Abandoned 1904 Battery

Battery Russell, now abandoned, was built facing the ocean in 1904, a later addition to the 1864 Fort Stevens. The other eight batteries were built along the Columbia River. A team of 35 men manned each of the two 10-inch riffles and a well-trained crew could fire a 617-shell up to 8 miles away, once per minute.
Prior to 1941 and the attack on Pearl Harbour, Battery Russell had only been a practice battery for the 249th Coast Artillery Regiment with the Oregon National Guard. Being about a mile away from the main fort, it only had primitive housing for the gun crews who were rotated in and out every two weeks. This area was known as “Squirrelville”.
In June 1942 nine shells were fired at Fort Stevens by a Japanese sub. Fortunately the shells landed in beach areas and swamp, just missing Battery Russell. Although ready to retaliate, the soldiers were told to hold fire - even though they had located the sub by its gun flashes. It is unclear why no order was given to return fire!
This was the first U.S. mainland military base to be fired upon since 1812.
A more modern Battery 245 replaced Battery Russell, which fired its last shells on December 1944 in a closing ceremony.

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