The CDSG Digital Library
This is a relatively LONG listing. Be sure to scroll all the way through to see the entire list of available documents!

A PDF file listing all the PDF/JPEG files in the Harbor Defense Document files can be downloaded here.
A PDF file listing all the files available in the CDSG documents DVD can be downloaded here.
One of our original projects was to create a searchable database with information, maps, and pictures of the various locations that had defense structures. Sadly, that project never really got started. But, we have made some strides in collecting source information on the structures built for harbor defense. The CDSG now has digitized a fairly complete set of Engineer documents on the harbor defense structures of the United States Army. The data sets available have been broken down by the various harbor defenses in the list below so you can order sets of records by coast/harbor defense, or get the complete collection. This is a very good collection of historical information on the harbor defense structures: batteries, fire control, mine support, searchlights, etc., built at the various harbor locations.

If you wish to order a specific series of titles, list the file titles you want, contact Mark Berhow (berhowma@comcast.net) with your list of titles or if you have any questions and he will provide you with a estimate of how many CDs or DVDs your order will require. In general we are now selling sets by the DVD for $50 per DVD.

Please note that by buying these DVDs you are supporting the effort of the CDSG to support this website and defray the cost of obtaining copies of these documents to scan.

Order the CDSG ePress items directly from Mark Berhow. ---> Contact Mark Berhow by post/email if you are interested in ordering only specific titles <---

Make all checks out to the CDSG Press.
Send your check and list to:
Mark Berhow PO Box 6124 Peoria, IL 61601-6124 berhowma@comcast.net


CDSG Publications DVD: $55.00
This DVD contains electronic versions of the entire set of the back issues of the CDSG News/Journal/Newsletter, Volumes 1-24, 1985-2010 in PDF format.
Volumes 1-8 are scanned images rendered text searchable by Acrobat OCR.
Volumes 9-24 are fully text searchable with the Adobe Reader program
PDF scans of the covers of volumes 7-24 are included.
Also includes: CDSG brochure, posters, and CDSG Articles of Incorporation & By Laws

Electronic Version of the Third Edition of American Seacoast Defenses a Reference Guide

The CDSG ePress has announced that the third edition of American Seacoast Defenses, a Reference Guide (ASD3) is now available as electronic PDF document. The third edition features updated and enhanced photographs throughout the book, with an extensive revision of the uniforms and insignia sections. This makes it great for searching and viewing sections with a great zoom for looking at details, especially on the new pad portable readers. Pages or sections can be printed as needed. The file format is PDF, not an ePub format, so a reader that is compatible with adobe acrobat is required.

The CDSG ePress is offering this electronic version for $40, the same price as the hard copy, less shipping. To order please contact Mark Berhow at berhowma@comcast.net or send a check or money order to him. Once he receives your order he will send you the file electronically by FTP transfer.

Mark Berhow
CDSG ePress
PO Box 6124
Peoria, IL 61601

We are still offering the hard copy version of ASD2, which has the same content as ASD3 for those that want hard copy.

The CDSG Harbor Defense Documents PDF Collection

A PDF file listing all the PDF/JPEG files in the Harbor Defense Document files can be downloaded here.

Documents Related to Specific Harbor Defenses and Forts

For summary list of files and pricing see table at the end of this section.

Reports of Completed Works (RCWs)

Reports of completed batteries (RCBs) and reports of completed works (RCWs) were forms used by the Corps of Engineers to document seacoast fortifications and other structures related to coast defense. RCBs were in use from 1900 until 1919. RCWs were in use from 1919 until the coast artillery was disbanded in 1950. Both are essential documents in the study of modern U.S. coast defenses, 1890-1950.

From 1903 to 1919 the RCB was used to compile information on the batteries located at specific harbor defenses, including the official name of each batteries, the individual number and name of the manufacturer of each gun or mortar and carriage with the number of the emplacement each gun or mortar and carriage was mounted in. RCBs were submitted annually.

Reports of completed works (RCWs) were a new set of forms that superceded the RCBs in 1919. It prescribed that all data in the RCBs would be submitted on seven forms referred to as reports of completed works. Furthermore, new forms need only be submitted whenever changes in works made the old forms obsolete, compared to the annual submission of RCBs. The seven forms were:
Form 1 all important data relating to an individual battery
Form 2 details of fire control and torpedo structures
Form 3 details of mine wharfs and tramways
Form 4 details of searchlights (a separate sheet for each light)
Form 5 details of electric plants
Form 6 existing Engineer Dept structures of permanent or semi-permanent nature
Form 7 a blueprint of the battery

The big scanning project of all of the coast artillery RCBs and RCWs is now complete. A first generation copy set of over 12,000 pages--- nearly all the RCBs and RCWs available at NARA II--- have been scanned and digitized as PDF pages. This will be the most extensive collection of RCBs and RCWs available. The documents are organized by harbor defense and broken down into two or more files by harbor (RCBs) and fort/location (RCWs) depending on the number of pages. Each document contains a series of grey-scale images of each of the RCB/RCW forms in the collection related to each harbor defense. Grey scale was chosen because black and white scans could not sufficiently resolve the "negative" forms and give a legible printout. The grey scale scans are at 200 dpi, which gives a bigger file size than black and white but with sufficient resolution to make a readable copy. The PDF documents are essentially a series of electronic photocopies, and as such the files are NOT text searchable, so a researcher will have to scroll through each file to find the pages of interest. The RCB collection has been added to each harbor defense collection.

