Fort Delaware, Sea Wall, Pea Patch Island, Delaware City, New Castle County, DE

Significance: Fort Delaware served as the primary defense of the Delaware River from the second quarter of the 19th century until the start of World War II. The Fort played an important role during the Civil War when the facility served as the largest prisoner of war camp in the North. A constant theme in the fort's history, represented by the sea wall, has been the need to exclude the tide from Pea Patch Island and to adequately drain the facilities thereon. Unsanitary conditions of the prisoner of war camp, in part stemming from poor drainage, gave the Fort the reputation of being the Union's counterpart to the infamous Confederate prisoner of war camp at Andersonville.
Survey number: HAER DE-56-A
Building/structure dates: 1833 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 71000226