Top 5 Oldest Military Buildings on US Soil

A few days ago a friend asked by what was the oldest military building on US soil. I found a few places that matched his criteria. Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Fort Christian, Castillo de San Marcos, Blackbeard's Castle and Fort Niagara are the 5 oldest military building on US soil. Let's talk about all 5 of these places.

5. Fort Niagara: This fort was built by the French in 1678 CE in New York. The French lost the fort to the British in 1759 CE to the British in the French and Indian War. The fort stayed in British hands until 1783 CE, when it was ceded to the new nation of the United States. It fell out of use by the time WWI and WWII rolled around. It did serve was a POW camp for German soldiers. Today it serves as a base for the US Coast Guard and historic site.

4. Blackbeard's Castle: This watchtower was built in 1679 CE. It was built by the Danes on the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. It was build to help protect the city of Charlotte Amalie. No one knows when the tower took the name of Blackbeard's Castle... but the name has stuck.

3. Castillo de San Marcos: Is a fort located in Florida. Its was built in 1672 CE by the Spanish to protect the Spanish city of St. Augustine. The British gained Florida in 1763 CE. The Spanish regained Florida in 1783 CE. Then the US gained the territory in 1819 CE. The military used the fort until 1933 CE. It has been a historic site ever since.

2. Fort Christian: The Danes built this fort to protect the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands in 1672 CE. The fort served as the government and defense headquarters on the island. The fort was turned over to US when the islands were sold to the US in 1917 CE. Today it is used as a museum.

1. Castillo de San Felipe del Morro: This fort was built by the Spanish in 1539 CE. The fort was built to protect the city of San Juan. The Spanish ruled Puerto Rico 1539 to 1898 CE. The fort survived many battles and wars. Most were against the French and British. The American took over the island and the fort in the Spanish-American War (1898). The US military retired the fort in 1961 CE and it became a historical site.

All of these buildings are great examples of military engineering from their time periods. All of these buildings are still around today and can be visited. I found pictures of all 5 sites online and added them to each section as I talked about them.

Non Egyptian Pyramids?!

When people talk about pyramids, most people talk about the ones in Egypt and Mexico. But did you know that there are pyramids located in Sudan. The are collected called the Nubian Pyramids. The Pyramids were build be the Kushite Kingdoms South of Egypt. That region was dominated the Kerma Kingdom (2500 BCE-1500 BCE), Napata or Nubia (1000-300 BCE) and Meroe (300 BCE-300 AD). All 3 kingdoms made pyramid in their time of power. These pyramids were made from granite and sandstone. Sadly most were partly destroyed by the Italian explorer, Giuseppe Ferlini in the 1830s CE. I did find a few photos of the Nubian Pyramids.

 

The Only Poet Named Battleship... The Dante Alighieri

One of my friends was reading one of my naval stories and asked about battleships and some of their naming system. He asked me about the oddest named battleship. I found one battleship that might fit. The Italian battleship Dante Alighieri. It is the only battleship to be named after a poet. Here is what I could find on this ship.

She served in the Italian navy from 1913 to 1928 CE. She was every little action. She was the flagship during the Battle of Durazzo in 1918 CE. The ship did not fire its guns once during the battle. The Dante Alighieri did not once fire its guns in anger during her entire naval career. Due to a crashing economy in Italy after WWI, the navy decided to scrap this ship and many others to save on costs. They did this in 1928. The Dante Alighieri had a short career and a very peaceful one compared to other battleship from this time period. I found a few old photos of the ship online to share with you.