Battery Meigs

Battery Meigs (1902-1915) - Battery Meigs was a concrete Endicott Period 12" mortar battery located on Fort Washington (1), Maryland. The Battery was named in G.O. 43, 4 Apr 1900, for Bvt Major General Montgomery C. Meigs, Quartermaster General, U.S. Army, 1861-1882. Battery construction started 25 Aug 1898 , was completed in FY 1902 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 27 Oct 1902 at a total cost of $ 117,000. Officially abandoned 13 Jan 1915. Battery Meigs Mortar Pit B Battery Meigs, Observation Post Battery Meigs Panorama 4 Apr 2009 History Part of the Harbor Defense of the Potomac. Battery Meigs was a reinforced concrete Endicott Period 12" mortar battery with eight 12" M1890M1 mortars mounted on M1896 mortar carriages. The carriages arrived at Fort Washington (1) in April and May of 1899. The guns and carriages were removed in April 1913 and shipped to Fort Banks (2), Battery Kellogg, in Massachusetts. A crew of 18 men was required to service each 12" mortar. The shells for the mortars weighed between 700 lb - 1046 lb and the normal powder charge was 65 lb. The maximum range of the mortars was 12 - 15 thousand yards depending on the projectile weight. Battery Meigs Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes A-1 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 110 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #208, Midvale 1902-1913 See Note 1 A-2 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 81 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #175, Lake Erie 1902-1913 See Note 1 A-3 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 125 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #174, Lake Erie 1902-1913 See Note 1 A-4 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 117 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #172, Lake Erie 1902-1913 See Note 1 B-1 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 111 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #173, Lake Erie 1902-1913 See Note 1 B-2 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 122 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #169, Lake Erie 1902-1913 See Note 1 B-3 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 109 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #171, Lake Erie 1902-1913 See Note 1 B-4 12" Mortar 141.125 M1890MI 112 Watervliet Mortar, M1896, #170, Lake Erie 1902-1913 See Note 1 Source: Coast Defense Study Group, RCW Form 1 1 Feb 1919, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 140, 209 Note 1: Mortars mounted Aug 1902. Mortars and carriages removed and shipped to Battery Kellogg, Fort Banks (2) in 1913-1914, later ordered scrapped at Fort Banks (2) 15 Dec 1942, CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA, CDSG gun carriage card collection from NARA. Current Status On Fort Washington (1) National Park. No period guns or carriages are in place. The mortar pits and the rooms are being used for storage and are not open to the public. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1957578 {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Fort Washington National Park, Maryland. Maps & Images Lat: 38.7096586 Long: -77.0257258 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 164.5' Recent Blog Posts: Battery Meigs at Fort Washington Sources: Links: CDSG Visited: 4 Apr 2009 Battery Meigs Picture Gallery Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better! Battery Meigs, Mortar Pit A, Emplacement #1 Battery Meigs, Mortar Pit B, Stored Cannon