Santa Barbara Bastion and Water Battery of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan National Historic Site
Castillo San Felipe del Morro Main Page
The Water Battery of Castillo San Felipe del Morro (aka El Morro) is the ground level artillery battery at the toe of the Santa Barbara Bastion. The benefit of a water / lower battery is that cannonballs can be shot at a very low trajectory so that they skip across the surface of the water towards enemy ships, thus eliminating the need for an accurate calculation of range. As long as you can point the cannon in the right direction, it was a lot easier to hit a ship passing by as long as it wasn’t beyond the range that the cannonball could travel.
The Water Battery replaced a previous battery at this location known as the Lower Battery. The Lower Battery first appeared on a 1591 drawing of El Morro, and it was also on subsequent drawings from 1742 and 1765. It was 35 feet above sea level and projected farther towards the ocean than the Water Battery, which is just 20 feet above sea level. The Water Battery first appeared on a drawing from 1772, thus it was built some time between 1765 and 1772.
To get down to the Water Battery you must first get to the Santa Barbara Bastion. When you enter El Morro and arrive on the Plaza de Armas (main plaza), there is another large archway directly across from the entrance that leads to a ramp with stairs on either side. This takes you down to the bastion’s terreplein (gun deck).
Ramp from the Plaza de Armas of El Morro down to the terreplein of the Santa Barbara Bastion, San Juan National Historic Site
From there, take the second staircase to the Lower Plaza and continue straight ahead through the archway that leads into the covered toe of the bastion. Once inside you will see the signs directing visitors to the ORIGINAL TOWER built in 1539, the only original section of El Morro that remains standing.
Stairs from the Santa Barbara Bastion terreplein to the Lower Plaza of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan National Historic Site
Ramp from the Lower Plaza casemate to the interior of the 1539 Tower of Castille San Felipe del Morro, San Juan National Historic Site
When you get to the tower floor, there is a doorway on the left and another set of stairs. These lead down to the Water Battery.
Original Tower and door to the Water Battery of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan National Historic Site
In truth, there are quite a few stairs to get to the battery, and there is absolutely nothing there to read or see. You can get a view of the ocean, but you can do that from the terreplein of the Santa Barbara Bastion. The Original Tower is well worth the time to visit, but if you just don’t want to walk up and down any more stairs, you aren’t missing much if you skip a trip to the Water Battery.
Water Battery of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan National Historic Site
View from the Water Battery of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan National Historic Site
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Last updated on April 9, 2024
