It was named in honor of Captain John Williams Gunnison, a US Army topographical engineer, who was attacked and murdered by Indians during an expedition in Utah on October 26, 1853.

[1] The two M1903 six-inch guns, mounted on counter-weight disappearing carriages, were medium caliber weapons that could be fired rapidly at faster moving enemy vessels, such as patrol boats, destroyers, or minesweepers.

[2][3] In 1943, the battery was extensively modified both internally and externally for two M1900 six inch barbette (pedestal mounted) guns, two shell hoists and a modern and expanded Plotting Room.

1 at Fort Hancock, which was responsible for confirming the identification of every last Allied ship within all convoys, as well as other vessels, as they entered into New York Harbor from the open ocean, all as the U-boat War and the Battle of the Atlantic raged off the Jersey Shore.

These were supplied by a hub of highways and railroads connecting factories and refineries, all leading into massive storage facilities ringing the harbor in New York and New Jersey.

Vessels that got their challenge code reply wrong, failed to follow protocol, or simply acted suspiciously, would be ordered to halt, pending an immediate investigation and inspection via boarding, conducted by the US Navy and/or US Coast Guard.

1; a description of the vessel's class, paint scheme, national flag flown, speed, and proximity to the nearest buoy in either the Ambrose or Sandy Hook Ship Channels.

If the vessel still failed to heave-to at this time, Battery Peck would begin "destructive fire" with armor-piercing, high-explosive ammunition to neutralize the threat before it could get close enough to attack the harbor or scuttle in one of channels.

[11] The Jersey shore was considered a full war-zone during World War II, and operations at Fort Hancock were on a "Shoot First - Ask Later" mindset in dealing with potential threats.

It fired for the last time in 1948, when a Reserve Officer Training Corps Coast Artillery class came to Fort Hancock and performed annual summer target practice.

[13] For the next 27 years, and stripped of all its original equipment save for the two shot hoists, sand, grit, salt corrosion, and vandalism took a heavy toll on the battery and the guns.

Of all former concrete seacoast artillery emplacements in the United States, it is the only battery to offer the full spectrum of ammunition service, correct weaponry, and a working range section.

The wooden range display board operator's platform, part of the 1943 modernization, was reconstructed and built from scratch using the original plans, and completed in July and August 2019.

All work days and living history events are posted by the National Park Service with the program guides getting updated quarterly for the spring, summer, fall and winter time periods.