Battery Geary

4-M,’88 Mortars

Battery Geary was constructed between 1907 and 1911at a cost of $145,198 and named in honor of Captain Woodbridge Geary,  13th U.S. Infantry who died of wounds received in action 11 October, 1899 at San Francisco De Malabon, Philippines.

Battery Geary had two mortar pits with three magazines, one at each side and one between the two pits. Armament was eight 12-inch (305mm) mortars; Pit A, on the right hand side,  was equipped with four M1890 Mortars on M1896M1 Mortar Carriages (similar  to Battery Way).  Pit B had four M1908 mortars on M1908 Carriages. These were capable of firing a 1,000 lb (454.5 kg) deck piercing shell or 700 lb. (318 kg.) high explosive shell 14,610 yards (8.3 miles or 13.35 km.) in any direction. Maximum bagged charge weight was 63 lb. (28.6 kg). Firing elevation was from 45 degrees minimum to 70 degrees maximum for the M1890, and 65 degrees for the M1908.  Maximum rate of fire capability was one round per minute to one round in 45 seconds,  with a standard crew per mortar of 14 men. The vertical plunging trajectories of the mortars made them ideal for the use against the enemy on Bataan, and in turn made the mortar pits the single-most important targets for the Japanese gunners firing against Corregidor.

In 1941-1942, Geary was manned by troops of battery H-59th Coast Artillery, firstly under Captain Benn King andd then Captain John W. Davis III. On 6 January 1942, a Japanese bomb collapsed an incomplete shelter nearby, killing 31 and wounding 3 enlisted men. On 26-29 January, Geary opened fire and helped defeat Japanese forces that had landed at Longoskawayan Point, Bataan. This marked the first time since the Civil War that large American seacoast artillery had fired on an enemy.

On 12 April, Geary opened counter battery fire against enemy artillery on Bataan, immune from return fire at that time because it was defiladed hollow on the south side of the island below the highest point on Corregidor. This made it invisible to ground-based Japanese artillery spotters on Bataan, but ensured Geary became a prime target once the Japanese were able to bring in an artillery spotting balloon.

On the morning of 2 May, the Japanese opened a 3,600-round barrage against the battery. At about 4:27 PM, one 240mm round finally penetrated the center magazine, detonating 40 tons of ammunition in an explosion that obliterated the battery, leaving a large crater in its wake. One of the mortars ten-ton barrels was hurled over 150 yards on to the adjacent golf course, and a block of concrete weighing over a ton landed on an enlisted man at Battery Ramsey, mangling his legs. He died on the way to the hospital.

Curiously, the loss of life when Geary exploded had not been severe. Captain Davis had seen several of the Japanese 240mm shells striking the magazine, and realizing that eventually one of the shells would penetrate the concrete, he  issued orders for all of the men to evacuate immediately into the bunkers adjacent to the two gun pits. Six were killed and the same number wounded at the Battery, with two killed and 31 injured in the resulting hail of shells and cement blocks up to a mile from the explosion.  The damage to Corregidor's defenses was, however, out of all proportion to the light casualties.

That Geary was firing back despite the rain of shells is evidenced by the fact that No. 2 mortar (Pit A) was loaded and ready to fire when the explosion occurred. It remains loaded to this day.

On the morning of 6 May, Battery H, together with Batteries B, C and D, 59th was ordered to form up as infantry to reinforce the troops fighting the Japanese east of Malinta.

During the occupation, the Japanese had working parties of American POW's restore Pit A No.4 mortar to service.

Unfortunately, like too much of Corregidor's heavy-metal heritage, it became a victim of indifferent and corrupt military post-war governance and their scrap-metal thief-cronies.

Battery Geary and  Battery Way were armed with 12-inch mortars.  Geary had eight, and Way had four. By 1941, these weapons were decidedly old.  In the annals of bravery, one can't go past Batteries Geary and Way. Because  the high trajectories of their mortars were able  to put shells on the Bataan peninsular, the Japanese artillery made special effort to bring counter battery fire upon them.  Battery Way kept on firing until the day of the surrender, when its last mortar became so hot, it "froze" the breech. Named after Capt. Woodridge Geary, a casualty in the 1899 US-Philippine war, was commenced in 1907 and completed 1911 at a cost of $145,198. On 2 May 1942, Battery Geary takes a direct hit from a 240mm shell. The tail of the island lies under a cloud of smoke and dust.  One of the mortars still has a "fire in the hole". Visit Battery Geary.