Fuerte de San José

Fuerte de San José, also known as Fuerte de la Playa de Ponce,[lower-alpha 1] was an 18th-through-19th-century Spanish fortress located in Barrio Playa in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was part of a three-fort system design to defend the Port of Ponce, the Barrio Playa seaport village and the City of Ponce from seaborne attacks. However, only two of the three fortifications materialized, with Fuerte San José being the largest and most complete of the two fortresses built. The fort was in operation 125 years – from 1760 to 20 March 1885 – and was demolished in 1907 by order of the Puerto Rico Legislature to make room for the growing civilian population of Barrio Playa. Fuerte de San José has been compared to Fortín de San Gerónimo in San Juan, in terms of design, purpose, and size.[2]

Fuerte de San José
Barrio Playa
Near Ponce in Puerto Rico
Coordinates17.9806°N 66.62173°W / 17.9806; -66.62173
TypeSpanish fort
Site information
OwnerSpanish Crown
OperatorSpanish military in Puerto Rico
Controlled byBatallón Cazadores "La Patria" Nº 25
Site history
Built1758 (1758) to 1760 (1760)
Built bySpanish Royal Corps of Engineers
In use1760 (1760) to 20 March 1885 (20 March 1885)
MaterialsMasonry
FateDemolished in 1907
Garrison information
Past
commanders		Sgt Rafael Muñoz (1836); Col. Tomas de Renovales (1836); Capt Gen. Miguel de la Torre (1836)[1]
Designations7-cannon battery
Demolished to make room for growing civilian urbanization of the area

History
Spanish Military headquarters in Ponce, completed 1894

Main fort

Fuerte de San José was one of a three-fort defense system designed by the Spanish military for the defense of the Port of Ponce,[note 1] Barrio Playa, and the City of Ponce. The fort took two years to build[3] and was completed in 1760.[4] The Spaniards later built barracks 2 miles inland, in the city of Ponce proper, for the defense of the city, called "El Castillo" capable of housing 700 men,[5] but a proper defense system was needed for the port and Barrio Playa areas to protect them from seaborne attacks that could also reach the city.

The three forts were to be located (traveling west to east) at Punta Cucharas, Barrio Playa, and Punta Gatas.[6] Fuerte de San José was the defense structure which, after completion of the other two planned fortifications, would sit about halfway between the two, in Barrio Playa. The fort was staffed by the Batallón De Cazadores "La Patria" Nº 25.[7]

The two other forts

A second battery was built, at El Peñoncillo,[lower-alpha 2] and staffed by 40–50 men.[8] This second fort at El Peñoncillo was completed in 1802.[9] However, Fuerte San José was the main fort built to defend the shores of Ponce from the frequent attacks by pirates and nations who were enemies of Spain. A third fort was designed to be located at Punta Cucharas; however, it was never built.[6] On 8 October 1823, 53 years after the construction of Fuerte San Jose and 21 years after the construction of the second battery at El Peñoncillo, the Ponce Municipal Assembly discussed plans and established budgeting rules for the financing of the third battery.[10] This third battery, however, was never built.

Location and description
1851 map of Port of Ponce showing location of the sea-front Fuerte de San José and the two additional support fortifications
Structure of an 1800s cannon like the ones used at Fuerte de San José

The fort faced the Caribbean Sea, contained seven cannons mounted on a battery,[11] and was staffed by artillery and infantry personnel.[12] By 1775, but possibly for many years earlier as well, the Spanish had a cannon de a seis (a 6-caliber cannon) in Ponce, in the city proper, for the defense of the city.[13] Since there was a three-mile distance from the city to the port, the port was vulnerable to attacks without the availability of a quick response from city artillery. Thus the port needed its own defense equipment. It was out of this need that Fuerte de San José was built.

