Fort Rosecrans

Fort Rosecrans (1852-1959) - Established 26 Feb 1852 as the Fort at Ballast Point and renamed Fort Rosecrans in 1899 after Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans. The military reservation was transferred to the U.S. Navy Department 1 Jul 1959.

Fort Rosecrans History

Established to protect the entrance to San Diego Harbor.

The initial fortifications were planned for Ballast Point about the location of the old Spanish Fort Guijarros but actual construction of earthworks didn't begin until 1873. Plagued by a chronic lack of funds, the first batteries weren't completed until 7 Feb 1898. Five Endicott Period Batteries were constructed and remained active through 1943. Two Taft Period batteries, three World War II temporary batteries, and four 1940 program batteries were constructed over the years. On 1 Jul 1959 the reservation was transferred to the Navy Department.

Fort Rosecrans Batteries

Endicott Period	Taft Period	WWII Temporary	1940 Program
Wilkerson (2) Calef (2) McGrath (2) Fetterman (2)	Whistler (4) Ehite (4)	Zeilin (2) Gillespie (3) North (4)	Fredrick S. Strong (2) Thomas Q. Ashburn (2) 237(1) (2) Charles Humphreys (4)

Endicott Period

Fort Rosecrans Endicott Period Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Calef-Wilkeson	1 3	10" 10"	Disappearing Disappearing	1898-1899-1900-1942 1897-1898-1898-1942	$ 217,262	Emp #1 Emp #2,3,4
Battery McGrath	2 2	5" 3"	Balanced Pillar Pedestal	1899-1900-1900-1917 1919-1943	$ 18,204	Guns to France From Fort Pio Pico, Battery Meed
Battery Fetterman	2	3"	Masked Pedestal	1898-1903-1903-1920	$ 8,865	Destroyed 1940
Source: CDSG

Taft Period

Fort Rosecrans Taft Period Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Whistler	4	12"	Mortar	1916-1919-1919-1942	$ 118,000	Mortars from Battery Laidley, Fort De Soto, modified
Battery White (2)	4	12"	Mortar	1915-1919-1919-1942	$ 144,200	Mortars from Battery Rodney, Fort DuPont (1)
Source: CDSG

Current Status

Active military reservation.

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Location: Point Loma, San Diego, California. Maps & Images Lat: 32.685114 Long: -117.237124 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 57'

Sources:

• Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 33
• Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 29-30
• CABRILLO: The Guns of San Diego Historic Resource Study, NPS

Links:

• California Military Museum
• NorthAmericanForts.com
• Coast Defense Study Group, Press, Digital Library, Forums

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