Fort Taber District or the Fort at Clark's Point is a historic American Civil War -era military fort on Wharf Road within the former Fort Rodman Military Reservation in New Bedford, Massachusetts . The fort is now part of Fort Taber Park , a 47-acre town park located at Clark's Point. Fort Taber was an earthwork built nearby with city resources and garrisoned 1861-1863 until Fort Rodman was ready for service.
152-562: After the Civil War began in April 1861, it was apparent that the Fort at Clark's Point was still years from completion. Fort Taber, a small earthwork with six cannons, was built nearby with city resources, and named after New Bedford's mayor during that period. It provided a temporary defense until the stone fort was garrisoned in 1863. Fort Taber is marked by a stone outline today, directly behind
304-729: A War Department order. By the end of the 1920s, eight harbor defense commands in less-threatened areas were completely disarmed. These included the Kennebec River, ME, Baltimore, MD, Potomac River, MD and VA, Cape Fear River, NC, Savannah, GA, Tampa Bay, FL, Mobile, AL, and the Mississippi River, LA. It is possible the mine defenses were retained in reserve. Some of these commands were rearmed with " Panama mounts " for mobile artillery early in World War II. Women%27s Army Corps The Women's Army Corps ( WAC )
456-782: A brevet brigadier general in the U.S. Army) designed the larger forts and key features of most of the smaller forts, such as the Totten casemate , which allowed a good field of fire with a minimal embrasure size. By the end of the Third System in 1867, 42 forts covered the major harbors along the coastline. While most of the forts were completed, several of the forts—mostly in New England—were still under construction. A few of these forts, such as Fort Preble, Fort Totten, and Fort Constitution, were readied for armament even though they were far from complete. The Corps of Engineers listed
608-804: A Branch of Service). US Army policy decreed that technical and professional WAC personnel should wear their assigned Branch of Service insignia to reduce confusion. During the existence of the WAC (1943 to 1978) women were prohibited from being assigned to the combat arms branches of the Army – such as the Infantry, Cavalry, Armor, Tank Destroyers, or Artillery and could not serve in a combat area. However, they did serve as valuable staff in their headquarters and staff units stateside or in England. The army's technician grades were technical and professional specialists similar to
760-404: A Third Officer, the first African-American to lead an all-white WAAC unit. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Elizabeth C. Smith USAF (WAC / USAAF 1944–1947, WAF / USAF 1948–1964) was one of the first WAF warrant officers in 1948. Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jeanne Y. Pace, was the longest-serving female in the army and the last active duty soldier who was a part of the WAC as of 2011. Her final assignment
912-694: A WAC unit was approved by command channels in the Pacific area and at the Pentagon, including the director of the WAC, and, finally, by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 25 July 1966. The WAC cadre arrived in late 1966. First to arrive were 1st Sergeant Marion C. Crawford and the administrative NCO, Sgt. 1st Class Betty J. Benson. The commander, Capt. Peggy E. Ready, the supply sergeant, SSgt. Edith L. Efferson and unit clerks PFC Rhynell M. Stoabs and PFC Patricia C. Pewitt followed. They participated in
1064-681: A Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. The bill was held up for months by the Bureau of the Budget but was resurrected after the United States entered the war. The senate approved the bill on 14 May 1942 and became law on 15 May 1942. The day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill he set a recruitment goal of 25,000 women for the first year. That goal was unexpectedly exceeded, so the Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson decided to increase
1216-806: A branch of the US Army rather than an auxiliary group. The US Army's "GI Eagle" now replaced the WAAC's Rising Eagle as the WAC's cap badge. The WAC received the same rank insignia and pay as men later that September and received the same pay allowances and deductions as men in late October. They were also the first women officers in the army allowed to wear officer's insignia; the Army Nursing Corps did not receive permission to do so until 1944. The WAC had its own branch insignia (the Bust of Pallas Athena), worn by "Branch Immaterial" personnel (those unassigned to
1368-403: A branch was disbanded in 20 October 1978 and all female units were integrated with male units. Women serving as WACs at that time converted in branch to whichever Military Occupational Specialty they worked in. Since then, women in the US Army have served in the same units as men, though they have only been allowed in or near combat situations since 1994 when Defense Secretary Les Aspin ordered
1520-455: A coastal defense system that was equal to any other nation. The rapidity of technological advances and changing techniques increasingly separated coastal defenses (heavy) from field artillery (light). Officers were rarely qualified to command both, requiring specialization. As a result, in 1907, Congress split Field Artillery and Coast Artillery into separate branches, creating a separate Coast Artillery Corps (CAC), and authorized an increase in
1672-484: A committee to study coast defense needs, and appropriated money to construct a number of fortifications that would become known as the First System. Twenty significant forts at 13 harbors were approved for construction, mostly with traditional low-walled structures with low sloped earthworks protecting wood or brick walls. The conventional wisdom was that soft earth would cushion the effect of cannon fire against
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#17327796677021824-481: A defense against naval attack than a strategic offensive weapon. However, planes like the Boeing B-17 , which evolved as defensive weapons, turned out to have excellent offensive capacity as well. In the early 1920s several types of weapons, mostly those with only a few deployed, were withdrawn from Coast Artillery service. This was probably to simplify the supply situation. The only widely deployed type withdrawn
1976-852: A few batteries at each harbor. Following the infamous and tragic explosion and sinking of the new battleship USS Maine on 15 February, an Act of Congress a month later of 9 March 1898 authorized the construction of batteries that could be rapidly armed at numerous East Coast locations. It was feared that the Spanish fleet would bombard US ports. Completion of Endicott batteries and refurbishment or redeployment of 1870s batteries were also included. The 1870s-type batteries were armed with Civil War-era Rodman guns and Parrott rifles, along with some new weapons: 21 8-inch M1888 guns (slated for incomplete Endicott forts) on modified 1870s Rodman gun carriages. New batteries were also begun for eight 6-inch Armstrong guns and 34 4.72-inch Armstrong guns , purchased from
2128-452: A few of the 6-inch guns and none of the 5-inch guns were returned to the coast defenses after the war. Most of the 6-inch guns were stored until remounted in World War II, and the 5-inch guns were declared obsolete and scrapped circa 1920. A large-scale program to mount 12-inch mortars along with 8-inch, 10-inch, and 12-inch guns and some other weapons as railway artillery was partially implemented during and shortly after World War I, with
2280-498: A few weeks after the initial invasion . In 1943 the recruiting momentum stopped and went into reverse as a massive slander campaign on the home front challenged the WACs as sexually immoral. Many soldiers ferociously opposed allowing women in uniform, warning their sisters and friends they would be seen as lesbians or prostitutes. Other sources were from other women – servicemen and officer's wives' idle gossip, local women who disliked
2432-975: A few years as modern emplacements for them were completed. Army leaders realized that heavy fixed artillery required different training programs and tactics than mobile field artillery. Prior to 1901 each of the seven artillery regiments contained both heavy and light artillery batteries. In February 1901, with the Endicott program well under way, the Artillery Corps was divided into two types: field artillery and coast artillery. The previous seven artillery regiments were dissolved, and 30 numbered companies of field artillery (commonly called batteries) and 126 numbered companies of coast artillery (CA) were authorized. 82 existing heavy artillery batteries were designated as coast artillery companies, and 44 new CA companies were created by splitting existing units and filling their ranks with recruits. The company-based organization
