Fort H.G. Wright

Fort H.G. Wright (1898-1948) - An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established in 1898 in Suffolk County, New York. Named in G.O. 43, 4 Apr 1900, after MG Horatio G. Wright, U.S. Volunteers, a distinguished officer of the U.S. Civil War, and Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1879-1884. Abandoned in 1948.

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  Fort H.G. Wright 1902 Barracks 120 man
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  Fort H.G. Wright 1902 Field Grade Quarters
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Endicott Period

Part of the Harbor Defense of Long Island Sound.

Fort H.G. Wright 1908 PX

Construction on the coastal gun batteries of Fort H.G. Wright began in 1898 with three disappearing gun batteries, Battery Butterfield, Battery Barlow and Battery Dutton These three batteries were all accepted for service on the same day, 7 Mar 1901. This first round of Endicott Period batteries was expanded to include Battery Clinton, a 12" mortar battery started in 1900 and completed in 1902.

The second set of batteries was begun in 1902-1903 and completed in 1904-1906. These included smaller caliber batteries, Battery Hamilton, Battery Marcy, Battery Hoffman and Battery Hoppock.

Initial post construction began in earnest in 1900 and by 1902 the small two-company coastal fort was essentially complete with two enlisted 109-man barracks, seven sets of officer quarters, four sets of NCO quarters, and numerous support buildings. The second round of post construction took place in 1908-1911 that expanded the post to accommodate a total of six companies by adding two large double 218-man barracks, seven additional sets of officer quarters, five sets of NCO quarters, and additional support structures including a PX and a larger hospital.

In 1913 Fort H.G. Wright was designated the Headquarters of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound.

Fort H.G. Wright Endicott Period Batteries (edit list)

Battery	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Dynamite	1	15"	Pneumatic	Unknown	$ ?
Battery Clinton	8	12"	Mortar	1900-1902-1902-1943	$ 114,895
Battery Butterfield	2	12"	Disappearing	1898-1900-1901-1945	$ 110,000
Battery Barlow	2	10"	Disappearing	1898-1900-1901-1939	$ 110,000
Battery Dutton	3	6"	Disappearing	1898-1900-1901-1945	$ 78,000
Battery Hamilton	2	6"	Disappearing	1903-1905-1905-1917	$ 52,250
Battery Marcy	2	6"	Disappearing	1903-1906-1906-1917	$ 50,000
Battery Hoffman	2	3"	Pedestal	1902-1904-1904-1946	$ 13,471
Battery Hoppock	2	3"	Pedestal	1903-1905-1905-1946	$ 17,250
Source: CDSG

Fort H.G. Wright 1921 Plan

World War I

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. In 1917 Battery Marcy, Battery Hamilton and Battery Barlow were all directed to dismount their guns for service abroad. In 1918 Battery Barlow was ordered to remount its guns but the guns for the two 6" batteries were shipped to Watervliet Arsenal and then to France. Battery Marcy and Battery Hamilton were not rearmed. In May of 1918 four of Battery Clinton mortars were ordered dismounted and prepared for shipment. This left each mortar pit with the two rear mortars, reducing crowding in the pits and the manpower required to salvo the battery.

The post expanded during World War I but with temporary buildings. The expansion can be seen in the 1921 plan above. By 1930 most of the temporary WWI buildings were gone.

World War II

Fort Wright HECP Drawing

Fort H.G. Wright World War II Batteries (edit list)

Battery	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery 111	2	16"	Casemated Barbette (CBC)	1943-1944-1944-1947	$ 1,782,001	Wilderness Point
Battery 214	2	6"	Shielded Barbette (SBC)	1943-1944-1944-1947	$ 236,354	Wilderness Point
Battery 215	2	6"	Shielded Barbette (SBC)	1942-1942-1943-1946	$ 228,769	Race Point
Battery Hackleman	2	3"	Pedestal	1942-1942-1944-1946	$ 11,801	North Hill
Battery AMTB 913	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Mobile	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 7,458
Battery AMTB 914	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Mobile	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 14,251	Goshen Point
Battery AMTB 915	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Mobile	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 20,615	Pine Island
Battery AMTB 916	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Mobile	Not Built	$ 0	East Point
Source: CDSG

Fort H.G. Wright Partial Commanders List (edit list)

Assumed	Relieved	Rank	Name	Cullum	Notes
1906-08	1909-03-10	Lt. Col.	Parkhurst, Charles Dyer	2422	Period in command overlaps that of next commander, according to the entry in Cullum's Register.
1908-10	1909-10	Lt. Col.	Slaker, Adam	2652	Period in command overlaps that of previous commander, according to the entry in Cullum's Register.
1912-05-08	1913-10-07	Lt. Col.	Davis, Richmond Pearson	3179
Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy.

Current Status

Fishers Island, Suffolk County, New York.

Context

Location: Fishers Island, Suffolk County, New York.
Lat: 41.254° Long: -72.03° Elevation: 10' Bing, Google, OldMapsOnline, USGS, OHM

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Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 599
• U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Long Island Sound, (HDLIS-AN-45), 15 Feb 1945, CDSG

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort H.G. Wright
• Wikipedia - Fort H.G. Wright
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

Related:
Battery 111, Battery 214, Battery 215, Battery AMTB 913, Battery AMTB 914, Battery AMTB 915, Battery AMTB 916, Battery Barlow, Battery Butterfield, Battery Clinton, Battery Connell, Battery Cost, Battery Dutton, Battery Dynamite, Battery Dynamite, Battery Greble, Battery Hackleman, Battery Hackleman, Battery Hagner, Battery Hamilton, Battery Hays, Battery Hoffman, Battery Hoppock, Battery Kelly, Battery Marcy, Battery Palmer, Battery Walbach, Endicott Period, Fort Constitution, Fort Mansfield, Fort Trumbull, Fort Wetherill, Fort Wright, HD Long Island Sound Endicott Period Batteries, HD Long Island Sound WWII Batteries, World War II Coastal Fortifications, Harbor Entrance Control Posts, Horatio G. Wright,