Casemate
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A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.
A mid-19th century artillery casemate at Fort Knox, Maine.
An ancient casemate wall at Masada
Embrasures for artillery casemates in the flank of a bastion at the 17th-century Citadel of Arras.
Three tiers of artillery casemates at the mid-19th century Fort Point, San Francisco
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies or a large navy. After the 1940s, it was recognized that fixed fortifications were obsolete and ineffective against aircraft and missiles. However, in prior eras foreign fleets were a realistic threat, and substantial fortifications were built at key locations, especially protecting major harbors.
The outer works of Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor, although built in the 1860s, are broadly similar to early First and Second System forts built prior to the War of 1812, with low earthworks, although mounting much larger cannon and reinforced with masonry. The cannon are 8-inch converted rifles (lined down from 10-inch Rodman guns) and a 15-inch Rodman gun, typical of the post-Civil War era.
The Statue of Liberty is built on top of Fort Wood of the Second System
50-pounder Model 1811 Columbiad (7.25 inch or 184 mm bore) and center-pivot mounting designed by George Bomford as an experimental coastal defense gun. This gun was built in 1811 as a component of the Second System. Photographed in Clear Lake, Wisconsin.
Fort Point - San Francisco - example of a mid-1800s Third System fort