Fort Flagler

Fort Flagler (1897-1953) - An Endicott Period coastal fort established in 1897 and activated on 27 Jul 1899. Named in G.O. 138, 27 Jul 1899, after Brig. Gen. Daniel Webster Flagler, Chief of Ordnance, U.S. Army, who died on 29 Mar 1899. Located on Marrowstone Point, Jefferson County, Washington. The fort was closed on 7 Jun 1953.

Fort Flagler Entrance Sign
Fort Flagler NCO Quarters now Guest Quarters
Fort Flagler North Side Parade Ground and World War II Barracks
Fort Flagler South Side Parade Ground

Endicott Period

Part of the Harbor Defense of Puget Sound. Fort Flagler, along with Fort Worden and Fort Casey, guarded the entrance to Puget Sound. These posts, established in the late 1890s, became the first line of a fortification system designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching the Bremerton Naval Yard and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett.

Fort Flagler was originally constructed with three coastal gun batteries, Battery Revere, Battery Wilhelm, and Battery Rawlins. The contract for the construction of these original gun batteries was awarded on 22 Jun 1897, to the Pacific Bridge Company, Portland, Oregon. The batteries were completed in 1899 but not accepted for service until 17 Aug 1902. Two additional batteries, Battery Bankhead and Battery Lee were completed in 1900 and 1902 respectively and they were also accepted for service on 17 Aug 1902.

Initial construction of barracks and support facilities (12 buildings total) was complete in June 1899 and the Post was activated on 27 Jul 1899. The first garrison was a detachment of 86 Enlisted men and three Officers from Battery B, 3rd U.S. Coastal Artillery, commanded by Capt. John D.C. Hoskins (Cullum 2255). Fort Flagler was made Headquarters of the Harbor Defense Command of Puget Sound because Fort Worden did not yet have permanent facilities complete. On 4 Sep 1904, the headquarters of the Harbor Defense Command of Puget Sound was transferred from Fort Flagler to Fort Worden.

Four additional batteries, Battery Grattan, Battery Calwell, Battery Downes and Battery Wansboro were completed in 1905-1906 and all were accepted for service on 23 Apr 1907. The total cost just to build the batteries themselves (excluding the guns and carriages) was about $ 460,000.

**Fort Flagler Endicott Period Batteries** (edit list)
Battery	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Bankhead	8	12"	Mortar	1900-1902-1902-1942	$ 89,584	4 Mortars removed in 1918
Battery Wilhelm	2	12"	Altered Gun Lift	1897-1899-1902-1942	$ 71,191	Named for Capt. William H. Wilhelm (Cullum 3272).
Battery Rawlins	2	10"	Barbette	1897-1899-1902-1918	$ 60,000
Battery Revere	2	10"	Barbette	1897-1899-1902-1941	$ 60,000	Guns to Canada
Battery Calwell	4	6"	Disappearing	1903-1905-1907-1917	$ 89,500	Guns to France
Battery Grattan	2	6"	Disappearing	1904-1906-1907-1917	$ 48,000	Guns to France
Battery Lee	2	5"	Balanced Pillar Mount	1899-1900-1902-1918	$ 15,500	Named for Lt. Walter H. Lee (Cullum 3998). Guns to Grays Harbor
Battery Downes	2	3"	Pedestal Mount	1904-1906-1907-1946	$ 12,000
Battery Wansboro	2	3"	Pedestal Mount	1903-1905-1907-1946	$ 14,000	Guns Replaced in 1960
Source: CDSG

World War I

During World War I eight of the fort's guns were sent to Europe and converted to the field or railway guns and 2 were sent to Canada. After World War I Fort Flagler was used as an ROTC training center.

World War II

During World War II and the Korean War the fort was used for training in amphibious warfare.

**Fort Flagler World War II Batteries** (edit list)
Battery	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost
Battery AMTB - Marrowstone Point	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Pedestal Mounts Mobile Mounts	1943-1943-1944-1946	$ 8,842
Battery Rawlins	3	3"	AA	1942-1943-1944-1946	$ 11,000
Source: CDSG

Cold War

At the end of the Korean War, Fort Flagler was deactivated on 7 Jun 1953. The property was purchased by the State of Washington as a state park in 1955.

**Fort Flagler Partial Commanders List** (edit list)
Assumed	Relieved	Rank	Name	Cullum	Notes
1899-09-06	1901-07-16	Capt.	Hoskins, John Deane Charles	2255	While commanding post, he was promoted to Major, July 1, 1901.
1903-02-26	1903-05-30	Capt.	Summerall, Charles Pelot	3469
1904-09	1906-05	Maj.	Deems, Clarence	2521
1906-10-05	1908-12-17	Maj.	Bartlett, George True	2888
1909-09	1911-11	Maj.	Walke, Willoughby	2984	While commanding post, he was promoted to Lieut.‑Colonel, March 3, 1911. The dates of his command are from Cullum's Register and overlap those of the next.
1911-09-20	1911-09-30	Maj.	Hayden, John Louis	3243	The dates of his command are from Cullum's Register and overlap those of the preceding.
Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy.

Current Status

A part of Fort Flagler State Park, Jefferson County, Washington. Period guns and carriages were installed in Battery Wansboro.

Loading map...

Location: Fort Flagler State Park, Jefferson County, Washington.
Lat: 48.098° Long: -122.696° Elevation: 105' Bing, Google, OldMapsOnline, USGS, OHM

Loading map...

GPS Locations:

48.096512,, -122.693639 Fort Flagler

Sources:

Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 184
Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 832

Links:

Fortification ID: