Powder Magazine and Filling Room (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Powder Magazine and Filling Room
Ammunition for the fort's guns was kept in underground storage facilities called magazines and filling rooms. Shells were armed and sometimes stored in the filling room, while the magazine was used to hold black powder and crated rounds. Implements for firing the cannons could also be kept in the filling room.

Duty in either the filling room or the magazine was hazardous as the slightest spark could ignite the highly explosive black powder. Soldiers assigned to this task were required to remove all metal from their persons and to wear protective coverings on their shoes.

Erected by City of Alexandria.

More about this marker:
On the right of the marker is a Sketch showing shelving in magazines as arranged for different kinds of ammunition. On the lower left is an engineering plan of the fort with the locations of magazines and filling rooms indicated in blue. The tour route is indicated in red. The Marker Stands beside Magazine Number 3.