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The Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound was a
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
harbor defense command A Harbor Defense Command was a military organization of the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps designated in 1925 from predecessor organizations dating from circa 1895. It consisted of the forts, controlled underwater minefields, and other c ...
. It coordinated the coast defenses of
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
and
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
from 1895 to 1950, beginning with the Endicott program. These included both
coast artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
s (all but two on islands in the sound) and underwater minefields. The area defended included the approach via the Sound to New York City, the port cities and manufacturing centers of
New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...
,
New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
, and
Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...
, and eventually included the
submarine base A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel. Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue (the base for France's Force océanique stratégique), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay ...
and
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...
in Groton. The command originated circa 1900 as an Artillery District, was renamed Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound in 1913, and again renamed Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound in 1925.Stanton, pp. 455-481''Coast Artillery Organization: A Brief Overview'' at the Coast Defense Study Group website
/ref>Rinaldi, pp. 165-166Berhow, pp. 430-434


History


Early Long Island Sound forts


Colonial period

Connecticut appears to have had few coastal fortifications in the colonial era. Unnamed forts are referred to in New Haven at the site of the later
Black Rock Fort Fort Nathan Hale, also known as Fort Hale Park, Black Rock, is a city park located on the east shore of New Haven Harbor in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes the site of a 1659 fort, a Revolutionary War-era fort, and a Civil War-era fort. Th ...
(dating from 1657) and in New London at the later
Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
.Roberts, pp. 120, 124-125 The British Fort Saybrook was established at Old Saybrook in 1635, which burned in 1647, but was rebuilt the next year on a new site. It was successful in resisting a Dutch raid in 1675.Fort Saybrook at American Forts Network
/ref>


Revolutionary War

Two relatively large and at least four small coastal forts were built in Connecticut during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. The larger ones were
Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
in New London and
Fort Griswold Fort Griswold is a former American defensive fortification in Groton, Connecticut named after Deputy Governor Matthew Griswold. The fort played a key role in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, in correspondence with Fort Trumbull ...
in Groton, across the
Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
from Fort Trumbull. Smaller forts were also built in New Haven (
Black Rock Fort Fort Nathan Hale, also known as Fort Hale Park, Black Rock, is a city park located on the east shore of New Haven Harbor in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes the site of a 1659 fort, a Revolutionary War-era fort, and a Civil War-era fort. Th ...
), in a part of Fairfield called Black Rock that is now in Bridgeport (confusingly also called Fort Black Rock), and at Long Point in Stonington Borough. These were all built 1775–1778. Following a British raid on Stamford in July 1781, Fort Stamford was hastily built there. One source states that Fort Saybrook was also rebuilt in the Revolution. British and
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...
(a.k.a. Tory) forces conducted several raids in Connecticut during the war. One was
Tryon's raid Tryon's Raid occurred in July 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, in which 2700 men, led by British Major General William Tryon, raided the Connecticut ports of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. They destroyed military and public st ...
under
William Tryon Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...
in July 1779, which attacked New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk, with success in burning the latter two towns. The raid also captured New Haven and Black Rock Fort, but a subordinate of Tryon's limited his activities to destruction of military-related stores and ignored orders to burn the city. In Fairfield, Fort Black Rock was besieged but not taken, but was unable to prevent the British from entering the town by another route. The most famous British raid in Connecticut was at New London and Groton under the traitor
Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
on 6 September 1781. His forces readily captured Fort Trumbull (defended by only 23 men and open on the landward side) and overcame a stiff resistance at Fort Griswold in the
Battle of Groton Heights The Battle of Groton Heights (also known as the Battle of Fort Griswold, and occasionally called the Fort Griswold massacre) was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 6, 1781 between a small Connecticut militia force le ...
. Contemporary patriot newspaper accounts allege that the British and Loyalist forces massacred many of the defenders of Fort Griswold after their surrender, starting with their commander, Colonel
William Ledyard William Ledyard (December 6, 1738 – September 6, 1781) was a lieutenant colonel in the Connecticut militia who was killed during the American Revolutionary War. He commanded Fort Griswold in Groton and resisted the British forces during the ...
, who it was said was run through with his own sword after surrendering it. The garrison of about 150 suffered 85 killed. The British forces went on to burn the city of New London. and


