Fort Howard (1)

Fort Howard (1) (1899-1940) - An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established as North Point Military Reservation on 6 Jun 1899. 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 Entrance Sign

Fort Howard Field Officer Quarters, Bldg #8

Fort Howard (1) History

Established as a part of the Harbor Defense of Baltimore.

Endicott Period

Individual Officers Qtrs, Bldgs 12-14, Built in 1901

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

Fort Howard Plan 1921

World War II

Fort Howard, Old VA Hospital

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

Vietnam Era Training Building

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
• NorthAmericanForts.com
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

Visited: 3 Apr 2009

Fort Howard (1) Picture Gallery

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