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56-532: Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township , Monmouth County, New Jersey , United States. The barrier spit, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) in length and varying from 0.1 to 1.0 mile (0.16 to 1.61 km) wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore . It encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay south of New York City , protecting it from the open waters of

112-601: A bore pressure of 25,000 psi (170,000 kPa). Four more shots were fired in March 1867 with charges of 125, 150, 175, and 200 lb (91 kg) throwing the projectile 8,000 yd (7.3 km) with the barrel elevated to 25 degrees. During the War, and immediately after, attempts were made to cast rifled Rodman guns. Unsuccessful attempts were made to cast a 12-inch rifle in 1861, an 8-inch rifle in 1862, and another 12-inch rifle in 1868. However, Robert Parker Parrott at

168-503: A cooling afternoon sea breeze in Sandy Hook, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with heat index values > 105 °F (41 °C). Since 1981, the highest air temperature was 99.7 °F (37.6 °C) on August 9, 2001, and the highest daily average mean dew point was 78.0 °F (25.6 °C) on July 19, 2019. The average wettest month is July which correlates with the peak in thunderstorm activity. Since 1981,

224-404: A gun was cast as a solid body, with the bore then drilled out of the solid metal. In this method, a newly cast gun cooled from the outside in. Castings shrink as they cool. As each succeeding layer cooled it contracted, pulling away from the still molten metal in the center, creating voids and tension cracks. Drilling out the bore removed the voids, but the tensions in the metal were still toward

280-481: A hook or recurved spit. Refraction in multiple directions may create a complex spit. Waves that arrive in a direction other than obliquely along the spit will halt the growth of the spit, shorten it, or eventually destroy it entirely. The sediments that make up spits come from a variety of sources including rivers and eroding bluffs, and changes there can have a major effect on spits and other coastal landforms. Activities such as logging and farming upstream can increase

336-519: A radar station with 1960s-era computers. A Civil War-era 20-inch Rodman gun is also in the park; this was an experimental gun that was the largest type produced by either side of that war. North of Fort Hancock on the western part of the "hook" is an active station of the United States Coast Guard . This is one of the original Life Saving Stations built in 1848 at a site "on bay side, one-half mile south of point of Hook." The site

392-412: A river) becomes too great to allow the sand to deposit. Vegetation may then start to grow on the spit, and the spit may become stable and often fertile. A spit may be considered a special form of a shoal . As spits grow, the water behind them is sheltered from wind and waves, and a salt marsh is likely to develop. Wave refraction can occur at the end of a spit, carrying sediment around the end to form

448-445: A threaded breech plug. These breech-inserted guns are easily recognized by the square cascabel which was designed to provide purchase for screwing the breech plug and liner securely into the gun. These conversions were not viewed favorably and were primarily seen as cheap stopgaps until modern breech-loading rifles could be developed and emplaced. However, the 8-inch converted rifle was widely deployed in fortifications constructed in

504-475: Is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 6.3 °F (−14.3 °C). The average date of first spring leaf-out is March 23 and fall color typically peaks in early-November. There is a forest belonging to both Northeastern coastal forests & Atlantic coastal pine barrens . Deer live in the area and also many seabirds such as the nesting bird the least tern . And gulls such as American herring gull and Laughing gull and others native to

560-549: Is a large sand spit or barrier spit, the extension of a barrier peninsula along the coast of New Jersey, separated from the mainland by the estuary of the Shrewsbury River . On its western side, the peninsula encloses Sandy Hook Bay , a triangular arm of Raritan Bay . The 2,044-acre (8.27 km) peninsula was discovered by Henry Hudson , and, historically, Sandy Hook has been a convenient anchorage for ships before proceeding into Upper New York Harbor . Sandy Hook

616-416: Is between 18 inches (46 cm) and 24 inches (61 cm), and the average snowiest month is February which corresponds with the annual peak in nor'easter activity. According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Sandy Hook would have a dominant vegetation type of Northern Cordgrass ( 73 ) with a dominant vegetation form of Coastal Prairie ( 20 ). The plant hardiness zone

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672-780: Is called the proximal end, and the end jutting out into water is called the distal end. There is debate as to the longest spit in the world, with both the Arabat Spit in the Sea of Azov and the Younghusband Peninsula in South Australia approximately 110 kilometres (68 mi) long. Alternatively, with the natural closing of the Roanoke inlet in 1811, Bodie Island in North Carolina may qualify as