1783-War of 1812

Fort Trumbull was repaired in 1795 and 1799 under the first system of US fortifications, and was repaired in 1808 and rebuilt in 1813 with 18 guns under the second system, during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
.Forts Trumbull and Griswold at American Forts Network
/ref> Fort Griswold received little attention except some repairs in 1794, though it was garrisoned during at least part of the war. The British were able to
blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
New London for the duration of the war, keeping three warships under
Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unit ...
bottled up in the Thames River. Decatur had an earthwork fort (named for himself) built on Allyn's Mountain in Gales Ferry, just north of Groton. Black Rock Fort in New Haven was rebuilt as the six-gun
Fort Hale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...
in 1809–1812. Various other forts were rebuilt in the War of 1812, some with new names.Connecticut forts at American Forts Network
/ref> The most famous action in Connecticut of the War of 1812 was the bombardment of Stonington Borough on 9–12 August 1814. A force of four British warships under Sir Thomas Hardy demanded the town's surrender. The town refused, despite having only two 18-pounder
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
with which to defend itself. Three days of bombardment resulted in one elderly woman killed and a few of the defenders wounded, against reportedly 21 British sailors killed and 50 wounded. Stonington's pair of 18-pounders are preserved in the borough to this day.


1816-1890

Although heavily-fortified locations were not attacked in the War of 1812, the British managed to bypass or suppress the weak defenses at the mouth of
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...
and burn Washington, DC. As a result, Congress approved a large-scale program of improved masonry forts, later called the third system of US fortifications, to replace the relatively small forts of the first and second systems. Connecticut received a complete rebuild of Fort Trumbull and a rebuilt water battery at Fort Griswold under this program. The new (and current)
Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
was built from 1839 to 1850. It was designed by
Joseph Totten Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...
and built under the supervision of
George W. Cullum George Washington Cullum (25 February 1809 – 28 February 1892) was an American soldier, engineer and writer. He worked as the supervising engineer on the building and repair of many fortifications across the country. Cullum served as a general ...
, both officers of the Army Corps of Engineers. Totten was the leading American fort designer of his day, and Cullum would later become superintendent of the US Military Academy at
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
. Fort Trumbull was built with five sides, three of them facing the water. The main fort could use up to 42 guns on the seacoast fronts, plus flank howitzers in
bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
s for close-in defense. Two external seacoast batteries added another 10 guns. The two landward fronts had numerous
loophole A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow ver ...
s for muskets, along with cannon on the fort's roof. The
Groton Monument The Groton Monument, sometimes called the Fort Griswold Monument, is a granite monument in Groton, Connecticut. It is dedicated to the defenders who fell during the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781. The monument was originally high ...
was built near Fort Griswold in 1825–1830 to commemorate the Revolutionary War battle's dead. Fort Griswold's water battery was rebuilt in the 1840s for 20 guns. During the Civil War it was upgraded to accommodate 10-inch
Rodman gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed b ...
s. Forts in Connecticut served as mobilization centers in the Civil War. Fort Trumbull became the headquarters of the
14th US Infantry 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15. In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a stella octangula numb ...
regiment during the war.
Fort Nathan Hale Fort Nathan Hale, also known as Fort Hale Park, Black Rock, is a city park located on the east shore of New Haven Harbor in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes the site of a 1659 fort, a Revolutionary War-era fort, and a Civil War-era fort. T ...
in New Haven was built in 1863 near the old Black Rock Fort as an earthwork mounting 18 guns, with bomb-proof shelters and magazines. In an unusual move, this fort was partially demolished after the war. The Civil War had shown that masonry forts were vulnerable to modern rifled cannon, particularly in the siege of Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia, in 1862. Also, the 15-inch (381 mm) smoothbore
Rodman gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed b ...
was introduced during the war. New earth-protected batteries were constructed in the 1870s at a number of locations to provide more survivable forts armed with the new weapons. However, Connecticut does not seem to have received any improved fortifications, and the program was terminated in 1878.


