Prior to the official establishment of the United States of America, a handful of countries established colonies in North America, many of them needing military forts to provide protection to those colonies and to resist martial expansion into their territories. Since most of those countries, and their Soldiers, were extremely religious, chapels were nearly always built along with the fortifications.

Some of these forts changed hands many times through the years, but all of them located within what would become the sovereign territory of the United States eventually became forts garrisoned by United States military forces.

Most of these early forts remain only in the history books, but a handful of them have either survived wars and the elements or have been restored and maintained by departments or agencies of the United States. It is the forts that remain, that include chapels, which is the focus of the section. To see a little bit of the history of these forts and their chapels, hover over the “Chapel” tab, then the “Pre-Revolution Chapels” tab, then click on each chapel name to view.