Fort Delaware

Overview

TAPS investigates Fort Delaware, located on Pea Patch Island. The Island sits in the mid channel of the Delaware River near its entrance into Delaware Bay. Once the location of strategic military defenses, the island is currently owned by the state of Delaware as Fort Delaware state Park. During the American Civil War, Fort Delaware was used by the Union as a camp for Confederate prisoners, in particular ones captured at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Many of the prisoners who died at the fort are buried at nearby Finns Point National Cemetery in New Jersey.