Spanish-American War Coastal Forts

[jdmackintosh]

Anyone know of a printed source on Spanish-American War coastal fortifications? Down on St. Helena Island, near Hilton Head, stands Fort Fremont, built in 1899 and completed when the war was over, so it didn't see any action (wouldn't have in any event as the Spanish Navy never threatened the mainland U.S.) I remember seeing it as a child when it was still "in the rough," probably about forty years ago, now it is slowly being restored by the county as they are clearing off sub-tropical overgrowth, getting rid of snakes, etc. I may venture down that way next weekend.

Can't find anything on these forts specifically on Amazon but any help appreciated. Thanks.

[elisabeth]

Nothing specific, but a couple of books cited here look quite promising:

tinyurl.com/fuovn

[jdmackintosh]

Elisabeth,

Thanks, you are always so helpful on the wide range of topics delved into on this board.

I was thinking about going to the Fort but ran across something on the web saying that "security fencing has been recently placed" on a preservation site charting its progress, so it is totally closed while it is being refurbished as a Beufort County park.

Here are some photos I found of how it appeared prior to recent restoration efforts:
www.graveaddiction.com/dougff.html

It is interest to note that further up our coast the far better known Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie where altered during the late 1890s to hold the large caliber artillery pieces of that day, which has hurt both sites in terms of maintaining their brick masonry type architecture that was present during the Civil War.
But heck, they were concerned, rightfully so, at that time with the security needs of the 1890s, not the past.

P.S.--just checked to make sure the link is working; be sure to look at those shots of the dark interior bunkers which I would not have had the courage to shot as the South Carolina Lowcountry is known for having a number of snakes around, especially in the summer! Also notice the intrepid photographer has called it Fort Freemont when it is actually Fremont. I couldn't come up with many photos under Fremont so did an alternative spelling and hit these photos. Sort of like on ebay you can sometimes find something interesting listed under Custar rather than Custer.

[elisabeth]

Great photos. It's very beautiful: so simple, but so strong. Gorgeous.

How big is it? I'm finding it hard to judge from the pictures ... Much more of it below ground than above, presumably. Were the doorways the gun ports? Or would the guns have been mounted on the roof?

Oddly, it reminds me a bit of the WW2 pillboxes we've still got scattered around the countryside here. Some are just brick-built, as machine-gun nests to guard possible invasion routes; but others are really solid things, ferro-concrete, with the same this-means-business look about them. A lot of those were anti-aircraft gun emplacements. Very much like Fort Fremont, but of course on a much smaller scale. (Not sure how big the crews that manned them were, but I'm guessing no more than six.) Ours don't have snakes in them, however; maybe the odd toad (they're damp) but apart from that, just broken bottles -- and other more unmentionable things ...

If you're a forts fan -- have you ever seen our Martello towers? They're a bit like Fort Fremont, in never having seen any action; they were a chain of forts built along our south coast to resist any invasion by Napoleon -- which, thanks to the famous British weather, never happened. (Well, one boatload got ashore somewhere in Dorset and managed to burn a barn before being captured, but that's as close as he got.) They're rather splendid. Some have now been converted into private homes, and must be absolutely fantastic to live in! I'll see if I can hunt up some photos.


P.S. Typical: I state a fact first, and investigate it afterwards! Hadn't realised till now that they were much more widely spread than just the south coast; even as far afield as Ireland. Anyway, here are some pix:

www.ecastles.co.uk/martello.html
www.eastbournemuseums.co.uk/redoubt/martello.htm
home.freeuk.net/jochenlueg/english/mtower.htm

Nice things, eh?

[jdmackintosh]

Elisabeth,

Fort Fremont is somewhat difficult to describe, it has a rather elongated shape, facing the entrance to Port Royal Sound south of the City of Beaufort, with its rear unprotected and open to the land. This is just north of Savannah, Georgia where Fort Screven from that same era survives in excellent condition.

This old book on Seacoast Fortifications I purchased ages ago and finally dug up has a few similar structures it describes as "batteries" that were armed with Endicott breech-loading pieces, some are described as having a "disappearing carriage" that retracted beneath the concrete walls after firing and served to protect and conceal the battery. It shows a battery that appears similar to Fremont built at the same time, except at the opposite end of the country guarding the Columbia River in Oregon.

Those are some great pics of Martello Towers. I think I mentioned to you that I went to grad school at Aberdeen Univeresity and although I was down in England some and on the coast, failed to see a Martello Tower, as I was hampered by the lack of a car. Aren't there a number of these still standing?

What I did see in Scotland though was the ancient forerunner of the Martellos--Pictish-era brochs, the best example being the one at Mousa, located on the Shetland Isles. As I am sure you know, its shape is identical to those Martellos, except it consisted of old circular stone walls. I have some now-fading photographs from the late 1970s (how time passes) of that broch.

P.S.-Just read your links where it says only nine Martellos remain fully intact. At least those have survived.

[jdmackintosh]

Elisabeth,

Fort Fremont is somewhat difficult to describe, it has a rather elongated shape, facing the entrance to Port Royal Sound south of the City of Beaufort, with its rear unprotected and open to the land. This is just north of Savannah, Georgia where Fort Screven from that same era survives in excellent condition.

