Battery Decatur
See the Artillery Batteries web page for an interactive location map.
Battery Decatur is located near the parking area for the Fort Washington Park Visitor Center and Fort Washington. It is the most easily accessible of all batteries, but it is fenced off and not open for exploring due to being in poor condition. There are batteries at the park in much worse condition that you can explore, but only because they are in more remote locations. Granted, some of these isolated batteries were once sealed by the National Park Service, but people tear down these barriers—some steel doors—like rats going through wood. Here, so close to the main visiting area, the barriers remain intact.
Construction on Battery Decatur began in 1891 and continued until work was suspended in 1893 due to the armaments not being ready. The battery was to be armed with two 10” disappearing guns, but the plans for the M1894 disappearing carriages were not ready until the fall of 1895; at that time work resumed. The guns and carriages were finally installed in 1897, though the fort was not officially in operation until 1899. The guns were aimed with the help of equipment installed in the Battery Commander’s Station, the tower located nearby.
Battery Commander’s Station
Disappearing guns were mounted on carriages that could be lowered below the battery walls when loaded, then raised up over the walls to be fired. The recoil from the blast sent the carriages back down to the loading position. To see a disappearing gun in action, watch the following video of a demonstration done at Battery Chamberlain in San Francisco. These are 6″ guns, but the concept of operation is the same.
Battery Decatur was closed from 1902 through 1905 for improvements and renovations. Because it was constructed with concrete made from river sand, it was in constant need of repairs. It was closed again from 1912 through 1917, at which time the United States had become involved in World War I. The guns were removed and shipped to France in 1919, where they were mounted on railroad cars. That ended the battery’s defensive services.
Originally named Emplacement B, the battery was renamed for Commodore Stephen Decatur in 1900. Decatur was a hero from the Tripoli War (aka First Barbary War) and the War of 1812.
Battery Decatur
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Last updated on April 13, 2020