2584-401: A fire direction tower were also mounted on its upper surface. The 25-to-36-foot-thick (7.6 to 11.0 m) fortress walls protected extensive ammunition magazines, machine spaces, and living quarters for the 200 man garrison. The extensive level of fortification was not typical of the period, but driven by the exposed location. Although the design predated concerns about defense from air attack,
2736-451: A ground-breaking ceremony on 2 November for construction of the WAC barracks. Two months later, Army engineers completed eleven quonset huts , called hootches, for living quarters and unit offices. On 12 January 1967, 82 enlisted women who were to serve that first year at Headquarters, USARV, arrived. They were welcomed by the USARV band, the press, photographers, officers and enlisted men from
2888-399: A large navy . Substantial fortifications were built at key locations, especially protecting major harbors. Seacoast defense also included submarine minefields , nets and booms , ships, and, later, airplanes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers played the central role in constructing fixed defenses, but all of the armed forces participated. Designs evolved and became obsolete with changes in
3040-636: A large-scale modernization program of harbor and coastal defenses in the United States, especially the construction of modern steel bar- reinforced concrete fortifications of more formidable defenses and the installation of large caliber breech-loading artillery and mortar batteries. Typically, Endicott period projects were not fortresses, but a system of well-dispersed emplacements with a few large guns in each location. The structures were usually open-topped concrete walls protected by earthworks berms and embedded in their deep trench sloping walls. Many of these featured disappearing guns , which sat protected behind
3192-538: A limited time in which to fire at passing enemy ships. To build these tall forts, walls had to be built of masonry , but be very thick in order to withstand the pounding of cannon fire. Despite the goal of building multi-tiered forts, only a few of these were completed, notably Castle Williams in New York Harbor. Most completed Second System forts generally resembled First System forts, with a one-tier star fort supplemented by water batteries. The Second System
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#17327796677023344-546: A massive $ 127 million dollars construction program of breech-loading cannons with rifled / grooved barrels for firing pointed shells (rather than old-fashioned cannon balls), mortars, floating batteries, and submarine mines for some 29 locations on the U.S. coastlines (East, South and West). Most of the new Board's recommendations were adopted by the President, the Congress and the two military executive departments. This led to
3496-468: A massive structure roughly resembling a concrete battleship. It was the only true sea fort of the Endicott and Taft programs. The fort was topped with a pair of armored steel gun turrets, each mounting two 14-inch (356 mm) M1909 guns ; this model was specially designed for Fort Drum and was not deployed elsewhere. Four 6-inch (152 mm) M1908 guns on M1910 pedestal mounts in casemates were also equipped. Searchlights, anti-aircraft batteries, and
3648-506: A minor but increasingly important factor in World War I , and the threat prompted changes to coastal defenses in the 1920s and 1930s. Demonstrations in the 1920s by U.S. Army General Billy Mitchell showed the vulnerability of warships to air attack; this illustrated the use of aircraft for seacoast defense against ships, but also the vulnerability of defenses against air power. In the isolationist United States, bombers were seen as more of
3800-516: A need for improved coastal defense systems. In 1885, 22nd (& 24th) President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908, served 1885-1889 / 1893-1897), in his first term appointed a joint Army, Navy, and civilian board, headed by his U.S. Secretary of War William Crowninshield Endicott , (1826-1900, served 1885-1889), known as the Board of Fortifications . The findings of the board illustrated a grim picture of existing defenses in its 1886 report and recommended
3952-824: A ten-week period, due to the Eight-eight fleet war scare with Japan. These guns were operated by the Marines until circa 1910, when the Coast Artillery Corps' modern defenses centered on Fort Wint on Grande Island were completed. One of the most extreme fortresses of the early 20th century was Fort Drum in Manila Bay of the Philippines . Originally a barren rock island, it was leveled by U.S. Army engineers between 1910 and 1914 and then built up with thick layers of steel-reinforced concrete into
4104-659: A twelve-week Vietnamese language course at the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California. In 1968, an additional WAC officer advisor was assigned to the WAFC training center located on the outskirts of Saigon. The senior WAC advisor, then a lieutenant colonel and the NCO advisor, then a master sergeant, remained at WAFC headquarters in the city and continued to help the director of the WAFC to develop Corps-wide plans and policies. For additional training, members of
4256-591: The Amphitrite class , while the ocean-going navy was slow to make the transition to steel hulls and armor plating. An improvement on the monitor concept was the coastal battleship, such as the Indiana class of the 1890s. As a result of the Spanish–American War and the subsequent acquisition of territories of Hawaii and its chain of islands in the central Pacific Ocean and the Philippines islands in
4408-779: The Air Transport Command . In 1948 she was promoted to Colonel (the first woman to hold that rank in the Air Force) and became Director of the WAF in the US Air Force , the first to hold the position. Lt. Col. Charity Adams was the first commissioned African-American WAC and the second to be promoted to the rank of major. Promoted to major in 1945, she commanded the segregated all-female 6888th Central Postal Battalion in Birmingham, England . The 6888th landed with
4560-461: The Armistice , due to shipping priorities. The mortars and 8-inch guns were on trainable mounts, thus were suitable for use as coast defense weapons; the other weapons were returned to the forts after the war. Sources indicated that up to 91 12-inch mortars and 47 8-inch guns were retained as railway coast defense weapons through World War II, with most of the 8-inch guns deployed and almost all of
4712-734: The Battle of Fredericksburg in the Civil War. Battery Craig was named for Presley O. Craig, 2nd U.S. Artillery , killed at the First Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War. Battery Gaston was named for William Gaston, 1st U.S. Dragoons , killed in 1858 fighting Native Americans. Battery Milliken was named for Alfred S. Milliken, an engineer officer killed in World War I. After the American entry into World War I many 5-inch guns were withdrawn from forts for potential service on field carriages on
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4864-507: The Bureau of Negro Affairs , she became Colonel Culp's aide on race relations in the WAC. After the war, she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1948. Lt. Col. Eleanore C. Sullivan [served 1952–1955] was WAC Center and WAC School commander located at Fort McClellan. Lieutenant Colonel Florence K. Murray served at WAC headquarters during World War II. She became the first female judge in Rhode Island in 1956. In 1977 she
5016-475: The Harbor Defenses of New Bedford , as were all similar commands. In 1938 a battery of two 155 mm guns on " Panama mounts " (circular concrete platforms) was built at Fort Rodman. In 1940-1941 numerous temporary buildings were constructed on site to accommodate newly mobilized units. In 1942 the two 8-inch guns of Batteries Walcott and Barton were scrapped, leaving only the 12-inch Battery Milliken and
5168-727: The Montalembert concept, with many guns concentrated in tall, thick masonry walls, and the Vauban concept, with layers of low, protected-masonry walls. Most Third System forts had at least two tiers of cannon; the First and Second System forts often had only one tier. Construction was generally overseen by officers of the Army's Corps of Engineers . Smaller works guarded less significant harbors. U.S. Army engineer officer Joseph Totten and former French engineer officer Simon Bernard (commissioned
5320-568: The Pentagon, the MACV personnel officer, Brigadier General Ben Sternberg , wrote to Gorman, offering the advice that "The WAC officer should be a captain or major, fully knowledgeable in all matters pertaining to the operation of a WAC school and the training conducted therein. She should be extremely intelligent, an extrovert and beautiful. The WAC sergeant should have somewhat the same qualities... and should be able to type as well" Gorman replied that