This old book on Seacoast Fortifications I purchased ages ago and finally dug up has a few similar structures it describes as "batteries" that were armed with Endicott breech-loading pieces, some are described as having a "disappearing carriage" that retracted beneath the concrete walls after firing and served to protect and conceal the battery. It shows a battery that appears similar to Fremont built at the same time, except at the opposite end of the country guarding the Columbia River in Oregon. The interior rooms on Fremont I think were for ammunition storage. The artillery men posted there leaved in wooden structures nearby, only one of which survives, now as a private residence.

Those are some great pics of Martello Towers. I think I mentioned to you that I went to grad school at Aberdeen Univeresity and although I was down in England some and on the coast, failed to see a Martello Tower, as I was hampered by the lack of a car. Aren't there a number of these still standing?

What I did see in Scotland though was the ancient forerunner of the Martellos--Pictish-era brochs, the best example being the one at Mousa, located on the Shetland Isles. As I am sure you know, its shape is identical to those Martellos, except it consisted of old circular stone walls. I have some now-fading photographs from the late 1970s (how time passes) of that broch.

P.S.-Just read your links where it says only nine Martellos remain fully intact. At least those have survived.[/quote]

[elisabeth]

Great stuff. I suppose circular walls would deflect arrows, or whatever missiles the Picts' enemies were using, just as the Martellos would deflect cannon-balls ...

Did you ever go to Orkney? Skara Brae, the standing stones at Stenness, and that wonderful burial mound whose name I've forgotten? Splendid places ...

[jdmackintosh]

Unfortunately, never made it to Orkney. Although Shetland was further away, it was easier to get there since Aberdeen is the main port serving the Isles, with a daily overnight P&O ship to Lerwick easy to catch.

I am glad this segment of the board is "Around the campfire" where anything goes, otherwise with the twists and turns this thread has taken, it would certainly not fit in our normal Custer categories!

[markland]

jdmackintosh said:

Anyone know of a printed source on Spanish-American War coastal fortifications? Down on St. Helena Island, near Hilton Head, stands Fort Fremont, built in 1899 and completed when the war was over, so it didn't see any action (wouldn't have in any event as the Spanish Navy never threatened the mainland U.S.) I remember seeing it as a child when it was still "in the rough," probably about forty years ago, now it is slowly being restored by the county as they are clearing off sub-tropical overgrowth, getting rid of snakes, etc. I may venture down that way next weekend.

Can't find anything on these forts specifically on Amazon but any help appreciated. Thanks.

John, I will look through the War Department Executive Papers microfiche tomorrow when at Leavenworth to see if there is any mention of fortifications during that era.

Billy

[jdmackintosh]

Billy,

Thanks, it must be nice to live so close to Ft. Leavenworth. Have a nice Labor Day.

John

[Melani]

jd--
I sent a copy of your initial post to my friend Steven Gay, who does Spanish-American War reenacting at Angel Island here in San Francisco Bay. Steve and his guys are noted for their scholarship and devotion to accuracy. He sent me two responses and a bunch of links. I am copying them here, and I hope it works--I am rather technically incompentent with the more refined aspects of this machine.

If this doesn't work, you can send me a pm with your email if you like, and I will forward the original message.

Melani

From Steve:

Most of, if not all, the coastal fortifications (that is, emplacements for coastal artillery) that were used in the Spanish-American War were there from previous times, and upgraded for the Spanish-American War. A great local example is Battery Ledyard at Angel Island, in our own San Francisco Bay. Angel Island had been a coast artillery fort since the Civil War, but "modern" concrete emplacements were put in in 1899, from government appropriations of 1898. These emplacements held "small" 5-inch guns, which is what would have been called a secondary battery at the time.

For a reference to Ledyard, see the attached photos, and this link:

mishalov.com/angel-island-28may05/index2.html

Battery Drew, armed with a single 8-inch gun, began construction in April 1898, just a few weeks before the beginning of the Spanish-American War.

Forts along the east coast also got upgraded, modern gun emplacements during the Spanish-American War. One notable such fort was Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Alongside the old Civil War brick structures, a modern, sloping concrete emplacement was installed. See:

www.cr.nps.gov/nR/travel/charleston/sum.htm

Here are some other references to similar forts, upgraded for the Spanish-American War:

www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/fortmott.html

www.geocities.com/~jmgould/seacoast.html

For Fort Fremont, specifically, I found this reference. It looks like Fort" Fremont was an exception, and was built from scratch in 1899, again with 1898 government appropriations for the Spanish-American War. Initially, two 4.7-inch guns were installed, which is similar to what was in place in 1899 on Battery Ledyard. It appears that there was no fort there during the Civil War or before. Here is a great reference on Ft. Fremont:

www.bcgov.net/bftlib/fremont.htm

Hope this helps.

-Steve


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A quick follow-up. I don't know of any books on this. However, on eBay, I did find a photograh of gun emplacements on Fort Fremont, South Carolina, printed on a post card:

cgi.ebay.com/Real-Photo-Card-Guns-at-Fort-Fremont-SC-1908_W0QQitemZ150031981861QQihZ005QQcategoryZ921QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

See also the attached photo.

-Steve

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[alfuso]

There's Fort Desoto here in Pinellas County Florida. it's a park now, with its beach listed as onbe of the top 10 in America.

www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm

"A county park, Fort De Soto Park consists of a string of five small islands (keys) off the coast of St. Petersburg. The fort for which the park is named was built during the Spanish-American War in the late 1890's and is open to the public. The last brickwork fort built in the United States, the fort never saw action and was turned over to the county for use as a park in the 1940's"

alfuso