Fort Winfield Scott
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Fort Winfield Scott (1853-2000) - Originally a Third System brick Fort named Fort Point, established under the supervision of 1st Lt. William H.C. Whiting, U.S. Corps of Engineers, and under construction 1853 to 1861. Renamed Fort Winfield Scott after Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott 25 Nov 1882. Old Fort Point is a part of the larger Fort Winfield Scott. The old fort was declared obsolete in 1905 and abandoned for military purposes in 1914 but the larger Fort Winfield Scott maintained an active military role until 2000. Also known as Fort Scott (1), Fort Blanco, Castillo de San Joaquin and Old Fort Scott.
Fort Winfield Scott History
Part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco.
Fort Point was originally built to prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay.
U.S. Civil War
Fort Point was designed to mount 126 massive cannon. Rushed to completion at the beginning of the U.S. Civil War, Fort Point was first garrisoned in February of 1861 by Company I, 3rd U.S. Artillery. The fort was occupied throughout the U.S. Civil War, but the advent of faster, more powerful rifled cannon made brick forts such as Fort Point obsolete. In 1886 the troops were withdrawn.
In 1882 the fort was renamed Fort Winfield Scott and over a series of reconfigurations Fort Winfield Scott came to encompass most of the military reservation at the northern tip of San Francisco.
Endicott Period
The recommendations of the Endicott Board resulted in a massive construction program on Fort Winfield Scott that built some eighteen concrete coastal gun batteries over a period of thirty years. The boundaries of the fort expanded to encompass all of the new gun batteries but additional batteries to the south resulted in the creation of two new forts, Fort Miley and Fort Funston. The northern side of the Golden Gate has a similar expansion during this period at Fort Baker and with the creation of Fort Barry and Fort Cronkhite.
| Battery Click on Battery links below | No. | Caliber | Type Mount | Service Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Dynamite (3) | 3 | 15" | Peneumatic Carriage | 1894-1904 | |
| Battery Lancaster | 3 | 12" | Disappearing Carriage | 1899-1918 | Partially buried for bridge |
| Battery Godfrey | 3 | 12" | Barbette Carriage | 1895-1942 | |
| Battery Saffold | 2 | 12" | Barbette Carriage | 1898-1942 | |
| Battery Howe | 16 | 12" | Mortar | 1900-1920 | 1 mortar pit remains Pits C & D redesignated Battery Wagner in 1906 |
| Battery Wagner | 8 | 12" | Mortar | 1906-1920 | Formed from pits C & D of Battery Howe in 1906 |
| Battery Stotsenburg | 16 | 12" | Mortar | 1900-1942 | Pits C & D redesignated Battery McKinnon in 1906 |
| Battery McKinnon | 8 | 12" | Mortar | 1906-1942 | Formed from pits C & D of Battery Stotsenburg in 1906 4 mortars removed to Battery Howe (2), Fort Funston 1918 |
| Battery Cranston | 2 | 10" | Disappearing Carriage | 1898-1942 | Maintenance Bldg. & Workshops built into it |
| Battery Miller | 3 | 10" | Disappearing Carriage | 1907-1918 | Established from Battery Cranston in 1907 |
| Battery East | 2 | 8" | Barbette Carriage | 1897-1915 | Converted Rodman rifles |
| Battery Slaughter | 3 | 8" | Disappearing Carriage | 1900-1917 | Partially buried |
| Battery Crosby | 2 | 6" | Disappearing Carriage | 1900-1943 | |
| Battery Chamberlin | 4 | 6" | Disappearing Carriage | 1904-1917 | 1 DC Installed 1976, being restored |
| Battery Chamberlin | 2 | 6" | Pedestal Mount | 1920-1949 | Modified DC Emplacement |
| Battery Boutelle | 3 | 5" | Balanced Pillar Mount | 1901-1917 | |
| Battery Sherwood | 2 | 5" | Pedestal Mount | 1900-1918 | Carriages shipped to Battery 24 Aug 1905 Guns & carriages to Fort Funston, Battery Bruff 18 Jun 1918 |
| Battery Blaney | 4 | 3" | Masking Pedestal Mount | 1901-1920 | Partially buried |
| Battery Baldwin | 2 | 3" | Pedestal Mount | 1907-1920 | |
| Source: Coastal Defense Study Group | |||||
World War I
Post World War I
Between 1933 and 1937 the fort was used as a base of operations for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.
World War II
During World War II, Old Fort Point was occupied by about 100 soldiers who manned searchlights and rapid-fire 3" guns mounted atop the fort as part of the protection of a submarine net strung across the entrance to the Bay.
| Battery Click on Battery links below | No. | Caliber | Type Mount | Service Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Fort Point | 4 | 3" | Pedestal | 1942-1942-1943-1946 | 2 Guns from Battery Yates, Fort Baker 2 Guns from Gravelly Beach, Fort Baker |
| Battery AMTB - Baker Beach | 2 | 90mm | Pedestal | 1943-1943-1943-1946 | |
| Source: Coastal Defense Study Group | |||||
Fort Point is the only third system brick fort on the west coast of the United States.
Current Status
Part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area (GGNRA) administered by the National Park Service. A National Historic Site since 16 Oct 1970.
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Location: Under the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Maps & Images Lat: 37.8108 Long: -122.4769
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Sources:
- Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 31
- Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 34
- 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 98
- Military Museum - Fort Winfield Scott
Links:
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Fort Winfield Scott Picture Gallery
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Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better! |
 The Barbette tier of Fort Point 1870 |
