Battery Porter

Battery Porter (1902-1917) - Battery Porter was a concrete Endicott Period 5" gun battery located on Fort Hunt, Fairfax County, Virginia. The Battery was named on 15 May 1903 for 1st Lt. James E. Porter, 7th U.S. Cavalry who was killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876 . Battery construction started in November 1898, was completed by 30 Jun 1901 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 26 Aug 1902 at a total cost of $ 8,000.00. Deactivated in 1917. Battery Porter Endicott Period (1890-1910) Part of the Harbor Defense of the Potomac. Battery Porter was a reinforced concrete Endicott Period 5" rapid fire gun battery with one M1897 gun mounted on an M1896 Carriage. The battery consisted of one 5" gun emplacement with a magazine below and an observation station. The carriage was sent to Fort Hunt on 16 Jul 1900 from the Bethlehem Iron Company and the guns were mounted by 30 Jun 1902. Battery Porter Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 5" Rifle M1897 1 Bethlehem Balanced Pillar, M1896, #16, Bethlehem 1902-1917 See Note 1 Source: Coast Defense Study Group, RCW Form 1 1 Feb 1919, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 88, 209 Note 1: Gun removed 31 Dec 1917 CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA, Mount scrapped 12 Dec 1918, CDSG gun carriage card collection from NARA. Battery Porter Plan World War I (1917-1918) The U.S. entry into World War I resulted in a widespread removal of large caliber coastal defense gun tubes for service in Europe. Many of the gun and mortar tubes removed were sent to arsenals for modification and mounting on mobile carriages, both wheeled and railroad. Most of the removed gun tubes never made it to Europe and were either remounted or remained at the arsenals until needed elsewhere. Battery Porter was deactivated in 1917 and the gun was removed 31 Dec 1917 and shipped to the Morgan Engineering Company for modification to a 3.3" gun. It was eventually shipped to France, returned to Aberdeen and then donated to Caroline Post #27, Denton Maryland. The mount was scrapped on 12 Dec 1918. Current Status On Fort Hunt National Park, Fairfax County, Virginia. No period guns or carriages are in place. Location:On Fort Hunt National Park, Fairfax County, Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 38.7149265 Long: -77.050771 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 61.5' Sources: Links: Wikipedia James Porter Page CDSG Visited: 4 Apr 2009