5472-539: The Spooner Act of 1902. The Taft Program fortifications differed slightly in battery construction and had fewer numbers of guns at a given location than those of the Endicott Program. Due to the rapid development of dreadnought battleships , a new 14-inch gun was introduced in a few locations and improved models of other weapons were also introduced. By the beginning of World War I, the United States had
5624-605: The Western Front . However, Battery Cross's two guns were removed in 1917 and installed on the Army transport ship USAT Kilpatrick . They were returned to Fort Rodman in March 1919, and scrapped in 1921 under a general removal from Coast Artillery service of 5-inch guns. The 8-inch guns of Batteries Walcott and Barton were dismounted for potential service as railway artillery in June 1918, but were remounted later without leaving
5776-674: The Women's Royal Naval Service ("WRENS"), the Auxiliary Territorial Service . and the Women's Auxiliary Air Force . According to historian D'Ann Campbell, American society was not ready for women in military roles: Since early 1943, 422 WACs were assigned to the Corps of Engineers to work on the Manhattan Project , the secret US effort to build an atomic bomb . Major General Leslie R. Groves , director of
5928-419: The anti-aircraft mission in that war. A number of 5-inch and 6-inch guns were withdrawn from coast defenses and remounted on wheeled carriages for use on the Western Front , with about 72 6-inch (possibly including some Navy guns) and 26 5-inch guns shipped to France. However, due to the Armistice , none of the units equipped with repurposed coast defense guns completed training in time to see action. Only
6080-401: The coast defense command . The larger vessels, called " mine planters ", were civilian crewed until the creation of the U.S. Army Mine Planter Service (AMPS) and Warrant Officer Corps to provide officers and engineers for these vessels in 1918. The mine component was considered to be among the principal armament of coastal defense works. When the Coast Artillery Corps was disestablished and
6232-707: The torpedo service and for other harbor defenses. Prior efforts at harbor defense construction had ceased in the 1870s . Since that time, the design and construction of heavy ordnance in Europe had advanced rapidly, including the development of superior breech-loading and longer-ranged cannon, making U.S. harbor defenses obsolete. In 1883, the United States Navy began a new construction program and class of steel-hulled, steam-powered propeller warships with rotating gun turrets with an emphasis on offensive rather than defensive vessels. These factors combined to create
Fort Rodman - Misplaced Pages Continue
6384-422: The 155 mm battery active. Battery Milliken was casemated for protection against air attack during the war. HD New Bedford was garrisoned by the 23rd Coast Artillery from February 1940 through October 1944. This unit was a battalion for most of the war, but was redesignated as a regiment September 1943 through February 1944. In 1946, with the war over, Fort Rodman was disarmed and subsequently turned over to
6536-527: The 5-inch guns had been sent to France for use on field carriages. Additionally, approximately 72 6-inch guns withdrawn from coast defenses for field service were not immediately remounted; these were eventually remounted on long-range carriages in new batteries during World War II . Except in a few cases, none of these weapons were directly replaced. On 9 June 1925 the Coast Defense Commands were redesignated as Harbor Defense Commands via
6688-528: The British ships offshore was memorialized by Francis Scott Key , a Baltimore lawyer who witnessed the ferocious attack from one of the vessels, and put down his thoughts watching the barrage—which failed to either destroy the fort or subdue its defenders—in a four-stanza poem, which became known as The Star-Spangled Banner and later became America's national anthem. In some cases even incomplete forts (some with fake wooden cannon barrels painted black pointed out
6840-424: The Civil War, but were impractical for open-ocean service and offensive action abroad. They were, however, ideally suited for coastal and harbor defense with their shallow draft and large guns. Postwar, Civil War-era monitors were dispersed to important major American harbors, including San Francisco on the west coast. From the 1870s to the 1890s , larger and more powerful breastwork monitors were produced, such as
6992-554: The Civil War. Except for the 20-inch Rodmans, of which only three Army weapons were built, the following list includes only widely deployed weapons. See Siege artillery in the American Civil War for more information. After the war, construction for several new Third System forts began in New England . These were to be built of stone rather than brick, and designed to accommodate the large-bore cannon developed during
7144-692: The Coast Artillery Corps to 170 numbered companies. In 1907, the Artillery School at Fort Monroe became the Coast Artillery School, which operated until 1946, and in 1908, the Chief of Artillery became the Chief of Coast Artillery. In an exercise in 1907 at Subic Bay , Philippines, a U.S. Marine battalion of the Advanced Base Force commanded by Major Eli K. Cole emplaced forty-four heavy guns for coast defense in
7296-536: The Commonwealth. Several additional small-caliber batteries defended New Bedford and Buzzards Bay during World War II. Chief among these was Battery 210 at Mishaum Point Military Reservation in Dartmouth . It had two 6-inch M1 guns in long-range shielded mounts with a large bunker for ammunition and fire control between them. It currently has a private residence built on it. A two-gun 155 mm battery
7448-500: The Corps of Engineers to create a military academy at West Point, New York . One of the driving forces for establishing the new academy was the need to divorce the United States from its reliance on foreign engineers. In 1807–8, new concerns over a possible war with Great Britain prompted President Thomas Jefferson to renew fortification programs; this has come to be known as the Second System. One event that foreshadowed war
7600-492: The First System and Second System little was prepared to resist the British in the coming War of 1812 . However, no First System or Second System fortress was captured by the British. The British succeeded in entering Chesapeake Bay by capturing a fort on Craney Island near Norfolk and bypassing the area's two other forts. The invasion of Baltimore was prevented by Fort McHenry and supporting forts and troops. These included shoreline batteries at Forts Babcock and Covington to
7752-663: The Long Binh WAC detachment numbering 13 enlisted women had a standdown ceremony. At the end of December 1972 only two officers and 17 enlisted women remained at MACV headquarters or its subordinate commands and all were withdrawn by March 1973. Approximately 700 WACs served in South Vietnam with no casualties. The Long Binh detachment received two campaign stars for the Vietnam Counter-Offensive Phase II (1 July 1966 – 31 May 1967) and
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#17327796677027904-742: The Manhattan Project to OCS without compromising security. WAC Units involved in the effort were awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation ; twenty women received the Army Commendation Ribbon and one, Captain Arlene G. Scheidenhelm, received the Legion of Merit . In addition, all members of the WAAC and the WAC who served in World War II received the Women's Army Corps Service Medal . In 1964,
8056-471: The Old Stone Fort, Fort Rodman (known as "Fort at Clark's Point" until 1898) began construction in 1857 under the third system of US fortifications , and in 1862 construction became overseen by Henry Robert , author of Robert's Rules of Order and an Army Corps of Engineers officer. The fort, as built, had emplacements for 72 cannon in three tiers; a fourth tier was originally planned, but this
8208-619: The Revolution, additional forts were built by both sides, usually to meet specific threats. Those built by Patriot forces were called Patriot batteries. When the United States gained independence in 1783, the seacoast defense fortifications were in poor condition. Concerned by the outbreak of war in Europe in 1793, the Congress created a combined unit of " Artillerists and Engineers " to design, build, and garrison forts in 1794, appointed
8360-609: The Tet Offensive Campaign (30 January 1968 – 1 April 1968). In 1976, the Women's Officer Candidate School program at Fort McClellan was merged with the Officer Candidate (Branch Immaterial) program at Fort Benning. In the fall of that year the first female cadets started at West Point. The OCS program graduated the first female Army officers before the first West Point cadets graduated in 1980. The WAC as
