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.
Fig. 1/ Fort plan showing powder magazines and filling rooms (Image shows an outline of Fort Ward. There are three powder magazines and filling rooms along the south side of the fort and two in the northwest bastion).
Fig. 2/ Sketch showing shelving in magazines as arranged for different kinds of ammunition. (The line drawing shows six shelves. The bottom shelf holds barrels, the middle shelves hold bags, and the top shelf holds rolls.)