Group Tours

Fort Delaware and Port Penn are a 45-minute drive north of Dover. Via US 13 or Route 1, proceed to Route 9 in Delaware City. Turn onto Clinton Street at the traffic light and go to the end of the street where it meets the Delaware River at Battery Park.

Open April through September, Fort Delaware is an imposing and fascinating Civil War-era Union fortress on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the Civil War, the fort housed over 33,000 Confederate prisoners of war. Today, Fort Delaware is a state park that invites visitors to experience history face to face in 1864. Excellent living history programs, Civil War encampments and reenactments, and special programs take place at the fort throughout the season. 

From the end of Clinton Street in Delaware City, visitors ride the passenger ferry “Delafort” to the island, where a jitney tram takes them to the moat surrounding the fortress. The living history program treats visitors as a group of inspectors coming to check the living conditions of the prisoners. The guests meet and talk to the commander of the fort, guards, prisoners, and local residents along the tour. The ferry, jitney, and ground level of the fort are all wheelchair accessible. 

Group Tours
Group Tour packages include “Old Fashioned Picnic” (picnic lunch at the fort with Miss Julia Jefferson), “Culinary Delight” (hands on program of hearth cooking and bread baking), “Musical Interlude” (customary serenades of Civil War bands), and “The General’s Surprise” (civilian visitors prove their loyalty to General Schoepf, or else!) Personalized tours and other educational tours are available. Call for a list of group tour programs and rates.

Fort Delaware also manages the Port Penn Interpretive Center in the nearby Village of Port Penn. The museum there interprets the folklife traditions of the local watermen and farmers. A boardwalk trail through the marsh includes a floating fishing cabin and a muskrat-skinning shack. A self-guided walking tour booklet is also available for a closer look at the village.