A hurricane unearthed cannonballs on Florida Panhandle beach. It looks like Confederates had stacked them, on what was then dry land

Shells were neatly stacked and have D-shaped tong holes (Gulf Islands National Seashore)

Federal archaeologists have found more evidence that scores of eroding cannonballs found in 2021 along a beach in the Florida Panhandle were Confederate, officials said.

The Picket recently asked Gulf Islands National Seashore for an update on the shells, which were in vicinity of the Civil War’s Fort McRee. The fort had 12 casemates and an associated water battery, which may be underwater today.

“The (mortar) rounds appeared to have been stacked and had corroded into a single mass at the time of their discovery,” said Mike Lockman, cultural resource program manager and archaeologist at the park, in an email. “The shells exhibited D-shaped tong holes on either side of the fuse plug, indicating that they were likely Confederate rounds (as Union mortar shells usually lacked this feature, per Bartleson 1972).”

The fuse specimens were wooden plugs with timed paper fuses. Also present were wood fragments with curved indentions that were most likely sabots, Lockman said.

When news of the August 2021 find came out, the park said 194 rounds were located. The more recent details list 53 8-inch mortars -- which were destroyed on site by experts from the Air Force’s Hurlburt Field -- because they were intact and observed to have fuses, Lockman said. (At right, shells lined up for demolition)

The Picket could not determine whether the 53 are a subset of the larger number.

Two months after the discovery, archaeologists from the National Park Service’s Southeast Archeological Service returned to Perdido Key to learn more about the artillery rounds, Lockman said. The Picket reached out to that Tallahassee-based office for comment, but has received no reply.

The exposed ordnance was discovered by Gulf Islands National Seashore staff after Category 4 Hurricane Ida pushed through in late August 2021. The artifacts were found in clusters and the area was closed for a time as a precaution.

Soldiers at Fort McRee, year unknown (Gulf Islands National Seashore)

It’s likely the cannonballs are associated with Fort McRee, which was built on a narrow barrier island separating Pensacola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

In November 1861, the garrison engaged in gunfire with nearby Union-held Fort Pickens and a couple warships -- and came up on the losing end. The heavily damaged brick fort, built on sand, was abandoned by May 1862, only to fall into further ruin over the years. (Fort Pickens was one of only four Southern forts to remain in Union control throughout the war.)

In 2022, the park said some of the cannonballs utilized Hotchkiss timed fuses. “Due to the threat to life and health associated with live munitions, the cannonballs had to be destroyed before much specific information could be recorded,” said public information officer Susan Teel.

(Gulf Islands National Seashore)

Asked whether the cannonballs were discarded by the garrison or had been stored there for possible future use, Teel said last year: “Without the ability to safely complete excavations, the purpose behind the location is not known at this time. The density and location within the vicinity of the fort is a factor which was considered during our analysis.”

It's possible that Federal occupiers of the abandoned fort stacked the Rebel shells and left them at some point. The ordnance each weighed between 25 and 35 pounds and are believed to be of the same type, officials have said.

Erosion regularly occurs on these barrier islands and park officials say the ordnance was likely placed in a spot that was inland at the time.

1928 view of battery on island. Fort McRee was built close by. (National Archives)

Park Superintendent Darrell Echols told WEAR-TV that the artifacts appeared to have been stockpiled and did not appear to have been fired upon the island. After the Picket posted its first article about the find on social media, readers commented they believe the ordnance was made for a 32-pounder cannon.

Inaccessible by road, McRee’s main visitors are sea birds, boaters and beachgoers who come to Gulf Islands National Seashore. The park is home to McRee, Pickens and Fort Barrancas, another Civil War outpost.

Lockman said it’s possible the artillery shells will be further investigated.