Our Partners in preserving Civil War History in Delaware

Founded on May, 2 1898, the purposes of our organization are to:

(1) perpetuate the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the men who saved the Union in 1861 to 1865;

 (2) assist in every practicable way in preserving, and making available for research, documents and records pertaining to the Grand Army of the Republic and its members;

 (3) cooperate in honoring all those who have served our country patriotically in any war;

 (4) teach patriotism, the duties of citizenship, the true history of our country, and the love and honor of our flag;

(5) oppose every tendency or movement that would weaken loyalty to, destroy, or impair our constitutional Union; and

 (6) inculcate and broadly sustain the American principles of representative government, equal rights, and impartial justice for all.

The Fort Delaware Society is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization, chartered in 1950, and dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of historic Fort Delaware.

The Society's mission: To foster an awareness of the existence and significance of historic Fort Delaware and preserve its legacy.

Most remembered as a Civil War prison camp, Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island served as a guardian of the Delaware River from the War of 1812 through the early days of World War II. Our supporting members include descendants of United States soldiers from all periods, including both Union and Confederate soldiers, who were part of the legacy of historic Fort Delaware. A great many of our members have no family ties to Fort Delaware at all. Society members are all driven by a simple desire to preserve the legacy of this important piece of America’s history.

The Society operates the Fort Delaware Museum out on Pea Patch Island and the W. Emerson Wilson Research Library; publishes books and documents relating to Fort Delaware; administers the Fort Delaware Fund; and conducts Heritage Research for descendants of prisoners and garrison members.

 The State of Delaware deeded Pea Patch Island, located in the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey, to the Federal government in 1813, and construction of Fort Delaware was completed around 1859. Originally built to protect the ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia, Pea Patch Island also became a Union prison camp during the Civil War, housing up to as many as 10,048 Confederate prisoners of war at one time. Manned only briefly during World Wars I and II, the island and fort were finally abandoned and declared surplus property in 1944, when ownership was transferred back to the State of Delaware. Fort Delaware became a state park in 1951. 

 On an island in the middle of the Delaware River, Fort Delaware stands tall as a bastion of U.S. military defense and a reminder of the great sacrifices made during wartime in America. Once a camp for Confederate POWs during the Civil War, Fort Delaware has been maintained and restored to tell the stories of those who served at the fort. Pea Patch Island is also home to important migratory bird habitat along its marshy shores and draws thousands of people annually to see unique species.