Fort McRee was a historic military fort constructed by the United States on the eastern tip of Perdido Key to defend Pensacola and its important natural harbor. In the defense of Pensacola Bay, Fort McRee was accompanied by Fort Pickens, located across Pensacola Pass on Santa Rosa Island, and Fort Barrancas, located across Pensacola Bay on the grounds of what is now Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola. Fort Pickens was the largest of these. Very little remains of Fort McRee today. History Design and Construction Fort McRee was one of three major installations constructed by the United States to strengthen defenses at Pensacola Bay following the War of 1812. Its construction lasted from 1834 to 1839; the facility was a three-tiered fort and a detached water battery close to sea level. It was located on the eastern tip of Perdido Key on a stretch of beach known as Foster's Bank. It had a highly unusual shape because of its position on a small, narrow barrier island. Fort McRee had a strange boomerang shape, of a rather archaic design. In this design, it had 19 casemates (4 on each face, 1 on the tip, and 5 on each wing), each capable of mounting 4 cannons. However, General Simon Bernard's plans for the fort called for 8 of the casemates to be used as quarters and store rooms, and 2 of the 8 were to be used as powder magazines. This left the wings of the fort rather under defended, but it still left 44 casemated guns aiming at Pensacola Pass, which was enough to stop enemy ships. The landward facing walls of the fort, containing the Sally Port, were known as the gorge. The large rooms on the ends of the gorge were also powder magazines, and each of them were 17 x 35 feet in area. The Sally Port was 12 feet wide. The gorge was designed to have 6 casemates- 3 on either face- to be used as quarters. In each, it was possible to mount 1 carronade. Although the fort was completed in 1839, its 122 guns were not installed until sometime between 1843 and 1845. It is likely that many of these guns were not in place for some time due to several issues, the most important of which was a problem with rot beginning in the second tier wooden decking. Fort McRee was named in April