Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park - Jacksonville, Florida

At Dame's Point point on the north shore of the St. Johns River, an all but forgotten Florida state park preserves the earthwork remains of Yellow Bluff Fort, built by Southern forces in 1862 to defend Jacksonville from Union attack.

Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park was established in the 1950s, but remains largely undeveloped. A monument and a few corroded iron cannon dot the grounds, which consist of a few acres surrounding the earthen battery built by Confederate troops in September of 1862. The important east coast ports of Fernandina and St. Augustine had fallen that month, but the South determined to wage a stronger fight for control of Jacksonville and the vital St. Johns River. Major fortifications were built on St. Johns Bluff near today's Fort Caroline National Memorial and at Yellow Bluff, which commanded a sweeping bend of the St. Johns and an important anchorage.

Although Southern engineers planned to place seven pieces of heavy artillery at Yellow Bluff, the fort was armed only with light field pieces when the Union attack on the St. Johns was launched in early October. Although the garrison at St. Johns Bluff threw back the initial attacks, the commander there evacuated his works before the main Union attack could place. The controversial move gave Federal forces control of the important position and rendered the unfinished fort at Yellow Bluff untenable. The site was evacuated by Confederate forces and the U.S. flag was raised over the earthworks on October 5, 1862. Held by Union troops off and on for the rest of the war, it was used as a camp and signal station.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/yellowblufffort.

Montiano's Georgia Campaign: Part Four

Having successfully driven back the advance troops of the Spanish at the Battle of Gully Hole Creek, General James Oglethorpe followed them up the Military Road across St. Simons Island.

As the Spanish fell back on reinforcements sent out by Florida Governor Don Manuel de Montiano, Oglethorpe put his Highlanders, rangers, Indian allies and three companies from the 42nd Regiment of Foot into position along the edge of a wooded area that overlooked a wide expanse of marsh. Montiano's soldiers would have to cross the marsh to resume their advance on Fort Frederica.

With his men in position, Oglethorpe went back down the road to hurry forward additional troops. During his absence, however, Spanish troops could be heard approaching the marsh. As the Highlanders and other English soldiers prepared for battle, the Spanish stormed onto the marsh yelling their battle cries.

Unnerved by the attack, the men of the 42nd Regiment of Foot retreated, but the Highlanders, rangers and Indians withstood the initial assault and fought the larger Spanish force to a standoff. Running low on ammunition, Montiano's men finally withdrew before Oglethorpe could reform his regulars and return them to action.

The English later claimed that the marsh ran red with the blood of Spanish soldiers and named the engagement the Battle of Bloody Marsh. Although casualties were actually lighter than sustained in the fight earlier in the day at Gully Hole Creek, the battle forever ended Spain's hopes of reclaiming Georgia and permanently established the northern line of Florida at the St. Mary's River.

After attempting several other minor movements, Montiano gave up and withdrew his army of 5,000 men to his ships. A subsequent attempt to capture an English fort on Cumberland Island failed and the Spanish finally sailed back to St. Augustine. Oglethorpe, through bold action and the hard fighting of a single company of Highlanders, had defeated a much larger Spanish force. Montiano's Georgia Campaign was over.

To learn more about the Battle of Bloody Marsh, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/bloodymarsh.

Montiano's Georgia Campaign: Part Three

Once ashore on St. Simons Island, the Spanish troops from Florida occupied the ruins of Fort St. Simons, repaired the fortification and mounted cannon of their own. Then, on July 7, 1742, an advance force was sent up the Military Road carved across the island by the English, to establish a fortified line near Fort Frederica.

These troops, numbering only around 200, encountered English pickets as they approached the swath of open marsh surrounding Gully Hole Creek near today's Christ Church. The pickets alerted General James Oglethorpe at nearby Fort Frederica and he began to rush troops to the scene.

Fortunately for the English, the first of Oglethorpe's commands to reach the scene was the Independent Company of Highlanders from Darien, Georgia. A unit of hard-fighting Scottish Highlanders, they stormed into the intensifying fight and actually won the Battle of Gully Hole Creek before the rest of Oglethorpe's troops could come up.

Leaving 12 soldiers dead on the field and losing another 10 as prisoners of war, the Spanish withdrew back down the island to meet reinforcements being sent forward by Governor Don Manuel de Montiano. The withdrawal was the first in a series of blows that would forever end Spain's hopes of reclaiming its lost lands in Georgia.

To learn more about the Battle of Gully Hole Creek, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gullyholecreek.

Montiano's Georgia Campaign - Part Two

This is Part Two of a series on a military campaign launched from St. Augustine in 1742. To read Part One, please click here.

