Cape May Military Reservation (Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey)

Lower Township, Cape May County · New Jersey · World War I and World War II

History & Significance

The site served as a World War I emergency battery between 1917 and 1919, consisting of a single 6-inch gun, magazine, control and reporting station, and storehouse on Beach Avenue. Following the Modernization of the Coastal Defense program launched in 1940, work began in 1942 to establish the Cape May Military Reservation as a World War II sub-post of Fort Miles; it supported the main fort by providing rapid-fire protection against fast-moving surface vessels and torpedo boats.

The reservation included Battery 223 (operational 1944–1947), Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat Battery 7 with two 90mm guns (1943–1946), and an unnamed four-gun 155mm battery (1942–1944). The reservation also featured a fire control tower as part of a network of 20 towers along the shoreline; the towers helped direct coastal artillery stretching from North Wildwood, New Jersey to Bethany Beach, Delaware.

Battery 223 was built with six-foot thick reinforced concrete walls and a thick blast proof roof, designed to withstand direct hits from battleships and aircraft. The guns were never fired at an enemy, though there were drills and live fire tests. Battery 223 became part of Cape May Point State Park in 1962 and remains open to the public at sunrise to sunset.

Map

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Sources

• https://www.northamericanforts.com/East/New_Jersey/Cape_May/index.htm
• https://abandonedonline.net/location/cape-may-military-reservation/
• https://cdsg.org/cdsg-representative-site-visit-report-cape-may-military-reservation-new-jersey/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_223
• https://www.journeythroughjersey.com/sites/ww2-lookout/
• https://capemaynewsfeed.medium.com/world-war-ii-lookout-tower-tells-cape-mays-coastal-defense-story-5ac33d127091

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