Battery Heart

Battery Heart (1900-1917) - Battery Heart was a reinforced concrete, Endicott Period 5 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Carroll (1), Baltimore County, Maryland. The battery was named in G.O. 78, 25 May 1903, after Maj. Jonathan Heart, 2nd U.S. Infantry, who served during the Revolutionary War and who was killed 4 Nov 1791, in action with Indians near Fort Recovery (1), Ohio. Battery construction started in 1899, was completed in 1900 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 5 Jul 1900 at a cost of $ 12,300.00. Deactivated in 1917. Endicott Period Part of the Harbor Defense of Baltimore. Originally built as an Endicott Period concrete coastal gun battery with two 5" M1897 guns mounted on M1896 Balanced pillar mounts. This was a two-story battery with the guns located on the upper level and the magazines below. Shells were moved from the magazine level to the gun loading platform by hand. No shell or powder hoists were provided. Power was furnished by the emplacement power plant behind Battery Towson. Battery Heart was built into the southwest casemates of the old fort structure with the lower tier filled in and sealed as protection for the magazines. Battery Heart Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 5" Rifle 225" M1897 10 Watervliet Balanced pillar, M1896, #26, Detrick & Harvey 1900-1917 See note 1 2 5" Rifle 225" M1897 9 Watervliet Balanced pillar, M1896, #21, Detrick & Harvey 1900-1917 See note 1 Source: RCW Form 1, 1 Jan 1920, RCB, 31 Dec 1909, CDSG, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 88-89 Note 1: Guns transferred to Morgan 5 Nov 1917, carriages ordered scrapped 26 May 1920. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Battery Heart Plan World War I The U.S. entry into World War I resulted in a widespread removal of large caliber coastal defense gun tubes for service in Europe. Many of the gun and mortar tubes removed were sent to arsenals for modification and mounting on mobile carriages, both wheeled and railroad. Most of the removed gun tubes never made it to Europe and were either remounted or remained at the arsenals until needed elsewhere. The guns of Battery Heart were ordered dismounted for use abroad on 24 Aug 1917. Both guns were transferred to Morgan Engineering Co. on 5 Nov 1917 for modification and then were transferred to France in August 1918. Both mounts remained in place until ordered scrapped on 26 May 1920 as a part of the 1920 disarmament program. Current Status No period guns or mounts in place. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Fort Carroll, Baltimore County, Maryland Maps & Images Lat: 39.2143128 Long: -76.519534 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 25.52' Sources: Links: Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library Visited: No