Endicott period

The
Board of Fortifications Several boards have been appointed by US presidents or Congress to evaluate the US defensive fortifications, primarily coastal defenses near strategically important harbors on the US shores, its territories, and its protectorates. Endicott Board ...
was convened in 1885 under Secretary of War
William Crowninshield Endicott William Crowninshield Endicott (November 19, 1826 – May 6, 1900) was an American politician and Secretary of War in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland (1885–1889). Early life Endicott was born in Salem, Massachusetts ...
to develop recommendations for a full replacement of existing coast defenses. Most of its recommendations were adopted, and construction began in 1897 on new forts to defend Long Island Sound.Map of HD Long Island Sound at FortWiki.com
/ref> Initially, three large and one small forts were built. The large forts were Fort H. G. Wright on
Fishers Island Fishers Island (Pequot: ''Munnawtawkit'') is an island that is part of Southold, New York, United States at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it ...
,
Fort Michie Fort Michie was a United States Army coastal defense site on Great Gull Island, New York. Along with Fort H. G. Wright, Fort Terry, and Camp Hero, it defended the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound as part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Isla ...
on Great Gull Island, and
Fort Terry Fort Terry was a coastal fortification on Plum Island, a small island just off Orient Point, New York, United States. This strategic position afforded it a commanding view over the Atlantic entrance to the commercially vital Long Island Sound. ...
on Plum Island. All three of these forts are in
New York state New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...
in the town of Southold in Suffolk County, and the islands they are on define the border between
Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Isl ...
and Long Island Sound. The small fort was
Fort Mansfield Fort Mansfield was a coastal artillery installation located on Napatree Point, a long barrier beach in the village of Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island. History Fort Mansfield and similar forts stretching from Galveston to Maine can be tra ...
, on
Napatree Point Napatree Point in Rhode Island, often referred to simply as Napatree, is a long sandy spit created by a geologic process called longshore drift. Up until the Hurricane of 1938, Napatree was sickle-shaped and included a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) long ...
in
Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...
.Berhow, pp. 207-208 Two underwater minefields controlled from Fort H. G. Wright and Fort Terry also guarded the Sound.Fort H.G. Wright at FortWiki.com
/ref>Fort Terry at FortWiki.com
/ref> This harbor defense command was one of those in which new fort locations moved seaward (compared to Forts Trumbull and Griswold) as gun ranges increased.
Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
was the initial headquarters for Long Island Sound's defenses, but in 1910 this shifted to Fort H. G. Wright and Fort Trumbull became the Revenue Cutter Academy. Heavy weapons included a rare 15-inch (381 mm) dynamite gun at Fort H. G. Wright, along with eight 12-inch (305 mm) mortars and one pair each of 12-inch (305 mm)
disappearing gun A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate back ...
s and 10-inch (254 mm) disappearing guns. Fort Michie had one pair each of 12-inch and 10-inch guns. Fort Terry had eight 12-inch mortars and a pair of 10-inch disappearing guns, along with a pair of 5-inch (127 mm) guns. All of these forts also had between four and seven 6-inch (152 mm) guns and several 3-inch (76 mm) guns to defend the minefields against
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
s. Fort Mansfield was one of the smallest Endicott forts, with two 8-inch (203 mm) disappearing guns and four 5-inch (127 mm) guns. The initial forts were substantially complete by 1906. Generally, the heavy batteries were built first, followed by the 3-inch and then the 6-inch batteries. However, the Spanish–American War broke out in early 1898. Most of the Endicott batteries were still years from completion, and it was feared the Spanish fleet would bombard the US east coast. A number of batteries of medium-caliber rapid-fire guns were hastily built, along with batteries of Civil War-era smoothbore
Rodman gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed b ...
s. Fort Terry received a single 4.72-inch (120 mm)/45 caliber Armstrong gun, purchased from the United Kingdom. Unusually, in Long Island Sound a new fort was built in response to the situation. This was
Fort Tyler Fort Tyler was a coastal fortification on Gardiners Point Island, a small island off Gardiners Island, in Gardiners Bay, at the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. The fort was constructed in 1898, during the Spanish American War, to protect Lo ...
on
Gardiners Point Island Gardiners Point Island is an island in Block Island Sound, New York, that was the former location of the Gardiners Island Lighthouse as well as Fort Tyler. Once a peninsula of Gardiners Island – permanently detached in 1888 by a storm &ndas ...
, south of Plum Island. This fort initially had emplacements for two modern
8-inch M1888 The 8-inch gun M1888 (203 mm) was a U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps gun, initially deployed 1898–1908 in about 75 fixed emplacements, usually on a disappearing carriage. During World War I, 37 or 47 of these weapons (references vary) ...
guns (203 mm) on modified 1870s Rodman carriages. The fort was later rebuilt to accommodate two 8-inch disappearing guns and two 5-inch guns. However, records do not indicate that the fort was ever armed or garrisoned.Fort Tyler at FortWiki.com
/ref> Emergency batteries of 10-inch smoothbore Rodman guns included one gun at Fort Long Point in Stonington, six guns at Fort Nathan Hale in New Haven, and four guns at or near the old Black Rock Fort in Bridgeport. The Rodman gun batteries were disarmed shortly after the war in 1899–1900, and Fort Terry's 4.7-inch gun was transferred to the Sandy Hook Proving Ground in 1903. In 1904 the dynamite gun concept was abandoned and Fort H. G. Wright's gun was removed. Fort Mansfield was intended to guard the strait between Westerly, Rhode Island and Fishers Island. However, an exercise in 1907 showed that the nearby beach could be invaded in a sector the guns could not cover, thus the fort was vulnerable to capture. The fort was placed in caretaker status in 1909 and disarmed to provide guns for World War I in 1917. It was abandoned and sold in 1928. Naval and related facilities grew in importance in the Long Island Sound area from the Endicott era through World War II. In 1872 the New London Navy Yard was established on the present site of the
Naval Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New L ...
in Groton, Connecticut. The first US Navy submarine base was established circa 1901 on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
at
New Suffolk, New York New Suffolk is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP's population was 349 at the 2010 census. History The submarine ...
, but was disestablished in 1905 with the submarines moving to
Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
. In 1915 submarines returned to the New London area at the base in Groton, and the submarine base there was officially established in 1916. In 1910 the
New London Ship and Engine Company The New London Ship and Engine Company (NELSECO) was established in Groton, Connecticut as a subsidiary of the Electric Boat Company to manufacture diesel engines. History Electric Boat acquired a license to manufacture MAN diesels, probably in 1 ...
, a subsidiary of
Electric Boat An electric boat is a powered watercraft driven by electric motors, which are powered by either on-board battery packs, solar panels or generators. While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power ...
, was established in Groton to build submarine engines, although US Navy submarines were not built in Groton until 1931. In 1912 the Lake Torpedo Boat Company was established by
Simon Lake Simon Lake (September 4, 1866 – June 23, 1945) was a Quaker American mechanical engineer and naval architect who obtained over two hundred patents for advances in naval design and competed with John Philip Holland to build the first submarines f ...
in Bridgeport to build submarines, lasting until 1924. Connecticut also had several important manufacturing centers in numerous other industries in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1911–1914, unusually, Fort H. G. Wright's 10-inch and 12-inch guns were replaced with similar weapons, probably due to their use for live-fire practice. The fort's offshore location allowed its guns to be fired frequently, probably training troops from the entire Northeast.Fort H. G. Wright at FortWiki.com
/ref>


