Battery Wagner (1)

Battery Wagner (1) (1906-1920) - Battery Arthur Wagner is a concrete Endicott Period 12" mortar battery located on Fort Winfield Scott (2), San Francisco County, California. Named in G.O. 20, 25 Jan 1906, after Colonel Arthur L. Wagner, Secretary of the Army and a veteran of the Spanish-American War who died 17 Jun 1905. The Battery was formed in 1906 from the existing mortar pits C and D of Battery Howe. All mortars and carriages were scrapped in 1920.

Endicott Period (1890-1910)

Part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco.

Originally built between 1893 and 1895 with sixteen 12" M1886 and M1886M rifled mortars on M1891 mortar carriages in a concrete battery with four mortar pits (A-D). It was originally known as Fort Point (3) Battery No. 1 and was accepted for use 1 Jun 1900 and named for Col. Howe on 14 Feb 1902. In 1906, General Order 20 renamed mortar pits C and D as Battery Wagner (1) and pits A and B retained the Battery Howe name.

**Battery Wagner Armament** (edit list)
Empl No	Caliber Type	Barrel Length	Model	Serial No	Manufacturer	Carriage	Service Dates	Notes
A-1	12" Mortar	129"	M1886	8	Builders	Mortar M1891, 34, Builders	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
A-2	12" Mortar	129"	M1886	6	Builders	Mortar M1891, 32, Builders	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
A-3	12" Mortar	129"	M1886	7	Builders	Mortar M1891, 33, Builders	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
A-4	12" Mortar	129"	M1886	5	Builders	Mortar M1891, 31, Builders	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
B-1	12" Mortar	129"	M1886M	40	Builders	Mortar M1891, 51, Robert Poole	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
B-2	12" Mortar	129"	M1886M	42	Builders	Mortar M1891, 40, Robert Poole	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
B-3	12" Mortar	129"	M1886M	36	Builders	Mortar M1891, 45, Robert Poole	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
B-4	12" Mortar	129"	M1886M	53	Builders	Mortar M1891, 47, Robert Poole	1900-1920	See note 1 & 2
Source: RCW Form 1, 1 Mar 1920, RCB 31 Dec 1903, RCB 31 Dec 1909, CDSG Note 1: Mortars and carriages were ordered scrapped in accordance with Ordnance Dept. Instructions, 26 May 1920. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Note 2: Designated part of Battery Wagner (1) 1906.

World War I (1917-1918)

On 27 Oct 1915 Battery Wagner was declared "of insufficient military value to warrant provision of manning personnel and ammunition therefore" but it seems to have emerged from World War I with all it's armament in place. Engineering memorandum dated 21 Feb 1918 indicates that, after all the removals for World War I overseas service, Battery Wagner still had it's eight 12" mortars. It does appear that none of the 12" M1886 cast iron, steel hooped mortars were sent overseas indicating that they were not suitable for rail mounting.

Battery Wagner also escaped the earlier program to remove two mortars from each pit to give the crews more room to operate

Post World War I

On 30 Sep 1919 the U.S. Secretary of War ordered 72 of the existing 82, M1886 and M1886M mortars and their carriages scrapped. The Battery Wagner RCW dated 1 Mar 1920 shows all eight mortars still mounted. The Ordinance Department followed with instructions for the scrapping on 26 May 1920 and that is the scrapping date on the gun and carriage cards for Battery Wagner. This same scrapping date is found on many gun cards of varying calibers so it was clearly part of an overall disarmament program.

Current Status

Part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area (GGNRA) administered by the National Park Service. No guns or carriages are in place. Both pits are buried.

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Location: Fort Winfield Scott, San Francisco County, California

Maps & Images

Lat: 37.802222 Long: -122.471944

Multi Maps from ACME
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Maps from Google
Elevation: 181'

Sources:

Kent, Matthew W., Harbor Defenses of San Francisco - A Field Guide 1890 to 1950, Copyright 2009, Blurb, ISBN 978-1-61584-163-9, page 23

Links:

Visited: 22 Aug 2009

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