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Fort Howard History 1896 - 1940

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Fort Howard History 1896 - 1940 Fort Howard History 1896 - 1940 • If you have old pictures, written documents or family history stories about Fort Howard and the soldiers who served there, the Friends of Fort Howard Park would love to see and record them. Please contact us at [email protected]. Developed by the Dundalk – Patapsco Neck Historical Society & Museum and Edgemere - Sparrows Point Recreation Council Fort Howard was built at North Point, where the Patapsco River flows into the Chesapeake Bay. North Point was historically important long before the fort was constructed.. NORTH POINT Old North Point Road was once an Indian trail leading down the “backbone of Patapsco Neck.” Captain John Smith In 1608, during his epic exploration of the Chesapeake Bay, Captain John Smith and his crew are thought to have entered Old Road Bay, just west of North Point. “They adorn themselves with copper beads and paintings. The women have their legs, hands, chests, and faces cunningly tattooed with beasts, and serpents wrought into their flesh with black dots. In each ear they have 3 great holes whereat they hang chains, bracelets or copper. Some of the men wear in those holes a small green and yellow snake, near half a yard in length which crawling and lapping itself about his neck oftentimes would kiss his lips. Others wear a dead rat tied by the tail, the whole skin of a hawk stuffed with the wings abroad or the hand of their enemy dried.” Captain John Smith describing the natives he met during his exploration of the Chesapeake in 1608. Colonial Ships Anchored At North Point In 1683 an Act was passed establishing “North Point” as a terminus for ships moving goods to or from eastern Baltimore County . An Important Route for Goods and People By 1730, Captain Robert North had set up a freight and passenger transport system from Kent Island, across the bay to the tip of North Point. From there, connecting stage coaches and wagons traveled into Baltimore via Old North Point Road, Trappe Road, and Old Philadelphia Road. THE WAR OF 1812 In 1814, North Point was the landing site for a British invasion force of 4500 who intended to attack and burn Baltimore. A delaying action by American army units took place about 4 miles west of where the British came ashore. That action is called The Battle of North Point. NOTE: THE BRITISH DID NOT ATTACK FORT HOWARD IN 1814 The British landing and the Battle of North Point took place 85 years before Fort Howard was built. FORT HOWARD In 1899, Fort Howard was built at North Point as a coast artillery installation designed to protect Baltimore from assault by enemy naval vessels. Why Did We Need Installations like Fort Howard To Protect Us? Spanish Battleship Pelayo French Battleship Marceau German Battleship Nassau By 1885 Naval guns and steam propulsion had advanced to the point where American coastal cities were vulnerable to attack by vessels like these Battleships. Something had to be done to protect our seaports. The United States Responds To The Threat In 1885, US President Grover Cleveland appointed a panel known as the Board of Fortifications. It was headed by Secretary of War William Endicott. The findings of the board painted a grim picture of existing defenses in its 1886 report and recommended a massive $127 million construction program of breech-loading cannons, mortars, and mines for 29 locations on the US coast-line. William Endicott Fort Howard and other coast artillery fortifications built between 1886 and 1910 are often referred to as Endicott Period. General William P. Craighill After the Civil War war, General Craighill superintended construction of defenses at Baltimore Harbor including upgrades of Forts Carroll and McHenry. He headed the Engineer Office in Baltimore from 1870 to 1895, shepherding the Endicott recommendations through Congress and overseeing river and harbor work in Maryland including the purchases of land at North Point (Fort Howard) and Hawkins Point (Fort Armistead). A portion of the shipping channel from the Chesapeake Bay into Baltimore is named for Gen. Craighill. The Endicott Plan Four Forts To Protect Baltimore The Artillery District of Baltimore included Fort Carroll, Fort Armistead, Fort Smallwood, and Fort Howard The Land For Fort Howard 1896 - The government purchased the property at North Point from the railroad and local farmers. They set about constructing a 150 acre coast artillery installation designed to protect Baltimore from attack by sea. 1899 The Pier and Narrow Gauge Railroad Two 900 foot piers were built that allowed construction materials to be transported to the fort on barges and ships. The materials were then loaded on a narrow gauge railroad that ran the length of the piers and into the battery construction sites. 