Total: 120 files, 12,000 plus pages, 28 GB, 6 DVDs

Engineer Notebooks 1900-1922

The engineer assigned to each harbor defense kept a notebook on the defense structures that were located in a given harbor defense. They maintained a ledger, a journal, and memorandum log for the batteries, the fire control structures, the electrical generators, the searchlights, the torpedo (mine) structures, and in some cases, the land defenses. A fairly complete set appears to have been collected around the mid-1920s and is now housed in the National Archives. These have been copies and scanned as PDFs. These notebooks have information on when the structures were built, but more importantly information on modifications and changes to these structures over the years, for instance, we can see what guns were removed from what battery during 1917-18. The notes show that both Los Angeles, CA, and Guantanimo Bay, Cuba, had a complete set of structures built for the control of mine fields, even though the mines were not deployed at these locations. These are a great source of additional information on the Endicott and Taft era fortifications.

Total: 30 files, 2600 pages, 2.63 GB, 1 DVD

CDSG Harbor Defense Project Annex/Supplements

A Harbor Defense Project was a written document setting forth the missions of the harbor defense, the means to be employed, the methods to be followed, and the successive steps to be taken to accomplish the mission, based not only upon the means actually available or definitely allocated, but also upon those not in existence that were deemed necessary or desirable. When approved by the secretary of war, the project was the official statement of the resources approved for the harbor defense, both present and projected. These projects were relatively brief, typically less than 20 pages. For the continental defenses, projects were completed in 1932/33, 1937, and 1943-46; for Alaska, in 1942; and for the Panama Canal Zone in 1946. The specific details were contained in the annexes prepared by the local harbor defense. The last series of these were termed Supplements, but contained the same series of annexes. These annexes/supplements furnished a concise record of the status both of existing harbor defense fortification construction and equipment, and of new or modified construction which has been approved by the War Department for future accomplishment, and made available information of a technical and tactical nature which is not otherwise available in usable form. They were in the range of one or two hundred pages. Not surprisingly, the larger harbor defenses tended to have the larger annexes.

Annex A - Armament
Annex B - Fire Control
Annex C - Seacoast Searchlights
Annex D - Underwater Defense
Annex E - Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Harbor Defense)
Annex F - Gas Defense
Annex G - Equipment
Annex H - Real Estate Required

The scans of these annexes are B&W at 300 dpi. While the original documents in the National Archives were legal-size, some were photocopied that size and some letter-size. The price is $10 for a CD with the entire collection.

Total: 25 files, 4016 pages, 300 MB, 1 CD

No complete projects or annexes have been located for Oahu or the Philippine Islands.

Quartermaster Building Records 1900-1941

The Quartermaster Corps kept careful historical records on the buildings and structures for which it was responsible. These records were transferred to the Corps of Engineers along with the responsibility for construction and maintenance. The Historical Record of Buildings described individual structures. The term building was used in the broadest sense, and included wharfs, manure pits, tennis courts, and even statues. The first such forms in the record, dating from 1905, are un-numbered. They contain information on two buildings, one on each side of the 10 x 12 card-stock form. Filed by post building number, the forms list the construction date, materials, and equipment (to include wash basins, showers, urinals, screen doors, and wall lockers), as well as an annual list of expenditures for repairs. Perhaps most valuable, the forms normally displayed a 4 x 5-inch black and white photograph of the structure. By 1921, the forms, now 173A, were enlarged to 10 x 14 inches and covered only one structure. On the reverse a grid pattern was provided for a simple plan of the structure. Plans were drawn for some structures; others had blueprints pasted on, while still others were blank. In 1924, the form was renumbered 117, but otherwise remained relatively unchanged. These forms cover buildings built until the Corps of Engineers assumed responsibility days before the United States entered World War II. Both permanent and temporary buildings are included, as well as a number of civilian structures taken over by the army when the land on which they stood became part of a military post.

One of the most important entries on the Historical Record of Buildings was the OQMG (Office of the Quartermaster General) plan number, which was normally listed, at least for 1891-1917 buildings. These plan numbers, in turn, lead to another valuable source. From 1891 through 1917, the quartermasters built most structures to numbered standard plans. As these plans were updated, letter suffixes were added. The Cartographic Branch at Archives II contains Standard Plans of Army Post Buildings (Received from Quartermaster Office) 1891-1917. These are hundreds of standard plans prepared by the Office of the Quartermaster General. A notebook lists the plans by number and suffix, with the number of sheets prepared. To request them, merely specify RG 77, PI NM-19, Standard Plans of Army Post Buildings 1891-1917, with the plan number and letter suffix desired.

See article by Bolling Smith in the Coast Defense Journal Vol. 16, No. 2 pp. 29-42, for more details.

The CDSG ePress has scanned in a fairly complete set of these records for all the coast artillery posts circa 1905-1940.

QM records for the Coast Artillery posts (4.9 GB) total pages 17,200

Aerial Photograph Collection of Harbor Defense Forts from National Archives.

A number of aerial photographs of the various harbor defense installations were taken by the Signal Corps from 1920s to the beginning of World War II. This collection of photographic prints has been scanned and are now available as part of the CDSG offerings on harbor defenses. The collection includes photo sets of the following defenses: Baltimore (16 photos), Boston (74 photos), Canal Zone (29 photos), Charleston (14 photos), Chesapeake Bay (60 photos), Delaware Bay (21 photos), Eastern New York (28 photos), Galveston (3 photos), The Great Lakes (12 photos), Key West (4 photos), Long Island Sound (37 photos), Los Angeles (7 photos), Narragansett Bay (16 photos), NE Florida (4 photos), Oahu (53 photos), Potomac River (20 photos), Pensacola (7 photos), The Phillipines (30 photos), Portland (29 photos), Puget Sound (9 photos), San Diego (7 photos), San Francisco (38 photos), Sandy Hook & Rockaway (12 photos), Savannah (11 photos), Southern New York (75 photos), and a series of photos taken for the Western Defense Command (San Diego (2 photos), Los Angeles (5 photos), San Francisco (56 photos), Columbia River (36 photos), Puget Sound (85 photos). Each set has anywhere from a few shots to over a dozen shots of the various forts. A great collection for those interested in seeing what was at a fort in the past. The collection is available in high resolution TIFs (36.57 GB fits on 9 DVDs) of compressed JPGs (7.64 GB, fits on 2 DVDs). Contact Mark Berhow (berhowma@comcast.net) for information on ordering or if you want to only get only specific sets.

