Sagamore Hill Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located in
Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts. Today, the site is the location of
Scusset Beach State Reservation
Scusset Beach State Reservation is a state-operated, public recreation area located in the town of Sandwich in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, at the east end of the Cape Cod Canal on land formerly part of Sagamore Hill Military Reservation. I ...
.
History
Sagamore Hill Military Reservation was built on state land in 1941-1942 by Battery C, 241st Coast Artillery Regiment of the
Massachusetts National Guard
The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is tod ...
, beginning shortly after the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
in December 1941. Its mission was to protect the northern terminus of the
Cape Cod Canal
The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately canal traverses the neck ...
from possible naval attack; it was mirrored at the southern entrance by
Butler Point Military Reservation. The site had two "
Panama mounts" (circular concrete platforms) for two towed
155mm guns. It never fired its guns in defense but did play an important part in the defense of the canal. The reservation was deactivated on 1 April 1945.
The site now
The Panama mounts and battery commander's station of the two-gun 155 mm battery still remain, as well as several magazine "igloos".
See also
*
Butler Point Military Reservation
*
Seacoast defense in the United States
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies o ...
*
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
*
List of military installations in Massachusetts
This is a list of current and former military installations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Current military installations in Massachusetts Joint facilities
;Bases
* Joint Base Cape Cod (state designation, not federally recognized)
References
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External links
US Army Corps of Engineers history of the Cape Cod Canal through 1940* https://web.archive.org/web/20080519224406/http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/recreati/ccc/history/ww2_coastal/ww2coastal.htm (dead link 18 March 2016)
* Williams, Eric
"Guard protected Cape Cod Canal" 11 November 2010, http://capecodonline.com (''Cape Cod Times'' site), retrieved 3 September 2013.
List of all US coastal forts and batteriesat the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts
{{FmrMAForts
1941 establishments in Massachusetts
1945 disestablishments in Massachusetts
Bourne, Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Cape Cod Canal
Installations of the U.S. Army in Massachusetts
Military installations established in the 1940s
Military installations closed in 1945