Fort Preble is a military fort in South Portland, Maine

South Portland, Maine

South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state. Founded in 1895, as of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,002. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is situated on Portland Harbor and overlooks the skyline of...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is now on the campus of Southern Maine Community College

Southern Maine Community College

Southern Maine Community College is a community college in South Portland, Maine, USA, and one of the seven colleges in the Maine Community College System.-History:...

.

Henry A. S. Dearborn built this second-system fortification as an "embargo fort" in 1808 and named it in honor of Commodore

Commodore (rank)

Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...

 Edward Preble

Edward Preble

Edward Preble was a United States naval officer.-Early life and Revolutionary War:Preble was born at Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine, 15 August 1761, the son of Gen. Jedidiah Preble. As a boy, his home was destroyed in the burning of Falmouth by British Naval Commander Henry...

. Along with Fort Scammel, it was built to enforce the unpopular trade embargo that President Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

 enacted against Great Britain by preventing Maine merchants from trading with the English. In October 1808, Dearborn ordered a company of soldiers to occupy the fort and instructed them to do whatever was necessary to enforce the Embargo Act against embargo-breaking ships. The embargo was finally lifted in March 1809.

In addition, various units manned Fort Preble during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. Among them were elements of the Regiment of Light Artillery, the 21st

21st Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 21st Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment.-Lineage:*Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry*Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York...

, 33rd

33rd Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 33rd Infantry Regiment was an American unit stationed in the Panama Canal Zone and Caribbean from 1916-1956. Though providing troops for various other American military formations, the Regiment had no battle honours of its own.-History:...

, and 34th Regiments

34th Infantry Regiment (United States)

The 34th Infantry Regiment is a Regular Army infantry regiment of the United States Army. It saw combat in World War I, in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II, and was the first full American regiment deployed in combat in the Korean War...

 of Infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

, as well as U.S. Volunteers — and in times of crisis local militia. When Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....

 and other American soldiers returned from British imprisonment in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, they were landed at Fort Preble. Many of them were emaciated and ill, and some died at this post's hospital.

The fort saw action during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, when Confederate Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 raiders entered Portland Harbor on June 26, 1863, aboard a captured ship named Archer. The Confederates captured the ship Caleb Cushing the next day, and attempted an escape. Calm seas forced them to set the ship on fire, and they were captured by Union forces. Twenty-three Confederate prisoners were captured and taken to the fort.

The fort remained manned through the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, 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...

. It was decommissioned in 1950.

Spring Point Ledge Light

Spring Point Ledge Light

-External links:*...

 was built near the site in 1897. A 900 feet (274.3 m) granite breakwater

Breakwater (structure)

Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...

that extends from the fort and surrounds the lighthouse was later added in 1951.