Batteries Cullum and Sevier

Although these structures appear to be one large complex, they are two separate structures; Battery Cullum and Battery Sevier, completed by 1898, housed four 10- inch rifles on disappearing carriages.

BatteryVan Swearingen

Two 4.7-inch guns were mounted on pedestal carriages and turned over to the artillery on June 29, 1898.

BatteryWorth

Completed in 1899, Battery Worth housed eight 12-inch mortars in two gun pits. Although the battery lost half its armament in 1918 in accordance with the War Department policy to reduce weaponry mounted in the nation's older emplacements, the other four mortars remained active until 1942. The battery became essential for Army-Navy defense activities in the 1940s by housing the Fire Control Switchboard Room, Harbor Entrance Control Post and the Harbor Defense Command Post.

Battery Pensacola

Located in the center of Fort Pickens, the position of the battery illustrates the evolution of coastal defenses from brick and stone fortifications to the modern reinforced concrete installations. Begun in 1898, Battery Pensacola mounted two 12-inch rifles on disappearing carriages capable of firing 1,070 lb. shells approximately 8 miles.

BatteryPayne

Constructed in 1904, the design and mission of this battery was identical to Battery Trueman.

Battery Trueman

Positioned on the western end of Santa Rosa Island, north of the harbor entrance the battery was built in 1905. The two 3-inch guns at Battery Trueman were relocated to Battery Cullum in 1943.

BatteryCooper

Completed in 1906, Battery Cooper mounted two 6-inch guns on disappearing carriages. During World War I, the guns were removed for use on railway mounts in France. In 1937, four emplacements for 155mm guns were constructed around Battery Cooper and designated Battery GPF, remaining part of the Harbor Defense Project until the spring of 1945 when it was disarmed.

BatteryLangdon

Constructed in 1917, the battery was completed in 1923 and mounted two 12-inch guns, en barbette. The battery is named in honor of Loomis L. Langdon, a man who was stationed at Fort Pickens on three occasions. In 1861 Langdon commanded a battery of 10-inch seacoast mortars at Fort Pickens, in 1874 he served as an artillery captain at the fort, and in 1885 he returned as a lieutenant colonel in charge of the 2nd U.S. Artillery. Langdon was in command when Geronimo was held in the fort.

Battery #234

The sweeping German victories in the spring of 1940 sent shockwaves through the American military, prompting the building of more coast defense batteries. Japanese victories in 1941 and 1942 only increased this concern. Yet by 1943 when this battery was completed, the tide of war had swung against the Axis forces and the battery was never activated. In 1976 the Smithsonian Institute provided the National Park Service with several rare artillery pieces, three of which are now mounted at Battery 234 and Battery Cooper.