Great American Fortresses and Castles to See with Google Maps Satellite Imagery

You don't have to go to Europe to find cool castles and fortifications. We have plenty of interesting castles and fortresses right here in the United States. You don't even have to get out of your chair in order to see them. Thanks to the satellite view in Google Maps, there are plenty of cool fortifications that you can see via aerial photography. All you have to do to find them is go to Google Maps and type in their names, their cities, and their states. Then, hit satellite view and zoom in. Here are my Top 5 fortresses to check out using Google Maps.

1) Fort Monroe, Hampton, Virginia. Perhaps the coolest American fortress visible via Google Maps is Fort Monroe near Hampton Virginia. Fort Monroe is large fortress placed at the end of Virginia's Tidewater peninsula to guard the approaches to Hampton Roads. While Fort Monroe is still an active Army post, it is scheduled to close in 2010. If you use Google Map's satellite view, you can follow I-64 east across the Chesapeake Bay and you will find Fort Wool in the middle of the bay right where the I-64 Hampton-Norfolk Bridge Tunnel ducks under the bay. I like Fort Monroe because it has a moat! Plus, it has sharply defined corners that show up very well in the satellite imagery. Fort Wool also fascinates me because it is abandoned and off-limits to boaters on the Chesapeake Bay.

2) Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland. A mere mouse-click or two up the bay from Fort Monroe, you can find the fortress that inspired the Star Spangled Banner: Fort McHenry. Guarding Baltimore, Fort McHenry is a national park and another clearly visible fortress in Google Maps. Of course, Fort McHenry didn't stand alone. You can also find Fort Carroll in Baltimore near the Francis Scott Key bridge.

3) Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine, Florida. The Spanish Conquistadors came to Florida long before the English established a foothold in Virginia. They left an engineering wonder in the form of the Castillo de San Marcos in Saint Augustine, Florida. Like Fort Monroe, the Castillo de San Marcos is a traditional fortress with well defined corners. The Castillo de San Marcos is famous for never falling to an attacker. It also has a tiny companion fortress called Fort Matanzas that can be a real challenge to find using Google Maps. (Hint: It's a short boat ride from the Fort Matanzas National Park).

4) Fort de Chartres National Historic Site, Illinois. It seems only logical to leap from the Spanish to the French in our quest for interesting American fortresses. We physically found Fort De Chartres National Historic Site a few years ago while driving in the Illinois countryside southeast of St. Louis. While this simple fortress doesn't match the might, magnificence, and power of the Castillo de San Marcos, this simple fortress was built in 1720 and shows how far the French settled America's interior during colonial times.

5) Cinderella's Castle, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida and Disneyland, Anaheim, California. Of course, not all castles and fortresses are part of the war business. On the lighter side of life, many castles are associated with fairy tales and princesses. You'll find Cinderella's castles in Disney World and Disneyland. While these castles are not as functional as America's old fortresses, they do ignite the imaginations of millions of young people.

If you are interested in checking out more fortresses and fortifications. You might take a look at Fort Washington Park in Maryland just outside our nation's capital; Fort Gaines near Mobile, Alabama; Fort Sumpter in South Carolina; and Washington D.C. ring forts like Fort Stevens. All of these historically significant sites offer interesting challenges to Google Maps satellite imagery enthusiasts. If you can think of it, you can find it with freely available satellite imagery.

Sources:
Wikipedia. "Fort de Chartres." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_de_Chartres