Fort DeSoto walkthrough

 

       Built between 1898 and 1906 Fort DeSoto was part of the fortification program following the Spanish-American War that attempted to protect the lengthy coastlines of the United Sates. These forts were very different from the ones that had proceeded them. Recognizing the vast developments in steam locomotion and ordinance firepower they moved away from the traditional enclosed fortification and used batteries of cannon and mortars to cover approaches to vital coastal cities and harbors.
       A major feature of such batteries was the efforts to render them as invisible as possible to an approaching enemy fleet. In the case of Fort DeSoto the narrow approach to the inner harbor of Tampa meant that enemy warships would have to travel a very predictable pathway when making their approach. This knowledge made it possible to employ giant mortars to deliver fire into that narrow channel in a way such that it would land on the thinly armored decks of the enemy ships.

 

this shows the position of the batteries in relation to the narrow entryway to Tampa Bay 

please note that in all of these pictures North is on the right 

image credits Google Earth

 

an overview picture showing the mortar batteries and,

 at the top left, a badly eroded position for an Armstrong rifle

 

a closer view of the mortar positions 

you can clearly see the circles where the missing four mortars would have been

 

the badly eroded remains of a concrete mounting for an Armstrong Rifle 

on the seaward face of the battery

 

an overview of the gun positions on Edgemont Key 

you can see the double gun positions to the right and left with a ranging station in the center

again North is to the right

The Batteries on Mullet Key, Laidley and Bigelow

battery Laidley consisted of eight 12" Coast Defense Mortars arranged in two groups of four guns
these were enclosed in an earth-embanked concrete battery position

 

only four of the original eight guns remain and they are the only such guns still on their original mounts in to USA, the other are located on Corregidor and Caballo islands in the Philippines

 

the mortar as seen from the top of the embankment

 

seaward view from the top of the embankment

 

Mullet Key is extremely low-lying, barely rising six feet above sea level

 

 

the uniformed staff was enthusiastic and very well-informed

he had an excellent example of a Krag-Jorgenson Rifle too! 

 

a view into one of the bombproofs through a ventilation shaft

 

this is the view of the Laidley Battery from the beach

 

 

the remains of one of the smaller gun positions that was damaged by a hurricane

 and abandoned by the Army in 1920, the action of the waves have undercut the foundation

 and broken the concrete up rather badly

 

 

the central box shaped structure covered the ammunition storage

the dark space in the lower center is the entrance doorway

 

the remains of the gun-mount

 

the layer-cake effect is caused by the concrete being laid

 in roughly 8" thick layers as the position was built

 

 

another look at Laidley Battery from the beach

 

to prevent foot-traffic from killing off the vegetation 

and leading to erosion the park installed this footpath

 

at first I was puzzled by these odd green caps

 

 

then I realized that they are the ventilators for the

 ammunition bombproofs buried in the embankment

 

the view to seaward from the top of the embankment

 

 

 

 

by leaning WAY over the railing I was able to glimpse the guns below

 

 

they were taking no chances on the ventilation for the ammunition supply

 

this is an observer's position to correct the shot-fall of the guns

 

the view down the steps gives you an idea as to how steep the embankment is

 

 

the north end of the rear of the battery

 

panning southward, the stairway leads up to the observer's position

 

continuing to pan southward, the smaller doors leads to

the plotting room and the large entry to the magazine;

the odd box-like building with the red door was where the plots were posted to the gun crews

 

 

plots were displayed to the gun crew on the black board that folds out from the building

 

like this, I wonder how they chose who got to leave the safety of the

 thick concrete structure to post the plotting data on that board

 

the stairs up to the observation post

 

the entryway to the magazine

 

notice how thick the jamb is on the doorway, the doors were very substantial  

 

the Army wasn't kind enough to leave any shells lying about

 

I was told the the powder bags were passed through the window

 which was equipped with a very substantial shutter

 

 

one can almost see where the Germans got the idea for their submarine pens

 

none of the gun mounts is complete

 

 

The Mortars

     These were the primary weapons of the defensive installation. the twin four mortar batteris were arranged so that they could drop massive 12" shell onto the deck of enemy ships moving through the narrow passage into Tampa Bay. Wikipedia has a good article on the mortars .

 

 

the guns are simply massive

 

 

a view into the breach end of the gun

 

 

 

the manufacturer proudly inscribed their information on the muzzle

The 6" Armstrong Guns of Edgemont Key

 

a very nice drawing of the guns

 

these two guns lay untended for almost a half-century, their remarkable condition 

speaks loudly to their sterling quality of construction and careful rstoration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos and drawings from the museum

 

this picture demonstrates the crowed conditions of firing the battery of guns

 

the concussion of firing in that limited space must have been dreadful

 

 

buildings on the base

 

 

the drawings were covered by a glossy protective panel that made photography very difficult

 

before the arrival of the Spanish there was a substantial Native American presence

 

 

someone went to a great deal of effort building this elevation map of the entry to Tampa Bay

 

due to the way the map was displayed and lit photography was very difficult

 

 

a good panoramic map of the installation

 

 

 

 

     If you enjoyed this walk-around you can find several other visits to different forts on my Fortified Places tab