Battery Porter

Battery Porter (1902-1917) - Battery Porter was a concrete Endicott Period 5" gun battery located on Fort Hunt, Virginia. The Battery was named on 15 May 1903 for 1st Lt. James E. Porter, 7th U.S. Cavalry who was killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 . Battery construction started in November 1898, was completed by 30 Jun 1901 and transferred to the Coastal Artillery for use 26 Aug 1902 at a total cost of $ 8,000.00. Deactivated in 1917.

Battery Porter

Battery Porter History

Part of the Harbor Defense of the Potomac.

Battery Porter was a reinforced concrete Endicott Period 5" rapid fire gun battery with one M1897 gun mounted on an M1896 Carriage. The battery consisted of one 5" gun emplacement with a magazine below and an observation station.

The carriage was sent to Fort Hunt on 16 Jul 1900 from the Bethlehem Iron Company and the guns were mounted by 30 Jun 1902. The Battery was deactivated in 1917 and the gun was removed 31 Dec 1917 and shipped to the Morgan Engineering Company for modification to a 3.3" gun. It was eventually shipped to France, returned to Aberdeen and then donated to Caroline Post #27, Denton Maryland. The mount was scrapped on 12 Dec 1918. The gun card indicates that the gun fired 17 rounds over it's lifetime.

Battery Porter Armament (edit list)

Empl No	Caliber Type	Barrel Length	Model		Serial No	Manufacturer	Carriage	Service Dates	Notes
1	5" Rifle		M1897		1	Bethlehem	Balanced Pillar, M1896, #16, Bethlehem	1902-1917	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 88, 209 Note 1: Gun removed 31 Dec 1917 CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA, Mount scrapped 12 Dec 1918, CDSG gun carriage card collection from NARA.

Battery Porter Plan

Current Status

On Fort Hunt National Park, Virginia. No period guns or carriages are in place.

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Location:On Fort Hunt National Park, Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 38.7149265 Long: -77.050771 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 61.5'

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 HuntRCW.pdf
  • Form 7, page 10, dated 1 Feb 1919
  • Form 1, page 11, dated 1 Feb 1919
• CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA, CDSG file 5in Guns 001.pdf, page 1.
• 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 EngPotR.pdf, pages 22-26 (J1,M1,L1) .
• U.S. Corps of Engineers, Report of Completed Batteries, Etc. (RCB) from NARA, CDSG file potomacRCB.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, 209

Links:

• Wikipedia James Porter Page

Visited: 4 Apr 2009

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