The Fuerte de San José structure was built in masonry, with housing quarters and supplies storage also in masonry.[14] It provided a base defense structure and, to complement it, two other defense structures were planned. Fuerte de San José was located between the Caribbean Sea and the village of La Playa and just west of the port facilities. The second structure, a battery, was built in 1801 at El Peñoncillo (Punta Peñoncillo), a location east of the port. A third structure yet, this one also consisting of only a battery, was planned for Punta Cucharas, but was never built. The battery at El Peñoncillo was built and completed by José Benítez.[3][8] This battery was donated to the people of Ponce by its teniente a guerra.[note 2] José Benítez built it "from his own money" and the battery was later accepted by the Spanish Crown as part of the Spanish arsenal in Ponce. Benitez's battery was 24.5 varas wide (about 75 feet) and "of the necessary height to make a secure and solid edification". It had four doors, two at each side, two 6-caliber cannons, and all the necessary supplies to mount a defense. It possessed enough supplies to support 50 men for thirteen days, as well as support personnel such as blacksmiths and carpenters. The structure's initial stock contained gunpowder, bullets, rifles, and crowbars.[15] José Benítez's position in Ponce was that of a teniente a guerra, a combination "military commandant/civil superintendent".[16]

US troopships and convoy at Playa de Ponce, 1898

Later years

On 20 March 1885, the Spanish governor in Puerto Rico, Luis Daban, informed the Spanish military commander in Ponce he had decided to withdraw the military located at the fort on a permanent basis and ordered the transfer of any pieces of artillery and ammunition stored there to San Juan, effectively decommissioning Fuerte de San José as a fortress.[17] During the next few years, and as it deteriorated for lack of repair, it received some use by the local Ponce municipal guard that served Barrio Playa. It was still standing, but nonoperational, at the time of the American invasion of Puerto Rico in 1898, and was demolished in 1907 by order of the Puerto Rico Legislature[3][12] in order to enlarge Calle Alfonso XII and make room for civilian population growth in that area.[3]

The location of Fuerte San José is today occupied by Plaza 65 de Infantería, a small, passive, family-oriented plaza from where the Caribbean Sea can be observed. The location of the battery at El Peñoncillo is today (2019) the entrance to the dike-supported roadway that leads from mainland Puerto Rico to Club Náutico de Ponce on Isla Gatas, and the location for the third battery that was never built is today the protected area of Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas. No traces of any of the fortifications remain today (2019).

Historical timeline
  • 1673 – Attacked by the French, killing Juan de Aliseda and taking Juan Silverio prisoner, both watchmen at the Ponce port. A group of 14 militiamen from Ponce then counterattacked, killing all the French invaders.[18]
  • 1702 – Attacked by the Dutch via Guayanilla, leaving 38 Dutch death.[19][lower-alpha 3]
  • 1704 – An attack by 80 men in three English vessels is thwarted.[19][lower-alpha 4].
  • 1734 – On 13 July, a Corsican ship owned by Luis Perez engages in a fight with pirate ships at the port of Ponce leaving several dead.[20]
  • 1742 – On 22 November, several civilians residents of Ponce perish at the hands of English pirates attempting to appropriate a shipment of merchandise belonging to a damaged merchant ship that had made a stop-over for repairs at the Port of Ponce.[19]
  • 1743 – An English schooner disembarks at Playa Bocachica but was repelled by a group of local residents.[21]
  • 1758 – On 16 December, a small group of military men from Ponce captured two sloops with contraband.[22]
  • 1760 – Fuerte de San José is built.[14]
  • 1794 – An artillery battery is built at El Peñoncillo.[23]
  • 1797:
    • The Capitania del Puerto is established.[24]
    • Two companies totaling 202 men go to San Juan to aid in the defense of the city from the Drake's British attack.[25]
  • 1800 – In August, a fleet of British warships attempts to capture the shore settlement but is repelled by the Municipal Guard and Ponce militia.[26]
  • 1801 – In October, a fleet of British warships re-attempts capture of the shore settlement but is again repelled by the Ponce Municipal Guard and Ponce militia.[27]
  • 1802 – An artillery battery, donated by José Benítez is installed at El Peñoncillo.[28][8]
  • 1825 – Caribbean Sea pirate Roberto Cofresí, a Puerto Rican, is jailed and later executed in San Juan by Spanish authorities.[29]
  • 1835 – On 13 August, Hurricane San Hipolito destroyed a fair portion of the sleeping quarters as well as the fort's foundation and two sentry boxes.[30]
  • 1887 – Caja de Muertos lighthouse lit[31]
  • 1889 – Isla Cardona lighthouse lit[32]
  • 1898 – On 28 July, U.S. General Miles enters Ponce proclaiming liberty and Puerto Rico becomes a U.S. possession[33]
  • 1907 – Fort is demolished by order of the U.S.-appointed colonial Legislature of Puerto Rico to make room for urbanizing the area for civilian use[3][12]
  • 1956 – The location where the fort was located, now a plaza, is renamed "Plaza 65 de Infantería" by Resolution #56 of the Ponce Municipal Assembly[34]