World War I

The
American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
brought many changes to the Coast Artillery and the Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound (CD Long Island Sound). Numerous temporary buildings were constructed at the forts to accommodate the wartime
mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories an ...
. As the only component of the Army with heavy artillery experience and significant manpower, the Coast Artillery was chosen to operate almost all US-manned heavy and
railway artillery A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...
in that war. Stateside garrisons were drawn down to provide experienced gun crews on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
, mostly using French- and British-made weapons. Some weapons were removed from forts with the intent of getting US-made artillery into the fight. 8-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch guns and 12-inch mortars were converted to railway artillery, while 5-inch and 6-inch guns became
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artill ...
s on wheeled carriages.Williford, pp. 92-99 12-inch mortars were also removed to improve reload times by reducing the number of mortars in a pit from four to two. Few US Army railway artillery pieces were mounted and few or none saw action before the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
. The remounted 5-inch and 6-inch guns were sent to France, but their units did not complete training in time to see action.Coast Artillery Corps Units in France in WWI
/ref> The 5-inch guns were removed from service in 1920. By this time, pedestal mounts for 6-inch guns were known to be superior to disappearing mounts, being able to more rapidly track targets with a faster rate of fire. Thus, most disappearing guns (except the M1897, shorter than the others) were dismounted for use as field guns, while most of the few pedestal guns dismounted were returned to the forts soon after the war. The removed 6-inch disappearing guns (primarily M1903 and M1905) were stored and many returned to service in World War II. As a result of the above policies, in 1917-18 the mortar batteries at Fort H. G. Wright and Fort Terry were halved and all 6-inch M1903 and M1905 guns removed, along with Fort Terry's pair of 5-inch guns (these appear to have been relocated to North Hill at Fort H. G. Wright, along with two other 5-inch guns (most likely from Fort Mansfield), until scrapped in 1919). No 10-inch or 12-inch guns in CD Long Island Sound were removed, possibly due to their use for live-fire practice. Fort Michie's four pedestal-mounted 6-inch M1900 guns remained, along with three M1897 guns at Fort H. G. Wright and two at Fort Terry. References indicate the authorized strength of CD Long Island Sound in World War I was 38 companies, including 13 from the
Connecticut National Guard The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military De ...
.