Harbor Defense Location Documents: RCWs, Maps, Eng. Notes & Annexes Arranged by Harbor Defense

Note in the table that: - means no files were available to be scanned, + means the total is added to the number directly above. Some of the smaller defenses have been combined (w/Harbor).

PRICING: We provide this as a service to our members and interested researchers. We are charging $50 for 1-2 DVDs for the larger and/or combined harbor defenses, $10 for a CD with the smaller Harbor Defenses.

SPECIAL OFFER: We are offering the entire Harbor Defense Document collection on 10 DVDs for $250.00

Inqueries can be sent the Mark Berhow: berhowma@comcast.net

Make all checks out to the CDSG Press.

Send your check and list to:
Mark Berhow PO Box 6124 Peoria, IL 61601-6124 berhowma@comcast.net

A PDF listing of all the files in this collections can be downloaded here.

Coast/Harbor Defenses of	Maps 1921-35	Engineer Notes	RCWs	Annexes 1944-46	QM records	Aerial Photos	GB files (total)	DVD/CD	price	meetings
Portland	20 pp	118 pp	167 pp	155 pp	990 pp	29 photos	1.15 GB	DVD	$50	2005
Kennebec	4 pp	20 pp	w/Portland	no annexes	+	w/Portland	w/Portland	+		+
Portsmouth	6 pp	33 pp	163 pp	107 pp	413 pp	-	560 MB	CD	$10	with Portland
Boston	30 pp	171 pp	612 pp	191 pp	953 pp	74 photos	3.02 GB	DVD	$50	2007
New Bedford	4 pp	21 pp	50 pp	82 pp	+	w/Boston	w/Boston	+		with Narr B
Narragansett Bay	12 pp	109 pp	399 pp	150 pp	744 pp	16 photos	1.56 GB	DVD	$50	2011
Long Island Sound	13 pp	119 pp	800 pp	184 pp	821 pp	37 photos	2.5 GB	DVD	$50	2003
New York	22 pp	172 pp	1099 pp	255 pp	1950 pp	89 photos	4.99 GB	2 DVDs	$50	1997
Eastern New York	4 pp	56 pp	154 pp	no annexes	+	28 photos	w/NewYork	-		w/NY
Delaware River	5 pp	74 pp	360 pp	132 pp	638 pp	21 photos	1.24 GB	DVD	$50	1996
Baltimore	6 pp	54 pp	147 pp	no annexes	457 pp	16 photos	2.92 GB	DVD	$50	2009
Potomac River	9 pp	38 pp	124 pp	no annexes	261 pp	30 photos	w/Baltimore	+		w/Balt
Chesapeake Bay	16 pp	41 pp	900 pp	145 pp	788 pp	60 photos	3.99 GB	DVD	$50	2000
Hampton Roads	+	106 pp	w/Ches Bay	+	+	+	w/Ches Bay	+		w/Ches B
Cape Fear	2 pp	28 pp	71 pp	no annexes	138 pp	-	2.35 GB	DVD	$50	2010
Charleston	15 pp	56 pp	232 pp	160 pp	347 pp	14 photos	w/Carolinas	+		2004
Port Royal Sound	6 pp	-	-	no annexes	38 pp	-	w/Carolinas	+		w/Chars
Savannah	6 pp	42 pp	107 pp	no annexes	332 pp	15 photos	w/Carolinas	+		w/Charls
Key West	10 pp	42 pp	180 pp	71 pp	232 pp	4 photos	1.08 GB	DVD	$50	1998
Tampa	4 pp	56 pp	91 pp	no annexes	201 pp	-	w/Key West	+		2000
Pensacola	8 pp	72 pp	363 pp	87 pp	563 pp	7 photos	1.16 GB	DVD	$50	1994
Mobile	4 pp	49 pp	120 pp	no annexes	107 pp	-	521 MB	CD	$10	1994
Mississippi River	5 pp	22 pp	90 pp	no annexes	130 pp	-	w/Mobile	+		2002
Galveston	5 pp	75 pp	267 pp	151 pp	343 pp	3 photos	1.02 GB	DVD	$50	2008
San Diego	11 pp	61 pp	243 pp	182 pp	375 pp	4 photos	2.6 GB	DVD	$50	1992
Los Angeles	16 pp	46 pp	181 pp	183 pp	540 pp	12 photos	w/San Diego	+		1992
San Francisco	30 pp	200 pp	748 pp	381 pp	1756 pp	94 photos	3.81 GB	DVD	$50	2006
Columbia R/W. WA	39 pp	92 pp	420 pp	220 pp	371 pp	36 photos	2.38 GB	DVD	$50	1999
Puget Sound	23 pp	165 pp	1139 pp	248 pp	625 pp	94 photos	4.4 GB	2 DVDs	$50	2010
Hawaii	15 pp	106 pp	692 pp	no annexes	1205 pp	53 photos	2.56 GB	DVD	$50	1991
The Philippines	41 pp	174 pp	880 pp	no annexes	717 pp	30 photos	2.43 GB	DVD	$50	1991
Panama	28 pp	164 pp	599 pp	254 pp	1231 pp	28 photos	2.3 GB	DVD	$50	-
Sitka, AK	7 pp	-	614 pp	155 pp	-	-	1.7 GB	DVD	$50	-
Seward, AK	11 pp	-	w/AK	115 pp	-	-	w/AK	+		-
Kodiak, AK	12 pp	-	w/AK	199 pp	-	-	w/AK	+		-
Dutch Harbor, AK	17 pp	-	w/AK	209 pp	-	-	w/AK	+		-
Caribbean & Argentia	-	19 pp	35 pp	48 pp (Argentia)	52 pp		80 MB	CD	$10	-
Great Lakes	-	-	-	-	-	12 photos	-	-	-	-
Total	440 pp	2600 pp	12000 pp	4016 pp	17200 pp	300+ photos	50 GB	10 DVDs	$250	-

CDSG Documents DVD: $50.00

You can buy the DVD with everything or request specific titles: Please contact Mark Berhow (berhowma@comcast.net) for details

A PDF file listing all the files available in the CDSG documents DVD can be downloaded here.

