Gulf Islands National Seashore

The development of specialized technology for coast defense following the Civil War led to the creation of the Coast Artillery Corps. Coast artillery regiments specialized in the use of submarine mines, heavy artillery, railway guns, searchlights, and the tactics of harbor defense. The coast artillery operated boats for planting mines, towing targets, and ferrying troops to offshore posts such as Fort Pickens.

The 13th Coast Artillery Regiment was headquartered at Fort Barrancas Army Post, which included Fort Pickens and Fort McRee as sub-posts. This regiment was responsible for the coastline from South Carolina to Galveston, Texas. The regiment also sent detachments to assist in defense of the Panama Canal Zone. Fort Pickens was their primary training facility.

Evolution of Technology


The brick walls of Fort Pickens were obsolete by 1865, yet they were not replaced until the 1890's. Rifled artillery and armored warships called for more elaborate defenses. Five reinforced concrete fortifications were built in the Fort Pickens area between 1897 and 1899, and a minefield was prepared for the harbor entrance. One new battery was built in the Fort McRee area.

The next threat came from the development of smaller and faster ships designed to penetrate mine fields. These minesweepers and torpedo boats led to the development of rapid-firing cannon to protect the mine fields. Three batteries were built between 1898 and 1905 at Fort Pickens for such weapons. A rapid-fire battery was built at Fort McRee as well.

The extensive use of artillery during World War I (1914-1918) led to many improvements which were incorporated into Battery Langdon, the most powerful emplacement to be built at Fort Pickens. A massive bunker protected equipment and ammunition for guns which could throw a projectile 17 miles out to sea.

The airplane, which had been something of a novelty in World War I, came into its own in the 1920's and 1930's. The development of the aircraft carrier produced the next threat to coast defenses, in response to which Langdon's guns were enclosed in 1942-43. Also in that year, two new batteries were built to counter the threat from destroyers and landing craft used in amphibious assaults, one at Fort Pickens, the other at Fort McRee.

These last two gun batteries, 233 and 234, were never named, nor armed. The ever-quickening pace of technological evolution finally overwhelmed the coast defenses during World War II. Improved seaborne assault tactics, guided missile technology, and the terrifying destructiveness of the atomic bomb all combined to render even the concept of coast defense obsolete. Halting an enemy on the beaches was no longer an effective defense. Coast artillery guns were scrapped, and bases closed. Fort Pickens was closed in 1947, after 118 years of service.

Concrete Clues

When the Army pulled out of Fort Pickens, they recycled most of the metal they had used. All that is left is what could not be reused: concrete. These concrete remains are clues to the past. Magazine bunkers show where guns once stood guard; groupings of three large blocks are all that remain of retractable searchlight towers. Help us to protect these clues to our past; report any vandalism to the nearest park employee.

The Tour

1. Battery Pensacola
Located in the center of Fort Pickens, the position of the battery illustrates the evolution of coastal defenses from brick and stone fortifications to the modern reinforced concrete installations. Begun in 1898, Battery Pensacola mounted two 12-inch rifles on disappearing carriages capable of firing 1,070 lb. shells approximately 8 miles.

2. Battery Trueman
Positioned on the western end of Santa Rosa Island north of the harbor entrance the battery was built in 1905. The two 3-inch guns at Battery Trueman were relocated to Battery Cullum in 1943.

3. Battery Payne
Constructed in 1904, the design and mission of this battery was identical to Battery Trueman.

4. Battery Van Swearingen
Two 4. 7-inch guns were mounted on pedestal carriages and turned over to the artillery on June 29, 1898.

5. Batteries Cullum And Sevier
Although these structures appear to be one large complex, they are two separate structures; Battery Cullum and Battery Sevier. Completed by 1898, the complex housed four 10-inch rifles on disappearing carriages.

6. Battery #234
The sweeping German victories in the spring of 1940 sent shock waves through the American military, prompting the building of more coast defense batteries. Japanese victories in 1941 and 1942 only increased this concern. Yet by 1943 when this battery was completed, the tide of war had swung against the Axis forces and the battery was never activated. In 1976 the Smithsonian Institution provided the National Park Service with several rare artillery pieces, three of which are now mounted at Battery 234 and Battery Cooper.

7. Battery Cooper
Built in 1905, Battery Cooper mounted two 6-inch guns on disappearing carriages. During World War I, the guns were removed for use on railway mounts in France. In 1937, four emplacements for 155mm guns were constructed around Battery Cooper, and designated Battery GPF, remaining part of the Harbor Defense Project until the spring of 1945 when it was disarmed.

8. Battery Worth
Completed in 1899, Battery Worth housed eight 12-inch mortars in two gun pits. Although the battery lost half of its armament in 1918 in accordance with the War Department policy to reduce weaponry mounted in the nation's older emplacements, the other four mortars remained active until 1942. The battery became essential for Army-Navy defense activities in the 1940's by housing the Fire Control Switchboard Room, Harbor Entrance Control Post and the Harbor Defense Command Post .

9. Battery Langdon
Constructed in 1917, the battery was completed in 1923 and mounted two 12-inch guns en barbette. The battery is named in honor of Loomis L. Langdon, a man who was stationed at Fort Pickens on three occasions. In 1861 Langdon commanded a battery of 10-inch seacoast mortars at Fort Pickens, in 1874 he served as an artillery captain at the fort, and in 1885 he returned as a lieutenant colonel in charge of the 2nd U.S. Artillery. Langdon was in command when Geronimo was held in the fort.