Fort Hancock’s Battery Granger in the Sandy Hook unit of Gateway National Recreation Area
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Battery Granger is located on Hudson Road between Battery Potter and the Mortar Battery. All three are within Fort Hancock on the Sandy Hook Peninsula at Gateway National Recreation Area. Granger is in rough shape and not open to the public, but you can get a good look from outside the fence. The closest parking lot is at Battery Potter. From there it’s just a .2 mile walk to Granger.
Designed to be a replacement for Battery Potter, construction on Granger began in 1896 and was completed the following year. However, it wasn’t until March 1898 that it was turned over to the Coast Artillery for active duty. It was originally named Ten Inch Gun Battery No. 1. The name was changed to Granger in April 1900, named after Major General Gordon Granger, a veteran of both the Mexican War and the Civil War.
Battery Granger was armed with one 10-inch M1888MI gun and one 10-inch M1888MII gun. Both were mounted on M1896 disappearing carriages. These allowed the guns to be loaded while hidden behind a defensive wall of the battery, then raised above the wall when ready to fire. The recoil from the blast sent the carriages back down to the loading position. All of this was done by a counterweight system provided by the carriage. With this type of system the guns could fire two rounds per minute.
The following video demonstrates a disappearing gun at Battery Chamberlain in San Francisco that uses the counterweight system. These are 6-inch guns, but the concept of operation is the same.
During World War I, guns from American batteries were often removed and sent to France for mounting on rail cars. The guns from Battery Granger were removed in 1918 but were never shipped. They were reinstalled before the end of the war. Battery Granger remained in service until April 1943, at which time the battery was deactivated due to obsolescence, and the guns and carriages were removed and scrapped.
Ruins of Battery Granger at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
Ruins of Battery Granger at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
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Last updated on December 1, 2024
