Tierra Verde in Pinellas County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Fort De Soto Batteries and Military Post
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, June 2, 2018
1. Fort De Soto Batteries and Military Post Marker
Inscription.
Fort De Soto Batteries and Military Post. . After the United States' entry into the Spanish American War, Tampa citizens demanded increased coastal defenses. In November 1898, construction began on a new military post on Mullet Key. Fort De Soto, named in 1900, featured 29 post buildings, including barracks, hospital, stable, guardhouse, administration office, mess hall and kitchen, bake house, storehouse, and workshops. Two mortar batteries defended the fort. The primary one, Battery Laidley, housed eight 12-inch M 1890-MI mortars with a range of 1.25 to 6.8 miles. The secondary one, Battery Bigelow, held two 3-inch, 15-pound Driggs-Seabury Model 1898 rapid-fire guns. These guns were needed to stop smaller, faster vessels, and to protect the 1.25-mile area surrounding the fort that Battery Laidley could not. Four mortars from Battery Laidley remain, and are the only mortars of their kind in North America. The only other ones in the world are in the Philippines. Battery Bigelow collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico but its ruins can be seen in the surf southwest of Battery Laidley. The Fort De Soto Batteries and Military Post was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1977, and designated local historic landmark by Pinellas County in 2014.
After the United States' entry into the Spanish American War, Tampa citizens demanded increased coastal defenses. In November 1898, construction began on a new military post on Mullet Key. Fort De Soto, named in 1900, featured 29 post buildings, including barracks, hospital, stable, guardhouse, administration office, mess hall and kitchen, bake house, storehouse, and workshops. Two mortar batteries defended the fort. The primary one, Battery Laidley, housed eight 12-inch M 1890-MI mortars with a range of 1.25 to 6.8 miles. The secondary one, Battery Bigelow, held two 3-inch, 15-pound Driggs-Seabury Model 1898 rapid-fire guns. These guns were needed to stop smaller, faster vessels, and to protect the 1.25-mile area surrounding the fort that Battery Laidley could not. Four mortars from Battery Laidley remain, and are the only mortars of their kind in North America. The only other ones in the world are in the Philippines. Battery Bigelow collapsed into the Gulf of Mexico but its ruins can be seen in the surf southwest of Battery Laidley. The Fort De Soto Batteries and Military Post was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1977, and designated local historic landmark by Pinellas County in 2014.
Erected 2017 by Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board and the Florida Department
Location. 27° 36.933′ N, 82° 44.142′ W. Marker is in Tierra Verde, Florida, in Pinellas County. Marker can be reached from Anderson Boulevard (State Road 679) 0.4 miles west of Pinellas Bayway. Marker is located at the flagpole in front of the fort. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3500 Pinellas Bayway South, Saint Petersburg FL 33715, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Fort De Soto Batteries and Military Post Marker with flagpole
(Submitted on July 18, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, June 2, 2018
3. Fort De Soto Batteries and Military Post Marker and part of fort
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, June 2, 2018
4. Fort De Soto
Credits. This page was last revised on February 23, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 18, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 817 times since then and 124 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 18, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
