Fort Massachusetts Tour: Stop 4

Fort Massachusetts 15-inch Rodman

NPS Photo/Kiss

Quick Facts

Location:

Ship Island, Mississippi

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Trailhead

15-inch Rodman

On top of the northeast corner of the fort is a mound covered with soil and vegetation. In the middle of this mound is a 15-foot-wide circular area with a square pad. This would have been home to a 15-Inch Rodman gun. The Rodman weighs 50,000 pounds and could fire a 400 pound cannon ball three miles. In 1873, this cannon was raised over the fort's wall and mounted here.

The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed by Union artilleryman Thomas Jackson Rodman. The guns were designed to fire both shot and shell. These heavy guns were intended to be mounted in seacoast fortifications. They were built in 8-inch, 10-inch, 13-inch, 15-inch, and 20-inch bore.