Fort Kearny, Military fort in Saunderstown, United States.
Fort Kearny is a former coastal defense fort in Saunderstown, Narragansett, Rhode Island, built 1904–1908 under the Endicott Program. Its concrete gun batteries, Battery French, Battery Cram and Battery Armistead, held 6-inch M1905 and 3-inch M1903 guns on disappearing carriages. The site is now the Narragansett Bay Campus of the University of Rhode Island, with a small nuclear research reactor built on top of Battery French.
Fort Kearny was built 1904–1908 under the Endicott Program as part of the Coast Defenses of Narragansett Bay, named for Major General Philip Kearny, killed in the Civil War. It guarded the West Passage alongside Fort Getty and Fort Greble. In 1917 Battery French's guns went to France; in 1942 Battery Armistead's 3-inch guns moved to Fort Varnum, and in 1943 Battery Cram's last two guns were scrapped.
The fort reflects early 20th century ideas about how to defend coastal areas, with its design built specifically to protect shipping and harbor access. Walking through the grounds shows how military engineers of that era thought about safeguarding a busy bay from threats.
The site is now the Narragansett Bay Campus of the University of Rhode Island, so access follows campus roads off Route 1A in Saunderstown. Battery Cram and Battery Armistead were refurbished as office space, and a small nuclear research reactor stands on top of Battery French, so the batteries are not open for wandering.
The fort sits on a peninsula with an open view across all of Narragansett Bay, making it a powerful lookout point for watching ship movements during its active years. This geography remains obvious to visitors today and helps explain why this exact location was chosen for the defenses.
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