Fort Phoenix in Fairhaven is a state park where you can explore the colonial fort that was witness to the first sea battle of the American Revolution.
Benny and I had just finished exploring the New Bedford Harbor Walk and Palmer Island. At the end of that adventure, Benny noticed that across the Acushnet River, he could see the American flag waving above Fort Phoenix. We weren’t about to turn down an opportunity to visit a fort, and Benny fondly remembered our visit to Fort Knox in Maine, so we returned to our car and headed for this unique state park.
Parking at the park
Fort Phoenix State Reservation is free for the public. That’s right, the good folks at DCR let you enjoy this seaside park for free! (Hooray for the Commonwealth!) The parking lot is large, and we didn’t have a problem finding a spot. The park does have a beach and tennis courts, but Benny was really interested in seeing what makes this park so special: the fort.
Before we got to the fort, however, I got a bit sidetracked. It was such a beautiful day, and as I often do, I wandered away from the main attraction (not to be confused with Maine’s attractions), and started daydreaming as I took in the sights of Buzzards Bay.
“Bob, come on! I see cannons! BOOM!” Benny exclaimed. Waking from my reverie, I led Benny to the fort, but not before I had a chance to admire yet another view of Buzzards Bay. You can even see Fort Rodman from here.
Benny quickly climbed on the first cannon he saw. I told him to be careful, but he told me that I was yet again being overprotective. Perhaps I was. While he was having a great time telling every passerby that he was a cannonball, I read the nearby plaques.
Fort Phoenix was the location of the first naval battle of the American Revolution. What a patriotic feather that Fairhaven can stick in its cap! (And call macaroni, of course.) And, come to find out, the cannon on which Benny was being a cannonball was taken from a British ship. Well, how about that!
I could tell that Benny was just about getting tired of being a cannon, but then he saw even bigger cannons a few yards away. How he missed those when we first entered the park, I’ll never know. He ran up to them, but to his chagrin, he couldn’t reach high enough to be a cannonball.
“These are wicked huge!” he said. I’m so proud him, using New England dialect and all. It almost brought a tear to my eye.
Emotional moment aside, I knew it was time to tell Benny about Fort Phoenix. “Benny, this is an important place. This is one of the places where the colonists fought the British in the American Revolution.”
“Bob, that plaque over there called the Americans rebels! Were they rebels? Weren’t rebels from the South?” Benny looked confused.
“Yes, I suppose they were rebels, like, um,” I looked around, trying to think of a way to explain it to my young bear friend without starting a political argument from a nearby visitor who was evidently eavesdropping on our conversation. Ah, I got it!
“Yes,” I cleared my throat. “Just like the rebels we saw in Star Wars!”
“Oh, and they used the Force!” Benny said.
“Sort of. Captains Pope and Egery used their force to capture two British ships,” I explained. “The British came back in 1778, wreaked havoc in the area, and then General Fearing used his force to repel them.”
I thought I would be boring Benny with this mini history lesson, but he was listening intently. “Those British!” He seemed mad.
“It’s okay, Benny. That was a long time ago.”
We continued to explore the rest of the fort, and Benny climbed up and down the “wicked huge” cannons.
Then, we saw a really expensive yacht entering the New Bedford Harbor. A couple of people said, “There it is! It’s David Geffen’s yacht!”
Now, I honestly live under a rock. I had no idea who this was, so I had to google him when we got home. Supposedly he’s a billionaire movie Hollywood person. All I knew at the moment was that Benny wanted our next adventure to be on that yacht. This bear has taste, but taste that I just can’t afford. Then, all of a sudden, Benny started losing his cool.
“There’s a British flag! It’s a British ship! It’s going to attack! Call 911!” Benny was visibly upset, and I knew that he wasn’t just being a goof about this. He was really concerned. Looking at the back of the ship, I did indeed see a a red flag that had in one corner the Union Jack.
“Benny, breathe, it’s okay…the war was a really long time ago. We’re friends with the English now.” He started to calm down, taking long breaths in and out.
Regaining his composure, Benny started mentioning again that our next adventure should be on that yacht. I told him that the closest we could get to a yacht is renting a kayak. Thankfully, he seemed just as content with that idea.
Following the yacht’s entering the harbor, we went to check out the Fairhaven side of the hurricane barrier. Earlier in the day, we explored the New Bedford side when we visited the New Bedford Harbor Walk and Palmer Island. We saw the mechanisms that are used to close the enormous doors that seal off and protect the harbor during major storms. Hopefully, they won’t need to be used any time soon. But I’m sure it helps the residents of New Bedford, Fairhaven, and Acushnet feel at ease knowing that it’s there.
Benny seemed deep in thought as we walked back to the car.
“Bob, if we won the American Revolution against the English, then why do we still speak their language? Why do people still speak English?”
I looked around again for eavesdroppers. Oh boy, I thought. Another hot-button question.
“Well,” I said cautiously, knowing that people were listening to my response, “it’s okay that we still speak English. The British really hate that we take random u’s out of words like colour and neighbour, and that we say “zee” instead of “zed.” It really riles them up. And they hate how we say, ‘You can’t eat fries in the elevator when the air conditioning is on’ instead of saying, ‘You can’t eat chips in the lift when the air-con is on.’ That’s how we got back at them.”
For any British people reading, please keep in mind that I had to come up with something on the fly. I really didn’t want to start an English language discussion in public. All I wanted to do was enjoy the beautiful day.
Thankfully, Benny accepted the reasons, and we uneventfully walked back to the car.
For more information on Fort Phoenix State Reservation, check out the state’s website here.
If you like forts, you should check out our adventure at Fort Knox in Maine.
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[…] Adventuring to Fort Phoenix in Fairhaven – Your Travel Cap says: July 18, 2020 at 3:03 pm […]