Firepower

San Cristobal’s main cannon battery stood on this deck and formed the strongest firepower in the fortification’s defenses, intended to drive back attackers who got past defenses farther east. In 1797, when the British attacked from two miles to the east, cannon from this battery and San Cristobal’s outer defenses shelled them to keep them from landing east of the San Juan Islet. The deck was completed around 1790 and looked much as it does today. It offers views of several garitas, or sentry boxes, and also shows remnants from the Spanish-American War in 1898 and World War II from 1941 to 1945. Musket firing drills directed by an officer of the Puerto Rican infantry would have been a common sight here. In the late 1700s, the Spanish army did not have just one national uniform, and the many regiments that served in Puerto Rico wore distinctive decorations such as bright red labels, sleeves, and collars.