St. John's Bluff 8" Battery

St. John's Bluff 8" Battery (1898-1899) - St. John's Bluff 8" Battery was a concrete Spanish American War 8" gun battery on modified front pintle carriages in Duval County, Florida. Battery construction started on 27 Apr 1898 and was completed by January 1899. The guns were mounted in January 1899 but were never serviced or test-fired. Deactivated in 1899. St. John's Bluff 8" Battery Location Map, see lower right side. Spanish American War Work began on the harbor defenses of Jacksonville on 1 Apr 1898, when laborers began to clear the brush on St. Johns Bluff. On 25 Apr 1898, the US declared war, and on 27 Apr 1898, an order was issued to build a permanent emplacement on St. Johns Bluff for two 8-inch breech-loading rifles. On 12 Aug 1898, a peace protocol was signed but work continued on the 8" gun battery. In January 1899, the two M1888 8-inch breech-loading rifles, each weighing 32,480 pounds, were mounted at the top of St. Johns Bluff on the carriages that were modified, strengthened, front pintle carriages of the type originally provided for l5-inch Rodman smoothbore guns. The war had ended a month earlier and further work on the St. Johns Bluff batteries was suspended. The 8-inch guns were never serviced by troops nor test fired. St. John's Bluff 8" Battery General Plan. St. John's Bluff 8" Battery Sections. On 28 Sep 1899, a contract was awarded to remove the ordnance from the emplacements on the bluff. The two 8-inch guns were slated for shipment to Fort McRae. Current Status No period guns or mounts in place. No public access yet. Through a mix of private and public funds, $400,000 was raised to purchase the site, and in December 2018, ownership of the property was officially transferred to the National Park Service. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: St. John's Bluff, Duval County, Florida. Maps & Images Lat: 30.38547 Long: -81.48737 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' GPS Locations: 30.38547, -81.48737 St. John's Bluff 8" Battery See Also: Sources: Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 3rd Edition - PDF, CDSG ePress, McLean, VA, 2012, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, page 214 Buker, George E., Spanish-American War Fortifications St. Johns Bluff, Florida, Fort Caroline National Memorial Contract No PX 531090043. Pdf Preservation Efforts - Spanish-American War Battery at St. John's Bluff, Jacksonville, Florida, Coast Defense Study Group News, Vol. 2, No. 4, May 1988, page 4. HABS 15-2 FL Spanish-American War Fort, St. John's Bluff, Duval County, Florida, Library of Congress, Documentation Links: CDSG Visited: No