Gloucester Harbor Battlefield Site (1775)
MA - Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
Battle of Gloucester 1775 marker, Gemmellaro Ciaramitaro Playground, 16 Fort Square, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA
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MARKER
VISITOR INFORMATION
This is Gloucester, Massachusetts, not Gloucester Point in Virginia or Gloucester City in New Jersey. Separate ship positions from shore positions when mapping. Map point reviewed October 3, 2026: The pin represents the 2024 Battle of Gloucester 1775 memorial marker beside the waterfront at Fort Point. It commemorates the August 1775 action rather than an exact ship position in the harbor. Visitor information reviewed October 3, 2026: The visitor reference is the outdoor commemorative plaque near the playground. Dedicated on-site parking and toilets remain unverified; nearby public parking and an off-site restroom option are described below. No indoor museum access or park amenities were inferred from its setting. Parking researched October 3, 2026: Nearby limited public St. Peter’s Square parking on Rogers Street serves a walk to Fort Square. Follow posted time limits and event restrictions; this is separate from private driveways at the fort reference.
Visitor information final pass — reviewed October 3, 2026: Nearby public restrooms are listed by Discover Gloucester at the Harbormaster Building, 19 Harbor Loop. Confirm its current opening before relying on this walking option. These facilities are separate from the Fort Point plaque/playground; no private-building access is implied.
The outdoor historical marker has no separate admission ticket or staffed hours. Follow any posted hours or access rules for the surrounding park or property.
Peak visitation season unconfirmed. No reliable site-specific monthly attendance pattern was established.
Late May-June or September for harbour-history walks with generally milder weather. Use confirmed public waterfront viewpoints and check any boat-tour schedule separately.
HISTORIC SITES NEARBY
Nearby Historic Sites
miles
Landmark
WHO WAS HERE
0
PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE
About Gloucester Harbor Battlefield Site (1775)
Gloucester Harbor was the setting of resistance to HMS Falcon in August 1775. Residents challenged attempts to recover vessels, and British bombardment followed. A later memorial at Fort Point recalls the action within a working harbor whose defenses were strengthened after the fighting.
The mapped visitor reference is the Battle of Gloucester memorial plaque beside the waterfront at Fort Square. It commemorates the harbor action rather than an exact ship position.
History happened here at Gloucester Harbor Battlefield Site (1775)
During the Revolution’s opening summer, the struggle over coastal vessels brought HMS Falcon into Gloucester Harbor. Residents resisted the ship’s attempts to regain captured or sheltered vessels. Fighting and bombardment in August 1775 turned the harbor and adjacent town into a setting of direct confrontation with British naval authority.
The attack prompted improvements to the defenses at Fort Point, where earlier coastal fortifications had already existed. This sequence matters when reading the modern waterfront: strengthened breastworks were a response to the encounter, not necessarily the defenses encountered at its outset. Memorial interpretation preserves the event while historical material traces the changing military landscape.
PEOPLE WHO DIED HERE
PEOPLE AT REST HERE
EXTERNAL LINKS
Research reviewed October 3, 2026. Event IDs 5031b87f-5b4e-4ead-99e4-6fd02f9b4df5; Events Latest 10PM.csv rows 191.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/gloucester
https://www.fitzhenrylaneonline.org/historical_material/?section=Fort+%28The%29+and+Fort+Point
Map location reviewed October 3, 2026. The pin represents the 2024 Battle of Gloucester 1775 memorial marker beside the waterfront at Fort Point. It commemorates the August 1775 action rather than an exact ship position in the harbor.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=266666
Visitor classification and amenities reviewed October 3, 2026. Destination: Battle of Gloucester 1775 plaque at Gemmellaro–Ciaramitaro Playground, 16 Fort Square.
https://www.gloucester-ma.gov/Archive/ViewFile/Item/18166
Prose batch 3 researched October 3, 2026. Fast pass; proofing pending. Cape Ann Museum material refreshed. Proof August 8–9 dating and vessel sequence against battle account; later strengthened breastworks must not be projected backward.
Parking researched October 3, 2026. The official Gloucester HarborWalk visitor guidance explicitly identifies limited free parking at St. Peter’s Square on Rogers Street. Nearby limited public St. Peter’s Square parking on Rogers Street serves a walk to Fort Square. Follow posted time limits and event restrictions; this is separate from private driveways at the fort reference.
https://harborwalk.gloucester-ma.gov/how-it-works/
Visitor information final pass — reviewed October 3, 2026