Est. 1904 · Endicott-Taft Coastal Defense System · Mouth of the Columbia River Defense · Only Foreign Attack on U.S. Mainland Military 1814-2001 (Japanese Submarine I-25, June 21, 1942) · Fort Stevens State Park Cultural Resource
Battery Russell is part of the Endicott-Taft coastal-defense system that fortified the mouth of the Columbia River — a strategically critical waterway connecting the Pacific to the Pacific Northwest's interior. Construction began in 1903 and the battery was completed in 1904, named after Brigadier General David Allen Russell (killed in action at the Battle of Opequon, 1864). It was the largest of nine batteries at Fort Stevens, mounting two 10-inch M1888 'disappearing' rifles — guns that retracted behind a parapet after firing for reloading.
The battery operated as part of Fort Stevens's active coastal defenses through both World Wars. Its most consequential moment came late on the night of June 21, 1942, when the Japanese Type B1 submarine I-25, commanded by Akiji Tagami, surfaced off the Oregon coast and fired approximately 17 shells at the fort. Most rounds fell short or overshot; some landed in the swamp near the battery and in the surrounding forest. The fort's commander declined to return fire (to avoid revealing battery positions in the fog). The shelling caused no casualties and minor damage, but it became the first foreign attack on a mainland U.S. military installation since the War of 1812, and remained so until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Battery Russell was decommissioned in 1944 along with much of Fort Stevens's heavy artillery as the WWII threat receded. The fort itself was deactivated in 1947. The state of Oregon acquired the property and incorporated it into Fort Stevens State Park, now one of Oregon's largest and most-visited state parks. The battery's concrete emplacement, magazines, and surrounding earthworks remain intact and accessible to visitors.
Fort Stevens State Park is operated by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. The park address (100 Peter Iredale Road, Hammond, OR 97121) corresponds to the main park entrance; Battery Russell is reached by car and short walk from the park road. Interpretive signage explains the battery's history and the June 1942 shelling.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Fort_Stevens
- https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=129
- https://hauntedus.com/oregon/fort-stevens-haunted-military-fort/
- https://historynet.com/built-during-the-civil-war-but-shelled-by-the-japanese/
- https://1027kord.com/fort-stevens-state-park/
- https://www.beachconnection.net/news/fortgh103112_537.php
Apparition (uniformed soldier)Phantom footstepsVanishing on approach
Battery Russell's defining lore is its ghost soldier. The figure, most often described in HauntedUS and Puzzle Box Horror accounts as a young man in his twenties wearing a green WWII-era U.S. Army uniform, has been reported by park rangers, campers, and day visitors over multiple decades. He is sometimes described as carrying a flashlight and 'searching for enemy soldiers' along the bike path approaching Battery Russell; other accounts describe him with a long knife or in military fatigues.
The consistent pattern across accounts: he appears solid and present — walking pathways, traversing the shoreline, sometimes passing close to tents in the campground with audible footsteps crunching gravel — and vanishes when approached or addressed. Reports cluster at dusk, dawn, and in fog.
Historical complication: no U.S. soldiers are documented to have died at Battery Russell during World War II or during the June 1942 Japanese shelling. The Civil War-era construction predates the battery itself (which is 1904), but Fort Stevens did have a Civil War predecessor earthwork, and some tellings attribute the ghost to a Civil War-era death — though the WWII uniform descriptions don't fit that interpretation.
The ghost-soldier story appears in Oregon State Parks' own Halloween-themed visitor materials ('5 spooky sites to see this Halloween'), regional roundups including That Oregon Life's 2024 feature, and the Romantic Oregon Coast and Ghostly Activities sites. The lore is treated respectfully, framed around the genuine military history of the site rather than sensationalized.
Notable Entities
WWII Ghost Soldier of Battery Russell
