Battery Smith at Fort Washington Park

See the Artillery Batteries web page for an interactive location map.

Battery Smith was one of the last two batteries installed at Fort Washington, the other being Battery Many. Construction began in 1899, and it was ready for service in 1902. It was armed with two 3-inch rapid-fire Driggs-Seabury M1898 guns that had a range of five miles. In 1920 the battery was decommissioned and the guns were removed and shipped to Watervliet Arsenal in New York.

Battery Smith was named for 2^nd Lieutenant Joseph Smith, who was killed during the Mexican War in 1847. There is no sign identifying the battery and no wayside exhibit to tell its story.

Battery Smith is reached by walking down a hill from Group Picnic Area D at Fort Washington Park. It is a very small battery that is in poor condition, though the land around it is still being maintained. There are even picnic tables next to it. I am surprised the National Park Service leaves it standing, as most such safety hazards are condemned. However, I’m guessing that by now the NPS realizes that a fence, or even steel doors, don’t really do much good to keep people out. The end result is that a lot of money is spent on barrier equipment that will surely be destroyed. Nearly every battery at Fort Washington Park has doors and fences that have been torn down by people trying to get inside. And by the way, there is nothing inside any of the batteries other than empty concrete rooms with graffiti-covered walls.