Battery Westport-1
Battery Westport-1 (1918-1926) - Battery Westport-1 was a reinforced concrete, World War I 5 inch coastal gun battery on Grays Harbor Military Reservation, Grays Harbor County, Washington. The battery was not officially named. Battery construction started in July 1918, was completed in September 1918, and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use on 6 Oct 1919 at a cost of $ 5,050.73. Deactivated in 1926.
World War I (1917-1918)
Part of the Harbor Defense of Grays Harbor.
Originally built as a temporary World War I concrete coastal gun battery with two 5" M1897 guns mounted on M1896 Barbette carriages. The battery consisted of two 18' square concrete pads 120' apart with a circular mound for the base of the pedestal in each pad.
On 26 Oct 1921 all of the Harbor Defense of the Columbia was placed on caretaker status including the facilities at Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor and they were each assigned a single caretaker. In February 1926 the commander of the Harbor Defense of the Columbia, 1st Lt. Sargent P. Huff, dismounted both guns and shipped them to Benicia Arsenal, he scrapped the carriages and relieved the caretaker. The caretaker at Willapa Military Reservation remained in place until about 1930 and he made four trips a month to Grays Harbor to check on the remaining government property.
| Empl No |
Caliber Type |
Barrel Length |
Model | Serial No |
Manufacturer | Carriage | Service Dates |
Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5" Rifle | 225" | M1897 | 5 | Bethlehem | Barbette, M1896, #32, Detrick & Harvey | 1918-1926 | See note 1 | |
| 2 | 5" Rifle | 225" | M1897 | 8 | Bethlehem | Barbette, M1896, #31, Detrick & Harvey | 1918-1926 | See note 1 | |
| Source: RCW Form 1, 10 Nov 1919, Coast Defense Study Group, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 88-89, 216 Note 1: Guns and carriages transferred from Fort Flagler, Battery Lee 31 Mar 1918. Carriages scrapped 9 Dec 1925, guns transferred to Benicia Arsenal, 1 Mar 1926. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA | |||||||||
Current Status
No period guns or mounts in place.
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Location: Grays Harbor Military Reservation, Grays Harbor County, Washington
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Sources:
- Hanft, Marshall, Fort Stevens: Oregon's defender at the river of the West, Your Town Press, 1980, page 246
- The History of the Western Defense Command, Appendix No. 4 - Chronological History of The Harbor Defenses of Gray’s Harbor, Washington, typescript reprinted by the CDSG Press.
Links:
Fortification ID:
- WA0073 - Battery Westport-1
Related:
Battery Lee, Battery Westport-2, Benicia Arsenal, CDSG Gun Card Collection, Detrick & Harvey, Fort Flagler, Fort Stevens: Oregon's defender at the river of the West, Grays Harbor Military Reservation, NARA, Willapa Military Reservation, World War I,