CABRILLO The Guns of San Diego Historic Resource Study

C. Mining the Harbor Entrance, 1898

The U.S. Army had perfected a system of electrically controlled submarine mines, then called torpedoes, for mining harbor entrances in the 1880s. These mines required a bombproof mining casemate, or control room, from which cables ran out into the water and from which an operator sent the impulse to explode the mines. In 1897, 1st. Lt. Meyler supervised the construction of such a casemate located one-eighth of a mile north of Battery Wilkeson. A concrete cable tank and a mine storehouse soon followed. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, in the national defense appropriations act of March and subsequent acts, a sum of almost $2 million was set aside for mine defenses. On the West Coast, army engineers at both San Francisco and San Diego prepared to mine the harbors. [13]

In April 1898, 1st. Lt. Meyler received orders to mine the harbor entrance with the unusual addendum to secure the help of a "corps of 120 patriotic citizens" to lay the mines. The lieutenant succeeded in organizing a volunteer company of eighty citizens: electricians, civil engineers, surveyors, telegrapher, boilermakers, steam engineers, mechanics, carpenters, divers, and laborers. Cable, explosives, and other supplies arrived by steamer from San Francisco. On May 11, five engineer enlisted men, trained in mine laying, came to add a touch of professionalism to the undertaking, "The volunteers, while willing and anxious to do their best, were constantly showing their lack of experience, which in some cases resulted in considerable delay to the work at hand. The five engineer soldiers, who had had previous experience in this kind of work, were of the greatest assistance. They not only did much of the work of loading the mine torpedoes, but they also watched over all the work done by the volunteers." Meyler succeeded in planting fifteen mines in the entrance channel, leaving a safe passage for friendly commerce. Two smoothbore cannon, model 1863, protected the minefield. Although there was no danger of a Spanish attack on the harbor, the mines remained planted until September. [14]

D. Fort Rosecrans Established, 1898-1917

In February 1898, Capt. Charles Humphreys, commanding officer of San Diego Barracks, dispatched Lt. George T. Patterson and twenty-two enlisted men of Company D, 3rd Artillery Regiment to Ballast Point to camp. Thus, the military reservation at Point Loma was finally occupied by artillerymen. The following month Humphreys led the remainder of the company to the new camp. While Humphreys soon returned to his headquarters office, the company remained at Ballast Point throughout the summer, returning to the Barracks in August. A detachment remained at Ballast Point during the following months to occupy and guard the new battery. [15]

The War Department named the reservation Fort Rosecrans in General Orders 134, July 22, 1899, in honor of Maj. Gen. William Starke Rosecrans who had died in 1898. Rosecrans graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1842 and accepted an appointment as lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. He resigned from the Army in 1854 to enter the oil industry in Pennsylvania. He returned to active duty on the outbreak of the Civil War. Rosecrans rose rapidly in rank, becoming a major general of volunteers in 1862. At first successful against Confederate forces, he was defeated by Gen. Braxton Bragg at Chickammauga in 1863. Following the war, he resigned again to serve as U.S. minister to Mexico. Later he engaged in mining and railroad operations in Mexico and California and was well-known in San Diego. From 1881 to 1885 he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for California. In 1889 he returned to active duty for a few days with the rank of brigadier general in the Regular Army. [16]

When the 30th Company, Coast Artillery, arrived from duty in the Philippines in 1901, it occupied both San Diego Barracks and Fort Rosecrans. Maj. Anthony W. Vodges, Artillery Corps, commanded both posts. A month later, the 115th Company, Coast Artillery, was formed. For the next two years, one company was stationed at Fort Rosecrans and one at the Barracks. They rotated monthly so that both could engage in target practice at the batteries (the company in San Diego carried out infantry and signal drills). Troop transfers were usually by water by means of the steam-propelled launch General DeRussy and the motor launch Lieutenant George M. Harris. On occasion, the companies marched overland 8.7 miles. Finally, on August 6, 1903, Fort Rosecrans was organized as a separate post and both companies were permanently stationed there. Capt. Adrian S. Fleming, Artillery Corps, became the commanding officer of both Fort Rosecrans and the Artillery District of San Diego. The garrison consisted of five officers and 192 enlisted men. To celebrate their new arrangements, the troops held a field day on August 22. The post returns show that the companies were becoming proficient at Batteries Wilkeson, McGrath, Fetterman, and James Meed. The 30th Company had eight 1st class and sixteen 2nd class gunners; while the 115th Company had fourteen and eleven respectively. [17]