8512-418: The U.S. Army Central Support Command at Qui Nhon and Cam Ranh Bay . In April 1966, the USARV deputy commanding general, Lieutenant General Jean E. Engler , requested that a WAC detachment be assigned to his headquarters. He asked for 50 (later 100) clerk-typists and other administrative workers, plus a cadre section of an officer and five enlisted women to administer the unit. Some officers in USARV opposed
8664-399: The U.S. soldiers had sabotaged the guns and ordnance to prevent use by the Japanese. Ironically, even without the guns, the Japanese in Fort Drum were among the last holdouts when U.S. forces recaptured the Philippines in 1945. Mines as we know them today were frequently referred to as torpedoes in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The self-propelled torpedo as we know it was derived from
8816-433: The United Kingdom to provide some modern quick-firing medium-caliber guns, as none of the Endicott Program's 6-inch or 3-inch batteries had been completed. Field artillery , primarily 5-inch siege guns and 7-inch siege howitzers, was also deployed, mostly in the southeastern states of Georgia and Florida . Many of these batteries were not completed until 1899, after the war was over, and the 8-inch guns were withdrawn within
8968-478: The WAAC/WAC uniform, especially in comparison to that of the other services, handicapped recruiting efforts. A resistance by senior Army commanders was overcome by the efficient service of WAACs in the field, but the attitude of men in the rank and file remained generally negative and hopes that up to a million men could be replaced by women never materialized. The United States Army Air Forces became an early and staunch supporter of regular military status for women in
9120-446: The WAC were deployed as separate or attached detachments and companies. The field grade officers (majors and lieutenant-colonels) were on the staff under the director of the WAC, its solitary colonel. Officers were paid by pay band rather than by grade or rank and did not receive a pay grade until 1955. The Women's Army Corps Veterans' Association—Army Women's United (WACVA) was organized in August 1947. Women who have served honorably in
9272-539: The WAC would "certainly try" to send women with "the qualifications you outline." Then, she added, "The combination of brains and beauty is, of course, common in the WAC." By the time the requisitions arrived at the Pentagon in November 1964, the director had selected Major Kathleen I. Wilkes and Sergeant 1st class. Betty L. Adams to fill the positions. Both had extensive experience in WAC training, recruiting, administration, and command. On 15 January 1965, they arrived in Saigon and were met by Maj. Tran Cam Huong, director of
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#17327796677029424-577: The WACs "my best soldiers", adding that they worked harder, complained less and were better disciplined than men. Many generals wanted more of them and proposed to draft women but it was realized that this "would provoke considerable public outcry and Congressional opposition", and so the War Department declined to take such a drastic step. Those 150,000 women who did serve released the equivalent of 7 divisions of men for combat. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said that "their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit and determination are immeasurable". Nevertheless,
9576-433: The WAFC and commandant of the WAFC training center and her assistant, Major Ho Thi Ve. The first WAC advisors advised the WAFC director and her staff on methods of organization, inspection, and management in recruiting, training, administering and assigning enlisted women and officer candidates. Time did not permit the first two WAC advisors to attend language school before they went to Saigon, but those who followed attended
9728-416: The WAFC traveled to the United States. Between 1964 and 1971, 51 Vietnamese women officer candidates completed the WAC Officer Basic Course at the WAC School; one officer completed the WAC Officer Advanced Course. Another group of WACs was assigned to Saigon beginning in 1965. That year Westmoreland requisitioned 15 WAC stenographers for MACV headquarters. Six arrived by December; the balance reported in over
9880-441: The War of 1812, Congress appropriated over $ 800,000 for an ambitious seacoast defensive system which was known as the Third System. A Board of Engineers for Fortifications, appointed by President James Madison , visited potential sites and prepared plans for the new forts. The Board's original 1821 report established the policy which would remain in place for most of the 19th century. The original report suggested 50 sites, but by 1850
10032-448: The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) or the Women's Army Corps (WAC) and those who have served or are serving honorably in the United States Army, the United States Army Reserve, or the Army National Guard of the United States, are eligible to be members. Colonel Geraldine Pratt May (1895–1997 [served 1942–19??). In March, 1943 May became one of the first female officers assigned to the Army Air Forces, serving as WAC Staff Director to
10184-458: The army. About 150,000 American women eventually served in the WAAC and WAC during World War II. While the conservative opinion in the leadership of the Army was initially opposed to women serving in uniform, as was public opinion, the shortage of men necessitated a new policy. While most women served stateside, some went to various places worldwide, including Europe, North Africa, and New Guinea . For example, WACs landed on Normandy Beach just
10336-416: The artillery branches merged in 1950, some of the mine planter vessels were transferred to the U.S. Navy and redesignated as Auxiliary Minelayers (ACM/MMA). These weapons were emplaced between 1895 and 1905. Only widely deployed weapons are listed. Most except the mortars, 3-inch guns, and some 6-inch guns were on disappearing carriages , with barbette carriages (also called pedestal carriages) used for
10488-402: The bay was effectively replaced by dispersed earthworks and low-walled fortifications nearby on Alcatraz Island , Angel Island , the Marin Headlands , and Fort Mason . Following the war, work on masonry forts ended in 1867, leaving several incomplete. Robert Fulton used the term "torpedo" to describe an underwater explosive device in 1805. Samuel Colt experimented with electrical firing of
10640-529: The board had identified nearly 200 sites for fortification. The Army built forts at 42 of these sites, with several additional sites containing towers or batteries. The forts were originally intended to mount mostly 42-pounder (7 inch or 178 mm) seacoast guns; however, due to a shortage of these weapons many 32-pounder (6.4 inch or 163 mm) seacoast guns and 8-inch (203 mm) and 10-inch (254 mm) columbiads were mounted instead. The main defensive works were often large structures, based on combining
10792-493: The command. In July 1967 USARV and its component commands, including the assigned WACs, moved to Long Binh Post northeast of Saigon. In January 1970, the WAC reached its peak strength in South Vietnam with 20 officers and 139 enlisted women. With the progress of Vietnamization and the withdrawal of U.S. forces, by the end of December 1970 the WAC detachment numbered 72; by 31 December 1971 it numbered 46 and by early 1972 it numbered only 35 enlisted women. On 21 September 1972
10944-459: The concept of the mine, with early submarines and torpedo boats evolving as defensive weapons in the 1890s to deliver torpedoes against attacking fleets. During early development, it was not clear whether submarines and torpedo boats would be in the purview of the Army or the Navy, since the Army was responsible for the use and development of stationary minefields and other fixed coastal defenses. As
11096-645: The debris of Exercise Tiger is on display in the park, and serves as the US memorial for the dead of the Exercise. A commemoration ceremony is held annually. 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 or
11248-571: The design proved to be exemplary for that purpose. After the outbreak of war in the Pacific on 7 December 1941, Fort Drum withstood heavy Japanese air and land bombardment as it supported U.S. and Filipino defenders on Bataan and Corregidor until the very end on 6 May 1942. The fortress was among the last U.S. posts to hold out against the Japanese and did not surrender until ordered by superiors after Corregidor had been overrun, but not until
11400-561: The embrasures) were sufficient to deter attack from the sea. But, undefended and unfortified, Washington, D.C. , the national capital, was burned after the land militia forces were routed at the Battle of Bladensburg northeast of the capital in Prince George's County, Maryland . Washington had one fort, which the British bypassed, Fort Washington on the Potomac River just below Alexandria, Virginia , whose commander ordered