The Spanish finally launched their campaign to retaliate for Oglethorpe's attacks on St. Augustine in the summer of 1742. Sailing north with an impressive fleet and an army of nearly 5,000 men, Governor Don Manuel de Montiano arrived off St. Simons and Jekyll Islands.

Ashore on St. Simons Island, General James Oglethorpe and his English troops prepared for battle as well as they could. The primary defense for St. Simons Sound, the entrance to the harbor and mouth of the Frederica River, by which the important post of Fort Frederica could be reached, was Fort St. Simons. Built on the southern point of St. Simons Island, the fort mounted a number of 18-pounder cannon positioned to sweep the sound.

It took some time for weather conditions to favor an attempt by the Spanish fleet to run past the guns of Fort St. Simons, but on July 5. 1742, the winds turned. With a strong gale blowing, Montiano led his fleet into St. Simons Sound.

The battle was fierce, as the cannon from the ships exchanged fire with the guns of Fort St. Simons, but despite its firepower, the fort was unable to stop the passage of the Spanish fleet. More fighting took place between Spanish soldiers and sailors and the men aboard English vessels, but Oglethorpe quickly realized he could not hope to prevail in the unequal contest and withdrew back up the river to Fort Frederica.

With the Spanish fleet now in the harbor, the general also realized that Fort St. Simons would likely fall to a land attack, so to avoid the losses such a battle would incur, he ordered the garrison to withdraw to the main post at Frederica. The cannon were spiked and as much damage as possible done to the works. The English then pulled back up the island's Military Road to the much stronger defenses of Fort Frederica.

I will continue with more on Montiano's campaign in the next post. Until then, you can read more on Fort St. Simons by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortstsimons.

Montiano's Georgia Campaign - A Turning Point in Florida History

One of the least known yet most important events in Florida history took place primary across the line in Georgia.

In 1742, Spanish Governor Don Manuel de Montiano launched a campaign against the English in Georgia and the Carolinas from his capital of St. Augustine, Florida. Montiano was outraged over an attack on St. Augustine carried out two years earlier by English General James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony. The attack failed when Oglethorpe's army was unable to take the power fort of Castillo de San Marcos.

The unusually named War of Jenkins' Ear was then raging between England and Spain (it took its name from the severed ear of an English sea captain who had been captured by the Spanish), but Spain was equally outraged by England's blatant planting of the Georgia colony on lands claimed by the Spanish since the 1500s.

Anticipating a move against his new colony even before the outbreak of fighting in the Americas, General Oglethorpe had built a military town named Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island in 1736. A powerful fortress on the Frederica River which formed the landward coast of the island, Frederica controlled the inland passage up the Georgia coast. To further protect the island, Oglethorpe had built Fort St. Simons on the site of today's St. Simons Lighthouse. Armed with 18-pounder cannon, it was designed to prevent Spanish ships from entering St. Simons Sound.

In addition, as he had moved down the coast against St. Augustine, Oglethorpe built other forts on Cumberland, Amelia and Fort George Islands. These would provide early warning of a Spanish move up the coast. As Montiano would learn, the English had built at least the appearance of a strong defense.

Over the coming days I will post on some of the surviving sites associated with Montiano's Georgia Campaign and look closer at the dramatic effects of English victory in the fighting that was come. Be sure to check back regularly. Until the next post, you can read more about Montiano's base of operations at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustine1 and Oglethorpe's base at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortfrederica.

Battle of Marianna Anniversary is This Weekend

Reenactments, a parade, special observances and even a bluegrass festival are being staged in Marianna this weekend to commemorate the 145th Anniversary of the Battle of Marianna.

The little known but bloody Civil War encounter took place on September 27, 1864, when Union troops attacked the Northwest Florida city at the culmination of the deepest Federal penetration of Confederate Florida during the entire war. When the attack on the city took place, it was resisted by a force of several hundred Southern regulars, militia, volunteers, home guards and walking wounded. A severe fight followed that was called by some participants the most violent they saw during the war in any battle, regardless of size. By the time it was over, 25% of Marianna's male population had been either killed, wounded or captured. On the Union side, the 2nd Maine Cavalry had suffered its bloodiest day of the Civil War.

The battlefield is marked today by interpretive signs, monuments and tombstones. If you are interested in learning more, please consider the book: The Battle of Marianna, Florida. It is available through www.amazon.com. You can also learn more by visiting www.battleofmarianna.com. If you are interested in a schedule for this weekend's events, please click here.

