Fort Pickens Tour: Stop 3

Fort Pickens Casemates

Quick Facts

Location:

Fort Pickens, Florida

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Casemates

The arched rooms around you are casemates. Casemates protected soldiers and cannon. They also supported the upper level, or barbette, of Fort Pickens. Each casemate in the fort had one or two windows, or embrasures. Soldiers fired cannon through these embrasures.

This cannon is a 32-pounder. It sits on top of an oak carriage. The carriage is connected to the brick wall. Look under the embrasure and you will discover an opening. A metal plate, called a tongue, connects the carriage to a metal pin in the wall.

This system locked the cannon to the wall and helped soldiers point their weapon. Look down at the floor and you will find granite blocks, or traverse stones. With iron rails bolted on top, travers stones made rolling cannon from side to side easier. Today you can still see the remains of traverse stones and rails around the fort. Cannon like this 32-pounder made a lot of smoke.

Vents above embrasures allowed the smoke to escape. When a cannon fired, fresh air entered a casemate through a chimney or a diamond-shaped opening in the ceiling.

Help protect Fort Pickens. Do not climb on the cannon.