Interwar

During and after World War I two- or three-gun
antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
batteries armed with M1917 3-inch (76 mm) guns on fixed mounts were built at some forts. These batteries were emplaced at all three of the major CD Long Island Sound forts.Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound at American Forts Network
/ref> Some of these weapons remained in service through early World War II; others were replaced by towed 3-inch guns in the 1930s. During World War I, in response to rapid improvements in
dreadnought battleship The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her ...
s, the Coast Artillery developed a new weapon, the 16-inch gun M1919 (406 mm). The first of these was deployed at
Fort Michie Fort Michie was a United States Army coastal defense site on Great Gull Island, New York. Along with Fort H. G. Wright, Fort Terry, and Camp Hero, it defended the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound as part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Isla ...
, on an improved disappearing carriage with elevation increased from 15° to 35°. The fort's 10-inch gun battery was demolished and a unique one-gun battery built for the new weapon from 1919 to 1923. However, shortly after developing this carriage, the Coast Artillery's experience in delivering
plunging fire Plunging fire is a form of indirect fire, where gunfire is fired at a trajectory to make it fall on its target from above. It is normal at the high trajectories used to attain long range, and can be used deliberately to attack a target not susce ...
with howitzers on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
was used to develop a new
barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protectio ...
carriage with a 65° elevation, thus maximizing the guns' range and exploiting weak deck armor on potential target ships. All subsequent US 16-inch gun installations used the high-angle carriage, and no further disappearing emplacements of any kind were built for the Coast Artillery. On 1 July 1924 the harbor defense garrisons completed the transition from a company-based organization to a regimental one, and on 9 June 1925 the commands were renamed from "Coast Defenses..." to "Harbor Defenses...". The
11th Coast Artillery The 11th Coast Artillery was a coast artillery regiment in the United States Army, first constituted in the Regular Army on 27 February 1924. It primarily served as the Regular Army component of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound (HD Long I ...
was the
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...
component of HD Long Island Sound from 1 July 1924 through 25 February 1944. The regimental headquarters and headquarters battery and four firing batteries were active at Fort H. G. Wright from 1924 through 1935, when the firing batteries were deactivated and the 1st Battalion of the 11th was activated with three firing batteries. The garrison level was unusually high for the period, because the fort's offshore location made it suitable for frequent live fire practice. The 242nd Coast Artillery was the
Connecticut National Guard The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military De ...
component of HD Long Island Sound from 14 September 1923 through 7 October 1944.National Guard Coast Artillery regiment histories at the Coast Defense Study Group
/ref> A coast defense exercise conducted in HD Long Island Sound in 1930 was notable for including aircraft and
submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
in the defensive plan. The aircraft were based at
Trumbull Field Trumbull may refer to: Places United States * Trumbull County, Ohio ** Trumbull Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio * Trumbull, Connecticut * Trumbull, Nebraska * Fort Trumbull, Connecticut * Mount Trumbull Wilderness in Arizona People Surname * ...
in Groton, CT; the submarines deployed from the nearby
Submarine Base New London Naval Submarine Base New London is the primary United States Navy East Coast submarine base, also known as the "Home of the Submarine Force." It is located in Groton, Connecticut directly across the Thames River from its namesake city of New Lon ...
, also in Groton. Observation, bombardment, and pursuit (fighter) aircraft were included. The submarines had a dual reconnaissance and counter-attack mission; it was determined that these missions should be separated in future.
Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
hosted the Revenue Cutter Academy beginning in 1910, which became the
United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast G ...
in 1915. The Academy moved to its current location in New London in 1932. On 21 September 1938 the
1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...
severely damaged most of Fort Michie's garrison buildings. In 1937 Fort H. G. Wright's 10-inch and 12-inch guns were replaced, probably due to live-fire practice; the 10-inch guns by weapons taken from Fort Wetherill in Rhode Island.


