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There are two cannons of the Civil War era that survive in Fort Foote park.    One is original to the fort and the other was brought from another decommissioned fort across the river.   It’s not so unusual to see a cannon in a fort, right.  Well, these aren’t normal cannons.  They are 15 in Rodman cannons.   15 inches?  That’s the diameter of the ball they could shoot.   So, picture in your mind how much power it would take to launch a 15 inch ball of iron 3 miles down a river.    The answer is the amount of power in 40 pounds of gunpowder.  

 

That is why these cannons are so enormous.   I had a 1 liter bottle of soda with me, and I stood it up on the cannon there to offer you perspective.   

 

As for Fort Foote, it is fairly dilapidated.  Fort Foot park is today one of the most remote and peaceful national parks I’ve ever seen. (let me rephrase that to say national park in an urban setting as I don’t mean to say that this place offers more tranquility than a Yellowstone, etc)   There’s only a dirt road to get you there, after which you park and can hike ¼ mile over to the bluffs over which the fort stood.   Yes bluffs.   These cannons, which are watching over the Potomac are in fact located 100+ feet over the river.   So if you add the advantage of height to the tremendously powerful cannons, you can see how this place was intimidating to those who may wish to attack the capital.   

 

The fort was originally made of earth with brickwork additions and today you can still see the earthen mounds that offered protective sightlines to the cannons.   These earthen forts are quite the contrast to the likes of Ft Washington  and  Ft McHenry which are characterized by the brickwork exteriors of 1812 forts.   Fort Foote was built in the same vain as other civil war forts that dotted the capital area during the civil war.  (not to advocate leaving the state, but Ft. Stevens in DC still has some earthworks present)   These were put up fast and not necessarily put up to last.   Fort Foote, which seems redundant to ft Washington, was put up quickly to offer additional protection to the Potomac river and superior sightlines to fort Washington.  These sightlines would aid in the use of cannons with a three mile radius.   

 

The need for extra fortification specifically along the river came from the fear of an alliance between the confederacy and a foreign country with greater naval strength.   Certainly the presence of 15 inch guns aimed down the Potomac served as a deterrent (especially since they aren’t totally accurate) more than an actual threat, but in so far as there was no naval conflict that far up the Potomac, it would seem that the overall strategy worked.    

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 12:05 AM and is filed under Prince Georges. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.