UHH visit to Fort De Soto Park, Florida
Apr 27, 2019 07:52:34 #
In 1529, the Spanish explorer Pánfilo de Narváez investigated the barrier islands along the west coast of Florida, landing somewhere between St. Pete Beach and Clearwater. Ten years later, Hernando De Soto come ashore somewhere near the southern part of Tampa Bay, beginning the conquest of Florida for the Spanish Empire.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
In November 2018, UHH members Don Rodriguez (PAR4DCR) and Paul Sager (CHG_CANON) met at the Fort De Soto Park for a day of walking, talking and photography of both the National Historic Place and the beaches of this Florida state park near St Petersburg.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
Historically, the five key islands southwest of St. Petersburg, Florida were used for military fortifications protecting the entrance to the bay of Tampa Bay. The main island, Mullet Key, became Fort De Soto in 1900, named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto.
Coastal Defense Mortar (model 1890) by Paul Sager
In 1898, the United States became involved in a conflict in Cuba, which led to the Spanish-American War (April to August, 1898). This short war prompted the citizens of Tampa to demand military defenses for Tampa Bay, one of the busiest commercial ports in North America.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
Fort De Soto was a new design for the United States military. Previously, U.S. forts had exposed stone or brick, making the walls vulnerable to the direct fire of cannons. With the advent of rifled barrels, weapons became more destructive. The new-style fortifications like Fort De Soto featured thick walls and ceilings and were camouflaged using massive amounts of dirt.
Fort De Soto by Paul Sager
Fort De Soto was armed with eight 12-inch coast defense mortar batteries (model 1890). These weapons were breech-loading, rifled and manufactured at Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, New York. Each gun had a 12-man crew to manually load and aim it. The crew would choose an 800-, 824- or 1,046-pound projectile, along with a powder charge in a silk bag weighing 54 to 67 pounds. The minimum range of the mortar was 1.25 miles at 70 degrees and a maximum range of 6.8 miles at 45 degrees.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
Fort De Soto’s designation changed several times through the years from subpost of Fort Dade to an independent post. Fort Dade had approximately 250 troops stationed on Egmont Key, compared to approximately 125 troops at Fort De Soto on Mullet Key. Fort De Soto was active from 1898 to 1910. At least one company was present at Fort De Soto at all times and many times several units were present. Both forts De Soto and Dade shared in the misery of having horrendous hordes of mosquitoes. The troops could not even enjoy the nice beaches on the island due to the bloodthirsty pests.
6-inch rapid-fire rifle by Don Rodriguez
In November 1922 the Army announced it would soon close both Forts De Soto and Dade, and in 1923 the forts were officially abandoned. A number of tropical storms and hurricanes severely damaged the buildings on the posts. In September 1938 Pinellas County bought the areas on Mullet Key for $12,500. In 1962, a toll road, the Pinellas Bayway was completed to the mainland, enabling island visitors to arrive by car. On December 21, 1962, Fort De Soto Park opened.
6-inch rapid-fire rifle by Paul Sager
Two 6-inch rapid-fire rifles are also on display at Fort De Soto. These guns, manufactured by the W.B. Armstrong Company of England, came from Egmont Key and were part of the armament of Fort Dade. The gulf shoreline of Egmont Key was severely eroding and the weapons were in danger of being lost. Through the joint efforts of the U.S. Army Reserve, the state of Florida and the Pinellas County Highway and Parks departments, the weapons were saved in 1980.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
In 1977, the Fort De Soto batteries were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The remaining four 12-inch M 1890-MI mortars are the only ones in North America (the only others remaining anywhere in the world are in the Philippines).
None of the weapons of forts De Soto and Dade were ever fired in combat. However, the era was significant in terms of the evolution of modern weaponry.
Fort De Soto by Paul Sager
The images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
In November 2018, UHH members Don Rodriguez (PAR4DCR) and Paul Sager (CHG_CANON) met at the Fort De Soto Park for a day of walking, talking and photography of both the National Historic Place and the beaches of this Florida state park near St Petersburg.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
Historically, the five key islands southwest of St. Petersburg, Florida were used for military fortifications protecting the entrance to the bay of Tampa Bay. The main island, Mullet Key, became Fort De Soto in 1900, named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto.
Coastal Defense Mortar (model 1890) by Paul Sager
In 1898, the United States became involved in a conflict in Cuba, which led to the Spanish-American War (April to August, 1898). This short war prompted the citizens of Tampa to demand military defenses for Tampa Bay, one of the busiest commercial ports in North America.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
Fort De Soto was a new design for the United States military. Previously, U.S. forts had exposed stone or brick, making the walls vulnerable to the direct fire of cannons. With the advent of rifled barrels, weapons became more destructive. The new-style fortifications like Fort De Soto featured thick walls and ceilings and were camouflaged using massive amounts of dirt.
