CABRILLO The Guns of San Diego Historic Resource Study

F. Wartime Fort Rosecrans, 1917-1918

As the United States moved toward war in 1917, the Navy and the Army clashed in an event involving Fort Rosecrans. On January 15 the captain of USS Pueblo, the flagship of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Reserve Force, wrote a sharply worded communication to the commanding officer of Fort Rosecrans. He began by quoting from Naval Instructions as to what the senior naval officer on board a naval vessel should do when entering an American harbor: communicate with the outer group of fortifications and identify himself, where he came from, and the length of his stay. A similar exchange will be made upon leaving a harbor. He said that USS Pueblo called Fort Rosecrans by radio at 9:15 and 9:20 a.m. that day. Since Fort Rosecrans' radio did not reply (Fort Rosecrans did not have a radio station at that time), the message was sent via the Point Loma Naval Radio. At 10:30 a.m. Pueblo came within visual signal distance of Fort Rosecrans and signaled with the wig-wag flag until 10:45. Again, the call was not acknowledged. The post commander, Lt. Col. G. T. Patterson, replied in writing a few days later briefly stating that the incidents were being investigated and the appropriate action would be taken. He deeply regretted the affair. The record fails to show the outcome of the investigation. [39]

Once the United States was at war, the Army and the Navy cooperated fully. The Secretary of the Navy notified the Army that for the duration of the war, naval ships would not radio coastal defenses because recognition signals were now in effect and, also, it was necessary to reduce radio communication to a minimum. Later that year, Fort Rosecrans was informed to exchange recognition signals no longer unless the identity of the approaching vessel was in doubt. It is not known if the fort had to check any identities, but it was notified in 1917 that an enemy raider had been sighted in the Pacific. [40]

During the war, three coast artillery companies, the 4th, 18th, and 15th, garrisoned Fort Rosecrans. Elsewhere in the San Diego area were the 21st Infantry Regiment and the 14th Aero Squadron, Training. In the summer of 1917, the U. S. Attorney in Los Angeles was ordered to San Diego to arrest and detain enemy aliens. Among the half-dozen or so people arrested were three army privates, all from Rockwell Field: Wilhelm F. Streibart, Erich Rosenhagen, and Johannes W. Grief. They were detained at Fort Rosecrans before being sent to the War Prison Barracks, Fort Douglas, Utah. During that brief period at the fort, Private Streibart was court martialed for assaulting a guard."

One of the important activities at the post during the war was the organizing of antiaircraft batteries for overseas duty. These men were not trained in antiaircraft fire simply because Fort Rosecrans had no antiaircraft guns, except for machine guns. In November 1917, the first battery, two officers and sixty-two men from personnel of the Coast Defense Command, left Fort Rosecrans for France. Early in 1918, Batteries A and B, 2nd Antiaircraft Battalion, were organized at the post. Other units organized there and sent overseas included the 65th Coast Artillery and the 54th Ammunition Train. [42]

Before the war ended, the commanding officers of the Army and Navy shore stations held a conference in San Diego to discuss the defense of the harbor. Col. James R. Pourie, commanding the Coastal Defenses, and Maj. W. B. Burwell, commanding the Signal Corps Aviation School at Rockwell Field, informed their naval counterparts of steps taken by the Army to defend the harbor. Burwell said that his airplanes could be used for observation purposes, provided they remained within gliding distance of land. Pourie noted that Battery Fetterman's two 3-inch guns were held in readiness for immediate service at all times, and at Battery James Meed, which had not yet been abandoned, a gun detachment was held in readiness at all times. Although the new coastal searchlight project was not yet in place, four searchlights (one 30-inch, one 36-inch, and two 60-inch) were ready for instant service. An operator stood duty at the new radio station from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. No submarine mines had been laid but they could be if necessary. Finally, Pourie said, "Constant outlook is kept from Signal Station at old Lighthouse." [43]

Plans for Battery John White, four 12-inch mortars, Fort Rosecrans. The battery is now in the U.S. Naval Reservation, Point Loma. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

Battery Whistler, four 12-inch mortars. The U.S. Navy has incorporated the battery into its Arctic Test Facility. National Archives, RG 77, Fortifications File, Dr. 102, Sht. 56-2. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

Fort Rosecrans' first radio station. Maj. Gen. Tasker H. Bliss approved these plans. Earlier he had reviewed the troops at Fort Rosecrans. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

Powerhouse for Coastal Searchlights 5 and 6, on the Bayside Trail. National Archives, RG 77, Fortifications File, Dr. 102-40-38. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

Plans for the underground shelter for Searchlight No. 6, 1918. Located on the Bayside Trail within Cabrillo National Monument. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)

Report of completed works, seacoast fortifications, battery plan: Fort Pio Pico Battery Meed. (click on image for an enlargement in a new window)