Galveston's Coastal Forts: Crockett, San Jacinto & Travis

For half a century, the entrance to Galveston Bay was one of the most heavily fortified stretches of the Texas coast. Three Army posts — Fort Crockett on the Galveston seawall, Fort San Jacinto on the island's east end, and Fort Travis across the channel on Bolivar Point — formed a triangle of gun batteries built to protect the harbor, the city, and the busy ports and refineries of the bay. Their heavy coastal guns and disappearing rifles spanned the era from the Spanish-American War through both World Wars, when German U-boats prowling the Gulf gave the batteries a very real reason to exist. This driving tour links the surviving remnants of that coastal-defense system, from the concrete casemates and seawall batteries of Galveston to the ferry crossing and the old fort on the Bolivar side. Some stops involve the Galveston–Bolivar ferry, so plan for the crossing and check current schedules.