The Act of March 3, 1883, was the first decisive step taken to secure suitable and adequate ordnance for military purposes. Under the provisions of this act a joint board of officers of the Army and Navy was appointed “for the purpose of examining and reporting to Congress which of the navy-yards or arsenals owned by the Government has the best location and is best adapted for the establishment of a Government foundry, or what other method, if any, should be adopted for the manufacture of heavy ordnance adapted to modern warfare for the use of the Army and Navy of the United States.” This board, known as the “Gun Foundry Board,” made its report in 1884 and directed public attention not only to the defenceless condition of our coasts, but to the importance and necessity of formulating a comprehensive scheme for the protection of our harbors and coast cities. As a result, the Act of Congress approved March 3, 1885, provided that “the President of the United States shall appoint a board ... which board shall examine and report at what ports fortifications or other defences are most urgently required, the character and kind of defences best adapted to each with reference to armament, the utilization of torpedoes, mines, and other defensive appliances.” The board, organized under the foregoing provision of law, popularly known as the “Endicott Board,” in its report of January 23, 1886, cited the principles on which any system of coast defence should be based, and clearly stated the necessity of having our important strategic and commercial centres made secure against naval attack. In determining the ports that were in urgent need of defence, since a fleet did not exist for the protection of the merchant marine, fortifications were provided at every harbor of importance along the coast and at several of the lake ports. For any particular harbor or locality the report specifies the armament considered necessary for proper protection, the character of emplacements to be used, the number of submarine mines and torpedo boats, with detailed estimates of cost for these various items. The proposed guns, mounts, and emplacements were of types that seemed at that time best suited to accomplish the desired results, based on the only data available, namely, experiments and information of similar work from abroad.