Battery Harris

Battery Harris (1900-1917) - Battery Harris was a concrete Endicott Period 5" rapid fire gun battery located on Fort Howard (1), Maryland. The Battery was named 11 Feb 1902 for Col. David Harris, commander of an artillery regiment during the attack on Baltimore in 1814. Battery construction started in 1897, was completed in 1898 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 27 Oct 1900 at a total cost of $ 17,400.00. Deactivated in 1917. Battery Harris Gun Emplacement #1 Battery Clagett C.R.F. Station in Battery Harris Gun Emplacement #2 Battery Harris History Part of the Harbor Defense of Baltimore. Battery Harris was a reinforced concrete Endicott Period rapid fire 5" gun battery with two M1897 guns mounted on M1896 balance pillar mounts. The battery consisted of two 5" gun emplacements 56' apart with a separate magazine for each gun emplacement. The carriages were sent to Fort Howard on 6 Apr 1900 from Detrick & Harvey. The Battery was deactivated in 1917 and the guns were removed on 5 Oct 1917 and shipped to Morgan Engineering Company for shipment to the war in France. The mounts were scrapped on 12 Dec 1918. After the deactivation of Battery Harris a C.R.F. Station for Battery Clagett was built over the #2 gun emplacement. It was accepted 19 Nov 1920 at a cost of $ 2,285. Battery Harris Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 5" Rifle 225" M1897 10 Bethlehem Balanced Pillar, M1896, #23, Detrick & Harvey 1900-1917 See Note 1 Rounds fired 64? 2 5" Rifle 225" M1897 6 Bethlehem Balanced Pillar, M1896, #22, Detrick & Harvey 1900-1917 See Note 1 Rounds fired 53 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 88, 208 Note 1: CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA, CDSG gun carriage card collection from NARA. Current Status On Fort Howard County Park, Maryland. No period guns or carriages are in place. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location:On Fort Howard County Park, Maryland. Maps & Images Lat: 39.1964094 Long: -76.4420986 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 27' Sources: Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library U.S. Corps of Engineers, Report of Completed Works - Seacoast Fortifications (RCW) from NARA, CDSG file: HowardRCW.pdf Form 7, page 14, dated 1 Apr 1922 Form 1, page 13, dated 1 May 1922 CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA, CDSG file: 5in Guns 001.pdf, page 1-2. CDSG gun carriage card collection from NARA, CDSG file: 5in Carriages 001.pdf , page 3. U.S. Corps of Engineers, Engineering Journal from NARA, CDSG file: EngBalt.pdf, pages 14-18. U.S. Corps of Engineers, Report of Completed Batteries, Etc. (RCB) from NARA, CDSG file: baltimoreRCB.pdf Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 88, 208. Links: Visited: 3 Apr 2009 Battery Harris Picture Gallery Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!