Perdido Key's Fort McRee is long gone. But the shifting sand at a federal seashore in Florida continues to serve up Civil War cannonballs, including 157 just this year

Some of the mortars found in February in the vicinity of Fort McRee (Michael Lockman/NPS)

You can forget about seeing any visible signs of Fort McRee if you travel to the eastern edge of Florida’s Perdido Key.

Civil War artillery fire, time, storms and shifting sands have erased all traces of the 19th-century bastion a few miles southwest of Pensacola. But that doesn’t mean the former Confederate site built on what was called Foster's Bank doesn’t serve up reminders of its existence.

Gulf Islands National Seashore announced in September 2021 that 192 mortar rounds were found along the remote beach after Category 4 Hurricane Ida.

When the Picket reached out recently to the park about whether anything new has been learned about them, officials said another large cache of encrusted shells were found this year, in February. That was a surprise to me, though not the park.

Fort McRee was built in the 1830s to protect Pensacola and its deep harbor.

The fort had 12 casemates and an associated water battery, which may be underwater today. There may have been other batteries. It’s unclear whether these particular shells were discarded, forgotten about or left behind by Confederate troops..

It’s likely the cannonballs are somehow associated with Fort McRee, which was built on a narrow barrier island separating Pensacola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. In 2022, the park said some of the cannonballs utilized Hotchkiss timed fuses.

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 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.)

These archaeological finds suggest this portion of Perdido Key has "moved" over the years, because of currents and the ever-shifting sand. Visitors to the area generally come by boat, because the road ends several miles to the west. Ruins of post-Civil War batteries are visible.

Likely Confederate soldiers at Fort McRee, circa 1861 (Gulf Islands National Seashore)

The Picket recently submitted questions about the discovery. The responses below are by Michael Lockman, archaeologist at Gulf Islands National Seashore. Some responses have been edited for brevity.

Q. I understand some additional Civil War cannonballs were found in the vicinity of Fort McRee in February 2026. Was that the case?

A. The shells found in February of 2026 were located nearly a kilometer from the historic location of Fort McRee on Perdido Key Island.

Q. Were they found along the surf line?

A. The shells were exposed in the intertidal zone.

Some of the mortar rounds uncovered by Hurricane Ida in September 2021 (Gulf Islands National Seashore)

Q. What is the total number of shells for this discovery? 

A. US Air Force explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) experts rendered 157 shells inert within the same week of the identification.

Q. Who called in the discovery to park rangers?

A. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) employee discovered the shells during a routine species survey.

Q. Did this discovery, like the one in 2021, come after a storm?

A. To the best of our knowledge, the February 2026 exposure was not associated with any named storm event.

The ruins of Fort McRee, beginning to vanish by the late 1880s (NPS collections)

Q. Are the rounds believed to be Confederate, likely from 1861?

A. The provenance of the shells remains uncertain, though Hardy and Bezemek (2023) cite Bartelson’s (1972) “A Field Guide for Civil War Explosive Ordnance” to suggest the presence of ears on either side of the fuse are characteristic of shells from the Confederate states army.

Q. Were they destroyed on site by EOD experts from Hurlburt Field, as was done in 2021?

A. Yes, the shells were rendered inert onsite via controlled detonation by US Air Force explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts station at Hurlburt Field.

Not much was left by the time of this 1907 post card (NPS collections)

Q. Are they believed to be mortars, possibly 10-inch?

A. The shells were 8-inch mortar rounds.

Q. How were they found? In clusters? Singly?

A. The shells were exposed in two clusters.

Q. Were the shells stacked in any way?

A. The shells appeared to be palletized (stacked).

Just a fragment remained at the time of this 1940 photograph (NPS collections)

Q. One of my posts on the 2021 finds mentions 194 shells, with 53 mortars being destroyed. I am trying to ascertain the total number from 2021. Was it 194 or 247? Or something else?

A. EOD rendered 192 shells inert in 2021 via controlled detonation. (Below, photo of that operation, NPS; click to enlarge)

Q. Does the NPS have any current investigation/findings on the 2021 and 2026 cannonball deposits -- source of shells, type of artillery battery, etc.

A. The area is being investigated as a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) by the U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Q. Does the park currently, or will it in the future provide information or exhibits on these discovered mortars?

A. Gulf Islands National Seashore currently has no plans to create virtual or printed exhibits about this topic. To protect the resource and comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and policies, the exact location of the mortar cache will remain confidential.

Q. Would it be fair to say this second find was surprising?

A. Not exactly, since this area has history of having a large military presence.