Mounted in Plant Park are two Civil War 24-pounder cannons, which were originally part of a Confederate battery at Fort Brooke. In 1891, while constructing the Tampa Bay Hotel, Henry B. Plant had the cannons salvaged from the Fort Brooke site and relocated to the hotel grounds.

Originally established in 1824, Fort Brooke was located on the east bank of the Hillsborough River where it flows into Hillsborough Bay. At the beginning of the Civil War, Confederate troops occupied Fort Brooke to protect Tampa and the surrounding areas from Union invasion and to facilitate the blockade runners departing and entering Tampa.

The fort was bombarded by Union warships in June-July 1862 and in October 1863. In May 1864, Union forces temporarily occupied Tampa and captured Fort Brooke.

Before departing, they destroyed the fort, disabled its 24-pounder cannons, and hauled away its smaller cannons. Today, nothing remains of Fort Brooke, the main area of which is under the Tampa Convention Center.

www.ut.edu/history

Information provided by the Florida Division of Historical Resources.