Battery Potter

Entrance to Battery Potter

Quick Facts

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

Amenities

2 listed

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Originally called Lift-gun Battery #1, it was the first and only disappearing gun battery powered by a steam hydraulic lift system. The first gun, a 12-inch breech loading rifle, was mounted in 1892. The second gun was mounted in 1895.
In operation from 1893-1906, it was obsolete by the time it was built because the fastest firing of the gun took over two minutes to load and fire. In the meantime, the Army had developed a new gun carriage that used a counterweight to raise and lower the gun called the Buffington-Crozier carriage. This carriage allowed the guns to fire two rounds per minute.
Battery Potter stayed in operation until 1906 because it had a 360 degree range of fire and was capable of protecting Sandy Hook Bay. When Battery Arrowsmith was constructed on the bay side of Sandy Hook at Camp Low, Battery Potter's guns were no longer needed. This site is open to public participating in ranger-led tours. 

 

Disappearing Guns

Battery Potter mounted two 12-inch caliber, breech-loading, rifled guns. Each gun was mounted on a large elevator platform powered by steam-driven hydraulic machinery. The guns were lifted through openings on the roof and could fire half-ton, armor-piercing projectiles seven miles. After firing, the gun platforms moved back down inside for reloading. This procedure made the guns disappear from the enemy's view, and soldiers started calling them "disappearing guns."