The early history of Fort Rosecrans witnessed a wide array of events, some of which are recounted here with no attempt at continuity of subject. In September 1903, Maj. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, commanding the Department of California, made a two-day inspection of the post. In addition to the companies, the fort had a sizable group of non-commissioned officers, the men who really operated the Army at the time: a sergeant major, two ordnance sergeants, commissary sergeant, two post quartermaster sergeants, electrical sergeant, and a first class sergeant in the Hospital Corps. The 30th Company transferred to Fort Worden, Washington, in June 1904, and was not replaced until July 1905 when the 28th Company arrived. That same month the boilers of the gunboat USS Bennington blew up in San Diego Harbor. The Army turned over the buildings at San Diego Barracks for the use of survivors. The post surgeon and his staff went to the Barracks to care for the wounded. Forty-nine of Bennington's dead sailors were buried in the Fort Rosecrans cemetery.

12 Lb Napoleon and Limber. Saluting cannon at left. Circa early 1900s, Fort Rosecrans. Photo courtesy of Point Loma Camera, San Diego, California.

28th Company, Coast Artillery Corps, Fort Rosecrans, circa early 1900s. Photo courtesy of Point Loma Camera historic photo collection.

115th Company, Coast Artillery Corps, Fort Rosecrans, circa early 1900s. Photo courtesy of Point Loma Camera historic photo collection.

A unit of Coast Artillery Corps in WWI uniform. Photo courtesy of Point Loma Camera historic photo collection.

Battery White, October 25, 1916. This Endicott Mortar position is currently located on the Naval Submarine Base. Photo courtesy of Cabrillo National Monument.

Battery White, aerial photo circa 1922. Photo courtesy of National Archives.

Construction of Battery Whistler. Photo taken looking south, Battery Whistler currently located on Naval Ocean Systems Center property. Photo courtesy of Cabrillo National Monument.

Battery Whistler, October 25, 1916. Photo courtesy of Cabrillo National Monument.

In August 1905, the Italian cruiser Umbria visited San Diego. Undoubtedly, the fort's salute gun welcomed the vessel. Lt. Col. John McClellan, commanding the post, visited the cruiser. The ship's captain, his officers, and twenty sailors visited the post two days later and placed a large wreath of flowers on the graves of Bennington's dead. Inspecting officers came and went with a certain regularity, such as Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston who stopped by in October 1905. A month later Battery Fetterman saluted German cruiser Folke and again the post's commanding officer visited the ship. In April 1906 the new post commander, Maj. Charles G. Woodward, visited USS Chicago, the flagship of the Pacific Squadron, and cruiser USS Marblehead. The admiral and his staff returned the visit to the post and cemetery. Not to be outdone by its European neighbors, French cruiser Catinat entered San Diego Harbor in July 1906. The usual salutes and visits were exchanged. At this same time, Maj. Gen. Adolphus W. Greely inspected the troops and fortifications. The post returns for July 1907 noted the twelve-day annual "Joint Army and Militia Coast Defense" exercises had been completed. The militia this year consisted of over 200 personnel from the 5th Infantry, California National Guard. [18]

The routine was broken in January 1911 when a detachment of officers and men was dispatched to Calexico on the Mexican border "for the purpose of aiding in the enforcement of the neutrality laws of the United States." Mexico was in the throes of a revolution. By the end of February, detachments had moved to Calexico, Tijuana, Campo, Tecate, and Jacumba Spring. The department commander, Brig. Gen. Tasker H. Bliss, visited the post regularly during this period. A climax of sorts occurred in June 1911 when a detachment from the fort went to Tijuana to bring back 105 "insurrecto" prisoners who had crossed over to the American side of the border. The Army interned them at the post where it discovered that two of them were deserters from the 28th Company. These two men were confined to the guardhouse, while the Mexican rebels occupied the post gymnasium. Later, five others turned out to be deserters from the U.S. Navy and Marines. The Army turned them over to the Pacific Fleet. On June 25 all but five of the insurgents were released. Of the five, two remained in the post hospital and the other three were turned over to U.S. Marshal H. V. Place on warrants issued by the U.S. Commissioner in San Diego.

