KRAUSE HOUSE BUSINESS TRIP TO THE UNITED STATES ~
NOVEMBER 1, 2002 - APRIL 3, 2003

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Fort Pickens

[Extracts (generally highlights of interesting building techniques) from the self-guided tour Booklet: Fort Pickens]

"Fort Pickens was named after Revolutionary War hero General Andrew Pickens ..." 

"Seeking a means of homeland defense that would not require a large military in peacetime, the United States relied on forts to guard harbors from any invader. For over a century, Fort Pickens protected the coastline from foreign invasion. This process continued until missiles, airplanes and bombs made harbor forts obsolete.

Fort Pickens is the largest of four forts built to defend Pensacola Bay and its navy yard. Major William Henry Chase, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, supervised the project. The fort was begun in  1829, completed in 1834, and used until 1947. Over 21.5 million bricks were required, most made locally and barged to the island. Under contract to the federal government, Strong and Underhill Company of New Orleans provided a workforce of enslaved Africans to construct the fort. Construction of the fort was extremely difficult. Major Chase was frustrated with delays in appropriations from Congress, exposure to an unfriendly climate, yellow fever, heat exhaustion, and preventing the sale of bootleg whiskey to soldiers.

Ironically, the only real action the fort endured occurred when the country was at war with itself. Fort Pickens was one of four seacoast forts in the South that remained in Union control during the Civil War. In 1861, Union forces at Fort Pickens faced Confederates holding the mainland ...."

6. Powder Magazine. These windows (ventilators) open onto one of the two remaining magazines in the fort. Wood linings kept the powder dry and copper and brass hardware prevented sparks. The three magazines held 250,000 pounds of black powder, enough to supply the fort for two weeks during an attack ..."

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