728-638: Is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast . Sandy Hook Lighthouse is located within the fort grounds, as is the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST), a magnet high school, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District . At the entrance to Fort Hancock is Guardian Park, a plaza dominated by two Nike missiles. Some of the buildings of Fort Hancock are closed to

784-534: Is open to visitation by the National Park Service. The Sandy Hook Proving Ground was used for many years—beginning after the Civil War until 1919, when the facility was moved to Aberdeen, Maryland —and was later the site of a Nike missile defense installation. The Sandy Hook Nike station is one of a very few stations that are still intact. Almost all of the fort's gun batteries are closed to

840-549: Is part of Middletown Township, although not contiguous with the rest of the Township. Because the peninsula is also federal enclave, Middletown and the federal government have a Concurrent jurisdiction . The community of Highlands overlooks the southern part of the hook. Sandy Hook is owned by the federal government. Most of it is managed by the National Park Service and U.S. National Park Service rangers as

896-530: Is wheelchair accessible. The northern tip of Sandy Hook is the traditional finish of the 16.1 mile Ederle-Burke Swim, which runs from the Battery at the tip of Manhattan Island through the Narrows and into Lower New York Bay . The first successful swim occurred in 1913, when New York lifeguard Alfred Brown came ashore in 13 hours, 38 minutes. As a prelude to her English Channel triumph, Gertrude Ederle swam

952-700: The Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Dutch called the area "Sant Hoek", with the English "Hook" deriving from the Dutch "Hoek" (corner, angle), meaning "spit of land". For over three centuries mariners tasked with guiding ships across the Sandy Hook bar have been known as Sandy Hook pilots . Most of Sandy Hook is owned and managed by the National Park Service as the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area . Geologically , Sandy Hook

1008-825: The Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea ; it is 98 km long (61 mi). In a similar fashion, the Vistula Spit separates the Vistula Lagoon from the Gdańsk Bay off the coast of Poland . Zlatni Rat , a popular pebble beach jutting southward from the harbor town of Bol , on the Croatian island of Brač , is formed by Adriatic currents flowing east and west through the Hvar Channel , along

1064-682: The Fort Pitt Foundry , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; the Scott Foundry, Reading, Pennsylvania ; Cyrus Alger & Co., Boston, Massachusetts ; and the West Point Foundry , Cold Spring, New York . Rodman guns were mounted on three types of carriages—a front-pintle barbette carriage, a center-pintle barbette carriage, and a casemate carriage. All of these carriages were made of wrought iron . All three types of carriage were similar in design, having an upper carriage that

1120-546: The Morro Bay is one such location. Rodman gun The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War –era columbiads designed by Union artillery officer Thomas Jackson Rodman (1815–1871). The guns were designed to fire both shot and shell . These heavy guns were intended to be mounted in seacoast fortifications. 8-inch, 10-inch, 13-inch, 15-inch, and 20-inch bore (20, 25, 33, 38, and 51 cm) Rodman guns were produced. Other than size,

1176-425: The 1870s and 1880s, efforts focused on converting existing Rodman guns into rifles. 10-inch Rodman smoothbore guns were converted into 8-inch rifles. The first method used was inserting a wrought iron rifle sleeve through the muzzle; a similar steel sleeve was also used later. The last method involved drilling and tapping the breech of the 10-inch Rodman and inserting a rifled steel sleeve and screwing it in tight with

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1232-859: The 1870s, and remained in service until 1905. In 1859 Joseph R. Anderson of the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia , and Junius L. Archer of the Bellona Foundry in Midlothian, Virginia (the only two gun foundries then operating in what would become the Confederacy ), failed to adopt the Rodman technique of hollow casting, and as result the US Army cancelled contracts with both firms for casting columbiads. Therefore, at

1288-739: The Code of Federal Regulations , as well as New Jersey State Code in instances where federal laws do not pertain. In Sandy Hook a misdemeanor could be a federal crime while outside the park it would be a minor infraction. Accommodations near Sandy Hook include bed and breakfasts such as the Sandy Hook Cottage and Seascape Manor, as well as Grand Lady by the Sea, and Nauvoo at Sandy Hook, which are all located in Highlands. Dining options have changed drastically since Superstorm Sandy , which destroyed

