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Fort McRee

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The artillery battle continued the next day. In all, Union troops expended 5,000 rounds of ammunition while Confederate troops returned some 1,000 shots. Fort Pickens on the Union side sustained little damage, but Confederate-held Fort McRee, its water battery, as well as the navy yard and the village of [[Warrington]] all sustained extensive damage. Federal troops did sustain two deaths and 13 wounded. Federal artillery inflicted even more damage on [[January 1]] and [[January 2|2]], 1862, causing extensive fire damage at the Navy Yard and exploding the powder magazine at Fort McRee.<ref name="PICW" />

==~~Postbellum abandonment~~Abandonment, reuse, and decay==

[[Image:Mcreeruins3.PNG|thumb|right|Remnants of Fort McRee after the [[1906 hurricane]]]]

After the Civil War, Fort McRee was essentially abandoned. This is evidenced by the War Department's permission in 1875 for the commanding officer at [[Fort Barrancas]] to remove 50,000 bricks from McRee to make repairs at Barrancas.<ref name="coleman" />

~~Nearly everything that remained of Fort McRee was leveled by the [[1906 hurricane]].~~

~~==Abandonment, reuse, and decay==~~

With the completion of the [[Wikipedia:Endicott Board|Endicott Board]] and the subsequent renewed interest in strengthening the coastal defenses of the US, activity returned to Fort McRee. In [[1898]] a battery of two 8-inch rifled guns were constructed just west of the fort, named Battery Slemmer in honor of [[Adam J. Slemmer]]. In [[1899]] a battery of rapid fire guns were installed in another battery named Battery Center after Lieutenant J. P. Center, an officer killed at the [[Wikipedia:Battle of Lake Okeechobee|Battle of Lake Okeechobee]].<ref name="coleman"/>

Manning of Battery Slemmer and Center were by members of the [[US Coast Guard]]. Manning fluctuated between 50 and 100 personnel who were rotated from Fort Barrancas.<ref name="coleman"/>

A After the hurricane ~~that struck~~ , only a minimal caretaker staff remained to ensure the security of the site. With America's entry into World War I in 1917, the guns of Battery Slemmer were removed and sent to Europe for mounting on ~~26-27 September 1906 destroyed most~~ railway cars. In 1920, the guns of Battery Center were declared surplus and removed as well. With the ~~newer structures~~ removal of these guns, Fort McRee once again fell into disuse.<ref name="coleman"/> The [[1906 hurricane]] leveled nearly everything that ~~had been erected since 1898~~was left of Fort McRee. After the hurricane, only a minimal caretaker staff remained to ensure the security of the site. With America's entry into World War I in 1917, the guns of Battery Slemmer were removed and sent to Europe for mounting on railway cars. In 1920, the guns of Battery Center were declared surplus and removed as well. With the removal of these guns, Fort McRee was once again ~~fell into disuse~~essentially abandoned.<ref name="coleman"/>

==Other images==

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