Discover Delmarva: Fort Miles
LEWES, Del. – Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen Delaware was built during World War II to protect the important ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia strategically. Kaitlyn Dykes the Interpretive Programs Manager at the park took us into the grounds of this historical landmark.
Dykes tells us “Fort Miles is put here- because this is the mouth of the Delaware Bay and River. So it’s the closest you can get to the entrance and the most updated fortifications. So the government gave this fort everything it could to make it succeed. ”
Walking into the Fort the recreational area and the barracks greet you. This was not a typical beach town according to Dykes “Cape Henlopen looked a lot different during World War II. It’s essentially just hot sand, if it was cold it was snow. There was no protection for the guys they started out living in tents before they got barracks much later in the war.”
Just beyond the main entrance, you’ll notice the staggering size of the artillery ahead. “So as you wind your way through artillery park. You’ll see different examples of all the different artillery pieces that would have been- somewhere in what was Fort Miles during World War II.”
There is a wide range of artillery pieces of various sizes to protect Delaware Bay and River from a German blockade. Nestled at the end of the park is Battery 519 inside the dunes. “So Fort Miles I like to describe it as the final evolutionary step in coast defense in Delaware.”
Battery 519 is where the museum resides where the two main guns were housed. The main entrance takes you to the north gun room where rotating World War II exhibits are housed. The Oil Still Bleeds Exhibit is currently there with a piece from the USS Arizona that was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Dykes tells us the altered perspective this gives people stepping into the bunker “The opportunity go inside an underground gunned battery and experience what it might have been like to work inside a building like this during the war that’s unique.”
Down the hall, multiple rooms are telling the history of the fort. From the role, women played here, from those planting mines in the Delaware Bay. They also house a communications room that shows how they would measure where to shoot the artillery after getting data from an important part of the fort. “So those towers are the eyes of Fort Miles. That’s what is going to see and target an enemy. It gives you an idea of the size of Fort Miles. That there are four towers over in Cape May New Jersey during the war eleven down the coast of Delaware and all of those being operated by soldiers at Fort Miles.”
The following shell room is where the nearly 1000-pound shells would be loaded and moved along a track to the 12-inch gun. Located in the south gun room where you can even fire it yourself as a reenactment. The sound is turned down considerably from the speakers but this helps give you a sense of the destructive nature of these guns to people’s ears.
Even though there was never direct combat here. The museum gives a flashback to what life was like on the Delaware coastline nearly 80 years ago.
Dykes tells us the museum is free for most exhibits but if you want a more in-depth tour its’ six dollars per person with veterans and active service members able to go on the tour for no cost. Their hours vary throughout the winter for the Museum. For their hours and more information check out their website.