1344-706: The Cold Spring Foundry, across the Hudson River from the United States Army Military Academy at West Point, used the Rodman water core method of casting to produce large-bore rifled guns in 200- and 300-pound models. Parrott rifles that had been cast using the Rodman method were inscribed with the initials WC in order to differentiate those guns from ones that had been cast using ordinary methods. Primarily these guns were used on naval vessels, especially large monitors. In

1400-555: The Confederate columbiads are rough, not having been finished on a lathe as were their Union counterparts. On November 14, 1864, and February 20, 1865, at the Tredegar Iron Works, Anderson cast two 12-inch columbiads using the Rodman method. The guns were made too late and were never finished or mounted. The 3-inch ordnance rifle and the 4.5-inch siege rifle were frequently misidentified as Rodmans. Neither gun

1456-482: The Rodman technology. One 20-inch Rodman gun remains in a park just north of Fort Hamilton, and another is at Fort Hancock, New Jersey . The other, smaller Rodman guns were placed in seacoast fortifications around the United States. It took eight men to load and fire a 10-inch Rodman gun, and 12 men for a 15-inch Rodman gun. Over 140 Rodman guns survive today. They may be seen at coastal fortifications around

1512-531: The Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area . The eastern shoreline consists of public beaches: North Beach, Gunnison Beach , and South Beach. The southern part of the spit consists of public beaches and fishing areas. The peninsula's ocean-facing beaches are considered among the finest in New Jersey and are a popular destination for recreation in summer when seasonal ferries bring beachgoers from its various docking points including NYC. Gunnison Beach

1568-412: The area. Spit (landform) Where the direction of the shore inland re-enters , or changes direction, for example at a headland , the longshore current spreads out or dissipates. No longer able to carry the full load, much of the sediment is dropped. This is called deposition. This submerged bar of sediment allows longshore drift or littoral drift to continue to transport sediment in the direction

1624-447: The beaches yearly after March 15. Nude or partially nude sunbathers may be encountered at Gunnison Beach as it is clothing optional . In contrast, the western shore includes vast acres of sand and trails and a paved path without lifeguards or rest rooms. These stretches are favored by cyclists and kite surfers , and leashed dogs are permitted. Within Sandy Hook some laws and regulations are different. Sandy Hook falls under Title 36 of

1680-415: The carriages. Rodman guns were all nearly identical in design, with a curving soda bottle shape, the only differences being the size of the gun. They were all smoothbore guns designed to fire spherical shot and shell, primarily against ships. The guns were elevated and depressed by means of a lever called the elevating bar. The point of this lever fits into ratchets on the earliest guns cast, or sockets on

1736-445: The chassis and below the guns embrasure . A "tongue" connected the chassis to the pintle. The casemate carriage has a lower profile than the barbette carriages. The 8-inch and 10-inch Rodman guns could be mounted on all three types of carriages. The 15-inch Rodman guns were mounted on both types of barbette carriage. The two 20-inch guns were mounted on front-pintle barbette carriages. Sling carts were used to transport these guns to

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1792-745: The country. Rodman guns saw little action during the Civil War . Two 10-inch columbiads were used in 1864 and 1865 in Union operations against Fort Sumter . It seems likely, due to the time period in which they were used, that these were Rodman guns rather than earlier model columbiads. Other reports of the use of 8-inch and 10-inch columbiads may refer to Rodman guns. The 15-inch Rodman guns were never fired in anger; however, they were widely deployed in coast defense until replaced by Endicott Period fortifications in 1895–1905. Some Rodmans of various sizes, along with Parrott rifles, were deployed shortly after

1848-701: The entrance to Sandy Hook. A bicycle path parallels the motor road. The SeaStreak ferry serves Sandy Hook from Manhattan in summertime. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Sandy Hook has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ). Cfa climates are characterized by all months having an average temperature > 32.0 °F (0.0 °C), at least four months with an average temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (10.0 °C), at least one month with an average temperature ≥ 71.6 °F (22.0 °C) and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days feature slight-to-moderate humidity and