11552-719: The famous precedent-setting USS Monitor ironclad warship of the Battle of Hampton Roads harbor in Virginia of March 1862, during the Civil War), as well as a future type of class for coastal warfare ships which closely followed her design by Swedish inventor John Ericsson (1803-1889), the term "monitor" also encompassed more flexible breastwork monitors which had a modest armored superstructure and were thus more seaworthy. These also featured modern rifled breech-loading guns. These post-1862 monitor-style ships of steel and iron were used extensively in offensive roles during
11704-491: The far western Pacific, off the coast of Asia in 1898. By the following early 1900s , the expanded American Navy under 26th President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919, served 1901-1909), was committed to a Blue-water navy fleet of ocean-going steel battleships and cruisers and ceased building monitors; however, some of the older vessels remained in naval service up to World War I in combat-prepared roles, and as training or auxiliary vessels thereafter. The Endicott Program
11856-466: The first WAC Warrant Officers – as administrative specialists or band leaders. The number grew to 10 by June, 1944 and to 44 by June, 1945. By the time the war officially ended in September 1945, there were 42 WAC warrant officers still in Army service. There was only a trickle of appointments in the late 1940s after the war. Most WAC officers were company-grade officers (lieutenants and captains), as
12008-562: The first day. The WAAC were first trained in three major specialties. The brightest and nimblest were trained as switchboard operators. Next came the mechanics, who had to have a high degree of mechanical aptitude and problem solving ability. The bakers were usually the lowest scoring recruits. This was later expanded to dozens of specialties like Postal Clerk, Driver, Stenographer, and Clerk-Typist. WAC armorers maintained and repaired small arms and heavy weapons that they were not allowed to use. A physical training manual titled "You Must Be Fit"
12160-478: The follow-on troops during D-Day and were stationed in Rouen and then Paris during the invasion of France. It was the only African-American WAC unit to serve overseas during World War II. Lt. Col. Harriet West Waddy (1904–1999 [served 1942–1952]) was one of only two African-American women in the WAC to be promoted to the rank of major. Due to her earlier experience serving with director Mary McLeod Bethune of
12312-525: The former being a perceived if not actual threat to U.S. harbors. This concern caused an increase in the use of mines and nets, and demand for superior artillery. However, as the war progressed it became more clear that the enemies did not have the resources to bring the war across the Atlantic, and progress diminished along with concerns. Curiously, despite the rise of air power in World War I , it received little consideration in U.S. coast defense design until
12464-527: The fort's active use, photos and military memorabilia. It is operated by the Fort Taber/Fort Rodman Historical Association and opened in 2004. The park includes several gun batteries , and American Revolution , American Civil War , and World War II re-enactments are held in the park. The stone fort and 20th-century batteries are fenced off but can be viewed. A World War II M-4 Sherman tank recovered from
12616-556: The fort. In 1920 the Driggs-Seabury M1898 3-inch guns of Batteries Craig and Gaston were removed due to a general removal from service of this type of gun; they were not replaced. Battery Milliken was built 1917-1921 as part of a general upgrade of the Coast Artillery with existing 12-inch M1895 guns on new long-range carriages, initially in open mounts. Compared with disappearing carriages, this increased
12768-567: The forts from northeast to southwest, then to the Pacific Coast. The same order is used here for the new-construction forts of the Third System: In addition, several towers and batteries were constructed in support of the forts or at lesser harbors. First and Second System forts were renovated during the system as well, and readied for the larger cannon prevalent during that period. Again, changes in technology affected design;
12920-411: The forts of each Artillery District. Most of the Endicott fortifications were constructed from 1895 through 1905. As the defenses were constructed, each harbor or river's installations were controlled by Artillery Districts, renamed Coast Defense Commands in 1913 and Harbor Defense Commands in 1925. By the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, the Endicott Program had completed only
13072-401: The forts were also rearmed with these weapons. All of the larger Parrott rifles had burst frequently during the war, so few of these were retained in service after the war. Also during the 1870s, a number of new projects were started to include large caliber mortars and submarine mines . However, the facilities for the mortars and mines were never completed, and funding for the new fortifications
13224-498: The gay and careless way in which the young ladies in uniform … disport themselves…." The allegations were refuted, but the "fat was in the fire. The morals of the WAACs became a topic of general discussion…." Denials of O'Donnell's fabrications and others like them were ineffectual. According to Mattie Treadwell's Army history, as long as three years after O'Donnell's column, "religious publications were still to be found reprinting
13376-649: The higher velocity ordnance of new rifled cannons crushed and penetrated the masonry walls of Third System forts. Severe damage was inflicted to forts on the Atlantic Coast during the Civil War . For example, Fort Sumter in South Carolina was bombarded into surrender by Confederate batteries in 1861, and reduced to rubble during Union efforts towards its recapture. In 1862 Fort Pulaski in Georgia
13528-732: The idea. They believed that the additional security required for women would outweigh the advantages of having the WACs serve in South Vietnam. However Engler won over the critics when he decided to house the WACs inside the U.S. military cantonment area at Tan Son Nhut International Airport rather than in the city, eliminating the need for additional guards. Engler realized that the WACs would be exposed to risk, but he did not consider it great enough to exclude WACs, and he did not request that women being assigned to USARV learn to fire weapons. However, he privately decided that if they were ever assigned to field installations there, he would recommend that they receive small weapons training. Engler's request for
13680-429: The installation and operation of the controlled mine fields from the Corps of Engineers; these were planted to be under observation, remotely detonated electrically, and protected by fixed guns. With that responsibility the Coast Artillery began to acquire the vessels required to plant and maintain the mine fields and cables connecting the mines to the mine casemate ashore, organized as a "Submarine Mine Battery" within
13832-485: The late 1770s, a French engineer, the Marquis de Montalembert , advocated a major change in the design of fortresses to address these problems. His design protected a fort's gunners by placing most of them in covered casemate walls with openings for the guns. By stacking rows of casemates in high walls more guns could be mounted along shorter walls. This was particularly important for seacoast fortifications, which had only
13984-542: The late 1930s, probably due to the emergence of Japanese aircraft carriers as a threat. In response to the rapid improvements in dreadnought battleships , approximately 14 two-gun batteries of 12-inch guns on a new M1917 long-range barbette carriage began construction in 1917, but none were completed until 1920. Due to their experience and training with large guns, the Coast Artillery operated all U.S. Army heavy artillery ( 155 mm gun and up) in World War I, primarily French- and British-made weapons. They also acquired
14136-404: The later specialist grade. Technicians had the same insignia as NCOs of the same grade but had a "T" insignia (for "technician") beneath the chevrons. They were considered the same grade for pay but were considered a half-step between the equivalent pay grade and the next lower regular pay grade in seniority, rather than sandwiched between the junior enlisted (i.e., private – private first class) and
14288-557: The limit by authorizing the enlistment of 150,000 volunteers. The WAAC was modeled after comparable British units, especially the ATS , which caught the attention of Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall . In 1942, the first contingent of 800 members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps began basic training at Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School , Iowa. The women were fitted for uniforms, interviewed, assigned to companies and barracks and inoculated against disease during
