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| Fort Stevens State Park, USA (Hammond, Oregon)
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Battery Russell
Battery Russell is a popular tourist destination in the Fort Stevens State Park, both for its role in a World War II attack, as well as the stories of a ghost that is said to patrol its grounds. The concrete artillery battery was constructed through the months of March 1903 to August 1904 at Fort Stevens. The battery took its name from former Fort Yamhill commander Brevet Major General David A. Russell, who lost his life at the Battle of Third Winchester in Opequon, Virginia on September 19, 1864 during the American Civil War. The battery was designed to hold two 10-inch round, 35-foot M1900 rifles that could fire a 617 pound shell some eight or nine miles into the Pacific Ocean. The battery was officially transferred to service on August 12, 1904, though the gun carriages were not installed for over another year, followed by the rifles almost two years later. Both regular and National Guard artillery units used it as a practice battery until war came calling in 1942.
The Japanese Shelling
Plans were in place to replace the battery with eight 12" mortars mounted on railway carriages, but those plans were scrapped and the mortars were shipped elsewhere when America entered World War II in December 1941. The fact that the guns did not make it to Battery Russell turned out be somewhat ironic, because in June 1942, Fort Stevens found itself under attack by a Japanese submarine.
On the night of June 21, 1942, a Japanese I-25 submarine surfaced about eight miles from the Oregon coastline and commenced firing at Fort Stevens. The Japanese did not use their gun sight and were in essence firing in the general direction of what they believed to be a United State Navy submarine and destroyer base. In truth, a base had been planned but had not yet been developed, and their shells rained down on Fort Stevens instead. The soldiers stationed at Fort Stevens were instructed to hold their fire, either out of fear of giving away their position or out of the belief that their cannons were out of range of the submarine. Whatever the case, the firing soon stopped and the Japanese submarine escaped to the west and into the open sea.
In total 17 shells were fired and the closest they came to hitting a military target was Battery Russell. One shell reportedly hit a backstop of a baseball diamond in the general vicinity of the battery, while another struck the beach 300 yards in front of Battery Russell. Today, the exact locations that the 17 shells struck are unknown as the officials never kept any records of the data and the areas had been quickly cordoned off by the military, which did not want citizens contaminating the evidence. A historical landmark lies a couple miles to the south of Battery Russell at one of the only known spots believed to have been struck my a Japanese shell.
The Ghostly Night Watchman
Over the years, Battery Russell has become better known for the stories of a ghostly night watchman that is said to patrol the grounds to this day. Most stories concern witnesses hearing the sounds of a chain rattling, only to see a flashlight approaching them from a distance. As the light moves closer, most witnesses report seeing the shape of a man approaching them. However, as he gets in close proximity, he is said to vanish as quickly as he arrived. The ghost has been sighted at the battery, as well as the road that passes by it. It is worth noting that veterans that served at Battery Russell that are still alive today never reported anything unusual and have no idea how the stories got started. However, the story persists and some have even speculated that the spirit is a former park employee that is still making the rounds to this day.
The Location Today
Battery Russell was deactivated on December 29, 1944 with the completion of Battery 245 to the north. The cannons and gun carriages were later removed from the emplacements after Fort Stevens was deactivated in 1947. Oregon State Parks leased Fort Stevens in 1975 and re-opened it as a state park and Battery Russell now lies in the day-use area of the park, closing shortly after dark. For more information, please visit the site below. |
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| Related Sites |
Fort Stevens State Park
The official Web site of the Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria, Oregon - the home to the reportedly haunted Battery Russell. |
FortWiki: Battery Russell
FortWiki's entry on the reportedly haunted Battery Russell in the Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Oregon WWII Shelling Historical Landmark |
| Lafayette Park |
| Jackson Park, Atchison, Kansas |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: When Japan Struck the U.S. Mainland in WWII (06/21/09) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Ghost Stories of Oregon |
Oregon's Ghosts and Monsters (Oregon Country Library) |
Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations |
They Came Back: Tales of Reincarnation, Ghosts, and Life after Death |
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