09/15/2026
Fort Pickens 9/25
"A 15-inch Rodman like this gun – one of the largest smoothbore cannon ever developed – was installed here in 1868 but never fired in combat. Though gradually replaced by rifled, breech-loading artillery, 8-, 10-, and 15-inch Rodmans remained the primary armament at Fort Pickens and other coastal forts until the late 1880s. The barrel of the 15-inch Rodman weighed 50,000 pounds. With a maximum effective range of three miles, it could fire a 15-inch diameter explosive shell weighing about 300 pounds or a solid 400-pound shot. The circular iron tracks allowed the cannon to be turned to fire in any direction." Woah.