14440-521: The lowest NCO grade of rank (viz., corporal), as the modern-day specialist (E-4) is today. Technician grades were usually mistaken for their superior NCO counterparts due to the similarity of their insignia, creating confusion. There were originally no warrant officers in the WAC in July, 1943. Warrant officer appointments for army servicewomen were authorized in January 1944. In March 1944 six WACs were made
14592-531: The magazine blown when the passing British fleet appeared nearby, after the British had already occupied Washington. The present Fort Washington was built on the site of the destroyed Fort Washington in the early 1820s as part of the Third System. Among the many important and historic documents lost in the British burning of the Library of Congress were the plans to the first Fort Washington (begun as Fort Warburton) and other Second System forts. In 1816, following
14744-471: The metropolitan area. Like everyone else, they worked six-and-a-half to seven days a week, ten to fifteen hours a day, and had little time for recreation or socializing. Nonetheless, several extended their tours in Vietnam and a few returned for second and third tours of duty. Early in 1965, Westmoreland had also requisitioned a dozen WAC officers. They filled administrative positions at MACV headquarters, in
14896-477: The mortars held in reserve. During World War I, the U.S. Navy implemented a more successful program that delivered five 14"/50 caliber railway guns to France in time to support the final Allied offensives. However, these weapons' mountings were not suitable for coast defense and they were retired after that war. A new 14-inch (356 mm) gun and improved versions of some Endicott period weapons were introduced from 1905 to 1918, supplementing rather than replacing
15048-506: The most highly qualified WAAC groups ever to reach the field. Hand-picked and all-volunteer, almost all members were linguists as well as qualified specialists, and almost all eligible for officer candidate school." Louisiana Register of State Lands Ellen Bryan Moore attained the rank of captain in the WACs and once recruited three hundred women at a single appeal to join the force. Captain Dovey Johnson Roundtree
15200-645: The most prolific builder of masonry forts in American history. After the 1940s, it was recognized that fixed fortifications were obsolete and ineffective against aircraft and missiles. At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War , many coastal fortifications already protected the Atlantic coast . Before independence from Britain, the colonies bore cost and responsibilities for their own protection. Urgency would wax and wane based on
15352-587: The need for heavy fixed artillery for then modern seacoast defense was noted in 21st President Chester A. Arthur 's Second Annual Message to the Congress (later known as the State of the Union address, after 1913), as follows: I call your attention to the recommendation of the Secretary and the board that authority be given to construct two more cruisers of smaller dimensions and one fleet dispatch vessel , and that appropriations be made for high-power rifled cannon for
15504-476: The newcomers taking over "their town", female civilian employees resenting the competition (for both jobs and men), charity and volunteer organizations who resented the extra attention the WAACs received, and complaints and slander spread by disgruntled or discharged WAACs. All investigations showed the rumors were false. Although many sources spawned and fed bad jokes and ugly rumors about military women, contemporaneous and historical accounts have focused on
15656-643: The next few months. Women in grades E-5 and higher with excellent stenographic skills, maturity and faultless records of deportment filled these positions for the next seven years. Peak strength reached 23 on 30 June 1970. The senior among them acted as NCO-in-charge and the senior WAC advisor to the WAFC was their officer-in-charge. Initially. the women were billeted in the Embassy Hotel, but they later moved to other hotels in Saigon. The WAC stenographers served at MACV headquarters and in support commands throughout
15808-422: The parapet of the fort. Originally established as a freestanding tower, it was moved to the fort in 1869 because the fort's walls obscured the beacon from some angles. it was deactivated in 1898, but was relit in 2001 by the city as a private aid to navigation. The Fort Taber Historical Association Museum is located at Fort Taber Park, and features a miniature model of the fort, uniforms from different eras during
15960-464: The personnel officer at Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), in Saigon wrote to the director, then Colonel Gorman, that South Vietnam was organizing a Women's Armed Forces Corps (WAFC) and wanted U.S. WACs to assist them in planning and developing it. The MACV commander, then General William Westmoreland , authorized spaces for two WAC advisors. Before the requisitions arrived at
16112-404: The political climate in Europe . Most defenses were artillery protected by earthworks , as protection from pirate raids and foreign incursions. In the American colonies and the United States, coastal forts were generally more heavily constructed than inland forts, and mounted heavier weapons comparable to those on potential attacking ships. Though seldom used, the forts were a deterrent. During
16264-616: The previous weapons. The 14-inch guns were emplaced in the new harbor defenses of Los Angeles , Hawaii , the Panama Canal , and Manila Bay in the Philippines. A one-off 16-inch gun M1895 (406 mm) was also deployed on a disappearing carriage on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal in 1914; this was the first 16-inch gun in U.S. service. Only widely deployed seacoast weapons are included in this list. Airplanes were
16416-570: The progress on the Endicott Board's program. Most of the changes recommended by this board were technical; such as adding more searchlights , electrification (lighting, communications, and projectile handling), and more sophisticated optical aiming techniques. The board also recommended fortifications in territories acquired from Spain: Cuba and the Philippines , as well as Hawaii , and a few other sites. Defenses in Panama were authorized by
16568-651: The project, wrote: "Little is known of the significance of the contribution to the Manhattan Project by hundreds of members of the Women's Army Corps ... Since you received no headline acclaim, no one outside the project will ever know how much depended upon you." Any women interested in positions on the project were told the following: they would be doing a hard job, would never be allowed to go overseas, attend Officer Candidate School, would never receive publicity, and would live at isolated stations with few recreational facilities. A surprising number of highly qualified women responded. It later proved possible to send WACs assigned
16720-469: The range and potential uses of submarines and torpedo boats grew, it became more apparent that these were naval vessels, and both surface- and submarine-delivered torpedoes were an important aspect of naval coastal defense strategies. However, self-propelled torpedoes were not included in the Army's coastal defenses. Shore-launched Whitehead compressed air driven torpedoes were the first deployed, in Europe. Submarines and airplanes became more important, with
16872-483: The range of this type of gun from 18,400 yards (16,800 m) to 30,100 yards (27,500 m). This effectively replaced the fort's previous 8-inch guns, but those were not removed until World War II. Battery Milliken housed the post switchboard, and during World War II this was operated by the Women's Army Corps , for which the latrines were re-arranged. In 1925 the Coast Defenses of New Bedford were renamed
17024-480: The remainder. Although some harbor defenses in less-threatened locations were disarmed following World War I (some of these retained minefields), many of these weapons remained in service until superseded by 16-inch guns and scrapped during World War II . In 1905, after the experiences of the Spanish–American War , President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a new fortifications board, under Secretary of War William Howard Taft . They updated some standards and reviewed
17176-494: The removal of "substantial risk of capture" from the list of grounds for excluding women from certain military units. In 2015 Jeanne Pace, at the time the longest-tenured female warrant officer and the last former member of the WAC on active duty, retired. She had joined the WAC in 1972. Originally there were only four enlisted (or "enrolled") WAAC ranks (auxiliary, junior leader, leader, and senior leader) and three WAAC officer ranks (first, second and third officer). The Director
17328-652: The roof of the fort. Additional " water batteries " (located near the waters the forts protected) outside the forts provided more firepower. Four of the First System forts were rebuilds of colonial forts, Fort Constitution in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Fort Independence in Boston, Massachusetts, Fort Wolcott in Newport, Rhode Island, and Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. Lacking trained engineers to supervise
