Fort Hughes
Fort Hughes is on Caballo Island in the Philippines. It was built by the U.S. Army in the early 1900s as part of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays and was named after Major General Robert Patterson Hughes. A Spanish battery once stood on the eastern end of the island in 1898, but it did not take part in the Battle of Manila Bay.
Construction was mostly finished by 1914, with the mortar battery completed in 1919. Over the years, several gun batteries were built, including Battery Idaho (anti-aircraft on the eastern end), Battery Williams (three 155 mm guns on Panama mounts), and others named for U.S. generals such as Gillespie, Woodruff, Craighill, Leach, Fuger, and Williams. One gun from Battery Williams was detached as Battery Hooker during the war.
Japan captured Fort Hughes after the American and Filipino forces were overwhelmed in 1942. The garrison destroyed some guns before surrendering, and the Japanese later salvaged some weapons for use elsewhere.
U.S. forces retook Fort Hughes in the 1945 liberation of the Philippines, beginning on March 27. The assault involved the 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry and elements of the 38th Infantry Division, with support from Corregidor’s artillery. A notable tactic used to fight the defenders in their tunnels involved diesel fuel pumped down a vent shaft and set alight with white phosphorus rounds, plus demolition charges, carried out on April 5–7. The last Japanese defenders were killed on April 13, and the fort was reclaimed.
After recapture, the 14-inch guns and 12-inch mortars remained in place, though Battery Leach was destroyed in the fighting and only one 6-inch gun barrel stayed on the island. A Japanese 120 mm gun also remained. The island was turned over to Filipino forces in 1946, and by 2012 it was used as a Philippine Navy ammunition depot.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:35 (CET).