Fort Howard (1): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:08, 26 May 2009

Fort Howard (1) (1896-1940) - An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established as North Point Military Reservation in 1896 and first garrisoned on 6 Jun 1899 by Battery E, 4th U.S. Artillery. Named 4 Apr 1900 after Col. John Eager Howard, a distinguished soldier of the Maryland Continental Line during the Revolutionary War. Became the headquarters for the Harbor Defense of Baltimore including Fort Smallwood, Fort Armistead, and Fort Carroll. Turned over to the Veterans Administration Aug 1940.

Fort Howard (1) History

Established as a part of the Harbor Defense of Baltimore.

Endicott Period

Construction on the post began in 1897 under the supervision of U.S. Army Engineers and concentrated on the building of the Coastal batteries themselves. A limited number of support facilities were built to facilitate the Battery Construction.

In June of 1899 Battery E, 4th U.S. Artillery, arrived to garrison the post. Additional support structures were built but construction of permanent Fort facilities did not begin until 1900-1901.

The last of the gun batteries were completed in 1901 and attention turned to building out the permanent infrastructure of the post. Major construction projects were completed including two 100 man barracks, six junior officer quarters, quarters for four NCOs, a post hospital with stewards quarters, an administration building and a guardhouse that could accommodate 15 prisoners.

In 1902, two additional officers quarters were completed, one for a captain and one for a field grade officer. In 1903, 1904 and 1905 additional NCO quarters were added. In 1905 a double set of junior officers quarters were completed and in 1906 another field grade officers quarters was added along with a Post Exchange and Gym.

In 1910 an additional 109 man barracks and quarters for four NCOs were completed. 1911 added a fire station and a quad set of junior officer quarters.

By 1912 the post was well built out and contained most of the permanent facilities that one could expect from post this size. On 1 Mar 1912 the post proper was electrified and electricity was available for the first time all over the post including officer, NCO and enlisted quarters.

**Fort Howard Endicott Period Battery** (edit list)
Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Key	8	12"	Mortar	1900-1927	$ 112,999
Battery Stricker	2	12"	Disappearing	1899-1918	$ 113,499
Battery Nicholson	2	6"	Disappearing	1900-1927	$ 37,029
Battery Harris	2	5"	Balanced Pillar	1900-1917	$ 17,400
Battery Clagett	2	3"	Masking Parapet	1901-1920	$ 10,460
Battery Lazear	2	3"	Masking Parapet	1900-1920	$ 10,445	Destroyed
Source: CDSG

World War I

World War II

Executive Order 8501, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 2 Aug 1940, ordered the War Department to turn over jurisdiction of Fort Howard to the Veterans' Administration. The VA completed a large VA hospital on the grounds in 1943. Some 200 Japanese and German aliens were interred in old army barracks during the war and the Army retained some other activities on the post.

Post World War II

Starting in the 1960's part of the Fort was used as an auxiliary training area by the US Army Intelligence school at Fort Holabird. A replica of a Vietnamese village complete with tunnels was built for counterinsurgency training. Training at Fort Howard ended in 1971 when the intelligence school moved to Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

Current Status

The VA still owns the majority of the property but has maintained only an outpatient clinic since 2000. There are 37 historic buildings on the VA portion of the site, built between 1898 and 1943. The portion of the Fort that contained the coastal gun batteries was declared surplus and is now a Baltimore County Park.

No period guns or carriages in place.

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Location: Fort Howard County Park, Maryland.

Maps & Images

Lat: 39.199968 Long: -76.4427209

Multi Maps from ACME
Maps from Bing
Maps from Google
Elevation: '

Sources:

Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 383
Wikipedia - Fort Howard
Wikipedia - North Point, Maryland
NorthAmericanForts.com
Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

Visited: 3 Apr 2009

Fort Howard (1) Picture Gallery

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!

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 In June of 1899 Battery E, 4th U.S. Artillery, arrived to garrison the post. Additional support structures were built but construction of permanent Fort facilities did not begin until 1900-1901.
 The last of the gun batteries were completed in 1901 and attention turned to building out the permanent infrastructure of the post. Major construction projects  were completed including two 100 man barracks, six junior officer quarters, quarters for four NCOs, a post hospital with stewards quarters, an administration building and a guardhouse that could accommodate 15 prisoners.
 In 1902, two additional officers quarters were completed, one for a captain and one for a field grade officer. In 1903, 1904 and 1905 additional NCO quarters were added. In 1905 a double set of junior officers quarters were completed and in 1906 another field grade officers quarters was added along with a Post Exchange and Gym.