View source for Fort Michie

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'''Fort Michie''' (1896-1948) - An [[Endicott Period]] Coastal Fort first established in 1896 on Great Gull Island in Suffolk County, New York. Named in G.O. 138, 27 Jul 1899, after 1st Lt. [[Dennis M. Michie]] {{Cullum|3502}}, [[17th U.S. Infantry]], U.S. Army, killed in action at San Juan, Santiago, Cuba, 1 Jul 1898. Abandoned in 1948.
{|width="795px" cellpadding="5px"
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|width="50%"|[[File:Fort Michie 1905 Officer Duplex.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Fort Michie 1905 Officer Duplex Quarters (Bldg 12)]]
|width="50%"|[[File:Fort Michie 1905 Barracks 109.jpg|340px|thumb|right|Fort Michie 1905 109 Man Barracks (Bldg 10)]]
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|colspan="2"|[[File:Fort Michie on Great Gull Island.jpg|795px|thumb|center|Fort Michie on Great Gull Island 1924]]
== [[Endicott Period]] ==
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The construction of the first two [[Endicott Period]] gun batteries began in 1897. [[Battery North (New York)]] and [[Battery Palmer]] were accepted for service on the same day, 12 May 1900. The second set of three batteries was begun in 1902-1903 and turned over for service 1905-1908. [[Battery Benjamin]], [[Battery Maitland]], and [[Battery Pasco]] completed the [[Endicott Period]] battery construction.

There were two periods of post construction that coincided with the two periods of battery construction. The first period was completed in 1900 and saw the construction of one set of officers' quarters, one set of NCO quarters, a small 30-man barracks, a small 14-bed hospital, a six prisoner guardhouse, and some utility buildings.  The second period was completed in 1905 and added two sets of officer quarters and a large 105-man barracks. 
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[[File:Fort Michie Detail Plan 1921.jpg|thumb|left|795px|Fort Michie Plan 1921]]
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== [[World War I]] ==
{{WWICoastalGuns}} The two 10" guns from [[Battery North (New York)]] were ordered dismounted for service abroad on 24 Aug 1917 but before they could be shipped they were ordered remounted and retained. That order was countermanded on 15 Oct 1919 and the guns were ordered stored to make way for the building of [[Battery Davis (New York)]] on top of [[Battery North (New York)]].

Several temporary buildings were built during [[World War I]] and the 1921 plan above details the post before the temporary buildings were removed.

[[Battery Davis (New York)]] was completed in 1923 as a single gun 16" disappearing gun battery. [[Battery Pasco]] was disarmed in 1934.

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== [[World War II]] ==
The beginning of [[World War II]] found Fort Michie with four functioning gun batteries all of which were obsolete in terms of range, rate of fire, and overhead protection. A new rapid-fire 90mm AMTB gun battery was added in 1943 but by the beginning of 1945 only [[Battery Maitland]], [[Battery Benjamin]] and the new [[Battery AMTB 912]] were still part of the Harbor Defense Plan. Both of the large-caliber gun batteries, [[Battery Palmer]] and [[Battery Davis (New York)]], were removed from the plan and designated to be scrapped. The new [[Battery AMTB 912]] was emplaced in 1943 but was later placed in storage due to a lack of manpower.

[[File:Fort Michie 1941 Temporary Barracks.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Fort Michie 1941 Temporary 63 Man Barracks (Bldg T-29)]]
In 1940 most of the original [[Endicott Period]] permanent post buildings were in very poor condition and they were scrapped in May and June. Early in 1941, the threat of war resulted in an emergency construction project for Fort Michie that built temporary buildings expanding the post capacity to 25 officers, 4 NCO families, and 441 enlisted troops. The construction program included seven 63-man barracks, two 250-man chow halls, two company day rooms, two sets of NCO quarters, an officer's 25-man mess, and a theater.

The post was abandoned by the Army in 1948.

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== Current Status ==
Island is owned by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
{{#display_map:
41.201527,-72.120051~ Fort Michie<br>(1896-1948);
41.203472,-72.115953~ [[Battery Davis (New York)]];
41.203432,-72.117155~ [[Battery Benjamin]];
41.202035,-72.118496~ [[Battery Palmer]];
41.201503,-72.119086~ [[Battery Maitland]];
41.202651,-72.119005~ [[Battery Pasco]];
41.203361,-72.115213~ [[Battery AMTB 912]]}}
{{Location|Great Gull Island, Suffolk County, New York.|41.2022222|-72.1186111|23}}

'''Sources:''' 
* {{Roberts}}, page 566
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'''Links:''' 
* [http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/nylong.html#long North American Forts - Fort Michie]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Michie Wikipedia - Fort Michie]
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