This, the south Counterfire Gallery, was bricked in to serve as a magazine for two 10-inch siege mortars that were installed in 1898 at that corner of the fort. And I'm sure those mortars were feared by enemies near and far, given the half inch of water that I had the pleasure of tromping through in the casemate where their ammunition was stored.
I had an interesting experience while exploring this area: There are no lights in the Counterfire Galleries (I would be disappointed if there were), but I travel with a special Starfort Exploration Flashlight, so I was in the far corner of this gallery when I turned off the flashlight so as to more effectively enjoy the dark 1830's dankness. At that very moment, a group of other fort visitors appeared at the gallery's door. I was in a different room with the lights off, so they couldn't see me, but if they ventured inside the magazine there was no way I could reasonably present myself without scaring the crap out of them. Fortunately they were not armed with a Starfort Exploration Flashlight, so they declined to enter the wet pitch darkness.
I had an interesting experience while exploring this area: There are no lights in the Counterfire Galleries (I would be disappointed if there were), but I travel with a special Starfort Exploration Flashlight, so I was in the far corner of this gallery when I turned off the flashlight so as to more effectively enjoy the dark 1830's dankness. At that very moment, a group of other fort visitors appeared at the gallery's door. I was in a different room with the lights off, so they couldn't see me, but if they ventured inside the magazine there was no way I could reasonably present myself without scaring the crap out of them. Fortunately they were not armed with a Starfort Exploration Flashlight, so they declined to enter the wet pitch darkness.
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