Fort De Soto by Paul Sager
Fort De Soto was armed with eight 12-inch coast defense mortar batteries (model 1890). These weapons were breech-loading, rifled and manufactured at Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, New York. Each gun had a 12-man crew to manually load and aim it. The crew would choose an 800-, 824- or 1,046-pound projectile, along with a powder charge in a silk bag weighing 54 to 67 pounds. The minimum range of the mortar was 1.25 miles at 70 degrees and a maximum range of 6.8 miles at 45 degrees.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
Fort De Soto’s designation changed several times through the years from subpost of Fort Dade to an independent post. Fort Dade had approximately 250 troops stationed on Egmont Key, compared to approximately 125 troops at Fort De Soto on Mullet Key. Fort De Soto was active from 1898 to 1910. At least one company was present at Fort De Soto at all times and many times several units were present. Both forts De Soto and Dade shared in the misery of having horrendous hordes of mosquitoes. The troops could not even enjoy the nice beaches on the island due to the bloodthirsty pests.
6-inch rapid-fire rifle by Don Rodriguez
In November 1922 the Army announced it would soon close both Forts De Soto and Dade, and in 1923 the forts were officially abandoned. A number of tropical storms and hurricanes severely damaged the buildings on the posts. In September 1938 Pinellas County bought the areas on Mullet Key for $12,500. In 1962, a toll road, the Pinellas Bayway was completed to the mainland, enabling island visitors to arrive by car. On December 21, 1962, Fort De Soto Park opened.
6-inch rapid-fire rifle by Paul Sager
Two 6-inch rapid-fire rifles are also on display at Fort De Soto. These guns, manufactured by the W.B. Armstrong Company of England, came from Egmont Key and were part of the armament of Fort Dade. The gulf shoreline of Egmont Key was severely eroding and the weapons were in danger of being lost. Through the joint efforts of the U.S. Army Reserve, the state of Florida and the Pinellas County Highway and Parks departments, the weapons were saved in 1980.
Fort De Soto Park by Don Rodriguez
In 1977, the Fort De Soto batteries were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The remaining four 12-inch M 1890-MI mortars are the only ones in North America (the only others remaining anywhere in the world are in the Philippines).
None of the weapons of forts De Soto and Dade were ever fired in combat. However, the era was significant in terms of the evolution of modern weaponry.
Fort De Soto by Paul Sager
The images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.
If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html
Apr 27, 2019 08:00:44 #
Thanks for your work. Another great set of pictures and educational commentary
Apr 27, 2019 08:01:39 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
In 1529, the Spanish explorer Pánfilo de Narváez i... (show quote)
Well done images and info.
Apr 27, 2019 08:04:15 #
Apr 27, 2019 08:04:30 #
Apr 27, 2019 08:11:58 #
Apr 27, 2019 08:21:34 #
Apr 27, 2019 08:27:19 #
Sounds like an enjoyable day was had. Thanks for the photo/journal. Nice to see and read!
Apr 27, 2019 08:37:51 #
Apr 27, 2019 08:57:07 #
Very nice set of photos and commentary. I camp every year at Fort De Soto and in addition to the fort it is a great place to photograph a large variety of sea birds.
Apr 27, 2019 10:06:11 #
Bamboo wrote:
Very nice set of photos and commentary. I camp every year at Fort De Soto and in addition to the fort it is a great place to photograph a large variety of sea birds.
Thank you Gary! We walked a nature area and along one of the beaches. The wild life, beyond the bikinis, was somewhat limited that day.
Apr 27, 2019 10:10:48 #
UTMike wrote:
Another first class tour with great photos, Paul!
Thank you Mike, John, thephotoman, Bob, Toment, wilikioti, Karin, Plieku69! I had been to the fort once maybe 10 years before with no camera and had always wanted to get back. Don and I worked out a idea to meet that fit our schedules and interests and turned out to be Ft De Soto. Glad you enjoyed!
Apr 27, 2019 10:16:49 #
Apr 27, 2019 10:41:35 #
Apr 27, 2019 11:43:12 #
Brings back a lot of memories - thanks for the pics! (Sometime, get a ferry to Egmont Key and take pics of the lighthouse and the multitude of gopher tortoises that will come up to you and nibble at your shoes ;)
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