Annual Reports of the Chief of Engineers (ARCE) 1866-1922: Extracts related to fortification construction

At the conclusion of each fiscal year, the chief of engineers submitted a written report to the secretary of war, covering the military operations of the Corps of Engineers, work on fortifications, and rivers and harbor improvement. These reports, especially in the Endicott Era, are basic resources for anyone researching seacoast defenses. Until 1922, these reports were published in the annual report of the secretary of war. We have photocopied the portions of these reports, from 1866 through 1922, which deal with fortifications, and these photocopies are now available from the CDSG Press as PDFs on a CD-ROM. Since the volumes that were copied do not belong to us, it was not possible to take the books apart, and so the photocopies are not of the standard that would be offered by a professional service. In addition, some of the volumes have plates much larger than the photocopy machines. These large plates were usually copied in sections, although in a few cases, they proved impossible to copy. 26 reports, 330 MB.

Annual Reports of the Chief of Artillery/Coast Artillery 1901-1937

At the conclusion of each fiscal year, the chief of artillery (1901-1907) and chief of coast artillery (1908-1937) submitted a written report to the secretary of war, covering the military operations of the Corps of Artillery/Coast Artillery. These reports are basic resources for anyone researching seacoast defenses. We have photocopied these reports, from 1901 through 1937 and these photocopies are now available from the CDSG Press as PDFs on a CD-ROM. 15 files, 622 pages, 60 MB

Proceedings of the Board of Engineers: 1887-1905

The National Archives in Washington, D.C., (Archives I), has three boxes of typewritten proceedings of the Board of Engineers, 1887-1905, in Record Group 77, Entry 462. This Board of Engineers was the continuation of the board created in 1816 to oversee the Third System of Fortifications. Until the creation of a chief of artillery in 1901, the board had virtually sole responsibility for fortification planning. In addition, for some years the board was also responsible for river and harbor improvements. However, the National Archives does not have the proceedings for all the years the board was in existence. For fortifications, the record largely stops at the end of 1905. The CDSG now has available PDFs of the proceedings from 1887 through 1905, excepting only those that deal solely with rivers and harbors or otherwise fail to offer any useful information on fortifications. A file this large requires some sort of finding aid. A rough listing of the fortification material has been put together that can be searched for a specific location or subject. It is linked here: Board of Engineers Proceedings Finding Aid, and will be included on the CD. In general, it shows where actual information on a specific harbor can be found, without listing every instance where a harbor was only mentioned, without details. Following the practice of the board, references to the artillery defense of a harbor are separate from those referring to the submarine mine and searchlight defenses. There are a number of general references to mines, as well as ammunition hoists, gun and mortar batteries, and fire control. We have photocopied these proceedings, from 1887 through 1905 and these photocopies are now available from the CDSG Press as PDFs on a CD-ROM. 16 files, 83 MB, 1814 pages.

Coast Artillery Tables of Organization and Equipment (TOEs)

105 files 119 MB with title list; TABLES OF ALLOWANCES, TABLES OF BASIC ALLOWANCES, TABLES OF EQUIPMENT, TABLES OF ORGANIZATION / ORGANIZATION & EQUIPMENT

Ordnance Dept. Gun and Carriage Cards:

We have now scanned the Ordnance Department gun and carriage record cards. These cards, organized by caliber with individual entries by serial number, contain information on the transfer (from location to location) and often the ultimate fate (scrapped, sent to a town, sent to the proving ground, etc.) of individual guns and carriages during their service life. The cards cover roughly the period 1900-1945. The gun card collection has been OCRed and is generally searchable by text for particular locations. Be aware that several cards are on a single 8 x 14 page and that some are arranged sideways or up side down, which may not have been correctly OCRed. We have the individual files by caliber and weapon type, as well as one file that contains all the gun and carriage cards for easier text searching. The Gun and Carriage card PDF file will be an invaluable addition to a researcher record files. They are currently available on CD or DVD from the CDSG ePress on the the CDSG web site www.cdsg.org. The files are organized by caliber both for guns and carriages: 3-, 4-, 4.7-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 12 (M)-, 14-, 16-inch guns. 25 files, 206 MB, 500 pages of cards.

Maps 1921 series plus others (Confidential Blueprint series, reversed from original negatives, black lines on white background)

Battery Drawings (RCW Form 7s) of the U.S. Harbor Defenses

(various dates 1900-1944, reversed from original negatives, black lines on white background)

BOARD REPORTS AND OTHER REPORTS

The Report of the Board on Fortifications or Other Defenses, (the Endicott Board Report) 1886 (Volume 1 only):
Coast Defenses of the United States and the Insular Possessions, (the Taft Board Report) 1906
Report of the Board of Review of the War Department, Coast Defenses of the United States, the Panama Canal, and the Insular Possessions, 1915
Memorandum from the Chief of Staff: Determination of the Garrisons, Stations, and Real Estate Needed for Harbor Defense Purposes, 1923
Memorandum from the Chief of Staff: Harbor Defenses in the Continental United States, 1931
Abandonment of harbor defense posts no longer required for seacoast defense, series of letters from Adjutant General's Office, 1940, including exhibit A: proposed revision of the harbor defense projects, and exhibit B: coast artillery posts which are no longer required for seacoast defense purposes
Report of the War Department Seacoast Defense Armament Board, 22 July 1946, Rollin F. Tilton, BG, Chairman (The Tilton Board Report)
Reports of Completed Works, Seacoast Fortifications, letters from the Office of the Chief of Engineers, 1919, 1921, 1927, 1935
Army Ground Forces Board on Coast Defense Needs for Current War 21 Jul 45
German Seacoast Defenses, European Theater 20 Dec 45 (PARTIAL COPY!!)
Trends in Seacoast Defense, Plans and Operations 8 May 47
Study on Seacoast Artillery, Plans and Operations 8 Aug 47
Misc. Documents: Disbandment of Coast Artillery 1948

