PROTECTING OUR SHORES - BUILDING THE FLEET (no. 11)
Mar 23, 2011
Protecting Our Shores/Building The Fleet
Protecting the Salish Sea The strategy through World War II for protecting the Salish Sea from attack has progressed through several fundamental approaches, each leaving their lasting mark upon the landscape. Prior to the Civil War defenses focus on repelling wooden sailing vessels. Still in early exploration and territorial stages the region did not develop the massive vertical walled fortifications of the East Coast. During and through the Civil War the threat of attack to the Salish Sea was not foreseen as likelihood. During the 1880s as the nation recovered from the Civil War and trade and commerce expanded the nation re-evaluated the system of coastal fortifications. Since the 1860s iron hulled steam powered vessels began replacing wooden sailing ships. Ships began using mounted steel breach cannons with rifling that could easily penetrate the vertical earth and stone fortifications. Over the next twenty years the nation embarked upon implementation of a modernization program known as the Endicott program. Legacy of this program in the Salish Sea are Forts Flagler, Worden, Casey, and Ward. Completed by 1915 the new system represented the state of the art in coastal defense using recessed modern weaponry that blended in with the landscape and searchlights to defend against vessels attacking at night.[1] The sense of security and strength imparted by this expensive and extensive system ushered in a growth in US sea power and imperialism.

[1] (Hansen 1975)