17480-415: The same specialties as white women, and the races were not segregated at specialty training schools. The US Army goal was to have 10 percent of the force be African-American, to reflect the larger U.S. population, but a shortage of recruits brought only 5.1 percent black women to the WAC. The first African-American commissioned officer in the WAC was Charity Adams Earley . General Douglas MacArthur called
17632-632: The site and the fort as Fort Rodman Military Reservation, in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Logan Rodman, a New Bedford native with the 38th Massachusetts Infantry who died in the assault on Port Hudson, Louisiana in 1863. It was the primary fort of the Coast Defenses of New Bedford , and was garrisoned by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps . Along with gun batteries, facilities for planting and controlling an underwater minefield were built. The site
17784-591: The slander campaigns hurt the reputation of not only the WAC but other all female Corps like the Navy's WAVES; many women did not even want it known they were veterans. During the same time period, other branches of the U.S. military had similar women's units including: the Navy's WAVES , the SPARS of the Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve , and the (civil) Women Airforce Service Pilots . The British Armed Forces also had similar units including:
17936-401: The stone fort. It was noted at the time that the stone fort's presence interfered with effective fire from Fort Taber, and a battery of field artillery was emplaced east of Fort Taber. The Fort Taber name was unofficially used to refer to the Fort at Clark's Point for many years, even by the garrison in letters home, and is used to refer to the stone fort in some recent references. Also known as
18088-429: The story, and actually attributing the columnist's lines to Director Hobby. Director Hobby's picture was labeled 'Astounding Degeneracy' …." Black women served in the Army's WAAC and WAC, but very few served in the Navy. African American women serving in the WAC experienced segregation in much the same fashion as in U.S. civilian life. Some billets accepted WACs of any race, while others did not. Black women were taught
18240-421: The support commands and in the headquarters of a new command United States Army Vietnam (USARV). Major Audrey A. Fisher, the first to arrive, was assigned to the adjutant general's office. Like the enlisted women, the WAC officers lived in hotels in Saigon. They worked in personnel, administration, public information, intelligence, logistics, plans and training, and military justice. A few WAC officers served with
18392-497: The technology available to both the attacking forces and the defenders. The evolution of the U.S. seacoast defense system is generally identified among several "systems", which are somewhat defined by the styles used, but more so by the events or trends which periodically stimulated new funding and construction. The division of the early forts into the First and Second Systems was made by later historians, and appears officially in an 1851 report by Chief Engineer Joseph Totten , probably
18544-455: The torpedo. During the Civil War, these underwater mines became an important supplementary defense measure. The Confederacy , without a large navy to protect its harbors, relied on mines extensively to deter attacks by Union ships. Electrically fired torpedoes , later termed mines, controlled from mine casemates ashore were developed during and after the Civil War as part of coastal defenses. Numerous types of seacoast artillery were used in
18696-404: The upper sleeve (below the stripes for enlisted ranks). WAAC personnel were not allowed to wear the same rank insignia as Army personnel. They were usually authorized to do so by post or unit commanders to help in indicating their seniority within the WAAC, although they had no authority over Army personnel. The organization was renamed the Women's Army Corps in July 1943 when it was authorized as
18848-572: The walls, and that low walls presented less exposure to projectiles. Walls were laid out at angles to each other to form a system of bastions , resembling a star layout , so that enemy forces could not mass against the bottom of a wall beneath the vertical field of fire from the wall; defenders on any wall could see and fire on the base of the adjacent walls. The angled walls also reduced the chance for more destructive straight-on hits from cannonballs. Most First System forts were relatively small, and with some exceptions mounted only one tier of cannon , on
19000-426: The walls, but could be raised to fire. With a few exceptions early in the program, These Endicott-style forts had no significant defenses against an amphibious land attack. Controlled mine fields were a critical component of the defense, and smaller guns were also employed to protect the mine fields from enemy naval minesweeping vessels . An extensive Coast Artillery fire control system was developed and provided for
19152-474: The war. However, in 1867 money for masonry fortifications was cut off, and the Third System came to a close. The vulnerability of masonry to rifled cannon and large-caliber smoothbore cannon and fewer concerns for invasion led to the construction of well-dispersed masonry-revetted earthen fortifications with brick-lined magazines, often located near Third System forts. These were typically armed with 15-inch Rodman guns and 8-inch converted rifles ; in some cases,
19304-401: The weapons withdrawn from less-threatened forts and from spares. A general program to reduce mortars from four per pit to two per pit created a surplus of these weapons. The cramped pits created difficulties in reloading; a two-mortar pit had roughly the same rate of fire as a four-mortar pit. Despite a large-scale effort, of all these weapons only three 8-inch guns were delivered to France before
19456-567: The west, Fort Look-Out (or the Six-Gun Battery) on the peninsula to the rear in the west, a temporary naval battery across the Patapsco channel to the east at Lazaretto Point , and sunken ships blocking the channels on either side of Fort McHenry, along with 20,000 militia dug in on the east side of the town at "Loudenschlager's Hill" (later "Hampstead Hill" in today's Patterson Park ). The intense all-night bombardment of Fort McHenry by
19608-692: The work of syndicated columnist John O'Donnell . According to an Army history, even with its hasty retraction, O'Donnell's 8 June 1943 "Capitol Stuff" column did "incalculable damage." That column began, "Contraceptives and prophylactic equipment will be furnished to members of the WAACS, according to a super secret agreement reached by the high ranking officers of the War Department and the WAAC chieftain, Mrs. William Pettus Hobby …." This followed O'Donnell's 7 June column discussing efforts of women journalists and congresswomen to dispel "the gaudy stories of
19760-441: The work, Secretary of War Henry Knox hired a number of European engineers. Although some fine forts were constructed, for the most part enthusiasm and funding waned and little work was completed. Most of the partially finished earthworks and wooden structures deteriorated before they were needed to defend against the British in 1812 . In 1802, Congress separated the artillerists and engineers into separate corps and directed
19912-620: Was Bandmaster of the 1st Cavalry Division where she retired after 41 years of service. She is also a recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Margaret Cochran Corbin Award which was established to pay tribute to women in all branches of the military for their extraordinary service with previous recipients including Major Tammy Duckworth , Major General Gale Pollock , and Lt General Patricia Horoho . Elizabeth "Tex" Williams
20064-427: Was a Rising Eagle (nicknamed the "Waddling Duck" or "Walking Buzzard" by WAACs). It was worn in gold metal as cap badges and uniform buttons. Enlisted and NCO personnel wore it as an embossed circular cap badge on their Hobby Hats, while officers wore a "free" version (open work without a backing) on their hats to distinguish them. Their auxiliary insignia was the dark blue letters "WAAC" on an Olive Drab rectangle worn on
20216-558: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Endicott period batteries at Fort Rodman were built 1898-1902, with other batteries added later as follows: Battery Walcott was named for William H. Walcott of the 17th U.S. Infantry in the Civil War. Battery Barton was named for William Barton of the Revolutionary War. Battery Cross was named for Charles E. Cross, an engineer officer killed at
