Fort Andrews Gun Batteries
In 1904, shortly after the fort's 12-inch mortar batteries were completed, its three gun emplacements followed. It is not clear whether Battery Rice, the westernmost emplacement, planned for a pair of 5-inch guns, ever received these; it may have simply been an empty battery. Battery McCook, the next in line to the east, received two 6-inch guns, M1900, on barbette carriages. Finally, Battery Bumpus, on the eastern end of the line, was fitted with two 3-inch guns M1902, on pedistal mounts.
These guns, at an elevation of about 100 ft., looked down over Nantasket Roads, the southern approach to Boston Harbor, and across towards Ft. Strong on Long Island and Fort Warren. They could also reach out past the central harbor islands to defend the northern approaches as well.
The 6-inch guns were the same model as those of Battery Whipple at Ft. Standish on Lovells Island and were mounted in a similar emplacement. There are reports of the artillerymen from Ft. Andrews taking their target practice at Battery Whipple, since firing from Lovells Island disturbed fewer nearby residents. As a consequence, the commander of Battery McCook complained that his relatively low qualifying scores resulted from having to make do with less familiar fire control equipment.
Battery McCook was commanded from the east side (1904) fire control building, which also contained the Fort Commander's station. McCook's rangefinding was handled by the small, half- buried pillbox-like bunker that mounted a Depression Position Finder (DPF) scope and was located near the brow of the bluff about 400 ft. northwest of the battery. The fort's 60-inch searchlight was mounted just behind this pillbox and was controlled remotely from the east side fire control structure.
The 3-inch guns of Battery Bumpus were the eastern side of a crossfire across Nantasket Roads with Battery Stevens, located on the eastern side of Ft. Strong on Long Island. Together, these batteries provided defense for the mine fields that were stretched across Nantasket Roads. Today, the stairs to the Battery Bumpus gun platforms, and the platforms themselves, are very badly deteriorated. The concrete is fissured and cracking off in thick layers, and the action of climbing the steps to a gun platform turns more of the old concrete to pebbles and dust.
Battery Bumpus was declared obselete in 1946, and Battery McCook in 1947.