Near Key West in Monroe County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
15-Inch Rodman
Fort Jefferson
— Dry Tortugas National Park —
Photographed By Vince Jackson, March 4, 2022
1. 15-Inch Rodman Marker
Inscription.
15-Inch Rodman. Fort Jefferson. In 1873 Fort Jefferson's armament was modernized to include six 15-inch Rodman smoothbore cannon and four 300-pounder rifled Parrott guns. Of the 141 guns listed at the fort when the garrison left in 1874, only those 10 remain here today. The other cannon, gun carriages and cannonballs were sold for scrap in 1900. The 15-inch Rodmans could fire a 432-pound solid projectile or a 330-pound exploding shell three miles, the distance from here to Loggerhead Key on the horizon to the west. The cannon were mounted on a center-pintle carriage so they could be rotated 360 degrees to fire at ships on any side of the fort as needed. The 15-inch Rodmans were eventually made obsolete by breech-loading steel rifles in the late 1800s., (captions) , Please do not mark or climb on the cannon. Help us preserve it for future visitors to enjoy., Six Rodmans, weighing 25 tons each, were left here because of their immemnse size. For over 100 years they lay in the sand on the fort's terreplein, or roof. In 2010 this cannon was mounted on a reproduction carriage and gun platform., A gun crew at Fort Warren in Boston, MA, loads a Rodman.
In 1873 Fort Jefferson's armament was modernized to include six 15-inch Rodman smoothbore cannon and four 300-pounder rifled Parrott guns. Of the 141 guns listed at the fort when the garrison left in 1874, only those 10 remain here today. The other cannon, gun carriages and cannonballs were sold for scrap in 1900. The 15-inch Rodmans could fire a 432-pound solid projectile or a 330-pound exploding shell three miles, the distance from here to Loggerhead Key on the horizon to the west. The cannon were mounted on a center-pintle carriage so they could be rotated 360 degrees to fire at ships on any side of the fort as needed. The 15-inch Rodmans were eventually made obsolete by breech-loading steel rifles in the late 1800s.
(captions)
Please do not mark or climb on the cannon. Help us preserve it for future visitors to enjoy.
Six Rodmans, weighing 25 tons each, were left here because of their immemnse size. For over 100 years they lay in the sand on the fort's terreplein, or roof. In 2010 this cannon was mounted on a reproduction carriage and gun platform.
A gun crew at Fort Warren in Boston, MA, loads a Rodman.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
Location. 24° 37.742′ N, 82° 52.45′ W. Marker is near Key West, Florida, in Monroe County. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Key West FL 33040, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 14, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 11, 2022, by Vince Jackson of Toano, Virginia. This page has been viewed 140 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 11, 2022, by Vince Jackson of Toano, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
