Fort Barrancas Tour: Stop 1

Fort Barrancas Self-Guided Tour Stop 1

Quick Facts

Location:

Fort Barrancas

Significance:

Network to Freedom; Civil War; slavery, Black History

Amenities

1 listed

Trailhead

Glacis

The first stop on the tour is the gentle earthen slope, called a glacis (glah SEE), protected Fort Barrancas. In a battle, the glacis shielded the fort’s brick walls from cannon fire. When attacked by land, soldiers had to charge uphill while in full view of the defenders inside Fort Barrancas.

Enslaved laborers used sand to build the glacis. They likely used sand from the dry ditch they dug into the bluff. Using carts pulled by mules, enslaved laborers transported sand around the construction site. They planted grass on the glacis to protect the slope from erosion.