Category:Fort Canby
Fort Canby (1852-1947) - In 1852 the War Department created a military reservation at Cape Disappointment to protect the mouth of the Columbia, but construction did not begin until August 1863. The post, first named Fort Cape Disappointment, was completed and occupied by troops the following April. For their permanent shelter, that year and the next several frame garrison buildings were erected. The fortifications, at the southernmost tip of the cape, consisted of three earthwork batteries armed with smoothbore cannons to protect the mouth of the Columbia River. The installation was expanded to become Fort Canby in 1875, named after General Edward R.S. Canby, who was killed in the Modoc Indian War.
The fort is also the site, where, on November 15, 1805, members of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery first stepped into the breaking surf of the Pacific Ocean.
Between 1896 and 1908, after a long period of neglect during which the fort and its armament had become obsolete, the Army completely renovated them. New barracks and other buildings were constructed, and two batteries with a total of five rifled guns in concrete emplacements were installed. In 1911 a new mortar battery of four guns was added. Further modernization occurred during World War II. In 1947 the fort was deactivated. Present surviving structures date from the World War II period.
Location: Cape Disappointment, Washington
Maps & Images
Lat: 46.28598 Long: -124.07993
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Pages in category "Fort Canby"
The following 11 pages are in this category, out of 11 total.