Fort Miles announces winter, spring calendar
Battery 519 at Fort Miles will be open for tours day and night this winter and spring, the Fort Miles Historical Association and Cape Henlopen State Park announced. For information and registration for any of the events, call 302-645-6852 or 302-644-5007.
Battery 519 Lantern Tours will be conducted at 5:30 p.m., Saturdays, Jan. 11, Feb. 8, and March 8, and at 7:30 p.m., April 12 and May 10. Tour the Fort Miles gun battery by lantern light and learn how soldiers defended the coast during World War II. Tours are open to ages 10 and older with a paying adult and cost $5. Tours are limited to 30 people. Tours begin at the Orientation Building in the Fort Miles Historic Area.
Fort Miles Historical Association Board Meetings will be held at 8:30 a.m., Saturdays, Jan. 18, Feb. 15, March 15, April 19 and May 17. All FMHA members are invited.
Cold War at Fort Miles, a tour of Battery 519 describing the fort’s post-World War II history will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 1. Visitors will hear about doomsday ships, spies, tracking submarines and more. Tours are for ages 10 and older with a paying adult, cost $3 and are limited to 30 attendees. Reservations should be made early.
A special program, Mighty MO’s 16-inch Gun, will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 5, to discuss the history of Fort Miles’ 16-inch gun that was aboard the USS Missouri the day Japan surrendered at the end of World War II. Plans for the gun will be revealed. This program is free for ages 10 and older with an adult but limited to 40 guests.
Fort Miles: Delaware Goes to War will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, April 26. Re-enactors in period uniforms will be throughout the Fort Miles Historic Area. Visitors can see firing demonstrations and combat exercises, and learn about garrison life during World War II. Tours of Battery 519 will be conducted at a reduced price of $3, and tickets may be purchased the day of the event.
Events will be held throughout Memorial Day weekend at Fort Miles. At 4 p.m., Friday, May 23, a free artillery demonstration will be conducted. At 10 a.m., Saturday, May 24, World War II games for ages 8 to 12 will be offered; cost is $3. At 2 p.m. a Battery 519 tour will be conducted. At 8 p.m., a Lantern Tour will be held. At 2 p.m., Sunday, May 25, another Battery 519 tour will be held. Cost for each Battery 519 tour is $5.