See also

Notes
  1. During the lifetime of Fuerte de San José, namely during the years 1760 to 1907, the Port of Ponce was located at the southern terminus of Camino Real, aka, Camino de la Marina, which is today's Avenida Hostos. That location was about one mile west of the current (2019) location of Port of Ponce on Punta Peñoncillo. In 1911 the U.S. Federal Government granted the City of Ponce a perpetual franchise to operate the Port. During the second decade of the 20th century (1910s), a new harbor was built. (See La Vuelta de la Feria: Segunda Parte del Juguete Cómico "Los Jíbaros Progresistas o La Feria de Ponce", Original y en Verso." Ramon Mendez Quiñones. Tipografía "El Vapor". Ponce, Puerto Rico. 28 July 1882. Archivo Digital Nacional de Puerto Rico. p. 244 (footnote). Accessed 5 April 2019.) The new Port of Ponce was built on Punta Peñoncillo, where it currently (2019) stands.
  2. A teniente a guerra was a combination "military commandant/civil superintendent" that the Spanish Crown, via its Colonial Governor in Puerto Rico, planted in each district to oversee a region of the governed territory. See "Puerto Rican Poetry: A Selection from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times." by Robert Márquez. University of Massachusetts Press. 2007. ISBN 9781558495623 p.55.

Footnotes
  1. Socorro Girón calls it Fuerte Alfonso XII. See Ponce, El teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina, p. 439.
  2. El Peñoncillo was also known as Punta Peñoncillo. It was a shore area located about a mile east of Fuerte San José, and is where Port of Ponce is currently (2019) located. See, Eduardo Neumann Gandia, Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce, 1913, p. 259; Mariano Vidal Armstrong, Ponce: Notas para su Historia, 1986, p. 22; Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez, De Criadero a Partido, 2015, p. 101.; Luis A. Irizarry Perez. Mi Vida. Published in Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2011. Printed in Colombia by Nomos Impresores. p. 201. ISBN 9781935892120
  3. Mariano Vidal Armstrong states that this event occurred in 1802. See Vidal Armstrong's "Ponce, Notas para su Historia", Second edition, 1986, p. 21.
  4. Fernando Picó states the English attacked in December 1804. See "Ponce y los rostros rayados: sociedad y esclavitud, 1800-1830." San Juan, Puerto Rico: Ediciones Huracán. 2012. p. 16. ISBN 1932913149