OTHER REPRINTS

The Evolution of Our System of Position Finding and Fire Control, by Captain H.L. Morse, Coast Artillery Corps (1913)
Mimeograph No.39: Searchlights (1901)
The 25 Kw. Gasoline Driven Generating Set Used in the Coast Defenses of the United States, by Lorimer D. Miller (1917)
Installation, Care, and Operation of 25 Kw Gasoline-Electric Generating Sets (GE Co. Type GM-12) 1916
Tables of Organization and Equipment, Coast Artillery units, April 1944
America's Last Seacoast Defenses: The World War II-era Construction Programs, by Mark Berhow
Continental US Pacific Coast WW II Harbor Defense Command Histories, from the "History of the Western Defense Command," and other sources (San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Columbia River, and Puget Sound). Collated by Mark Berhow
Modern Historical Reports (various)

ARMY MANUALS

Army Extension Course, Special Text No. 39, The Harbor Defense Command, 1939 Edition
Army Extension Course, Special Text No. 27, Coast Artillery Ammunition, 1935 Edition
War Department, Coast Artillery Drill Regulations, US Army, 1914, 228 pages
War Department, Coast Artillery Material Drill & Target Practice, fourth revision, 1917
War Department, Manual for Submarine Mining, Edition of 1912, 150 pages
Seacoast & Harbor Defense Carriage Descriptions (1920s?)
Mobile Carriage Descriptions (1920s?)
Damage Tables Seacoast Artillery against Naval Targets, 1942

Training Regulations Coast Artillery Corps (1920s)
- TR 425-255 Service of the Piece, 12-inch mortar (fixed armament) Dec. 24, 1924
- TR 425-270 Service of the Piece, 12 and 14 inch guns (disappearing carriage) May 7, 1924
- TR 425-265 Service of the Piece, 10 inch guns (Disappearing Carriage) May 7, 1924
- TR 425-266 Service of the Piece, 6-inch guns (Disappearing Carriage) June 10, 1925
- TR 425-221 Fire Control and Position Finding Sept. 30, 1924
- TR 425-300 The Coast Defense Command July 21, 1924
- TR 425-295 The Fort Command May 7, 1924
- TR 425-290 The Fire Command May 7, 1924 )
- TR 425-220 The Battery Command (Fixed) September 30, 1924
- TRs 425-165, 171, 175 The Railway Battery

Field Manuals 1940s Coast Artillery
- FM 4-5 Organization and Tactics, 1940 & 1943 & 1947
- FM 4-10 Gunnery, 1940 & 1943
- FM 4-15 Fire Control and Position Finding, 1940 & 1943
- FM 4-20 Formations, Inspections, Service, Care of Material 1940 & 1943
- FM 4-35 Service of the Piece, 14 inch gun M1920MII on Railway Mount M1920, 1940
- FM 4-40 Service of the Piece, 12 inch Mortar, Railway Artillery, 1940
- FM 4-45 Service of the Piece, 12 inch gun on Railway Mount M1918, 1940
- FM 4-49 Service of the Piece, 8 inch gun Mk VI Mod 3A2 on Railway Mount M1A1, 1942
- FM 4-55 Service of the Piece, 12 inch Mortar (Fixed Armament), 1940
- FM 4-60 Service of the Piece, 12 inch gun (Barbette Mount) 1940
- FM 4-65 Service of the Piece, 10 inch Gun (Disappearing Carriage)
- FM 4-70 Service of the Piece, 6-inch Gun (Disappearing Carriage) 1940
- FM 4-75 Service of the Piece, 6 inch gun on Barbette Carriage 1940
- FM 4-80 Service of the Piece, 12 & 14 inch Guns (Disappearing Carriages) 1940
- FM 4-85 Service of the Piece, 16 inch Gun and Howitzer 1940
- FM 4-86 Service of the Piece, 16 inch Gun, Casemated 1943
- FM 4-91 Service of the Piece, 90mm Gun Fixed Mount (Training Bulliten 1942)
- FM 4-125 Service of the Piece, 3 inch Antiaircraft Gun 1940
- FM 4-155 Reference Data SEacoast Artillery and Antiaircraft Artillery 1940

Ordnance Department Documents (Instructions for mounting, using and caring for)
- ODD 1663 Pratt Range Board M1905
- ODD 1668 Deflection Board M1906 for 12-inch Mortar
- ODD 1669 Whistler Hearn (M1904), Mortar (M1906) & Submarine (M1906) Plotting Boards
- ODD 1672 360 degree Mortar Plotting Board (M1911)
- ODD 1683 5 inch BArbette Carriage M1898 Ballance Pillar Mount
- ODD 1690 8 inch Disappearing Carriage L.F. M1896
- ODD 1701 3 inch Barbette Carriage M1903
- ODD 1712 14 inch disappearing carriages L.F. M1907, M1907MI and M1910
- ODD 1868 Paints for Projectiles
- ODD 1872 Seacoast Artillery Ammunition, 1917
- ODD 1873 Lewis Position Finders M1898 Type A & B
- ODD 2001 14 inch Gun Turrets M1909
- ODD 1796, Handbook of the Gaitling Giun, Cal. .30 Model of 1903, metallic carriage and limber and casemate mount, June 1, 1905, revised Oct. 15, 1906

