Fort Hancock, New Jersey

Fort at Sandy Hook

The Sandy Hook area was first fortified as part of the third system of US fortifications. Construction on the Fort at Sandy Hook began in 1857 and ceased in 1867, with the fort serviceable though largely incomplete. This fort was never officially named, but since the area was named Fort Hancock in 1895 it is often called by that name. It was sometimes locally called Fort Lincoln or Fort Hudson. Originally two tower forts were proposed, but a much larger single fort was decided on instead. The fort was designed by then-Captain Robert E. Lee of the Army Corps of Engineers. The fort was designed as a five-bastion irregular pentagon, with two tiers (one casemated, one barbette) of cannon totaling 173 guns on three seacoast fronts, with another 39 guns covering the landward approaches. As was common in Third System forts in the Northeast, it was built primarily of granite. At some point, with the casemate tier of the three seacoast fronts largely complete, the fort was redesigned to speed its overall completion, basically by eliminating the landward bastion and simplifying its neighboring bastions. Following the Civil War, it was determined that masonry forts were vulnerable to rifled guns, and funding for their construction was cut off in 1867. The fort remained incomplete until 1885, when almost all of it was cannibalized to build the Sandy Hook Proving Ground, the new Fort Hancock, and supporting structures such as a seawall. A small portion of one wall remains in place with four cannon ports.

Fort Hancock

In 1874 the Sandy Hook Proving Ground was established as a weapons testing area, primarily for coast defense weapons. This was operated by the Ordnance Department and was organizationally separate from Fort Hancock.

In 1890 construction began on the artillery batteries at Fort Hancock, which was named for Major General Winfield Scott Hancock in 1895. These resulted from the large-scale Endicott Program, which in 1885 proposed a new, comprehensive system of forts defending port cities. Fort Hancock was one of the first forts built and prototyped several weapon installations. The first batteries begun at Fort Hancock were Battery Potter and Battery Reynolds (later Reynolds-McCook), initially the "Gun Lift Battery" and the "Sandy Hook Mortar Battery", both of which were built with high walls all around for land defense, a feature not found in most subsequent US installations.

Battery Potter was the prototype battery for the steam-hydraulic "gun lift" carriage. The Endicott Program centered on disappearing guns, which would remain concealed behind a concrete-and-earth parapet until raised to fire. Most of the weapons in the program were mounted on Buffington-Crozier disappearing carriages. However, early on there was doubt that this carriage could successfully raise and lower a 12-inch (305 mm) gun. The alternative developed for this was the gun lift carriage, essentially a barbette carriage mounted on a hydraulic elevator. A steam plant powered the hydraulic system. One advantage of the gun lift carriage not found in most US disappearing gun installations was 360° all-around fire. Battery Potter (known as "Gun Lift Battery No. 1" until named in 1903) received its first gun in 1892 (a 12-inch gun M1888, Watervliet serial no. 11, the first operational gun of the Endicott Program) and was completed in 1894, but for some reason was not accepted for service until 1898, possibly due to extensive testing. The gun lift system proved expensive to build and operate, as the steam plant had to be running continuously to provide pressure for elevator operation. Other early 12-inch gun installations were on simple non-disappearing barbette carriages until the M1896 Buffington-Crozier carriage was developed for the 12-inch gun. Although a few installations such as Battery Torbert at Fort Delaware were begun as gun lift batteries, these were completed with disappearing guns, and Battery Potter was the only gun lift battery completed. In 1903 Battery Potter was named for Joseph H. Potter, a Civil War general. By 1907 several additional batteries were built at Fort Hancock, and with the construction of Battery Arrowsmith under way to cover its sector, Battery Potter was disarmed. Three spare gun lift carriages were modified as barbette carriages, designated Altered Gun Lift Carriage M1897, and emplaced at Fort Flagler (2) and Fort Worden (1) in the Puget Sound area of Washington state.

Battery Reynolds (half of which was renamed as Battery McCook in 1906) was a battery of 16 12-inch (305 mm) mortars in the "Abbot Quad" arrangement. This was designed to place the mortars as closely together as possible, in the hope of scoring multiple hits on an enemy ship by firing simultaneously. The battery had four pits in a square arrangement, with four mortars per pit, also in a square. The pits were separated by walls and were surrounded by a high concrete wall covered with earth for land defense. This arrangement was used at a number of Endicott forts. However, simultaneously reloading the mortars in each pit proved cumbersome, and in later forts the pits were arranged in a line with open backs. During World War I the two rear mortars in each pit were removed at most forts to further improve reloading.

