Defending From Land Assault

A land attack against Fort Adams would first require capturing the Redoubt, located a quarter mile to the south, then charging up the sloping glacis to the southern front, and finally facing cannon and musket fire from the exterior ditch, tenaille, exterior front, and interior ditch, while the attacker’s own cannon fire would be ineffective because of the materials and geometry of the fort’s construction. A tunneling attack would also be difficult, because although an enemy could dig under the walls and blow them up to create a breech, the fort’s builders constructed listening tunnels where soldiers could detect tunneling operations, then dig their own tunnel toward the sounds and, when close, set charges to destroy the enemy tunnels.

Newport, Rhode Island · United States