The Fountain of Youth - St. Augustine, Florida

Ok, admittedly its a bit of a stretch, but a popular tourist attraction in St. Augustine has billed itself as Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth for more than 100 years. Millions of tourists have visited the grounds through the years.

What is not a stretch, however, is that this 15 acre park contains some of the most significant historic sites in the United States. While no one knows for sure the precise site of Juan Ponce de Leon's landing in 1539, an old tradition holds that it took place at the Fountain of Youth Park and that he sampled the water from a small spring there. The spring is now enclosed in a picturesque stone building that also features a life-size recreation of Ponce de Leon coming ashore in Florida.

While the legend may or may not be true, archaeologists have uncovered another fact that makes the park one of the most unique in America. Excavations near the waterfront have revealed the remains of the original fort and village built by Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565 when he arrived and founded St. Augustine. These archaeological remains represent the founding moments of the oldest city in the United States.

Archaeologists have also discovered the site of the original Mission Nombre de Dios on the grounds. It was the oldest permanent Christian site in the continental United States.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fountainofyouth.

Fort Caroline National Memorial - Jacksonville, Florida

Jean Ribault's 1562 exploration of the area around the mouth of the St. Johns River convinced Huguenot (Protestant) leaders in France that it was the ideal setting for their planned colony in the New World.

With approval from the King, 200 soldiers and colonists arrived in Florida in 1565 and built a triangular fort of earth and wood on St. Johns Bluff, within the limits of the modern city of Jacksonville. A village grew beside the fort, the first attempt to establish a settlement devoted to religious freedom in what is now the United States. The Hugenot settlers were fleeing persecution from followers of the Catholic Church in France, and hoped to open the way for more Protestants to follow.

The settlement was named Fort Caroline and the French referred to the surrounding area as La Caroline. Despite the initial promise of the settlement, life there quickly became difficult. Relations with the local Timucua Indians soured, provisions ran short and sickness and disease were rampant. Some of the settlers gave up and left, but others held on until Jean Ribault arrived with supplies and 600 more soldiers and settlers in 1565.

Despite the arrival of Ribault's massive relief expedition, the days of Fort Caroline were numbered. The French settlement on the St. Johns would soon come to a bloody end at the hands of Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles, who was sent by King Phillip II to expel the French.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortcaroline.

Ribault Monument - Jacksonville, Florida

Located at St. Johns Bluff in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, the Ribault Monument has been a Jacksonville landmark for many years.

A replica of the original column erected at the mouth of the St. Johns River by French explorer Jean Ribault in 1562, the monument stands on one of the highest points in the Jacksonville area.

Ribault was sent to America in February of 1562 with the approval of the King of France to locate a site for a colony where the country's Huguenot (Protestant) population could find refuge. The Huguenots then faced severe persecution from France's Catholic majority, which considered them heretics.

Sailing west, Ribault arrived at the mouth of the St. Johns in May of 1562 and erected the monument to mark France's claim to the North American coastline north of that point. He also made contact with the local Timucua Indians before sailing north and establishing a small and short-lived fort in South Carolina.

The French returned to the Florida coast in 1564 to establish a Huguenot colony on the St. Johns River. Despite starvation, disease and enormous difficulty, Fort Caroline survived its first year and might well have become a permanent French settlement had not the Spanish destroyed it in a brutal attack in 1565.

To learn more about the Ribault Monument and see a 16th century sketch of the original, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ribaultmonument.

Florida Panthers in Tallahassee

One of the best places to actually see rare Florida Panthers is at the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science.

These magnificent cats once ranged across much of Florida, but the advance of man brought about a decline in the panther population and their range is now limited to remote areas of South Florida, although unconfirmed reports of big cat sightings remain common in other areas of the state.

The beautiful Florida Panther has long attracted the attention of man. Prehistoric Native American art found in the state includes representations of panthers and early settlers were very aware of and often waged war on the cats, which went after easily accessible farm animals for food. Many early writings about the state mention panthers and they also figure into the writings of early Florida writers including Marjorie Rawlings.

Many older residents of the state still recall seeing panthers or at least their carcasses during their younger years. Panther stories are a major part of Florida's folklore.

Today there are very few places where panthers can be seen easily, but perhaps the best is the unique Tallahassee Museum. Visitors there can take a self-guided tour past numerous native Florida animals, ranging from bears and alligators to beautiful Florida panthers.

The museum also features a wide variety of other points of interest, including a restored 19th century farm, the home of Princess Murat, restored schools and churches and much more. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/tallahasseemuseum.

Milly Francis - The True Story of the Creek Pocahontas

One of Florida's most fascinating legends revolves around an incident that took place in the spring of 1818 on the Wakulla River just north of today's town of St. Marks.

