Battery Erasmus Keyes

Battery Erasmus Keyes was completed In 1905 and named for Erasmus D. Keyes, a Maine resident and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy who rose to the rank of major general during the Civil War. The battery mounted two three-inch, rapid fire guns to protect the mine field that was laid in the main channel during wartime. The distance to a target was determined by a range finder mounted in the building to the right of the battery, which also served as the battery commander's station. A searchlight was located to the left of the battery to provide illumination at night. The building in the center of the battery housed two mine control stations to plot the location of targets in the mine field. The lower level contained a magazine for each gun and a storeroom. During World War II Battery Keyes was the "alert" battery, which was manned and prepared to fire on any vessel which failed to identify itself properly.