1899-1902 The Gun Emplacements Are Constructed A view of the mortar pits being built A Period Newspaper Illustration The headline says “ The Defenses of the Harbor of Baltimore” The caption reads: “A glance at the work the government is doing on the fortifications at North Point” John Eager Howard After an illustrious In 1901, Fort military career, Col. Howard was Howard went on to named in honor represent Maryland of Col. John in the U.S. Senate Eager Howard. and serve as governor. Col. Howard commanded the Howard County, and rd 3 Maryland Howard Street in Regiment during Baltimore are also the Revolutionary War. named for him. 1901- The Troops Arrive The 21st Company in formation at Fort Howard (circa 1910) In 1901, Fort Howard was garrisoned by four companies of the Coast Artillery Corps. The 21st, 40th, 103rd manned the gun batteries and the 140th maintained the harbor mines and searchlights. Each company included 104 enlisted men and officers. The Guns And Mines Are Installed 1899 - 1907 Battery Nicholson Battery Harris Batteries Clagett & Lazear Battery Key Battery Stricker Harbor Mines Battery Harris Battery Harris was a reinforced concrete rapid fire 5-inch gun battery with two guns mounted on balanced pillar carriages. The carriages were sent to Fort Howard in 1900. These guns were intended to engage smaller faster craft that could venture out of the shipping channel into shallow water. The battery was deactivated and the guns removed in 1917 for shipment to the war in France. Battery Nicholson Battery Nicholson was a reinforced concrete 6-inch gun battery with two guns mounted on disappearing carriages. These guns had a range of seven miles and were intended to engage large vessels in the shipping channel. The battery was active for twenty years and was used for training for several more years. The guns and carriages were removed and shipped to Aberdeen Ordnance Depot in 1927. Batteries Clagett & Lazear Batteries Clagett and Lazear were reinforced concrete 3-inch gun batteries mounted on masking parapet mounts. These smaller rapid fire guns were positioned for protecting harbor minefields from enemy minesweeping vessels. The gun mounts were sent to Fort Howard in 1904. The batteries consisted of two emplacements separated by a main battery structure with a separate magazine for each gun. The batteries were deactivated and the guns removed in 1920. Battery Stricker Battery Stricker was a reinforced concrete 12-inch gun battery with two guns mounted on disappearing gun carriages. The guns fired 1000 lb. projectiles up to eight miles. The guns were imtended to engage capital ships in the shipping channel. The battery was deactivated in 1918 and in 1920 the site was modified to house a range finding station and plotting room for the other batteries. Battery Key Battery Key was a reinforced concrete 12-inch mortar battery with eight mortars mounted on carriages. They were sent to Fort Howard in 1899 and arranged in two mortar pits of four mortars each. The two pits were separated by the main battery structure which housed a power plant and the munitions storage areas. The mortars fired 1000 lb. projectiles at a high angle. The arcing path traveled by these projectiles brought them down on the target at a steep angle. This “plunging fire” was intended to pierce the deck of a ship where the armor was the lightest. The battery was deactivated and the guns shipped to Aberdeen Ordinance Depot in 1927. Gunnery Practice “The gunners who manned these batteries were among the best coastal artillerymen in the world. In 1908 they were credited with setting a world’s record by hitting a moving target over 5,000 yards away, nine out of ten times. The shell that missed was defective.” (From a period newspaper) “To See These Monsters”… “Manning Battery Stricker and charged with firing the 12 inch disappearing rifles, the guns are well handled in drill and practice by the Fortieth Company. To see these monsters load, “go into battery” and fire is well worth going miles to see, for the calm and deliberate way in which the rifle shoots into position, pointing over the parapet, seems to sight like a thing of life, then fires and withdraws back under cover, is impressive in the extreme.” • (From a period newspaper) “13 tons alone” “The 12 inch mortars are odd and unique. Looking like an ink bottle and weighing 13 tons alone without the carriage or mount, their businesslike noses are poked into the air, ready to hurl in majestic flight their 1,046 pound projectile before it landed on the distant objective. Battery Key, named after Francis Scott Key, is composed solely of mortars...” (From a period newspaper) Broken Windows, Stampeding Mules The concussions from firing the 12 inch rifles and the 12 inch mortars could break windows, dislodge water pipes and send scores of mules and horses stampeding through the fort.
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