Battery Putnam

 (1899-1943) - Battery Haldimand Putnam is a concrete Endicott Period Battery located on Fort Worden, Jefferson County, Washington. Named in G.O. 194, 27 Dec 1904, for Colonel Haldiman S. Putnam, New Hampshire Volunteers (Captain Corps of Engineers), who was killed while leading a charge on the parapet of Fort Wagner in July, 1863 during the U.S. Civil War. The Battery was begun in Jun 1903, completed 8 Mar 1906 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 21 May 1907 at a total cost of $12,000. The guns were removed in 1946 after World War II.

Endicott Period (1890-1910)
Designed to protect the Admiralty Inlet to Puget Sound from small fast boats and secondarily to provide anti-aircraft protection.

Battery Putnam is a small concrete battery housing two 3" M1903 rapid-fire guns on M1903 pedestal mounts separated by a three-room support facility. Each gun position had a separated magazine in the support facility and a storeroom separated the magazines. The rapid-fire 3" guns could fire a 15-pound shell about 6 miles.



World War II (1941-1945)
Battery Putnam was in service until the end of World War II in 1945. In 1946 the gun carriages were sold for scrap and the gun-tubes were put into storage for use as spares at Battery Walker (2).

Current Status
Part of the Fort Worden State Park Conference Center. The Battery is accessible to the public but all three of the battery room doors were locked or welded shut. No guns or carriages are in place.

The mooning scene in the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" was photographed from Battery Putnam.

Sources:
 * Fort Worden Guide, The Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum, 2005, page 19

Links: 
 * Seacoast Defense Photos
 * Battery Putnam Virtual Tour