Fort Guijarros
Encyclopedia
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
fort
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
in what is now San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, USA. The name means "Fort Cobblestones" in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It was built in 1797 on Ballast Point
Ballast Point Light
Ballast Point Light was a lighthouse in California, situated on Ballast Point, a tiny peninsula extending into San Diego Bay from Point Loma, San Diego, California. The lighthouse was torn down in 1960; the site is now on the grounds of Naval Base Point Loma. Ballast Point was the last lighthouse...
as the first defensive fortifications for San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
. It was involved in the Battle of San Diego, a naval battle
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
between the fort and an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trading vessel.
Structure and location
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
and it had ten cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s mounted in gun emplacements. At least two of the guns survive. One of them, "El Jupiter", can be seen at Fort Stockton. "El Capitan" is located in Old Town Plaza
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the town of San Diego and includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870. The park was...
in San Diego.
The fort was built in 1797 as the first defensive fortifications for San Diego harbor. It commanded the entrance to San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...
from a rise at the base of Ballast Point
Ballast Point Light
Ballast Point Light was a lighthouse in California, situated on Ballast Point, a tiny peninsula extending into San Diego Bay from Point Loma, San Diego, California. The lighthouse was torn down in 1960; the site is now on the grounds of Naval Base Point Loma. Ballast Point was the last lighthouse...
at Point Loma
Point Loma, San Diego, California
Point Loma is a seaside community of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by the San Diego Bay and Old Town and the north by the San Diego River...
. In 1796 the Spanish named the point "Punta de los Guijarros", which means "point of the cobblestones". The fort's English name is "Fort Cobblestones". The point derived the name Ballast Point from the fact that the early Yankee
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
skippers would have stones gathered from Ballast Point to serve as ballast
Sailing ballast
Ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing. If a sailing vessel should need to voyage without cargo then ballast of...
in their ships during their returns around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
to their home town, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
History
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Lelia Byrd in San Diego Harbor for smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
otter skins
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
. The ship's crew overpowered their Spanish captors and were headed out of the harbor when the guns of the fort sought to prevent her escape. Fire from the Lelia Byrd's guns drove the fort's gunners to seek cover.
The fort again fired on an American smuggler in 1828. This time, the fort was under Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
control and the vessel was the Franklin.
In 1848, during the Mexican American War, the American ship USS Cyane
USS Cyane (1837)
The second USS Cyane was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War.Cyane was launched 2 December 1837 by Boston Navy Yard. She was commissioned in May 1838, Commander John Percival in command....
landed American Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
at nearby La Playa. The marines took abandoned guns from Fort Guijarros and used them to lay siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
to Old Town San Diego.
In 1873 the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
took over Ballast Point and built gun batteries for the defense of San Diego. These installations were maintained through World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
known as the Ballast Point Light
Ballast Point Light
Ballast Point Light was a lighthouse in California, situated on Ballast Point, a tiny peninsula extending into San Diego Bay from Point Loma, San Diego, California. The lighthouse was torn down in 1960; the site is now on the grounds of Naval Base Point Loma. Ballast Point was the last lighthouse...
was built on Ballast Point in 1890 and survived until 1957. In 1962 the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
built a submarine base on Ballast Point as home port for the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
's nuclear attack submarines
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor . The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...
. The Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation conducts archeological digs and historical research into the history of Ballast Point.