The name Lt. George Ruhlen, Jr., first appeared in Fort Rosecrans post returns in January 1911, when he was assigned to the 28th Company. He was to have a long association with the post both directly and indirectly. In February he led one of the detachments to the Mexican border. By May 1912 he had become the commanding officer of the 28th Company. He and the company participated in the Memorial Day Parade in San Diego on May 30. In August he transferred to the Coast Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Several years later, in 1918, Maj. Ruhlen returned to Fort Rosecrans temporarily to act as umpire for practice at the 10-inch rifles. From 1927 to 1931, he was stationed in San Diego as a coast artillery instructor for the California National Guard. He served as commanding officer of Fort Rosecrans from 1933 to 1935. After retirement from the Army in 1944, Col. Ruhlen settled in San Diego where he became president of the San Diego Historical Society. His many publications on the history of the military in San Diego have been cited herein. [19]

Another incident related to the United States-Mexico boundary occurred in April 1913. Acting upon instructions from the Western Department in San Francisco, a small guard from Fort Rosecrans crossed the harbor to San Diego. There, it apprehended Gen. Pedro Ojeda, three lieutenant colonels, a paymaster, three captains, nine lieutenants, a telegrapher, and an enlisted man of the Mexican "Federales." The group was interned in the post exchange building until the Western Department ordered their release. They left the port by steamer. [20]

On the whole, the artillerymen found Fort Rosecrans to be an agreeable station. Despite the marches to the border, they had ample time for intensive training. The schedule of instructions for 1915-1916 illustrated the thoroughness of their projects:

Battery Fetterman, 3-inch guns not yet mounted; Battery Wilkeson, 10-inch guns on disappearing carriages; and Battery McGrath, 5-inch guns, 1902. National Archives, RG 77, Fortifications File, Dr. 256, Sht. 3-15. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

A portion of Fort Rosecrans, 1902, showing the location of the Spanish Fort Guijarros in front of Battery Wilkeson. National Archives, RG 77, Dr. 102, Sht. 39. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

Troubled Mexico caused more marches to the Mexican border in the years before World War I. But more pleasant marches occurred in September 1913 when San Diego celebrated "Carnival Cabrillo." The three-day carnival celebrated the 400th anniversary of discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa, the 371st anniversary of Cabrillo's discovery of San Diego Bay, and the 144th anniversary of the founding of the California missions by Father Serra. The purpose of the celebration was to draw attention to San Diego, whose Panama-California International Exposition was to open in 1915. On September 25 Fort Rosecrans' battalion of coast artillery marched to the old lighthouse on Point Loma where dedication ceremonies were held for a proposed 150-foot statue of Cabrillo that was to be erected there. The next day the battalion marched in a street parade in San Diego in connection with the dedication of the site where a Balboa monument was to be built. On the third day, the 28th Company took part in the unveiling of a large cross that honored Father Serra on Presidio Hill. [22]

The year 1913 brought the highest-ranking brass ever to visit the fort. Secretary of War Lindley M. Garrison arrived to inspect the post. Accompanying the Secretary were Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, Chief of the Quartermaster Corps, and Brig. Gen. Erasmus M. Weaver, Chief of the Coast Artillery. Unfortunately, the results of the inspection have not been found. [23]

The U.S. Corps of Engineers completed the Panama Canal in 1914, and San Diego planned to celebrate. Despite the training schedule, the companies at Fort Rosecrans played an important role in the Panama-California International Exposition throughout 1915. In addition to the regular garrison (28th and 115th Companies), the 30th and 160th Companies arrived from Washington State for temporary duty. Another important element in the celebration was the 13th Coast Artillery Corps band which came from Fort DuPont, Delaware. Time after time, officials requested the presence of troops on the exposition grounds. The companies paraded for the visit of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, in the Spanish-American War Veterans parade, for U.S. Vice President Thomas R. Marshall's arrival, and many other occasions. In return, the exposition gave annual passes to all the army wives at the fort. On two occasions, the commanding officer was directed to fire the 10-inch guns for the benefit of visiting congressmen. [24]

The border troubles with Mexico climaxed in 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson ordered Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing to head a punitive expedition of 15,000 men to pursue freebooter Pancho Villa into Mexico and called out 150, 000 National Guard to guard the border. Between this activity and World War I raging in Europe, Fort Rosecrans tightened security. Vessels entering the harbor were required to identify themselves. The coming of war brought a sense of urgency regarding San Diego's coastal defenses. [25]