|
Battery 223 as it appears
today. The structure
has been washed out
underneath, and can be seen
here sitting on its concrete
pilings. It is
currently a part of Cape May
Point State Park.
Photo Credit: James Simard |
Operated by: Unknown
Battery 223 was built to
compliment the six inch
batteries at Cape Henlopen
to provide overlapping
coverage of the Delaware Bay
entrance. It is of
typical design - its floor
plan being identical to
Battery Herring and
Battery Hunter on the
Delaware side of the bay.
Construction on Battery 223
began on September 12, 1942.
The Cape May reservation was
a sub-post of Fort Miles,
which meant that the
administration and command
of Battery 223 was handled
on the Delaware side of the
bay. A telephone cable
stretched from Delaware to
New Jersey beneath the bay
to facilitate communications
with command at Fort Miles.
Battery 223 was the largest
gun battery on the New
Jersey side. The site
is now Cape May Point State
Park and the structure has
been exposed to the elements
much like its sister battery
Herring. However,
unlike Herring, Battery 223
is in danger of collapse.
The sand is being washed
from underneath, leaving
only the concrete pilings
for support. The name
of this battery is that of
its construction number
(223), although unofficial
documents suggest that this
gun battery was to be named
"Battery Dunn." The
official Army designation
for the building has always
been "Battery 223." |
