Battery Potter at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
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Fort Hancock’s Battery Potter is located in the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. It was one of the first two batteries built on the Sandy Hook peninsula. Construction began in 1890 and finished in 1894, so it actually pre-dates Fort Hancock, which was authorized in 1895 for the purpose of providing housing for the soldiers stationed at Potter and the Mortar Battery. Potter closed in 1906 because its weapons had become obsolete. It was replaced by Battery Arrowsmith on the bay side of Sandy Hook at Horseshoe Cove and by Battery Granger on the ocean side.
Potter was the first battery in the United States to be outfitted with disappearing guns. It was armed with two 12-inch M1888 guns that could fire a 1,070 pound shell nearly eight miles. The guns were raised and lowered by a steam-powered hydraulic lift. Unlike the later system of disappearing carriages that only lowered the guns behind a defensive wall on the roof of a battery, the guns at Potter were actually lowered into the interior where they could be loaded out of sight of enemy ships. However, while protective, the lift system was very slow. Only one round could be fired every two minutes at best, with an average of one round per six minutes, which is why the guns were obsolete by 1906. No guns remain at Battery Potter, and the holes in the roof have been sealed.
Model of Battery Potter at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
Satellite view shows the roof of Battery Potter
Battery Potter was the only battery in the United States to use the lift system for disappearing guns. As it was being built, a new system was being developed—the Buffington-Crozier carriage, which used a counterweight system to raise and lower the guns. These carriages allowed the guns to be mounted permanently on the roof of a battery, and they only had to “disappear” below a protective wall. When loaded, they were raised back up over the wall and fired. The recoil from the blast sent the carriages back down to the loading position. With this type of system the guns could fire two rounds per minute. Thus, Battery Potter was obsolete from the start. The only benefit it had was that its guns could be rotated 360º, which other guns could not do.
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.
Battery Potter is most easily reached from Parking Lot J or K, but keep in mind that from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend there is a fee to park in these lots. The closest free parking is at Lot M, which is located just past Lot K at the north end of the Nine Gun Battery. It is a .4-mile walk, one way, to the battery. If you are taking the Fort Hancock Walking Tour, you will be near the battery when you get to the Fort Hancock Officers’ Club stop on the tour.
Park Rangers occasionaly conduct tours of Fort Hancock on select days from May through October, and a stop at Battery Potter is usually part of the tour. There is no charge, but reservations are required. Check the National Park Service’s Calendar web page for Gateway National Recreation Area.
Battery Potter at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
If you can get on a tour, and it does stop at Battery Potter, you can walk around the lower floor where the ammunition was stored and the hydraulic lift was installed. When guns were lowered, they came down to the second floor, but that level is closed to the public. The roof is also off limits. The National Park Service used to offer a tour that went to the top level, but the stairs are now in bad shape, and the tour had to be cancelled.
There are a few exhibits inside, and you can see some of the rail tracks that were used for moving ammunition and other equipment, but for the most part the battery is empty. The thrill is simply seeing the interior; the experience is like walking into a large cave.
Inside Battery Potter at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
Rails used by equipment carts inside Battery Potter at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
I have been inside many batteries, and Battery Potter is certainly unique. A typical battery is like the Nine Gun Battery with small interior rooms similar to what you’d see in any office building. Battery Potter is cavernous. The reason for this is because the guns actually disappeared into the interior, so a large amount of space was required. At all other batteries the guns were mounted directly on the roof, so the inside did not need to be spacious.
An exhibit of original 12″ shells used at Battery Potter is located near the entrance. These can be displayed safely because they are not bombs and were never meant to explode. They are simple hunks of metal that were shot towards an enemy ship in hopes of knocking a hole in it.
Shells fired by the guns at Fort Hancock’s Battery Potter, Gateway National Recreation Area
There are also two red brick buildings next to Battery Potter that were once used as storage sheds, particularly for coal that was used to power the steam-powered hydraulic lift.
Storage buildings next to Battery Potter at Fort Hancock, Gateway National Recreation Area
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Last updated on December 1, 2024
