Coast Artillery and Harbor Defenses

A 10 inch seacoast artillery gun on a disappearing carriage in Battery William Worth at Fort Casey State Park overlooks the entrance to the Puget Sound (photo by Steven Kobylk, 2006)

The U.S. Army's Coast Artillery Corps was charged with the task of defending United States against naval attack and manned the fixed defenses located around the major deep-draft harbors.

The modern-era harbor defenses consisted of several reservations of land on which were located the fortifications and support structures designed to keep enemy ships from entering the harbor:

• gun batteries, fire control stations, communications bunkers, wharves, and minefield control structures.
• the various buildings for housing the soldiers and the storage of supplies and munitions: enlisted barracks, officers quarters, hospital, post exchange, bakery, and various ordnance and supply storage buildings.

This website provides information on the various elements that made up a harbor defense illustrated with examples from the harbor defenses of the Pacific coast. The forts of the Pacific coast are excellent places to view the coast artillery past. Most of the fortification structures remain at these locations today, and most are are now parks and open to the public. These defenses have been extensively documented on the web by the CDSG and several other organizations.

A brief history of American seacoast defense