Near Pensacola Beach in Escambia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Battery Langdon
Big Bang
— Fort Pickens —
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 31, 2014
1. Battery Langdon Marker
Hidden beneath this vegetation is Battery Langdon, Fort Pickens' most powerful gun emplacement. It's 12-inch guns could throw a projectile 17 miles out to sea. The first time Artilleryman M. Harry fired one of them his hat blew off, his pants split, and he saw concussion ripples in the sand. The massive bunker, begun in 1917 and completed in 1923, was covered with soil during World War II to camouflage it from enemy aircraft.
Lots of boys...would bleed from the mouth and ears because of the concussion of the guns.
R. Hoover Weems, a soldier at Battery Langdon in the 1940s
Erected by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1917.
Location. 30° 19.102′ N, 87° 15.764′ W. Marker is near Pensacola Beach, Florida, in Escambia County. Marker is on Fort Pickens Road, 8 miles west of Pensacola Beach Boulevard (State Road 399), on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Fort Pickens Road, Gulf Breeze FL 32561, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Battery Worth (approx. one mile away); William Bartram Trail (approx.
this page online
Regarding 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.
Also see . . . Fort Wiki article on Battery Langdon. (Submitted on January 2, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 31, 2014
2. Battery Langdon
Photographed By Mark Hilton, December 31, 2014
3. Battery Langdon
Photographed By Mark Hilton, January 1, 2015
4. Fort Pickens entrance sign
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,220 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 2, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
