Fort Monroe Water Battery

Remains of the Water Battery and magazine

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

216 Fenwick Road

Significance:

Part of Fort Monroe National Monument

MANAGED BY:

Fort Monroe Authority

Amenities

2 listed

Cellular Signal, Scenic View/Photo Spot

The Army designed Fort Monroe to concentrate fire on the shipping channel. The Water Battery was a long block of single-story casemates outside the main part of the fort. The 40 cannons of Water Battery along with those atop the main fort enhanced Fort Monroe's fire power.  

Construction, Armaments, & Obsolescence 

In 1832, the US Army built a casemated battery outside the East Gate and across the moat. The Army designed the battery to house forty 42-pounder seacoast guns. Later the Army placed 10-inch Rodman cannons. The battery and its armaments were to supplement the fort’s other guns and defenses. The Water Battery became outdated by the 1890s. The Army demolished most of the Water Battery starting in 1901. Demolition made room for a new generation of defenses, like Battery Parrott. What remains at the site are the ruins of the powder magazine. These remnants show the stone foundation, stone walls, and a brick and earthen roof.