Battery Clark

Fort Stevens State Park

Oregon State Parks: Fort Stevens Guide to Military Sites

Battery Clark (1899)

This was the only mortar battery at Fort Stevens. At the time, mortars were considered the most lethal weapon in harbor defense. These stubby weapons fired shells in a high arc, shot gun style, with a goal of landing squarely on the deck of an enemy ship. Battery Clark was inactivated in late 1942; by then mortar fire was already too slow to reach the faster moving ships of World War II.

Oregon State Parks: Fort Stevens Guide to Military Sites (PDF)https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=main.loadFile&load=_siteFiles%2Fpublications%2F%2F46556_Fort_Stevens_Historic_Guide_%28Web%29011632.pdf

Oregon State Parks: Fort Stevens Guide to Military Sites

Battery Clark Command Station

This six-story observation station served as command post and base end station for Battery Clark. Several range-finding instruments were located on the top floor. Observers shared information on enemy ship movements with the gun crews of Battery Clark. This helped the gunners fire more accurately.

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