Gulf Islands National Seashore
We'll go outside and leave this cold, damp, dungeon-like interior behind.
Oops, not this way.
Ah, here we go.
The parade ground is three acres large. In September of 1861 850 men camped here. Of these men, 77 reported sick, 3 died from disease and 3 deserted. The men suffered from scurvy and heat exhaustion due to the wool uniforms they wore in the intense humid heat of the Florida panhandle.
I think if I were there it would have been 4 desertions.
The design of the roof over these arches channel rainwater to cisterns deep in the ground.
Outside the wall perimeter with that BIG gun we saw in the first post of this series.
What the BIG gun aimed at off the distant coastline. A 50-pound powder charge in a cartridge bag would be rammed down into this behemoth followed by a 15-inch diameter cannonball.
I didn't think anything of this opening in the fort except that it was part of the design.
This sign informed me otherwise.
The explosion showered debris 1.5 miles away.
That would have been cool to see...from a safe distance of course.
In 1887, Apache Indian prisoners were housed at the fort with Geronimo among them.
That concludes our tour of Fort Pickens.
Now, on down the road to new adventures.
11 comments:
What was that lady doing there? ;-)
Certainly an amazing place. Thanks for the visit. I wonder where we're going next.
Just went back and caught up on your Fort Pickens series John, brilliant! Loved all the different patinas on the brick walls in the tunnels and glimpses through arches. Oh my that was a huge explosion, it's a wonder anything is still standing there at all !
Down the road!
i'm allergic to wool, so i'd have been stark-raving mad! :)
John, another of those places where you can let your mind imagine being there when it was in full use. Doesn't sound like where I would like to be, however. Quite an explosion for sure, fueled by the gunpowder.
I hear ghosts whispering.
Now that is a LOT of powder!
Nice to have a tour around with you, that must have been a big bang!
What a fun place to explore. Love the photos.
The explosion sounds pretty terrifying to me, John. I confess that I'm glad I wasn't there.
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