Training Manuals (1940s)
- TM 4-345 155 Gun Material M1917 & M1918 1942
- TM 4-428 6 inch Seacoast Material: Guns M1903A2 & M1905A2 on Barbette Carriages M1 1943
- TM 4-442 8 inch Seacoast Material: Gun Mk VI Mod 3A2 on Barbettee Carriage M1 1942
- TM 4-456 12 inch Seacoast Material: Mortar M1890MI on Mortar Carriage M1890MI and M1890MII 1942
- TM 4-457 12 inch Seacoast Material: Mortar M1908 on Mortar Carriage M1908 1942
- TM 4-471 16 inch Seacoast Material: Gun Mk II on Barbette Carriage M4
- TM 9-1570 Plotting Boards for Seacoast Artillery
- TM 2160-20 Submarine Mining (1930)

books

On The Practicability of CONSTRUCTING CANNON OF GREAT CALIBER Capable of Long-Continued Use Under Full Charges by Daniel Treadwell, Vice-President of the American Academy and Late Rumford Professor in Harvard University. [From the Memoirs of the American Academy]; Metcalf and Company, Cambridge, 1856. 10.1 MB
On The CONSTRUCTION OF HOOPED CANNON; Being a Sequel to a Memoir "On The Practicability of Constructing Cannon of Great Caliber, Etc.," Published in The Memoirs of The American Academy, In the Year 1856 by Daniel Treadwell, Late Rumford Professor in Harvard University. From the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1864. Little, Brown, and Company, 1864. 11.4 MB
Annotated Treatise of Fortification, based on John Muller's Treatise Containing the Elementary Part Of FORTIFICATION, London: 1746, Commentary and Annotation by Ralph B. Tacoma 38.3 MB
STRESSES IN WIRE-WRAPPED GUNS and In Gun Carriages by Lt. Col. Colden L.H. Ruggles, Ordnance Department, U.S. Army; John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, 1916. 91.5 MB
TEXT-BOOK OF ORDNANCE AND GUNNERY; Revised and Arranged for the Use of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy by Lt. Cmdr. William F. Fullam, U.S. Navy, and Lt. Thomas C. Hart, U.S. Navy. Published by the United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland, 1903 Copyright 1899 &1903. 246 MB
ORDNANCE AND GUNNERY; A Text-Book Prepared for the Cadets of the United States Military Academy, West Point by Ormond M. Lissak, Lt. Col., Ordnance Department, United States Army, First Edition, Third Thousand; John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, 1915. 229 MB

Other manuals and texts

United States Army Lists and Directories (related to Artillery/Coast Artillery units and personnel) 1893-1940. We have photocopied these directories, from 1893 through 1940 and these photocopies are now available from the CDSG Press as PDFs on a CD-ROM. 12 files, 78 MB, 494 pages.
Table of US Army Cannon and Projectiles, 1918, 71 pages, 3 MB
Table of US Army Cannon and Projectiles, 1924, 120 pages, 8 MB
Report on the test firing at Battery Test at Fort Morgan 1916
Report on the text firing on the Ex-USS Massachucetts at Penasacola 1920
Gunners' Instruction 12 inch mortor, 1915
Reference Repoirts and Finding Aids, National Archives Record Group 499 (U.S. Army Defense Commands)
Fire Control Documents (collection of manuals and reports, 1907-1943)
Army Extension Course Special Text No. 27 Coast Artillery Ammunition 1935 Edition
Index to the Reports of the Chief of Ordnance 1864 to 1912
Gunners Instruction, Submarine Mining (no date)
The Coast Artillery Corps of the US Army (publicity book, 1943)
US Army Owned, Sponsored, or Leased Facilities, 31 Dec. 1945 (prepared bythe Chief of Engineers)
Narrative Report of Alaska Construction 1941 - 1944 by Col. James D. Bush, Jr.. USAED-Alaska reprint 1984
Mobile Gun Carriage Descriptions (no date)
Army Extension Course Special Text No. 30 The Harbor Defense Command 1931 Edition
The Years Naval Progress, Annual of the Office of Naval Intelligence, July 1891, The coast defense systems of Europe (48 pp).
Report of the Board of Officers convened to study the equipment of the post war Army 30 April 1945
Coast Artillery Information Bulletin No. 3, June 30, 1941 Telephone and Radio Communication
Our Defenseless Coasts by F.V. Greene, Scribners Magazine Vol. 1, Issue 1, January 1887
Artillery Notes No. 19, 1904, Digest of orders, circulars, etc., pertaining to the care and use of seacoast Armament.
New Weapons of the United States Army. The Century Magazine February 1895.
Performance of bombs and projectiles against shore installations, Ordnance pamphlet 1172, 9 May 1944, US Navy Bureau of Ordnance

WWII Defense Command Histories

History of the Western Defense Command (1945) five volumes plus extracts related to the Harbor Defenses, 7 files (5 volumes plus content and CA related material), 42 MB
History of the Eastern Defense Command (1945) main volume plus the Sector Histories (Cheaspeake Bay, NE, SE, Southern, SW, NY-Phil)
History of the Southern Defense Command (1945)

A PDF file listing all the files available in the CDSG documents DVD can be downloaded here.

PDF documents available from other sources:

HISTORY OF THE 700 AND 800 SERIES CANTONMENT CONSTRUCTION CD ROM: WW 2 and the U.S. ARMY MOBILIZATION PROGRAM: A History of the 700 and 800 Series Cantonment Construction including Historic American Building Survey documentation for Camp Edwards,MA and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. 552 pages, 82 illustrations, 152 pages of building drawings. This is a history of the World War Two Temporary Buildings built by the Quartermaster Corps. Barracks, Mess Halls, Storehouses, Motor Sheds and all the other temporary buildings put up at US Army Posts all over the United States. This is a PDF format CD-Rom. 25.00 postage paid. Contact by email: ARMYJUNK@aol.com.