World War II

Early in World War II numerous temporary buildings were again constructed to accommodate the rapid mobilization of men and equipment. The 2nd Battalion and two additional batteries of the 11th Coast Artillery Regiment were activated on 1 July 1939. Another battery was activated 1 August 1940, with a searchlight battery on 10 February 1941. The 242nd Coast Artillery Regiment was activated on 16 September 1940. After the
Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
in 1940 the Army decided to replace all existing heavy coast defense guns with 16-inch guns. HD Long Island Sound became centered on
Camp Hero Camp Hero State Park is a state park located on Montauk Point, New York. The park occupies a portion of the former Montauk Air Force Station. History Military use The site known as Camp Hero, or the Montauk Air Force Station, was originall ...
in Montauk on the eastern tip of
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
. Again, as gun ranges increased the new fort was built further seaward. Camp Hero's batteries were built from 23 March 1942 to June 1943, and were accepted for service on 12 January 1944. Camp Hero had two
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" me ...
d batteries of two 16-inch (406 mm) guns each, Battery 112 and Battery Dunn a.k.a. Battery 113.Camp Hero at FortWiki.com
/ref> The camp was built in great secrecy, and its buildings were arranged randomly so as not to resemble a military installation to enemy reconnaissance or espionage. A third 16-inch battery, Battery 111 at Fort H. G. Wright, had work stopped when mostly complete in November 1943 and the guns were shipped to it, but apparently they were never mounted. A fourth 16-inch battery, Battery 114, was proposed for
Fort Terry Fort Terry was a coastal fortification on Plum Island, a small island just off Orient Point, New York, United States. This strategic position afforded it a commanding view over the Atlantic entrance to the commercially vital Long Island Sound. ...
, then for the Oak's Inn Military Reservation in Misquamicut, Rhode Island, but was never built. The 16-inch batteries were supplemented by new two-gun 6-inch (152 mm) batteries. These included heavy earth-covered concrete bunkers for ammunition and fire control, with the guns protected by open-back shields. The guns for these batteries were mostly the 6-inch guns removed in World War I for field service and stored since that war; a new
6-inch gun M1 The 6-inch gun M1897 (152 mm) and its variants the M1900, M1903, M1905, M1908, and M1 (a.k.a. T2) were coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1897 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by ...
of similar characteristics was developed when this supply of guns began to run out. Four of these batteries were built in HD Long Island Sound: Battery 216 at
Camp Hero Camp Hero State Park is a state park located on Montauk Point, New York. The park occupies a portion of the former Montauk Air Force Station. History Military use The site known as Camp Hero, or the Montauk Air Force Station, was originall ...
, Batteries 215 and 214 (not armed) at Fort H. G. Wright, and Battery 217 (not completed) at Fort Terry. Two 155 mm (6.1 inch) batteries with four guns each were emplaced in HD Long Island Sound in 1942 to quickly provide some defense at key points. These had towed guns on " Panama mounts", circular concrete platforms to support the guns. One battery was at the Oak's Inn Military Reservation in Misquamicut, Rhode Island; the other battery was at Fort Terry. Most batteries of this type were disarmed in 1944, with the threat from surface vessels being negligible. As the new defenses were built, in 1942-43 the vast majority of the older guns were scrapped, although the 12-inch guns at Fort H. G. Wright and Fort Michie remained until 1945. However, the 6-inch pedestal guns and some of the 3-inch guns were retained in service through the end of the war. At least five 90 mm gun (3.5 inch) Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) batteries were built in the Long Island Sound area. These had 90 mm dual-purpose (anti-surface and
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
) guns. Each battery was authorized two 90 mm guns on fixed mounts, two on towed mounts, and two single
40 mm Bofors Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: *Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s ...
guns, although the weapons on hand may have varied. These included AMTB 911 at Fort Terry, AMTB 912 at Fort Michie, AMTB 913 and possibly 916 at Fort H. G. Wright, and AMTB 914 and 915 flanking the mouth of the
Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. The
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
also participated in defending the Long Island Sound area with net defenses and submarine-detecting
indicator loop An anti-submarine indicator loop was a submerged cable laid on the sea bed and used to detect the passage of enemy submarines. History In the first years of World War I submarines were fearful, one-sided weapons because they were invisible. In J ...
s, including a station and training school on
Fishers Island Fishers Island (Pequot: ''Munnawtawkit'') is an island that is part of Southold, New York, United States at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it ...
.
Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
served as the Merchant Marine Officers' Training School from 1939 to 1946, providing officers for
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
s carrying troops and supplies overseas. The fort was also a
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...
laboratory during the war, hosting part of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
's Division of War Research, with many of the offices built inside the stone fort. After the war this activity remained at Fort Trumbull as the
Naval Underwater Sound Laboratory The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons ...
. Following mobilization in 1940 HD Long Island Sound was subordinate to First Army. On 24 December 1941 the Eastern Theater of Operations (renamed the
Eastern Defense Command The Eastern Defense Command was first established as the Northeast Defense Command on 17 March 1941 as one of four U.S. Army continental defense commands to plan and prepare for and execute defense against enemy attack in the months before Ameri ...
three months later) was established, with all east coast harbor defense commands subordinate to it, along with
antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
and fighter assets. This command was disestablished in 1946. On 13 September 1943 the 3rd Battalion of the 242nd Coast Artillery was transferred to the 23rd Coast Artillery in the
Harbor Defenses of New Bedford The Harbor Defenses of New Bedford was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Harbor Defense Command, harbor defense command. It coordinated the coastal defence and fortification, coast defenses of New Bedford, Massachusetts and the nea ...
, Massachusetts, and redesignated as part of that regiment. On 4 May 1942 the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound were inactivated and consolidated with the Harbor Defenses of New York. HD Long Island Sound was disbanded on 22 May 1944. The removal of most weapons and an Army-wide shift from a regimental to a battalion-based system meant more organizational changes in Long Island Sound's defenses. On 23 February 1944 the
11th Coast Artillery The 11th Coast Artillery was a coast artillery regiment in the United States Army, first constituted in the Regular Army on 27 February 1924. It primarily served as the Regular Army component of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound (HD Long I ...
was effectively disestablished, and on 7 October 1944 the 242nd Coast Artillery was redesignated as the 190th and 242nd Coast Artillery Battalions, which themselves were disestablished on 1 April 1945. Personnel from these units were absorbed by HD New York while remaining in the Long Island Sound area.


