Fort San Jacinto

Fort San Jacinto (1898-1947) - An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established in 1898. Named Fort San Jacinto, 21 Apr 1899, in commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto. Abandoned in 1947. Endicott Period (1890-1910) Part of the Harbor Defense of Galveston. Construction began on the four Endicott Period gun batteries in 1897 and the fort was first garrisoned on 20 Apr 1898 by Battery G, 1st U.S. Artillery under the command of Captain Clermont L. Best. The hurricane of 1900 severely damaged the island and the fort and it was not restored until 1906. In 1911 the Fort was re-garrisoned and the four refurbished gun batteries were accepted for service by the Coast Artillery, all on 21 Aug 1911. Fort San Jacinto Endicott Period Battery (edit list) Battery Click on Battery links below No. Caliber Type Mount Service Years Battery Cost Notes Battery Mercer 8 12" Mortar 1897-1899-1899-1900 1901-1906-1911-1943 $ 293,523 See Note 1 Battery Heileman 2 10" Disappearing 1897-1898-1899-1900 1901-1906-1911-1943 $ 184,218 See Note 1 Destroyed Battery Hogan 2 4.7" Armstrong 1898-1899-1899-1900 1901-1906-1911-1917 $ 47,269 See Note 1 Part destroyed Battery Croghan 2 3" Masking Parapet 1899-1900-1900-1900 1901-1906-1911-1946 $ 32,989 See Note 1 Source: CDSG Note 1: Damaged in 1900 Hurricane and not re-garrisoned until 1911. Reconstruction began in 1901, all rebuilt batteries accepted for service 21 Aug 1911. Fort San Jacinto Plan World War I (1917-1918) In 1917 the guns from Battery Hogan were dismounted and prepared for shipment overseas. World War I ended before the guns were actually shipped to Europe and they were returned, only to be scrapped in the 1920 disarmament program. All the other batteries remained active during the war. World War II (1941-1945) Two new gun batteries were built on Fort San Jacinto during World War II. Battery 235 was a rapid fire six inch gun battery designed to defend against small, fast mine layers and destroyers. Battery AMTB - Galveston Seawall had a dual defense mission against fast motor torpedo boats and aircraft. Battery Mercer was converted into a combined HECP-HDCP complex housing all of the personell and equipment needed to provide control over ships entering and leaving the harbor. A two story observation tower was built on the top of the complex for the Harbor HDCP function. This complex was formally accepted for service 18 Jul 1944 but it was in use before that date. Fort San Jacinto World War II Battery (edit list) Battery Click on Battery links below No. Caliber Type Mount Service Years Battery Cost Notes Battery 235 2 6" Shielded Long Range Barbette 1942-1944-1944-1946 $ 310,091 Battery 155 - Fort San Jacinto 4 155mm Mobile Panama on Mounts 1942-1944 $ ? Battery AMTB - Galveston Seawall 4 90mm Fixed Pedestal 1942-1943-1943-1946 $ 17,039 Source: CDSG Current Status Most of the batteries are in a bad state or are inaccessible. No period guns or carriages in place. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Eastern End of Galveston Island, Texas. Maps & Images Lat: 29.3334284 Long: -94.769429 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: ' Recent Blog Posts: Galveston Harbor Defenses 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 777 Gaines, William, The Seacoast Defenses of Galveston, Texas, The Coast Defense Journal, Vol 21, Issue 4, Nov 2007, page 4 U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Galveston, (HD-G-ANN-45), 15 Mar 1944, CDSG Links: North American Forts - Galveston CDSG Visited: 12 Nov 2009