lantern hung up a flagpole. A shingled wooden lighthouse with a copper-roofed lantern was soon built thereafter. It was tended by soldiers at the fort.