Post World War II

Following the war, it was soon determined that gun defenses were obsolete, and they were scrapped by the end of 1948, with remaining harbor defense functions turned over to the Navy. In 1950 the Coast Artillery Corps and all Army harbor defense commands were dissolved. Today the
Air Defense Artillery The Air Defense Artillery Branch is the branch of the United States Army that specializes in anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface to air missiles). In the U.S. Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the Patrio ...
carries the lineage of some Coast Artillery units. As of 2014, in Connecticut the 242nd Engineer Detachment of the
Connecticut Army National Guard The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military Dep ...
in Niantic carried the lineage of the 242nd Coast Artillery. In the 1950s rings of
Nike missile The United States Army's Nike Ajax was the world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile (SAM), entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes abov ...
sites were built around Bridgeport, Hartford, and Providence, RI, but none of the former Long Island Sound coast defense sites were used. These were deactivated circa 1972. In 1967-72
Fort Nathan Hale Fort Nathan Hale, also known as Fort Hale Park, Black Rock, is a city park located on the east shore of New Haven Harbor in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes the site of a 1659 fort, a Revolutionary War-era fort, and a Civil War-era fort. T ...
and Black Rock Fort were reconstructed and remain open to the public.
Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
remained in Navy hands until 1996. The fort soon became a state park, with the offices removed from the gun casemates.
Fort Terry Fort Terry was a coastal fortification on Plum Island, a small island just off Orient Point, New York, United States. This strategic position afforded it a commanding view over the Atlantic entrance to the commercially vital Long Island Sound. ...
was an Army
biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. ...
laboratory from 1952 to 1954, at which time it became the
Plum Island Animal Disease Center Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) is a United States federal research facility dedicated to the study of foreign animal diseases of livestock. It is part of the Department of Homeland Security Directorate for Science and Technology, an ...
of the US Department of Agriculture.Wheelis, pp. 225-228
Fort Michie Fort Michie was a United States Army coastal defense site on Great Gull Island, New York. Along with Fort H. G. Wright, Fort Terry, and Camp Hero, it defended the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound as part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Isla ...
and Great Gull Island were acquired by the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...
to study migratory
tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...
s in 1949, and the program remains in place.


