Battery Hambright at Fort Pulaski National Monument

Battery Hambright is located a tenth of a mile down the North Pier Trail at Fort Pulaski National Monument. It is open for exploration, though all interior rooms are empty and no guns are on exhibit.

After rifled artillery made masonry forts obsolete, as first demonstrated by the bombing of Fort Pulaski by Union artillery during the Civil War, the United States military was tasked with replacing all of its forts built in the early- to mid-1800s, though after the Civil War the funds were not available. It wasn’t until 1885 that President Grover Cleveland formed a military commission under Secretary of War William Endicott to come up with ideas for coastal defense upgrades. Known as Endicott System forts, construction began in 1890, prompted by a possible war with Spain, and lasted until 1910. The forts, characterized by massive concrete and rebar structures capable of withstanding the impact of modern artillery, remained in use until after World War II, when air power made the stationary forts of the Endicott era once again obsolete.

Battery Hambright is an example of an Endicott-era battery. Named for Horace Hambright, an officer who died on the North Dakota frontier in 1896, construction began in 1899 and finished in March 1901, a little over two years after the Spanish-American War had ended. While completed, guns were never installed—another example of taxpayer money well spent. It was supposed to hold two 3″ guns, making it a rather small battery.