Existing comment:
Behind These Walls
Functioning as the Nation's First Proving Ground
Firepower
During the Civil War, the Navy established its first "Experimental Battery" here, testing cannons by firing down the Anacostia River. Ballistic test pits also were created here to determine how best to defeat Confederate ironclads. The Navy's experimental test battery was relocated in 1872 first to Annapolis, Maryland, and later to Indian Head, Maryland. |