to the National Park Service and became part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. This ended nearly 140 years of military ownership for Fort McRee. Fort McRee today Of the three forts that once protected Pensacola, Forts Pickens and Barrancas were preserved first through continued use and later as historic sites. However, due to its location on a site accessible only by foot or boat, Fort McRee was left to the elements. Storms and erosion took their toll on the site. Today, nothing more than a few scattered foundations remain. Because the land on which Fort McRee once stood now belongs to the National Park Service, it is open to anyone visiting Gulf Islands National Seashore. However, the area is remote and no visitor facilities of any kind exist. Additionally, the use of metal detectors is prohibited and any artifacts found are not to be removed from the site. Location confusion The actual location of Fort McRee is open to some speculation. Foster's Bank has seen much change over the past 170-plus years, shrinking and growing from the effects of weather and the sea. Warfare, fires, weather and recycling all but reduced the fort to its foundations. Combined, these conditions have left very little physical evidence of the structures. Adding to the confusion are two differing sets of coordinates listed for the site by the US Coast Guard in an 1882 survey. One set of coordinates places the fort at latitude 30 degrees 30 minutes 19 seconds, longitude 87 degrees 48 minutes 18 seconds in which case the fort lies just on shore of the present day remains of Foster's Bank. The other set of coordinates places the fort at latitude 30 degrees 29.4 minutes 19 second, longitude 87 degrees 46.8 minutes 18 seconds which puts the fort under water just off the beach. See also Fort Pickens - fort across the bay, on Santa Rosa Island. Fort Barrancas - fort on the mainland, at Pensacola, Florida. References Further reading External links Map: McRee Florida in the American Civil War McRee McRee Pre-statehood history of Florida Gulf Islands National Seashore 1834 establishments in Florida Territory