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A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Plans for Upgrading A Coastal Fort. Likely Drawn for Fort Adams in Rhode Island.

Fascinating set of nine manuscript fortification plans for gun emplacements and related defenses, drawn by the from the collection of noted engineer Henry Harding, famous for his work with Greenville Dodge on the Pacific Railroad.

The plans show cross-sections, aerial views, and sketches of the emplacements and their designs. Annotations and titles show that they were used for barbette batteries, a type of gun emplacement.

It is likely that these plans were drawn for Harding's work on Fort Adams in Rhode Island, as one plan carries the date 1873. Harding's obituary says of his work that:

From 1871 to 1895, he was engaged at intervals by the United States Corps of Engineers in charge of river and harbor improvements and other work, and was wont to recall with especial pride the construction of the fortifications of Fort Adams, at Newport, R.I. in 1871-73." 

During the Civil War, Fort Harding housed the Naval Academy when the loyalty of Annapolis residents was questioned. Fort Harding underwent a massive upgrade during the 1870s. As part of his upgrade, it received Rodman guns, Parrot rifles, and siege rifles, replacing most of the earlier mortars. The emplacements shown were probably designed to cope with these new weapons.

Barbette batteries were a type of artillery emplacement or gun battery that were common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They consists of a raised platform or a turret, known as a barbette, that is used to mount and rotate heavy guns.  Barbette batteries were often used to defend fortifications, harbors, or other strategic locations. The guns mounted on the barbette were usually heavy artillery pieces, such as naval guns or coastal defense guns, that could fire over long distances and inflict significant damage on enemy ships or land-based targets.

The term "barbette" comes from the French word "barbet," which means "beard" or "barb." The name refers to the fact that the barbette is raised above the surrounding terrain, much like a beard on a face."

Henry Harding

Henry Harding was assistant engineer for the USPRR stationed in Laramie, Wyoming, where work for the railroad began in 1863. In addition to his engineering plans, he also produced a number of surveys for the UPRR in Wyoming.