Fort Andrews was created in 1897 as part of the harbor defenses of Boston, Massachusetts. It occupies the entire northeast end of Peddocks Island in Boston Harbor. Once an active Coast Artillery post, it was manned by hundreds of soldiers and bristled with mortars and guns that controlled the southern approaches to Boston and Quincy Bay. Today, the fort is abandoned, and is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, as part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The fort was named after Maj. Gen. George Leonard Andrews, an engineer and Civil War commander, who assisted in the construction of Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.