Life at Fort Howard 1898-1917

Life at Fort Howard 1898-1917. Coast Artillery Period. , In 1901, Fort Howard was garrisoned by four companies of the Coast Artillery Corps. The 21st, 40th, and 103rd manned the gun batteries, and the 140th maintained the harbor mines and searchlights. Each company included 104 enlisted men and officers. The image above shows the 21st company in formation at Fort Howard (circa 1910).,

"We were finished with our duties every day at 11:30 AM except K.P. and Guard Duty. We would go fishing and crabbing and then cooked them at our club outside the fort." , (from the memoirs of Sgt. Martin Rock)

, The property on the other side of the fence bordering Fort Howard Park was the "garrison" area of Fort Howard. Starting in 1899 when the fort opened, the soldiers lived in this garrison. The barracks, mess halls, headquarters, theatre, post-exchange, officer's quarters, hospital and parade grounds were located there. The image above shows the garrison area in 1907., The two images to the left are of a company barracks and mess hall from that period. A constant topic of debate among the troops was which company had the best cooks., The images to the right highlight the recreational pastimes available to the troops. (A) Young officers too local girls to dances at the Sparrows Point Country Club and to football games at the Naval Academy. (B) Soldiers could play on a variety of sports teams including the 1910 football squad pictured here. (C) "Clubs" dotted the neighborhood just outside the gate where thirsty soldiers could have a gold one with their buddies. (D) Card games were a fixture in the barracks and, (E) the band did concerts several nights a week., Below , (1) Transportation locally and inside the fort was still horse and mule drawn wagons. (2) For travel on the river and bay, there was a fleet of Quartermaster boats. The ferry that ran between the various forts and Baltimore was named the Sprigg Caroll in honor of a noted Civil War general. Most of the supplies for all of the forts were transported on the Sprigg Carroll and other service boats. (3) Trolley No. 26 and No. 38 made stops near the gate of the fort. Long waits for the trolley was one of the major complaints of the troops., The headline says "The Defenses of the Harbor of Baltimore." , The caption reads: "A glance at the work the government is doing on the fortifications at North Point.", Fort Howard was the home of several celebrated animals. , Frank was a white mule who pulled the lawnmower and ate the newspaper comic section. He knew all the bugle calls by note and upon hearing "Recall From Duty" would burst for his stable., In 1909 the New York Times ran a series of articles about Riley, a fox terrier belonging to the commandant of Fort Howard, Colonel Clarence Deems. Riley's rambunctious behavior led to Colonel Deems's being charged with failure to maintain discipline at the fort. Riley was also suspected of spreading fleas during his frequent jaunts among the troops. In the end Col. Deems was judged not guilty, and he and Riley retired from the Army a few years later.