Fort San Jacinto

 (1898-1947) - An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established in 1898. Named Fort San Jacinto, 21 Apr 1899, in commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto. Abandoned in 1947.

Endicott Period (1890-1910)
Construction began on the four Endicott Period gun batteries in 1897 and the fort was first garrisoned on 20 Apr 1898 by Battery G, 1st U.S. Artillery under the command of Captain Clermont L. Best. The hurricane of 1900 severely damaged the island and the fort and it was not restored until 1906. In 1911 the Fort was re-garrisoned and the four refurbished gun batteries were accepted for service by the Coast Artillery, all on 21 Aug 1911.

Note 1: Damaged in 1900 Hurricane and not re-garrisoned until 1911. Reconstruction began in 1901, all rebuilt batteries accepted for service 21 Aug 1911.

World War I (1917-1918)
In 1917 the guns from Battery Hogan were dismounted and prepared for shipment overseas. World War I ended before the guns were actually shipped to Europe and they were returned, only to be scrapped in the 1920 disarmament program. All the other batteries remained active during the war.

World War II (1941-1945)
Two new gun batteries were built on Fort San Jacinto during World War II. Battery 235 was a rapid fire six inch gun battery designed to defend against small, fast mine layers and destroyers. Battery AMTB - Galveston Seawall had a dual defense mission against fast motor torpedo boats and aircraft.

Battery Mercer was converted into a combined HECP-HDCP complex housing all of the personell and equipment needed to provide control over ships entering and leaving the harbor. A two story observation tower was built on the top of the complex for the Harbor HDCP function. This complex was formally accepted for service 18 Jul 1944 but it was in use before that date.

Current Status
Most of the batteries are in a bad state or are inaccessible. No period guns or carriages in place. Recent Blog Posts:
 * Galveston Harbor Defenses

Sources:
 * , page 777
 * Gaines, William, The Seacoast Defenses of Galveston, Texas, The Coast Defense Journal, Vol 21, Issue 4, Nov 2007, page 4

Links:
 * North American Forts - Galveston