Fort Mott (1)

Fort Mott (1) (1872-1943) Fort Mott was established as the Battery at Finns Point during an upgrade of coastal defenses in 1872. The upgrade was defunded by Congress in 1876 and the batteries remained partially complete. In 1896 work resumed and five Endicott Period gun batteries were build. The post was named Fort Mott on 16 Dec 1897 after Maj. Gen. Gershom Mott, who served in the Mexican-American War and the U.S. Civil War. Fort Mott was closed in 1943.

Fort Mott Flagstaff and Barracks	Fort Mott Enlisted Barracks
Fort Mott 1904 Peace Magazine

Fort Mott (1) History

Part of the Harbor Defense of the Delaware along with Fort Delaware and Fort DuPont (1).

The original plan for the fort included eleven gun emplacements with twenty guns and a mortar battery with six emplacements for Rodman Smoothbore guns. Construction was started in 1872, only two of the gun emplacements and two magazines in the mortar battery were completed before all work stopped in 1876.

Endicott Period

Fort Mott 1903 Observation Tower and back of the Post HQ

Five Endicott Period batteries were built between 1897 and 1902, Battery Edwards casemates were constructed from two of the original 1872 magazines. Moisture in the gun battery magazines was a constant problem and a separate Peace Magazine was completed to house munitions for the batteries in 1904. The Peace Magazine was connected to the main gun line by a railroad track through a tunnel cut in the parados.

Fort Mott had over 30 buildings, including two large 115 men barracks, commissioned and non-commissioned officers housing, hospital, a post exchange, a library, a guard house, a stable, YMCA and a school for the soldier's children.

Fort Mott (1) Endicott Period Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Arnold	3	12"	Disappearing Carriage	1896-1898-1899-1943	$ 268,352*
Battery Harker (1)	3	10"	Disappearing Carriage	1896-1898-1899-1941	$ 268,352*	Guns to Canada 1941
Battery Gregg	2	5"	Pedestal Mounts	1900-1900-1901-1913	$ 17,500	Guns to Honolulu 1913
Battery Krayenbuhl	2	5"	Balanced Pillar Mounts	1896-1897-1900-1917	$ 19,342	Guns to France 1917
Battery Edwards	2	3"	Casemate Mount	1901-1901-1902-1920	$ 5,841	Destroyed
Source: CDSG

World War I

The two 5" guns from Battery Gregg were removed 30 Aug 1913 and sent to Honolulu. The two 5" guns in Battery Krayenbuhl were remove and shipped overseas Nov 1917. The two 3" guns from Battery Edwards were removed in 1920. The fort went on caretaker status in 1922 and remained in that status until it closed in 1943.

Fort Mott Plan 1921

World War II

Three of Battery Harker's 10" guns and disappearing carriages were sold to Canada in 1941. Two gun tubes are on display at Fort Cape Spear in Newfoundland. Fort Cape Spear guns. The other was sent to Fort Prével in Québec. Fort Mott's officers quarters were moved across the river to Fort DuPont (1) in Delaware and the site was declared surplus in 1943 and the remaining armament was removed.

Current Status

In 1947 the State of New Jersey purchased the site and converted it to Fort Mott State Park. The park was opened to the public on 24 Jun 1951. No mounted period guns or carriages remain.

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Location: Location Fort Mott State Park is on the Delaware River at Finns Point in Salem County, New Jersey. Maps & Images Lat: 39.60463 Long: -75.5509186 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 7'

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 513-514

Links:

• America Forts Network
• Fort Mott State Park
• Wikipedia
• Coastal Heritage Trail
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

Visited: 6 Aug 2010

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