Battery Plunkett

Battery Plunkett is named after Sergeant Thomas Plunkett of the 21st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, who lost both arms advancing the Regimental Colors at Fredericksburg, Virginia on December 13, 1862. The battery mounted two 4-inch rapid fire guns that fired a 33lb projectile to a range of 5miles (approximately 8 kilometers). This was one of only two such gun batteries in the United States. They were designed to be used against lightly armored, fast moving boats. They were called rapid fire because they could be loaded by hand and fired quickly, at a rate of 6-7 rounds per minute. They were operational during the Spanish-American War. In 1919 the brass fittings on the cannons were sold to a junk dealer. The cannon themselves were scraped during World War 2. Today, only the two concrete pedestals from the battery remain in place. It appears that the guns were dismounted and moved to the front of the fort, at the top of the stairs by the hospital wing, prior to being scrapped.