REPORT ON WAR DAMAGE TO THE HARBOR DEFENSES OF MANILA AND SUBIC BAYS, 6 OCTOBER 1945 (The Case Board Report) This CD contains the complete 102 page text of the report (formatted as close as possible to the original) along with the scanned version of the 77 photographs and an index to all of these photos which are captioned and explained in the text. The CD also includes 104 Quartermaster Corps cantonment (building) photographs with an index. The CD is available for $25.00 (price includes domestic postage) Contact by email: ARMYJUNK@aol.com.

THE FORTIFICATIONS OF THE PANAMA CANAL by Hugh H. Gardner and Norman T. Carpenter, Historical Branch, Headquarters, United States Army Forces Southern Command, 1 April 1965.121 pages with photos and maps. A PDF file prepared from an original copy obtained in March 1970 while Bill Cole was on duty with the 4th Bn. (AW-SP), 517th Artillery at Fort Clayton in the Panama Canal Zone. The transcription is formatted as close as possible to the original. The CD ROM can be obtained for $14.00 (price includes domestic priority mail) from:

William Cole
107 Charles Street
North Cape May, NJ

PDF files available on line from:
U.S. Army Military History Institute (http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usamhi/DL)

Several Army documents have been scanned and placed on line as downloadable PDF files.

For example: Survey of Japanese Seacoast Artillery, 1946 by GHQ USAFPAC, Seacoast Artillery Board 160pp. The US Army Military History Institute has placed this valuable and rare document on the web in pdf format, which will allow it to be viewed using the free Adobe Reader. This report by a board of coast artillery officers at the end of the war focuses primarily on the seacoast defenses of the Japanese home islands. It is a very detailed report, with much information not available elsewhere. It is divided in three parts. Parts One and Two cover Japanese army and navy seacoast artillery. Part Three deals with controlled submarine mines. All three sections cover the training, organization, and equipment of these various groups. Tables detail the characteristics of Japanese army and navy seacoast weapons and ammunition, while photos, drawings, and plans illustrate many of the weapons, including the big 41 cm turrets. Maps show the locations of Japanese batteries in the home islands with their fields of fire, and the text provides detailed information on Japanese fire control equipment and methods. Part Three is a detailed look at Japanese controlled mines, including magnetic and acoustic detection equipment.

Presidio of San Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service

Online History Publications

Historical Resource Studies

El Presidio de San Francisco: A History under Spain and Mexico, 1776-1846

Defender of the Gate: The Presidio of San Francisco, A History from 1846 to 1995

Documents for defense/ICBM missile programs

Order this DVD directly from Mark Berhow. ---> Contact Mark Berhow by post/email if you are interested in ordering only specific titles <--- Make all checks out to the CDSG Press. Send your check and a list of the items you want to: Mark Berhow
PO Box 6124
Peoria, IL 61601-6124
berhowma@comcast.net

DVD Missiles: $50

US AAA/Missile Defenses 1950-1980
A section on Nike from U.S. Army Air Defense Digest, 1966. 0.2 MB
AAA gun site list 1950-1959 by John McGrath 0.1 MB
NIKE MISSILE SYSTEM & SITE: A Working Bibliography of MHI Sources 0.1 MB
Bibliography from "Rings of Supersonic Steel" by Mark Morgan and Mark Berhow, 2002. 0.1 MB
Redstone Arsenal History Office: Missile System Summary on Ajax and Hercules 0.3 MB
Barnard, Roy S., History of ARADCOM vol. 1 the Gun Era 1950-1954, HQ ARADCOM Historical Project ARAD 5M-I, 1954. 280 MB
Carlson, Christina M. and Robert Lyon, Last Line of Defense: Nike Missile Sites in Illinois, Denver, CO: National Park Service, Rocky Mountain System Support Office, 1996. 10.1 MB
Rescanned maps from "Last Line of Defense: Nike Missile Sites in Illinois" 0.1 MB
Denfeld, Colt, Nike Hercules in Alaska, USACE Alaska District, June 1988 18.1 MB
Alaska Office of History and Archeology, Site Summit Nike Hercules Installation, Fort Richardson, AK, Anchorage, AK, 1996 7.1 MB
Department of the Army, Subject: Excess Report, Nike HERCULES site D-FW-20 Terrell, Texas. September 27, 1968. 1.1 MB
Kelley, Robert L., United States Army, Historical Study No. 4, Army Antiaircraft in Air Defense 1946 to 1954, Colorado Springs, CO: Directorate of Historical Services, Headquarters ADC, 30 June 1954. 25.3 MB
Lonnquest, John C. and David F. Winkler, To Defend and Deter: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Missile Program, USACERL Special Report 97/01, U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL. Rock Island, IL: Defense Publishing Service, November 1996. 69 MB
Moeller, Stephen P., "Vigilant and Invincible, United States Army Air Defense Command." Air Defense Artillery HQDA PB 44-95-3, May-June 1995, pp. 2-42. 41 MB
Shiman, Phillip, Forging the Sword: Defense Production During the Cold War., USACERL Special Report 97/77 July 1997. 9.4 MB
Walker, James A. Frances Martin, Sharon Watkins, Mark E. Hubbs, and James E. Zielinski. Historic American Engineering Record Documentation for the Stanley R. Mickelson Safeguard Complex (HAER Number ND-9), Volume 1. National Park Service, Washington, D.C., September 1996 99 MB
Winkler, David F., Searching the Skies: the Legacy of the United States Cold War Defense Radar Program, United States Air Force Combat Command, Langley AFB, VA, US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories, Champaign, IL, June 1997 25 MB

