Near Pensacola in Escambia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Deadly Crossfire
| | Gulf Islands National Seashore | |
Photographed by Connor Olson, July 28, 2024
1. Deadly Crossfire Marker
Advanced Redoubt presented a series of obstacles to exhaust attackers before they could reach the Pensacola Navy Yard: long-range cannon fire, short-range infantry fire from the outer wall, and intricate crossfire between the outer and inner walls. About the only way the enemy could take the fort was with a siege. Despite its design innovations, Advanced Redoubt marked the end of an era in coastal fortifications. Begun in 1845 with enslaved workers, the fort was completed in 1870 by free citizens. Its masonry walls, filled with cement, marked a transition to reinforced concrete batteries that could resist rifled cannon more effectively than brick.
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If attacking soldiers somehow reached the ditch, they would be caught in a deadly crossfire from riflemen shooting from the loopholes and cannoneers firing canister from howitzers in the gun chambers.
From narrow protective loopholes, riflemen could fire across the ditch.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Forts and Castles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1845.
Location. 30° 21.314′ N,
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Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Resisting Land-Based Assaults (a few steps from this marker); Advanced Redoubt (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Barrancas Trench (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fort Barrancas Area (approx. 0.4 miles away); Spain to Pensacola (approx. half a mile away); Pathway to Early America
Photographed by Connor Olson, July 28, 2024
2. Deadly Crossfire Marker
Also see . . . Gulf Islands National Seashore - Advanced Redoubt. National Park Service (Submitted on July 30, 2024.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 30, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 29, 2024, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 232 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 29, 2024, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
