Harbor Defenses of the Puget Sound

1899-1947

Links to webpages for the forts and locations

Fort Worden (Port Townsend) (1890-1947)
Fort Casey (Whidby Island) (1890-1947)
Fort Flagler (Marrowstone Island) (1890-1947)
Fort Ward (Bainbridge Island) (1900-1934)
Fort Whitman (Goat Island) (1900-1947)
Middle Point Military Reservation (1900-1934)
Fort Ebey (Whidby Island) (1940-1947)
Camp Hayden (Striped Peak) (1940-1947)
Cape Flattery Military Reservations (Planned, not built)

HD Puget Sound FortWiki

From the History of the Western Defense Command
History of the 14th Coast Artillery Regiments and the HDPS
History of the 248th Coast Artillery Regiments and the HDPS

Source documents

Click links to download zip files of PDFs and JPGs of Army document files on the Harbor Defenses of the Puget Sound

• Army Maps, Engineer Notebook (1900-1928), Inspection Reports
• Harbor Defense Projects, Annexes, Supplements 1932-1945
• Unit Histories
• additional documents
• Battery Construction Correspondence files
• Reports of Completed Batteries (RCBs) 1900-1915
• List of RCWs for the Puget Sound (1932)
• Notes on Puget Sound documents in Record Group 92 at NARA

On the Fort Site Pages above

• Reports of Completed Works
• Quartermaster Building Records
• Aerial Photos 1930s

Publications

• Berhow, Mark A. “Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound and the Modernization Program of 1940” Part 1 Coast Defense Journal Vol. 35, Iss. 1 (February 2021): 37-78. Part 2 Coast Defense Journal Vol. 35, Iss. 2 (May 2021): 50-79.
• Blackburn, Marc K.  “The Establishment of the Coastal Defenses of Puget Sound.” Coast Defense Study Group Journal, Vol. 14, No. 2 (May 2000): 4-14.
• Gaines, William C. “The 14th Coast Artillery (Harbor Defense) Regiment, an Organizational History.” Coast Defense Study Group Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3 (August 1995): 28.
• Grobmeier, Alvin H. “Fort Hayden, Washington — The Fort That Never Was.” CDSG News, Vol. 3, No. 3 (May 1989): 22-23.
• Hansen, David M. “Fortress Without Guns” (Fort Ward, WA). CDSG Journal Vol. 9, No. 3, Aug. 1995, p. 4.
• Kirchner, David P. “The Outer Screen, the Waiting Punch, and the Common Pattern.” Coast Defense Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4 (November 2009): 4-50.
• Sims, Philip. “The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Coast Defense.” Coast Defense Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3 (August 2001), 85-90.
• Zink, Robert D. “Forts of Wherever #21. The Straits of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound.” CDSG Journal Vol. 9, No. 1, Feb. 1995, p. 29.
• Gregory, V.J. Keepers at the Gate. Port Townsend Publishing Co. Port Townsend, WA, 1976.
• Hansen, David M. Battle Ready: The National Coast Defense System and the Fortification of Puget Sound, 1894-1925. Washington State University Press, Pullman, WA 2014.
• Lyman P. Fort Flagler over 100 years of History. Friends of Fort Flagler. Nordland, WA, 2006.
• McDaniel, Nancy. A Sound Defense – Military Sites of the Puget Sound. Asounddefenses.com. 2013.
• Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum, Fort Worden Guide II, Port Townsend, WA, 2010.
• Lee, Alvin W. The Story of the Little Fort at Bean Point. (Fort Ward). Bainbridge Island Historical Museum. 1994.
• Eastwood, Harland. Fort Whitman on Puget Sound 1911-1945. Twin Anchors Comp. Lopez, WA 1983