Cagle, Mary T., Development, Production, and Deployment of the Nike Ajax Weapon System 1945-1959, Redstone Arsenal, AL: US Army Ordnance Missile Command, 30 June 1959. 14.1 MB
Cagle, Mary T., History of the Nike Hercules System, Historical Monograph Project Number AMC 75M, Redstone Arsenal, AL: U.S. Army Missile Command, 1972. 251 MB
Chiles, James R., Ring of Fire, Air and Space, June/July 2005
Hach, S., Cold War in South Florida, Cultural Resource Study, National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, GA, Oct 2004
Hollinger, K., Nike Hercules Operations in Alaska 1959-1979, Conservation Branch, Directorate of Public Works, U.S. Army Garrison in Alaska, July 2004.
HQ USAF Air Combat Command, A Systematic Study of Air Combat Command, Cold War Culture: Historical Context and Methodology for Assessment, Headquarters, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, 1995
HQ USAF Air Combat Command, Cold War Infrastructure for Air Defense: The Fighter and Command Mission, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, 1999
HQ USAF Air Combat Command, Cold War Infrastructure for Air Defense: The Bomber Mission, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, 1999
Martini, John A. and Stephan A. Haller. What We have We Will Defend, An Interum History and Preservation Plan for Nike Site SF-88L, Fort Barry, California. US Na. Park Serv. Golden Gate Natl. Rec. Area, San Francisco, CA 1998.
Loop, James W. “Random Thoughts On Nike Sites.” Notes for lecture presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Coast Defense Study Group, San Diego, CA, August 1992.
Loop, James W. “Units Assigned to ARAACOM/ARADCOM 1951-1979.” San Diego, CA: By author, 26 November 1993-5.
Collection of documents listing various Nike sites, 1955, 1962, 1975

Engel, Jeffery A. Missile Plains: Frontline of America's Cold War, Historic Resource Study, Minuteman Missile Natl. Hist. Site, South Dakota, US Dept. of Interior, Natl. Park Serv. Midwest Regional Office, 2003.
Neufeld, Jacob. Ballistic Missiles in the United States Air Force 1945-1960. Office of Air Force History, USAF, Washington, DC. 1990.
Neufeld, Jacob, Bernard A. Schivener, Office of Air Force History, Wash. DC., 2005
Schaffel, Kenneth, The Emerging Shield: The Air Force and the Evolution of Continental Air Defense, 1945-1960. Washington, D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1991.
Kaplan, A.B. and Keyes, G.W., Lowry Area History 29 Sept. 1958-16 Dec. 1961, US Army Corps of Engineers Ballistic Missile Construction Office, 1962
McMullen, R.F., Chapter Six (Winged Interceptors), History of Air Defense Weapons, ADC Historical Study No. 14, Hist. Div., Office of Information, HQ ADC (no date)
McMullen, R.F., The Intercepter Force 1962-1964, ADC Historical Study No. 27, Hist. Div., Office of Information, HQ ADC (1964)
Chun, Clayton K.S., “Winged Interceptor: Politics and Strategy in the Development of the BOMARC missile.” Air Power History, Winter 1998, pp. 44-59.
Murphey, Joesph, Supplement to the Reconnaissance Survey of Cold War Properties, McGuire Air Defense Missile Site, New Egypt, New Jersey, McGuire Air Force Base (BOMARC), for United States Air Force Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, United States Air Force Air Mobility Command Cold War Series, Report of Investigations, Number 8-A, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, January 1998.
Walker, James, Bernstein, Lewis, and Lang, Sharon, Seize the High Ground, The Army in Space and Missile Defense, History Office, USASMDC, 2003
Missile Defense Agency, Missile Defense Worldwide, Fifth Edition 2008
Missile Defense Agency, Nike Zeus: America's First Anti-Ballistic Missile, 2006
SAC Missile Chronology 1939-1985, Office of the Historian, HqSAC, Offut AFB 1990
Lowry Area History, 1958-1961 Corp Eng Ballistic Missile Contr Agency
McMullen, Richard F., The Fighter Interceptor Force, ACD Hist Study No. 27, 1964
Titan I Site Manufacturing Plan, no date
IM-99A (BOMARC) Bases Manual, Boeing, no date
From Snark to Peacekeeper, a Pictoriral History of Stategic Air Command Missiles, Office of the Historian, HqSAC, Offut AFB, 1990
Nike Missile and Test Equipment, MMS Subcourse 151, US Army MIssile and Munitions Center and School, Redstone Arsenal, 1973
other info on Nike sites in Detroit and Washington-Baltimore

CDSG Press page

CDSG Home page

The CDSG Digital Library

CDSG Publications DVD: $55.00

Electronic Version of the Third Edition of American Seacoast Defenses a Reference Guide

The CDSG Harbor Defense Documents PDF Collection

Documents Related to Specific Harbor Defenses and Forts

Reports of Completed Works (RCWs)

Engineer Notebooks 1900-1922

CDSG Harbor Defense Project Annex/Supplements

Quartermaster Building Records 1900-1941

Aerial Photograph Collection of Harbor Defense Forts from National Archives.

Harbor Defense Location Documents: RCWs, Maps, Eng. Notes & Annexes Arranged by Harbor Defense

CDSG Documents DVD: $50.00

CDSG Documents DVD: $50.00

Annual Reports of the Chief of Engineers (ARCE) 1866-1922: Extracts related to fortification construction

Annual Reports of the Chief of Artillery/Coast Artillery 1901-1937

Proceedings of the Board of Engineers: 1887-1905

Coast Artillery Tables of Organization and Equipment (TOEs)

Ordnance Dept. Gun and Carriage Cards:

Maps 1921 series plus others (Confidential Blueprint series, reversed from original negatives, black lines on white background)

Battery Drawings (RCW Form 7s) of the U.S. Harbor Defenses

BOARD REPORTS AND OTHER REPORTS

OTHER REPRINTS

ARMY MANUALS

books

Other manuals and texts

WWII Defense Command Histories

PDF documents available from other sources:

PDF files available on line from: U.S. Army Military History Institute (http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usamhi/DL)

Presidio of San Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service

Online History Publications

Documents for defense/ICBM missile programs

DVD Missiles: $50

DVD Missiles: $50

PDF files available on line from:
U.S. Army Military History Institute (http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usamhi/DL)