Fort Pickens Tour: Stop 15

Battery Pensacola

Quick Facts

Location:

Fort Pickens, Florida

Amenities

4 listed

Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trailhead

Battery Pensacola

Engineers designed and built an elaborate defense system on Pensacola Bay between 1895–1943. Completed in 1899, Battery Pensacola once played a major role in this system. Four amazing technologies made Battery Pensacola revolutionary.

A newer construction material, reinforced concrete made the structure stronger than Fort Pickens. The concrete was painted black to reduce glare from the intense Florida sun. Newly invented electrical distribution provided the electricity to make loading and firing the battery’s guns easier.

The newly invented telephone allowed soldiers to communicate information more quickly and over greater distances. Steel guns capable of withstanding the extreme forces allowed soldiers to hit targets with deadly precision.

Like Fort Pickens, Battery Pensacola became obsolete. The Army stopped using the battery in 1933 and removed its guns in 1934.Visit Battery Cooper and its 6-inch disappearing gun to see an example of an armed battery on Pensacola Bay.