Battery Stricker

Battery Stricker. . , Battery Stricker is a concrete gun emplacement that housed two 12-inch rifled guns mounted on disappearing carriages. the battery was completed in 1899 and was named for Brig. Gen. John Stricker, commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Maryland Militia, who fought at the Battle of North Point in 1814., [Captions:] , The function of the disappearing carriages can be seen in the pictures. The image below shows the gun in its 'tripped" or firing position. A large counterweight in the lower level of the battery was used to raise the gun. When the gun was fired the recoil returned the barrel to the retracted position., In the image to the right the gun is depressed to the retracted position. In this position the gun is hidden below the top of the concrete parapet, hence the name "disappearing carriage., The concussions from the discharge of these weapons could break windows, dislodge water pipes in nearby buildings, and frighten mules and horses. That led the fort's commander to order that all local households be notified as to when the guns would be fired so that dishes could be removed from shelves, windows opened, and animals corralled., The guns of Battery Strickler were thirty-six feet long and weighed fifty-eight tons. The image above shows two members of a gun crew transporting a one thousand pound projectile on a shell cart from the ammunition hoist to the gun breech for ramming as shown in the image below. Propelled up to three hundred pounds of smokeless powder, the projectiles had a maximum range of ten miles.