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Black Powder Demonstrations Coming To Gulf Islands National Seashore

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By NPT Staff - January 20th, 2017

Ranger and volunteers in Civil War uniforms at Fort Pickens/NPS

Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida this spring will offer regular black powder demonstrations at Fort Pickens for the first time in more than 20 years.

The black powder demonstrations are public interpretive programs featuring living historians dressed in period uniforms firing blank rounds from reproduction weapons. The programs will begin in late spring 2017 and are intended to help visitors understand the life of soldiers at the park’s forts, the uniforms they wore, and the equipment they used.

Through grant funding the park was able to purchase uniforms, reproduction small arms, and other equipment for the program. Additionally, the park used donation funds collected by Eastern National, which operates the park bookstores, to purchase a reproduction 10-pounder Parrott rifle cannon.

“We are very excited for the return of black powder demonstrations,” said Gulf Islands Superintendent Dan Brown. “We are especially thankful for the donation making regular cannon demonstrations available to our visitors for the first time in park history.”

Regular small arms and cannon demonstrations will be conducted by park staff and volunteers.

Comments

Submitted by Mike Lawrence on January 25, 2017 - 1:26am.

Back in the mid 1980s I gave Black Powder Musket firing demo at Fort Pickens


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