20368-496: Was among 39 African-American women recruited by Dr. Mary Bethune for the first WAACs officer training class. Roundtree was responsible for recruiting African-American women. After leaving the Army, she went to Howard University law school and became a prominent civil rights lawyer in Washington, D.C. She was also one of the first women ordained in the A.M.E. Church. In February, 1943 Lieutenant Anna Mac Clarke became, when
20520-718: Was at the location until the 6-inch battery was completed in 1945, along with the harbor entrance control post for New Bedford. Defending the passage to New Bedford between Dartmouth and Cuttyhunk Island were two batteries of 90 mm guns , one at Barneys Joy Point Military Reservation and one on Cuttyhunk Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands Military Reservation . These were called Anti- Motor Torpedo Boat Batteries (AMTB) 931 and 932, respectively. The AMTB batteries had an authorized strength of four 90 mm guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts. An additional 90 mm battery, AMTB 933,
20672-458: Was built on part of the site. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (Southeastern Massachusetts University prior to 1991) occupies some of the fort's buildings. The reserve center closed in the 1970s. Today most of the former fort is a public park, but as of 2016 the stone fort and gun batteries are fenced off, and the Endicott batteries are overgrown. The stone fort has occasionally been opened for special events. The Clarks Point Light stands on
20824-399: Was cut off by 1878, leaving much of the program unfinished. By the 1880s most of the earthen fortifications were in disrepair. Though coastal defense was generally within the purview of the U.S. Army , the U.S. Navy became more involved in the late 19th century with coastal defense ships , generally called monitors . These monitors were turreted ironclad warships (inspired and named by
20976-405: Was designed by numerous Army bureaus coordinated by Lt. Col. Gillman C. Mudgett, the first WAAC Pre-Planner; however, nearly all of his plans were discarded or greatly modified before going into operation because he had expected a corps of only 11,000 women. Without the support of the War Department, Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts introduced a bill on 28 May 1941, providing for
21128-536: Was distinguished from the First System by greater use of Montalembert's concepts and the replacement of foreign engineers by American ones, many of them recent graduates of the new United States Military Academy superintended by Major Jonathan Williams , who not only instructed the new engineers in new ideas of coastal defense, but also designed and constructed a prototype, Castle Williams on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Again, several fine forts were produced, but generally projects went unfinished, and between
21280-435: Was for flexibility, as each harbor defense command was differently equipped and a task-based organization was needed. The Coast Artillery would alternate between small unit and regimental organization several times over its history. The head of the Artillery Corps became the Chief of Artillery in the rank of brigadier general with jurisdiction over both types of artillery. Circa 1901 the Coast Artillery took responsibility for
21432-734: Was forced to surrender after only 30 hours of bombardment with rifled cannon, primarily large-caliber Parrott rifles . Many of the larger smoothbore cannon (32-pounder and up) were rifled and equipped with breech bands to support larger powder charges and extend their effective range during the Civil War. This process is referred to as "banded and rifled". During the Civil War, naval officers learned that their steamships and ironclad vessels could run past Confederate-held Third System forts with acceptable losses, such as at Mobile Bay . The urgencies of war required that new forts or improvements be constructed quickly and at low cost. Partially completed Third System forts were finished, but new construction
21584-420: Was initially considered as equivalent to a major, then later made the equivalent of a colonel. The enlisted ranks expanded as the organization grew in size. Promotion was initially rapid and based on ability and skill. As members of a volunteer auxiliary group, the WAACs got paid less than their equivalent male counterparts in the US Army and did not receive any benefits or privileges. WAAC organizational insignia
21736-401: Was largely implemented 1895–1905. As Endicott facilities were constructed in each harbor defense area, the previous coastal defenses were usually abandoned. Only widely deployed weapons are listed. The larger Parrott rifles had shown a tendency to burst during the war, so only a few were retained in service after the war, in emplacements that took advantage of their long range. As early as 1882,
21888-407: Was mostly wood-revetted earthworks. Frequently earthworks were built near a Third System fort in order to supplement its firepower, but often they were stand-alone fortifications. In some cases, cannon from masonry forts were dispersed to earthen bunkers where they were better protected. The fortification of San Francisco Bay is a good example, where the typical Third System Fort Point at the mouth of
22040-530: Was on Nashawena Island , just east of Cuttyhunk Island. Protecting the southern entrance to the Cape Cod Canal was a two-gun 155 mm battery on Panama mounts, replaced in 1943 by AMTB 934, at Butler Point Military Reservation in Marion . The fort's guns were all scrapped by 1948. The fort grounds and garrison buildings became a military reserve center, and eventually a wastewater treatment plant
22192-477: Was published by the War Department in July 1943, aimed at bringing the women recruits to top physical standards. The manual begins by naming the responsibility of the women: "Your Job: To Replace Men. Be Ready To Take Over." It cited women's commitment to the war effort in England, Russia, Germany and Japan, and emphasized that the WAC recruits must be physically able to take on any job. The fitness manual
22344-465: Was removed from the design to allow more timely completion. Construction was halted in 1871, and the fort as planned was never completed. The Fort Rodman/Fort Taber Military Museum is open Wednesdays through Sundays between 1:00pm and 4:00pm. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. With new batteries being constructed under the Endicott program in 1898, the U.S. Army officially named the military reservation at
22496-410: Was state-of-the-art for its day, with sections on warming up and progressive body-weight strength-building exercises for the arms, legs, stomach, neck and back. It included a section on designing a personal fitness routine after basic training and concluded with "The Army Way to Health and Added Attractiveness" with advice on skincare, make-up, and hairstyles. Inept publicity and the poor appearance of
22648-486: Was the Chesapeake–Leopard affair . One common weakness among the typical low-walled open bastion or star forts was exposure to enemy fire, especially to new devices designed to explode in mid air and rain shrapnel down on the gunners. Gun emplacements which were at an angle to the sea were vulnerable to a solid shot running parallel to the wall taking out a row of guns and gunners with one enfilading shot. In
22800-537: Was the 3-inch M1898 Driggs-Seabury gun with masking parapet (simplified disappearing) mounts, at least 111 of which had been emplaced. The disappearing function had already been disabled due to interfering with aiming the gun, and the weapon had an alarming tendency for the piston rod to break on firing. Others included 6-inch Armstrong guns (9 guns), all three types of 4.72-inch Armstrong guns (34 guns), 4-inch/40 caliber Navy Driggs-Schroeder guns (4 guns), and all models of 5-inch guns (52 guns). Twenty-six of
22952-906: Was the first woman to be elected as a justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. Major Elna Jane Hilliard [served 1942–1946] commanded the 2525th WAC unit at Fort Myer , Virginia . She was the first woman to serve on a United States Army general court martial . In January, 1943, Captain Frances Keegan Marquis became the first to command a women's expeditionary force, the 149th WAAC Post Headquarters Company. Serving in General Eisenhower's North African headquarters in Algiers, this group of about 200 women performed secretarial, driving, postal, and other non-combat duties. An Army history called this company "one of
23104-491: Was the women's branch of the United States Army . It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps ( WAAC ) on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States as the WAC on 1 July 1943. Its first director was Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby . The WAC was disbanded on 20 October 1978, and all WAC units were integrated with male units. The WAAC's organization
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