References
  1. Eli D. Oquendo-Rodríguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto histórico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 28. ISBN 978-1547284931
  2. Eduardo Questell Rodriguez. Historia de la Comunidad Bélgica de Ponce. 2018. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Mariana Editores. p. 2. ISBN 9781935892045
  3. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Orígenes de Ponce: 1645-1810. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Editorial Akelarre. 2015. p.100. ISBN 1516895487 ISBN 9781516895489
  4. Socorro Giron. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de La Almudaina.Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 1992. p.463.
  5. Francisco Lluch Mora. Orígenes y Fundación de Ponce. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. Second Edition. 2006. p. 75. ISBN 1563281724
  6. Claudio Coello. Contornos de Ponce. 1850. Atlas de España. (See: Anibal Sepúlveda Rivera. Puerto Rico Urbano: Atlas Histórico de la Ciudad Puertorriqueña. San Juan, PR: Carimar, and Puerto Rico's Departamento de Transportación y Obras Publicas. 2004. Volumen 2 [de 4]: La Domesticación del Territorio. p.137. ISBN 0963342347
  7. The Batallón De Cazadores "La Patria" Nº 25 (Light Infantry Battalion "La Patria" Nº. 25) Francisco José Díaz Díaz. The Spanish–American War Centennial Website. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  8. Eli D. Quendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Orígenes de Ponce, 1645-1810. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Editorial Akelarre. 2015. pp.100-101.
  9. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce: Notas para su Historia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Second Edition. 1986. p. 22.
  10. Ilia del Toro Robledo. Actas #204 and #205, dated 8 October 1823. In, Actas del Cabildo de Ponce, Puerto Rico: 1812-1823. Gobierno Municipal Autónomo de Ponce. Comisión Puertorriqueña para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario del Descubrimiento de America y Puerto Rico, en Conmemoración del Encuentro de Dos Mundos. 1993. p.355-357.
  11. Bartolomé Durpeaud. Plano del Barrio del Fuerte. 27 March 1841. Archivo Histórico de Ponce. (See: Anibal Sepúlveda Rivera. Puerto Rico Urbano: Atlas Histórico de la Ciudad Puertorriqueña. San Juan, PR: Carimar, and Puerto Rico's Departamento de Transportación y Obras Publicas. 2004. Volumen 2 [de 4]: La Domesticación del Territorio. p.134. ISBN 0963342347
  12. Eduardo Neumann Gandia. Verdadera y Auténtica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. 1913. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. p.133-134.
  13. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Orígenes de Ponce: 1645-1810. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Editorial Akelarre. 2015. p.80. ISBN 1516895487 ISBN 9781516895489
  14. Ramon Marin. La Villa de Ponce, considerada en tres distintas épocas. In, Las fiestas Populares de Ponce. San Juan, PR: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. p.190.
  15. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Orígenes de Ponce: 1645-1810. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Editorial Akelarre. 2015. p.101. ISBN 1516895487 ISBN 9781516895489
  16. Puerto Rican Poetry: A Selection from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times. Robert Márquez. University of Massachusetts Press. 2007. ISBN 9781558495623 pp.55–57.
  17. Eli D. Oquendo-Rodríguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto histórico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 43. ISBN 978-1547284931
  18. Luis Caldera Ortiz. Nuevos hallazgos sobre el origen de Ponce. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico. 2019. p. 41. ISBN 9781075058325
  19. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Orígenes de Ponce: 1645-1810. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Editorial Akelarre. 2015. p.64. ISBN 1516895487 ISBN 9781516895489
  20. Eli D. Oquendo-Rodríguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto histórico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 16. ISBN 978-1547284931
  21. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para su Historia. Second edition. 1986, p. 21.
  22. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para su Historia. Second edition. 1986, p. 21.
  23. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce, Notas para su Historia. Second edition. 1986, p. 21.
  24. Eli D. Oquendo-Rodríguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto histórico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 18. ISBN 978-1547284931
  25. Eli D. Oquendo Rodriguez. De Criadero a Partido: Ojeada a la Historia de los Orígenes de Ponce: 1645-1810. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Editorial Akelarre. 2015. p.81. ISBN 1516895487 ISBN 9781516895489
  26. Paul G. Miller. Historia de Puerto Rico. Chicago and New York: Rand McNally & Compañia. 1992. Page 235.
  27. Paul G. Miller. Historia de Puerto Rico. Chicago and New York: Rand McNally & Compañia. 1992. Page 235.
  28. Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Ponce: Notas para su Historia. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Second Edition. 1986. p. 22.
  29. Vieques: A Photographically Illustrated. Gerald Singer. Sombrero Publishing Company. 2004 p.88.ISBN 0964122049
  30. Eli D. Oquendo-Rodriguez's A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto Histórico de la Playa de Ponce, desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. Lajas, Puerto Rico: Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste (CIESCO). 2017. ISBN 1547284935 ISBN 9781547284931. p.27.
  31. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form – Isla Caja de Muertos Light. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 2. Listing Reference Number 81000690. 22 October 1981.
  32. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form – Cayo Cardona Light. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 1. Listing Reference Number 81000691. 22 October 1981.
  33. Ponce, Puerto Rico. The World of 1898: The Spanish–American War (Hispanic Division, Library of Congress). Accessed 24 February 2019.
  34. Nelson Garcia Santos. Vivencias en La Playa de Ponce. Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Llorens. 2009. p.9. ISBN 9781596087064

Further reading
  • Ramon Marin. Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994.
  • Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 210. Item 1078. LCCN 92-75480
  • Juan Jose Barragán Landa. Los Benítez: raíces de una familia hacedora de historia. Rio Piedras: Puerto Rico. 1996. (Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO).
  • Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 215. Item 1106. LCCN 92-75480
  • Fernando Chardon Palacios. "El Combate de Boca Chica." Boletín de la Academia de Artes y Ciencias de Puerto Rico. Volumen 3. (Enero de 1973) pp. 11-28. (Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO).
  • Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 251. Item 1269. LCCN 92-75480
  • Pedro Luis Perea Rosello. "Nuevas Paginas Sobre la Historia de Ponce." Horizontes. Año 5. (Abril de 1962) pp. 79-91. (Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO / Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico).
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