Fort Mifflin today
Aerial view of Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania and the Delaware River from an airplane approaching runway 27R at Philadelphia International Airport, 2019. (Surfsupusa/Wikimedia Commons) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_mifflin_from_airplane_arriving_at_PHL.jpg
There are many years of history, layered one on top of another, at Fort Mifflin today. The fort that a visitor can see is not the fort that experienced the bombardment in 1777, which is the subject of discussion in this website. Apparently, however, part of the stone wall that protected the Americans during the bombardment (see Place of Refuge) survived and was incorporated into the fort that can be visited today.
The British occupied the remains of the fort after the Americans abandoned it, and when the British left the Philadelphia area the patriot forces returned. The fort was reconstructed and was an obstacle that prevented any British repeat occupation of Philadelphia in the War of 1812, a war in which another fortification, under the ultimate command of Colonel Smith, Fort McHenry guarding Baltimore, endured and survived another British bombardment. Fort Mifflin played a role in the Civil War, housing Confederate prisoners, and was an ammunition depot in the First and Second World Wars. The fort was ultimately decommissioned in 1954. For a description of the post-battle years, see http://www.fortmifflin.us/the-history/ All of this post-1777 history is interesting, and a visit to the current fortification is pleasant and educational, but what is there now makes it a little difficult to imagine the battle in 1777.
The fort has a small gift shop, which is not always open, and a quite nice small museum that focuses on and explains the 1777 battle. Sometimes in the summer there are guides and exhibitors in the costumes of Revolutionary War soldiers. One can imagine the reaction of the men who fought there, described as lacking shoes, stockings, and even pants during the siege, to the costumes.
One can get a sense of the relationship of the fort to the river it guarded. This picture, from October 2021, evokes those whose bodies were lined on the river shore for evacuation (see Death of a Friend) and the midnight escape reported by Private Martin (see Escape):
More difficult is working out where Province Island and Carpenter Island were, as the canal that separated them from Mud Island has disappeared, and one drives across solid ground to reach the fort. That this was low land, surrounded by water, is illustrated by a shallow canal, complete with flowers in an October visit at the north entrance of the existing fortification, shown here:
Fort Mifflin is very much worth a visit. Choose a nice day and give yourself an hour or so to walk around. Or go when the Fort has planned activities. See http://www.fortmifflin.us/ But when you go, it is good to remember what happened here in October and November 1777, and to contemplate the courage and desperation with which the American soldiers fought so long ago. For more on the story of that battle, see Fort Mifflin Timeline, Fort Mifflin–Place of Refuge, Fort Mifflin–the Flag; Fort Mifflin–Death of a Friend, Fort Mifflin–Escape.
For a description of a recent visit to Fort Mifflin by a historian, see https://allthingsliberty.com/2020/08/a-visit-to-fort-mifflin-on-the-delaware/