Fortifications Images

Fort Barrancas, Entrance to Pensacola Bay, Florida

Completed in 1844 as a small sea coast defense fortification capable of resisting a land assault (if not a regular attack) Fort Barrancas is one of most interesting and creepiest little masonry castles on the Gulf Coast. Fort Barrancas was sited on a slight bluff above a pre-existing battery built by the Spanish opposite the entrance to Pensacola Bay where it could cross the fire of its water bearing heavy guns with those of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island and Fort McRee on Foster's Bank. The fort itself consists of a main work traced as an irregular quadrilateral redoubt with two fronts positioned for land defense and two fronts for defense of the bay. A counterscarp wall covers the two land fronts and is itself covered by a massive earthen glacis that seems to slope a bit too sharply for the foot to be well seen from the interior crest of the parapet of the main work, a fact of some importance since the work does not feature a covered way for defense against a land attack. The main ditch, which was about 34 feet wide, was defended by crenallated scarp and counterscarp galleries; embrasured and loopholed casemates were built into both extremities of the counterscarp gallery (to flank the water fronts of the main work) and within the salient angle of the two land fronts.

Image (click to enlarge)

Image Number

Image Description

1

 General exterior view of water fronts and older water battery.

2

 From the foot of the glacis toward the sally port.

3

 Gorge: sally port, bridge, main ditch, upper reaches of glacis.

4

 Slope of the glacis.

5

 Salient of the main work joining southeast water and northeast land fronts.

6

 Sally port and sally port cut through the crest of the glacis.

7

 Main ditch from the bridge looking southeast. Scarp on the right.

8

 Main ditch looking northwest toward re-entering of the counterscarp.

9

 Exterior detail of the sally port.

10

 Sally port from the parade.

11

 From the parade, partial northeast land front and pan coupe at the salient of the land fronts.

12

 From the parade, partial west land front and southwest water front.

13

 Postern entrance on the parade leading to older water battery.

14

 From the parade. Salient joining northeast land front and southeast water front.

15

 From the terreplein. General view looking northeast.

16

 Traverse rings and front pintle blocks for wooden barbette carriages, salient of the water fronts.

17

 Revetment of interior slope of the parapet. West land front and pan coupe of land front salient.

18

 Typical bond of the interior slope revetment.

19

 Southwest water front. Post Civil War front pintle iron barbette carriage mountings.

20

 Magazine door. Casemate joining scarp gallery on the northeast land front.

21

 Scarp gallery.

22

 Loophole in the scarp gallery.

23

 Loophole in the scarp gallery of the northeast land front.

24

 Revetment retaining sand fill and partial view of scarp gallery vault.

25

 Pier of the scarp gallery at the southwest salient.

26

 Postern under main ditch giving access to the counterscarp gallery.

27

 Counterscarp gallery from postern stairway looking toward flanking casemates at the re-entering angle of the counterscarp.

28

 Casemate in counterscarp gallery with loopholes and embrasure flanking the southeast water front of the main work.

29

 Loophole in counterscarp gallery with smoke vent.

30

 Magazine powder passage gallery and door in the counterscarp.

31

 Counterscarp gallery vaulting of the northeast front joining flanking casemate in the re-entrant angle of counterscarp.

32

 Vaulting arrangement at the terminus of the counterscarp gallery and flanking casemates on the west land front.

33

 View of salient of the land fronts and main ditch from a re-entrant flanking casemate embrasure.

34

 View of west land front scarp, main ditch and counterscarp from a flanking embrasure in the counterscarp.

35

 View of the northeast land front counterscarp, bridge, and scarp from a flanking embrasure.

36

 View of the land front salient and northeast land front counterscarp from a flanking embrasure.

37

 View from a loophole in a flanking casemate at the terminus of the west land front looking down the southwest water front and rear of water battery.

38

 View from a loophole in a flanking casemate in the northeast land front counterscarp looking toward the older water battery.

39 Terminus of the counterscarp  of the west land front and southwest water front from the older water battery.

40 Obtuse salient of the two water fronts from the older water battery.

41 Terminus of the counterscarp of the northeast land front and southeast water front of the main work from the older water battery.

42 Detail of embrasure, loopholes, and smoke vent, terminus of the counterscarp of the west land front.

43 Exterior detail, scarp gallery loophole and vent.

~Internet Resources~

Coastal Fortification On The Gulf Of Mexico

Photographs  of Fort Barrancas with good descriptions.

Civil War Album

Photographs of Fort Barrancas.

NPS Gulf Islands National Seashore- Florida District

Brief descriptions of various forts around Pensacola.

Military History Online

Article on the Siege of Fort Pickens.

Fort Barrancas, Pensacola, Florida

More photographs of Fort Barrancas and the Advanced Redoubt.

Florida Heritage Collection

Historic Structure and Resource Report on Fort Barrancas.

HABS/HEAR Report

Plans of Fort Barrancas in this report were used to help construct the plan that appears at the top of this page.

This is a very small sample of the many web sites offering images of Fort Barrancas.

Photographed: February, 2005. Posted: September, 2006