Portal:Rhode Island/Selected article/5

The state of Rhode Island remained loyal to the Union during the American Civil War, as did all of the other New England states. Rhode Island furnished 25,236 fighting men to the Union Army, of whom 1,685 died. The state used its industrial capacity to supply the Union Army with the materials that it needed to win the war, along with the other northern states. Rhode Island's continued growth and modernization led to the creation of an urban mass transit system, and improved health and sanitation programs. During the Civil War, Fort Adams near Newport was used temporarily as the United States Naval Academy. In May 1861, the Academy was moved to Newport from Annapolis, Maryland due to concerns about the political sympathies of the Marylanders, many of whom were suspected of being supporters of the Confederate States of America. In September, the Academy moved to the Atlantic House hotel in Newport and remained there for the rest of the war. In 1862, Fort Adams became the headquarters and recruit depot for the 15th U.S. Infantry Regiment.