Battery Torbert panorama by THoog

You can see the round stepped gun pits for the 12" "disappearing" guns (so-called because they dropped down behind the wall after firing). The round white huts cover stairwells. The two round pedestals in the foreground were for a pair of smaller quick-firing guns. There was a similar pair at the other end of Battery Torbert. These were known as Battery Allen and Battery Alburtis. Most of the concrete-covered area in the center is actually filled with dirt, to protect the gun emplacements. If the 12" battery was outside the fort, as at Fort Monroe or Fort Moultrie, this would be a large sloping earthwork.