Fort Mott (New Jersey)

A trail behind the fort's gun emplacements.

Fort Mott, located in Pennsville, Salem County, New Jersey, was part of a three-fort defense system designed for the Delaware River during the postbellum modernization period following the American Civil War. The other two forts in the system were Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Delaware.

History

Original plans for Fort Mott specified eleven gun emplacements with twenty guns and a mortar battery with six emplacements for Rodman smoothbore guns. Construction was started in 1872, however, only two of the gun emplacements and two magazines in the mortar battery were completed by 1876 when all work stopped. The Board of Fortifications, often called the Endicott Board, recommended a comprehensive program of new fortifications in 1885. A new Fort Mott was one of the results, and it was completed by 1902. Unusually for US forts of its era, it was designed to resist a land attack.

A general War Department Order #72, issued on December 16, 1897, designated the new fort as Fort Mott, in honor of Major General Gershom Mott, of Trenton. Gershom Mott had served with distinction as Second Lieutenant in the Tenth Infantry in the Mexican-American War, as Lieutenant-Colonel in the 5th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, as Colonel and commander of the 6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry before he was promoted to first Brigadier General. He was wounded four times, resigned from the Army in 1866 and died on November 29, 1884.

Fort Mott, along with Fort Delaware and Fort DuPont, became obsolete as the principal defensive installation on the Delaware River with the construction of Fort Saulsbury, near Milford, Delaware, shortly after World War I. In 1910 the two five-inch guns of Battery Gregg were transferred to Hawaii, and in 1918 the similar guns of Battery Krayenbuhl were removed for potential service on field carriages on the Western Front. In 1920 the unique Battery Edwards was disarmed as part of a general removal from service of the 3-inch gun M1898.[1]

Troops were regularly stationed at Fort Mott from 1897 to 1922. The federal government kept a caretaking detachment at the fort from 1922 to 1943. New Jersey acquired the military reservation as a historic site and State park in 1947. Fort Mott State Park was opened to the public on June 24, 1951. The site is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, and is located in Pennsville Township, New Jersey. Fort Mott is part of the Fort Mott and Finns Point National Cemetery District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

The three 10-inch guns of Battery Harker were transferred to Canada in 1941 via Lend-Lease. Two of these remain as of 2014 at Fort Cape Spear, St. John's, Newfoundland. In 1943 Fort Mott was disarmed, losing its remaining three 12-inch guns, the fort being superseded by Fort Miles at Cape Henlopen.[3][1] As with most post-Civil War coastal fortifications, Fort Mott's guns were fired only for training and testing, never in battle.

Design

Unusually for US coast defense forts built 1895-1935, Fort Mott was designed to resist a land attack. A parados (basically an artificial hill) and moat were placed behind the gun batteries to impede an assault from the landward side. Also, the fort's four 5-inch guns were in mounts permitting 360° of fire, and were sited to fire on attackers flanking the parados.

The fort had a typical armament for its day, with a few exceptions. The main armament was Battery Arnold (3 12-inch guns) and Battery Harker (3 10-inch guns). These were on disappearing carriages to allow the guns to normally remain hidden from observation from the river. Flanking these were Battery Gregg and Battery Krayenbuhl, with two 5-inch guns each with all-around fire. Battery Krayenbuhl was sited atop the fort's smallest and most unusual battery, Battery Edwards with two 3-inch mine defense guns in large casemates rebuilt from earlier (1872) magazines. These casemated light guns, intended to protect an underwater minefield in the river by driving off minesweepers, were a unique installation in US forts of this era.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Fort Mott article at FortWiki.com
  2. ↑ Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ Berhow, p. 230
  4. ↑ Berhow, p. 198
  5. ↑ Fort Mott article at FortWiki

External links

Coordinates: 39°36′24″N 75°33′06″W / 39.6066°N 75.5516°W / 39.6066; -75.5516

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