Military
10
On the night of June 20, 1899, a fire broke out near a gunpowder magazine on the fort's northwest side. A bucket brigade fought the flames, but the blaze grew in intensity, forced the soldiers away from the cistern, and at 5:20 a.m. ignited 8,000 pounds of gunpowder. The explosion demolished the bastion and showered debris across Pensacola Bay. Flying brick fragments killed Pvt. Earle Welles and injured Pvt. Henry Hopgood, who had sought shelter behind a woodpile.
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Warrington, Florida · United States
