Fort Winfield Scott (2)

Fort Winfield Scott (2) (1853-1914) - Established under the supervision of 1st Lt. William H.C. Whiting, U.S. Corps of Engineers, and under construction 1853 to 1861. Renamed Fort Winfield Scott after Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott in 1882. Declared obsolete in 1905 and abandoned for military purposes in 1914.

Fort Winfield Scott (2) History

Fort Point was built to prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay.

The fort was designed to mount 126 massive cannon. Rushed to completion at the beginning of the U.S. Civil War, Fort Point was first garrisoned in February of 1861 by Company I, 3rd U.S. Artillery. The fort was occupied throughout the U.S. Civil War, but the advent of faster, more powerful rifled cannon made brick forts such as Fort Point obsolete. In 1886 the troops were withdrawn, and the last cannon were removed about 1900. The fort was then used for storage and training purposes for many years.

Between 1933 and 1937 the fort was used as a base of operations for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. During World War II, Fort Point was occupied by about 100 soldiers who manned searchlights and rapid-fire cannon mounted atop the fort as part of the protection of a submarine net strung across the entrance to the Bay.

Fort Point is the only third system brick fort on the west coast of the United States.

- National Park Service -

Current Status

A National Historic Site since 16 Oct 1970.

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Location: Under the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

Maps & Images

Lat: 37.8108 Long: -122.4769

Multi Maps from ACME
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Elevation: '

Sources:

Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 31
Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 34

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