1904-412: The gun a 360° traverse and was stronger for guns firing at high angles because the pintle, the strongest part of the carriage, would have been under the breech when the gun was fired at high angles. The casemate carriage was designed to fire from casemates , which were chambers in permanent fortifications. The carriage was essentially a front-pintle design, with the pintle fixed in the masonry in front of

1960-403: The gun mold nearly red-hot. For an 8-inch Rodman columbiad , the core was removed 25 hours after casting and the flow of water continued through the space left by the core for another 40 hours. Over 50,000 US gallons (190 m ) of water was used in the process. For larger guns, the cooling periods were longer and more water was used. After cooling the gun, the machining process began. The bore

2016-487: The guns were all nearly identical in design, with a curving bottle shape, a large flat cascabels , and ratchets or sockets for the elevating mechanism. Rodman guns were true guns that did not have a howitzer -like powder chamber, as did many earlier columbiads. Rodman guns differed from all previous artillery because they were hollow cast , a new technology that Rodman developed that resulted in cast-iron guns that were much stronger than their predecessors. Traditionally,

2072-805: The island's only eating location, the Sea Gulls' Nest Deck Restaurant. On the peninsula, various food trucks can be found and nearby is the locally known Bahr's Landing, Moby's and Something Fishy. The Mule Barn Tavern, located near the lighthouse, was opened in 2023. Local activities include the Sandy Hook All Woman Lifeguard Tournament in July, boat rentals for fishing, parties and tours, and paved path for biking, rollerblading, and walking. The Henry Hudson Trail , accessible from Highlands, New Jersey , stretches nine miles (14 km) from Aberdeen to Atlantic Highlands and

2128-426: The later guns. The fulcrum , called the ratchet post, fit on the rear transom of the upper carriage. The ratchet post was cast iron and had several notches for adjusting the position of the elevating bar. Only one 13-inch Rodman gun appears to have been made, but it was placed in service. Two 20-inch Rodman guns were emplaced at Fort Hamilton , New York. A third, shorter 20-inch gun was cast for USS Puritan using

2184-520: The longest, also measuring in at approximately 70 miles (110 km) to the peninsula's terminus at the Oregon Inlet . The longest spit in a freshwater body of water is Long Point, Ontario , which extends approximately 32 km (20 mi) into Lake Erie . Farewell Spit in New Zealand , at 32 km (20 mi), in the north-west area of South Island , is believed to be caused by

2240-651: The outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898 as a stopgap; it was feared the Spanish fleet would bombard the US east coast. The 20-inch Rodmans were only fired eight times in practice to determine the effect of the 1,080 lb (490 kg) projectiles. It was nearly impossible to find a target that would leave enough evidence to measure the effect of hits. The first four shots were fired with charges of 50, 75, 100, and 125 lb (57 kg) of gunpowder , reaching

2296-638: The outbreak of the war, southern foundries were not capable of casting guns using the Rodman method. The Confederates used solid cast 8-inch and 10-inch columbiads that resemble Rodman guns. A closer examination of these Confederate columbiads reveals that they have a straighter cylindrical contour between the trunnions and the breech as opposed to the sweeping continuous curve of the Rodman gun. The Confederate columbiads have longer trunnions that were intended for use with heavy wooden carriages. The Union gun were designed to be mounted in iron carriages with thinner cheeks, permitting shorter trunnions. The exteriors of

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2352-407: The outside. Rodman devised a method of hollow casting where the gun cooled from the inside out, so that as cooling occurred, it created compression rather than tension. This resulted in a much stronger gun. In Rodman's method, a cooling core was placed in the mold before casting. This core consisted of a watertight cast-iron tube, closed at the lower end. A second, smaller tube, open at the bottom

2408-461: The public because their structural integrity in decay, and to preserve its profile for future visitors. A proposal was recently accepted to allow adaptive reuse of some of the buildings in Fort Hancock for private use. This partnership will hopefully help these historic structures to be maintained more effectively. The defunct U.S. Army post Fort Hancock at the north end of the peninsula

2464-410: The public due to their hazardous condition. The exceptions to this are Battery Potter and Battery Gunnison. Battery Potter is open frequently for tours on the weekends, as well as Battery Gunnison which is being restored by volunteers and has two six-inch (152 mm) M1900 guns installed; the weapons were placed there in 1976. Guided tours show visitors a Nike missile, the missile firing platforms, and

