Free Picture: Baltimore Harbor Fort just outside Francis Scott Key Bridge

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Fort Carroll

Fort Carroll is a 3.4 acre (14,000 m²) artificial island and abandoned fort in the middle of the Patapsco River, just south of Baltimore, Maryland. The hexagonal structure was designed by then Brevet-Colonel Robert E. Lee and named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  Construction of the fort began in 1848, under Lee's supervision, by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Fort Carroll was important for the defense of  Baltimore — before the fort was created, the only military defensive structure between Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay was Fort McHenry. The government abandoned the fort as a military post in 1920, and the island was declared excess property in 1923. However, the War Department took no immediate steps to sell the land. In May 1958, a Baltimore attorney purchased the island for $10,000, but development plans never materialized. The fort now is deserted. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)