Battery Blair

Battery Blair was completed in 1903 and named for Francis P. Blair, Jr., a veteran of the Mexican and Civil Wars who rose to the rank of major general and later represented Missouri in the U.S. Senate. The battery consisted of two twelve-inch guns, the largest in use at the time, designed to protect Portland Harbor from attacks by battleships and cruisers. The guns were mounted on disappearing carriages that returned them to shelter below the level of the parapet after firing for protection from hostile fire and rapidity of loading. Powder and shells were raised on mechanical hoists from magazines on the lower level and moved to the guns on dollies for loading. The guns were aimed with data provided by a sophisticated observation and plotting system and were fired by the National Guard during summer training. The battery was manned during World War I and the early years of World War II.

Cape Elizabeth, Maine · United States