By 1909 the following batteries were constructed:

Facilities for planting and controlling an underwater minefield were built as well. Battery Dynamite was one of a few built for Zalinski pneumatic dynamite guns; these used a dynamite-loaded projectile with a much larger explosive charge than conventional guns of similar bore. However, they also had a much lower velocity with consequent fire control problems and were withdrawn from service by 1902. Batteries Bloomfield, Richardson, Halleck, and Alexander together formed the "Nine Gun Battery" with one of the longest continuous gun lines in the Endicott system. They were begun as the seven-gun Battery Halleck in 1896, built on top of the third system fort, and were divided in 1904 after expansion to nine guns. The unnamed one-gun battery contained a 4.72-inch (120 mm) French-made Schneider gun unique in the US artillery system; it was probably a test gun from the Proving Ground pressed into service after the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. The 3-inch batteries were often called "mine defense" guns, intended to defend a minefield against minesweepers.

Organization

Fort Hancock was originally part of the New York Artillery District, part of which became the Coast Defenses of Southern New York in 1913, along with Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth. However, circa 1915 Fort Hancock became its own coast defense command as the Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook. In 1924 this was renamed as the Harbor Defenses of Sandy Hook. In 1942 Fort Hancock became part of the Harbor Defenses of New York and the Sandy Hook command was disestablished.

In 1901 coast artillery companies were created by redesignating the heavy artillery companies which previously garrisoned forts, and in 1907 the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps was established to operate the country's new defenses.

World War I

Following the American entry into World War I a number of changes took place at forts in the US, with a view to getting US-manned heavy and railway artillery into service on the Western Front. Fort Hancock was less affected than most forts, probably due to its being a primary defense for New York City. One 10-inch gun of Battery Halleck was removed for potential service as railway artillery; several other weapons including the other guns of Battery Halleck and the three 8-inch guns of Battery Arrowsmith were listed for removal but remained at the fort. Battery Engle's single 5-inch gun was removed for service as a field gun on a wheeled carriage and not returned to the fort, as were almost all of the 5-inch M1897 guns forcewide. Also, four mortars (one from each pit) of Battery Reynolds-McCook were removed in 1917 to be remounted at the Highlands Military Reservation to the south of Sandy Hook. In 1917 construction began on two 12-inch batteries at Fort Hancock with two guns each on long-range barbette carriages; these were completed in 1921 and named Battery Kingman and Battery Mills.

Interwar period

Following World War I a number of additional changes took place in the Coast Artillery, and Fort Hancock was no exception. The proving ground functions were relocated to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The three 8-inch guns of Battery Arrowsmith were removed. Unusually, Battery Reynolds-McCook was stripped of all its mortars, and the mortars at Highlands were also removed. The 3-inch M1898 guns of Battery Urmston were removed in 1920 as one of several weapon types withdrawn from service at this time. The new long-range 12-inch batteries and a 16-inch gun battery at Fort Tilden had become the primary gun defenses for Greater New York; however, the older guns remained in place until World War II. The new 12-inch batteries originally had open emplacements which were casemated against air attack in 1942–43. Fort Hancock was generally in caretaker status from 1919 until the 1930s. Around 1930 Batteries C and E of the 52nd Railway Artillery Battalion, totaling two 12-inch mortars and two 8-inch guns, were stationed at the fort. Subsequently, the fort was used as a practice range for other railway artillery units.

World War II

In 1940–41 Fort Hancock served as a mobilization center, with first a tent city and subsequently numerous temporary buildings accommodating trainees. With Batteries Kingman and Mills and 16-inch batteries at Fort Tilden and the Highlands Military Reservation providing adequate gun defenses for Greater New York, Fort Hamilton's other 6-inch through 12-inch weapons were gradually scrapped in 1942–43. In 1943 a harbor entrance control post was built on the long-defunct Battery Potter, and Battery Gunnison was rebuilt to accommodate the 6-inch pedestal-mounted guns of Battery Peck as an examination battery. This battery also became known as Battery New Peck. Two Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) batteries were established at the fort, each with an authorized strength of four 90 mm guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts. AMTB 7 was at a location that is unclear from references, while AMTB 8 was at the "old" Battery Peck.

Cold War

In 1946 it was determined that gun defenses were obsolete, and Fort Hancock's guns were scrapped. The fort was deactivated with the demise of the Coast Artillery Corps in 1950, but a year later was re-activated as a base for 90 mm and 120 mm antiaircraft guns, the first stateside Cold War defenses. The fort was deactivated again in 1953, but reactivated in 1956 as a Nike missile base (site NY-56). This lasted through 1974, when the stateside Nike missile system was deactivated.

Present

Fort Hancock was decommissioned as an active U.S. Army installation in 1974. It is now part of the National Parks of New York Harbor under the National Park System. A museum is managed as part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. In 2013, the Park Service introduced Nubian goats to the fort in order to clear away poison ivy that has been growing unchecked on the six-acre property for about 40 years.

The NPS is soliciting proposals for renovation and use to the more than 35 buildings in the fort complex.

A 20-inch Rodman gun (the biggest gun produced in the Civil War era), a 10-inch Rodman gun, several Nike missiles, and two 6-inch M1900 guns at Battery New Peck are displayed at the fort.