Details for Fort Travis

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5167007452

Data

Marker Number 7452
Atlas Number 5167007452
Marker Title Fort Travis
Index Entry Fort Travis
Address
City Port Bolivar
County Galveston
UTM Zone 15
UTM Easting 329311
UTM Northing 3250129
Subject Codes military topics; World War II; World War I; Texas Revolution, Republic of Texas; forts
Marker Year 1993
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location Ft. Travis Park, Hwy. 87
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text In early 1836, soon after Texas declared independence from Mexico, Republic of Texas President David Burnet dispatched Colonel Ed Harcourt to Galveston Island to erect a fort. Using army recruits and slave labor Harcourt built an octagonal earth and timber fortification armed with six and twelve-pound gun mounts appropriated from the Texas Navy vessel CAYUGA. Named Fort Travis in honor of William B. Travis, famous defender of the Alamo, it was located at the east end of the island. After high winds damaged the fort in 1837 the site was converted into a gun battery called Fort point, its present name. In 1898-99, with the beginning of Federal development of the Port of Galveston, a second Fort Travis was established across Galveston Bay at Bolivar Point near the former site of a Civil War Confederate fortification called Fort Green. Two batteries, named Davis and Ernst, were completed in 1899 and a third, named Kimble, completed in 1922. Coastal defense facilities were added to the fort during World Wars I and II. Fort Travis was decommissioned and sold as war surplus in 1949. Besides its obvious military uses, Fort Travis also served as a refuge from hurricanes and as a Civil Defense shelter for area residents. Incise on back: Funding for this replacement marker was provided through a generous grant from the Hoblitzelle Foundation and the Texas Historical Foundation.

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