Firepower

This deck housed San Cristobal’s main cannon battery. In terms of firepower, it was the strongest of the fortification’s defenses. If attackers got past defenses farther east, cannon from here would drive them back.

Did Spanish troops ever fire in ...

Three Tiers of Firepower

The Fast Passage provides easy entry to Narragansett Bay. So in wartime, an enemy fleet could have sailed right into Newport, with cannons blazing! To answer this potential threat, Fort Adams focused its firepower here on the west wall.

Top tier ...

Southern Valor vs. Union Firepower

“The battle, with all its melancholy results, proved, however, that the Confederate infantry and Federal artillery, side by side on the same field need fear no foe on earth.” Confederate General D. H. Hill

As dusk approached on July 1, massed ...

Polk's Firepower

This Model 1829 Cannon # 209 was affectionately called a "32-pounder". This simply means it shot a 32-pound, round iron shot. Most of the large cannons used at Forts DeRussy, Henry, Donelson, Pillow, and Island #10 were this size. Cast ...

Firepower on the Potomac

Fort Washington Park

(Left Panel):

Three pair of these large 10-inch caliber disappearing guns were the key feature of the 1890s river defense system. Each weapon could direct its 650-pound projectile at enemy ships within a seven-mile range. Battery Humphries is one ...

Union Firepower

Steep terrain on both flanks of the Union line funneled the Confederate attackers into the face of 29 Union cannon lining this ridge. Six 12-pounder Napoleon guns of Company A, 5th U.S. Artillery, fired from near this spot.

During the afternoon ...

Southern Firepower

This 6.4-inch Brooke rifled canon represents one of the greatest sources of pride for the Confederacy. Named for its inventor, John Mercer Brooke, this type of gun was renowned for its superior range, accuracy and reliability over its smoothbore counterparts. ...