Fort Adams

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Fort Adams is a former United States Army post in Newport, Rhode Island, established on July 4, 1799 as a First System coastal fortification, and named for President John Adams, who was in office at the time.

Its first commander was Captain John Henry, who was later instrumental in starting the War of 1812. The current Fort Adams was built 1824�1857 under the Third System of coastal forts. Today, the fort is part of Fort Adams State Park.

The War Department was concerned about the political sympathies of residents in Maryland during the American Civil War, so the United States Naval Academy was moved in 1861 from Annapolis to Fort Adams. In September 1861, the academy moved to the Atlantic House Hotel in Newport and remained there for the rest of the war.