Fuerte de San José


Fuerte de San José, also known as Fuerte de la Playa de Ponce, 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.

History

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, Barrio Playa, and the City of Ponce. The fort took two years to build and was completed in 1760. 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, 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 at Punta Cucharas, Barrio Playa, and Punta Gatas. 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.

The two other forts

A second battery was built, at El Peñoncillo, and staffed by 40–50 men. This second fort at El Peñoncillo was completed in 1802. 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. 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. This third battery, however, was never built.

Location and description

The fort faced the Caribbean Sea, contained seven cannons mounted on a battery, and was staffed by artillery and infantry personnel. By 1775, but possibly for many years earlier as well, the Spanish had a cannon de a seis in Ponce, in the city proper, for the defense of the city. 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. 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, 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. This battery was donated to the people of Ponce by its teniente a guerra. 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 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. José Benítez's position in Ponce was that of a teniente a guerra, a combination "military commandant/civil superintendent".

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. 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 in order to enlarge Calle Alfonso XII and make room for civilian population growth in that area.
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 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.

Historical timeline