Defending America's Coasts,
Appropriations for coast defense after 1886 were minimal at first, but the Spanish-American War
Congress to release much more money. Increased funding continued after the war, causing
the Corps of Engineers to step up its construction program. Then, in 1905, President William Howard
Taft convened a new board to consider the Endicott defenses and the effect of new technology. This
Taft board did not substantially change the battery structures and weapons but stimulated the addition
of accessories that the Endicott Board had recommended. These consisted of searchlights;
electrification of lighting, communications, and projectile handling; and more sophisticated aiming
In addition, the acquisition of new territories during the period required batteries at overseas sites.
Therefore, the Corps of Engineers began
the Panama Canal as well as Hawaii, Cuba, and
the Philippines. In the Philippines, it built Fort Drum, a unique "concrete battleship," on El
a
large rock in the entrance to Manila Bay. This two-story, self-contained structure had two armored
turrets, each with a pair of
When World War I began, some Americans felt insecure about United States coast defense. Many
weapons were outdated, guns on European naval vessels outranged those of the U.S. Coast Artillery
Corps, and submarines could enter harbors undetected. To remedy this situation, the Navy and Army
installed submarine nets in various harbors, the Coast Artillery Corps laid submarine mines, the Corps
Firing position of a 10-inch disappearing gun, Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
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National Archives,
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