Present

Fort Trumbull Fort Trumbull is a fort near the mouth of the Thames River on Long Island Sound in New London, Connecticut and named for Governor Jonathan Trumbull. The original fort was built in 1777, but the present fortification was built between 1839 and 18 ...
in New London and
Fort Griswold Fort Griswold is a former American defensive fortification in Groton, Connecticut named after Deputy Governor Matthew Griswold. The fort played a key role in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, in correspondence with Fort Trumbull ...
(with the adjacent
Groton Monument The Groton Monument, sometimes called the Fort Griswold Monument, is a granite monument in Groton, Connecticut. It is dedicated to the defenders who fell during the Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781. The monument was originally high ...
) in Groton are well preserved and restored and are open to the public in state parks. Some historic cannon are at both forts. Fort Trumbull has an elevator allowing access to the upper portions of the fort. The pair of 18-pounders that defended Stonington Borough in the War of 1812 remain on display in a town park. In New Haven,
Fort Nathan Hale Fort Nathan Hale, also known as Fort Hale Park, Black Rock, is a city park located on the east shore of New Haven Harbor in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes the site of a 1659 fort, a Revolutionary War-era fort, and a Civil War-era fort. T ...
and Black Rock Fort are also open to the public. The site of Fort Stamford in Stamford has some remains of the fort. A park is at the site of Fort Saybrook in Old Saybrook, but little or nothing remains of the fort. Many of the garrison buildings of Fort H. G. Wright on
Fishers Island Fishers Island (Pequot: ''Munnawtawkit'') is an island that is part of Southold, New York, United States at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it ...
have been repurposed for public or private use; some of the gun batteries have been used as the town brush dump, but others are accessible to the public. The 16-inch Battery 111 is in Navy hands but can be viewed externally. The 6-inch Battery 214 is part of a private residence. Battery 215 remains at the west end of the island, and nearby is the bolt circle for the 15-inch dynamite gun, the only intact emplacement of its type.
Fort Michie Fort Michie was a United States Army coastal defense site on Great Gull Island, New York. Along with Fort H. G. Wright, Fort Terry, and Camp Hero, it defended the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound as part of the Harbor Defenses of Long Isla ...
and its unique 16-inch disappearing emplacement are well preserved, but the island is owned by the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...
to study migratory
tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...
s, and can only be visited by prior arrangement. Much of
Fort Terry Fort Terry was a coastal fortification on Plum Island, a small island just off Orient Point, New York, United States. This strategic position afforded it a commanding view over the Atlantic entrance to the commercially vital Long Island Sound. ...
was reused by the Animal Disease Center and the batteries remain intact, but Plum Island's future is uncertain and it currently requires prior arrangement to visit.
Fort Tyler Fort Tyler was a coastal fortification on Gardiners Point Island, a small island off Gardiners Island, in Gardiners Bay, at the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. The fort was constructed in 1898, during the Spanish American War, to protect Lo ...
was used as a bombing range in World War II; its island is little more than a
sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. ...
and has shifted, thus severely damaging the fort.
Camp Hero Camp Hero State Park is a state park located on Montauk Point, New York. The park occupies a portion of the former Montauk Air Force Station. History Military use The site known as Camp Hero, or the Montauk Air Force Station, was originall ...
is well preserved with several
fire control tower A fire control tower is a structure located near the coastline, used to detect and locate enemy vessels offshore, direct fire upon them from coastal batteries, or adjust the aim of guns by spotting shell splashes. Fire control towers came into g ...
s, some disguised as seaside cottages. The 16-inch batteries can be viewed externally.
Fort Mansfield Fort Mansfield was a coastal artillery installation located on Napatree Point, a long barrier beach in the village of Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island. History Fort Mansfield and similar forts stretching from Galveston to Maine can be tra ...
remains at the end of
Napatree Point Napatree Point in Rhode Island, often referred to simply as Napatree, is a long sandy spit created by a geologic process called longshore drift. Up until the Hurricane of 1938, Napatree was sickle-shaped and included a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) long ...
in
Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...
, but part of it has succumbed to
beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...
.


Coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

*Blazon **Shield: The shield is gold, and bears a blue diagonal stripe, known as a bend, on which are three silver towers. The bend with its towers represents the defenses' line of three forts, Wright, Michie, and Terry, placed diagonally across the entrance of the Sound. On each side of the bend is a narrow parallel strip of black, symbolizing the iron defenses. **Crest: The crest is the head of a fish hawk (or
osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...
) in natural colors, which bird abounds in that vicinity. **Motto: The motto is a command to the enemy, ''Stop''. *Background: The coat of arms was initially approved in 1919 for the Coast Defenses of Long Island Sound. In 1924 the osprey head crest was adopted by the
11th Coast Artillery The 11th Coast Artillery was a coast artillery regiment in the United States Army, first constituted in the Regular Army on 27 February 1924. It primarily served as the Regular Army component of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound (HD Long I ...
Regiment.


See also

*
Seacoast defense in the United States Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies o ...
*
Harbor Defense Command A Harbor Defense Command was a military organization of the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps designated in 1925 from predecessor organizations dating from circa 1895. It consisted of the forts, controlled underwater minefields, and other c ...
*
List of coastal fortifications of the United States The United States and the colonies that preceded it built numerous coastal defenses to defend major cities, ports and straits from the colonial era through World War II. Some listed were built by other nations and are now on United States territo ...


References

*
Coats of Arms and Badges of the Coast Artillery Corps, ''Coast Artillery Journal'', August 1923, vol. 59 no. 2, pp. 123-142
*
Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, ''Coast Defense Journal'', vol. 23, issue 2, p. 9
* * * * * * * * * * Wheelis, Mark, et al. ''Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945'',
Google Books
, Harvard University Press, 2006, ().


Further reading

* *


External links


Map of HD Long Island Sound at FortWiki.com

Insignia of the Coast Artillery Corps at the Coast Defense Study Group

American Forts Network, lists forts in the US, former US territories, Canada, and Central America

List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts
{{coord, 41, 15, 23, N, 72, 01, 37, W, display=title Military units and formations in Connecticut Military units and formations in New York (state) Forts in Connecticut Installations of the United States Army in New York (state) Forts in New York (state) Forts in Rhode Island United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Long Island Sound