Artifact of the Quarter | March 2018

While driving on I-83 in Baltimore, Maryland, one massive, legendary eyewitness to the Civil War rises prominently into the sky and is visible from miles away—the Phoenix Shot Tower.  Standing 234 feet tall, it was one of the tallest buildings in the United States at the time of the Civil War, and bore silent witness to Baltimore’s Civil War, including the Pratt Street Riot.

Built in 1828, just north of President Street Station, the tower sits in a bustling part of the city. The shot tower produced pistol and rifle shot that supplied thousands of soldiers during the Civil War. The production process started by dropping hot, molten lead from the top of the 234-foot-tall tower. The lead started to take shape into perfect spheres as it travelled down the neck of the tower and landed in a large barrel of cold water at the tower’s base. Finally, the lead pellets were sifted through a sieve.

It is estimated that approximately 2.5 million pounds of shot were manufactured in the tower annually. The tower, however, became obsolete in 1892, when new methods of shot production were developed, forcing the once-overworked tower into irrelevance. In 1921, the tower was almost destroyed, which would have eliminated one of Baltimore’s most iconic Civil War-era structures. Fortunately, a contingent of Baltimore civilians protested its destruction, and on Oct. 11, 1924, a group of these preservationists raised $17,000 — more than $200,000 by today’s monetary standards — to save the Phoenix Shot Tower. Today the Phoenix Shot Tower is a working museum, providing visitors with a tangible connection to Baltimore’s Civil War-era history.

The Phoenix Shot Tower Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

More information about the museum can be found online at carrollmuseums.org.