| Authorized in 1856 by Jefferson Davis, when he served as Secretary of War, Fort Massachusetts was begun in 1859 but it was still unfinished in 1861, when it was briefly occupied by Confederate forces. It was later occupied by Union troops, who used it as a staging area for the capture of New Orleans in 1862. The fort was completed in 1863. It served as a federal military prison until 1870. In 1903 it came under the supervision of the keeper of the Ship Island Lighthouse. In 1971 Ship Island, including Fort Massachusetts, became a part of the newly-created Gulf Islands National Seashore, administered by the National Park Service. Fort Massachusetts was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 21 June 1971. It is included in "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (pp. 346-347, GC23). |