St. John's Bluff Siege Battery

St. John's Bluff Siege Battery (1898-1898) - A Spanish American War Battery established in 1898 on St. John's Bluff, near Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. Abandoned in 1898. St. John's Bluff Spanish America War Batteries. History With the explosion and sinking of U.S. Battleship Maine on 15 Feb 1898, a fervor of activities that would lead to a war with Spain began, and the construction of coastal defenses became an urgent priority. The Jacksonville District Engineer, Lieutenant Colonel William H. H. Benyaurd received instructions on 4 Apr 1898 to construct on "...the select site for four modern siege guns which will be sent you." Agreement on the site location and acquisition of a suitable battery site was quickly arranged and John M. Cook was hired as superintendent. On 11 Apr 1898, work began on the battery. The chosen site was near the remaining earthworks of a U.S. Civil War Confederate fort and since both sets of guns were on wheeled carriages the battery construction was not complicated. On April 12, the Florida Central & Peninsula Railroad brought gun carriages from the arsenal at Rock Island, Illinois, into its yard at the foot of Julia Street in Jacksonville. There were two 5-inch and two 6-inch rapid-fire wheeled carriages, which would have to be modified for the guns at St. Johns Bluff. By mid-April 1898 the wharf was completed and a roadway from the riverbank to the bluff was finished. It had been decided to lay a railroad track from the wharf up the bluff and to use a stationary engine to haul materials including the carriages and the guns to the top. The tracks from the wharf went up a ravine, or a man-made cut, to the battery on the bluff. On 22 Apr 1898, the guns for the bluff arrived from New York state. Two 5-inch breech-loading rifles and two 7-inch breech-loading howitzers. The gun emplacements were nearly ready, but there was no place to store the guns at the bluff so they waited on a railroad siding. St. John's Bluff Siege Battery Guns Number Size Type Weight Projectile Penetration Range 2 5" Breech-loading rifle 3,660 lbs 45 lbs 2.5" 3,500 yds 2 7" Breech-loading howitzer 3,710 lbs 105 lbs 2.4" 3,500 yds The four guns were shipped downriver on a barge and then brought up the tramway and mounted. The guns at St. Johns Bluff were never fired or serviced by troops during their stay at St. John's Bluff. On 25 Apr 1898 the United States declared war on Spain and on 27 Apr 1898 the order was issued to build a 2 gun 8" battery at St. Johns Bluff and the temporary siege battery was no longer required. The siege battery guns were soon dismounted and on 18 May 1898, the four guns and carriages were sent to Tampa. The guns and carriages were destined to be used by the Army Expeditionary Force being readied at Tampa for the invasion of Cuba. Current Status Unknown {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: St. John's Bluff, Duval County, Florida. Maps & Images Lat: 30.387917 Long: -81.489602 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 75' GPS Locations: 30.387917, -81.489602 Siege 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, 182-183. 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 Report of the Commission Appointed by the President to Investigate the Conduct of the War Department in the War With Spain, Vol. 7 of 8, U.S. Senate Document 221, 56th Congress, 1st Session, GPO, Washington, 1900, pages 3777-3781. (Google Books) Gaines, William C., Defenses of Florida's St. Johns River 1898-1944, Coast Defense Journal, CDSG, Vol 18, Issue 1, February 2004, pages 78-98. Links: Jacksonville Magazine - A Spanish-American War artillery battery in Arlington is now part of the National Park Service USACE - Jacksonville History 1885-1913 Visited: 17 Aug 2021