2520-409: The same course in 1925, finishing in 7 hours, 11 minutes. The road that connects to Sandy Hook is Route 36 . The road to the peninsula branches from Route 36 at the northern end of Sea Bright becoming Hartshorne Drive within the park. The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge crosses the Shrewsbury River and carries the road traffic of Route 36 from Highlands in the west to Sea Bright in the east, near

2576-437: The sediment load of rivers, which may hurt the intertidal environments around spits by smothering delicate habitats. Roads or bulkheads built along bluffs can drastically reduce the volume of sediment eroded, so that not enough material is being pushed along to maintain the spit. If the supply of sediment is interrupted the sand at the neck (landward end) of the spit may be moved towards the head, eventually creating an island. If

2632-479: The southern side of the island. The spit bends slightly west or east, changing its direction gradually, depending on the conditions of the tides and weather. Since prehistory humans have chosen certain spit formations as sites for human habitation. In some cases, these sites have been chosen for proximity to marine resource exploitation ; the Chumash Native American prehistorical settlement on

2688-728: The strong prevailing winds and currents, bringing sand eroded from the Southern Alps of the South Island and depositing these into Golden Bay . A well-known spit in the UK is Spurn Point at the Humber ; it is approximately 4.8 km (3.0 mi) long. Another is Chesil Beach in the UK, which connects the Isle of Portland to the mainland. The Curonian Spit , off the coast of Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia , separates

2744-412: The supply is not interrupted, and the spit is not breached by the sea (or, if across an estuary, the river), the spit may become a bar , with both ends joined to land, and form a lagoon behind the bar. If an island lies offshore near where the coast changes direction, and the spit continues to grow until it connects the island to the mainland, it is called a tombolo . The end of a spit attached to land

2800-403: The waves are breaking, forming an above-water spit. Without the complementary process of littoral drift, the bar would not build above the surface of the waves becoming a spit and would instead be leveled off underwater. Spits occur when longshore drift reaches a section of headland where the turn is greater than 30 degrees. The spit will continue out into the sea until water pressure (e.g. from

2856-423: The wettest calendar day was 5.61 inches (142 mm) on August 27, 2011. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is 6.3 °F (−14.3 °C). Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was −3.0 °F (−19.4 °C) on January 21, 1985. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < −3 °F (−19 °C). The average seasonal (Nov-Apr) snowfall total

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2912-530: Was bored out to proper size, the exterior was turned smooth, the trunnions were turned on a trunnion lathe , and a vent was drilled. Columbiads were not the only guns cast using Rodman's method. Dahlgren XV-inch shell guns for the US Navy were also hollow cast. A 20-inch hollow cast gun, which may not have been identical to the two guns supplied to the US Army , was sold to Peru . Rodman guns were cast at

2968-706: Was changed several times through the years due to a change in land or at the request of the War Department, which owned the land. This area is administered by the Department of Homeland Security and is closed to the general public. The beaches along the Atlantic shore of Sandy Hook—North Beach, Gunnison Beach and the Southern Beaches, A, B, C, D, E—feature parking lots, lifeguards, rest rooms and seasonal concession stands. They do not permit pets on

3024-691: Was hollow cast. The 3-inch ordnance rifle was made of hammer-welded wrought iron, and the 4.5-inch siege rifle was conventionally cast. This error was not limited to those ignorant of artillery; in November 1864 Brig. Gen. John Milton Brannan , chief of artillery in the Union Department of the Cumberland, described the armament of the Chattanooga forts as including several 3-inch and 4.5-inch Rodman guns. First Lieutenant Henry S. Hurter of

3080-411: Was inserted into the first. As the molten iron was poured into the mold, water was pumped through the smaller tube to the bottom of the larger tube. The water rose through the space between the two tubes and flowed out at the top. The water continued flowing as the metal cooled. To further ensure that the gun cooled from the inside out, a fire was built around the iron flask containing the gun mold, keeping

3136-496: Was placed on a two-rail chassis. The gun and upper carriage recoiled along the chassis. The chassis would pivot to train the gun left or right. The barbette carriages were designed to fire over a parapet and could be used in either permanent or temporary fortifications. The front pintle carriage pivoted at the front of the chassis. This made the gun mount more compact and allowed the gun and detachment to be better protected by embrasures and traverses. The center pintle carriage gave

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