Duncan McKrimmon, a private in the Georgia Militia, had roamed beyond the sentries surrounding Fort Gadsden on the Apalachicola River. The First Seminole War was then underway and the wandering soldier was quickly taken prisoner by Creek warriors from the Wakulla River village of the Prophet Francis (Hillis Hadjo).

A prime figure in the recently closed Creek War of 1813-1814, Josiah Francis had fled to Florida after the collapse of his Red Stick movement in Alabama and Georgia. With him he brought his wife, son and daughters, one of whom was a young girl named Milly. (Note: Although her name is sometimes given as Malee, all of the Prophet's children had Anglicized name and her name was actually Milly).

McKrimmon was taken to the Prophet's village on the Wakulla where, according to the "eye for an eye" laws of the Creeks, preparations were made to torture and execute him in retaliation for the deaths of the sisters of one of his captors. Likely this would have consisted of sticking splinters of pine wood into his skin and lighting them on fire to torture him before he was finally dispatched with a bullet or hatchet.

Milly Francis, then around 15 years old, was playing by the river with her sisters when she heard the sounds of war cries coming from the village. Rushing to see what was happening, she quickly realized that the unfortunate young man was about to be killed. Milly pleaded with her father to spare McKrimmon's life, but Francis replied that he had no power over the situation because the soldier had been captured by others. He told his daughter, however, that she should talk with the warriors who had captured him.

Milly then went to these warriors and once again begged that McKrimmon be spared. One of them replied that he had lost his own sisters in the Creek War and intended to take the soldier's life to atone for their loss. Milly, though, reasoned with him and pointed that the soldier was just a boy with no "head for war" (meaning he was too young to make his own decisions). The warrior relented on the condition that the young white man agree to have his head shaved in the Creek style and join the Prophet's band. As might be expected, McKrimmon readily agreed.

The soldier was quickly handed over to the Spanish at San Marcos de Apalache (Fort St. Marks) for safe-keeping and was still there when Andrew Jackson's army captured the fort in April of 1818. McKrimmon was freed, but the Prophet Francis was captured and hanged by Jackson's forces. Milly and the rest of her family soon surrendered themselves to the newly-installed American commander of the fort.

They were sent back to the Creek Nation by way of Fort Gadsden, but the remarkable story of Milly Francis was just beginning. To read the true story of what happened to her, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/millyfrancis.

Old Fort Park - Tallahassee, Florida

In the months following the Battle of Marianna, authorities in Tallahassee moved to better protect Florida's capital city from a similar attack by Union forces.

A chain of fortifications were constructed around the south side of the city, with redoubts or rectangular forts constructed on high points to allow soldiers and cannon to better defend against any attack on the capital. One of these can still be seen just a few blocks from the Capitol Complex at historic Old Fort Park.

Although tradition holds that the well-preserved earthworks at Old Fort Park were built as an emergency measure during the Battle of Natural Bridge (March 6, 1865), they actually date to the previous fall and winter. Under authority from Brigadier General William Miller, Confederate engineer Theodore Moreno designed a series of fortifications to protect the main approaches to the city. Using African American laborers conscripted from area plantations, Miller and Moreno constructed forts and lines of breastworks that could be occupied quickly in the event Union forces approached Tallahassee.

Fortunately for the people of the city, the defenses were never tested. The main Union expedition to capture Tallahassee was turned back at Natural Bridge and the earthworks never came under fire, although they were manned by Southern militia during the emergency.

The surviving redoubt at Old Fort Park was originally known as Fort Houstoun, because it stood on what was then the Houstoun Plantation. Artillery positioned there could command the approaches to the capitol building itself.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/oldfortpark.

New Design Launched for Battle of Marianna site

A major redesign has been launched at the top site exploring the history of the Battle of Marianna, Florida. It can be accessed by visiting www.battleofmarianna.com.

One of the most intense Civil War battles in Florida, the fight at Marianna developed on September 27, 1864, when the city was attacked by Union troops under the command of Brigadier General Alexander Asboth. Confederate forces led by Colonel Alexander B. Montgomery resisted, resulting in a fierce battle that was called the "most severe fight of the war" for its size by participants who had taken part in such actions as Shiloh and Chickamauga.

Commanding a force of troops from the 2nd Maine Cavalry, 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry, 82nd U.S. Colored Infantry and 86th U.S. Colored Infantry, Asboth stormed the town at high noon on September 27th, culminating the deepest penetration of Confederate Florida by Union soldiers during the entire War Between the States.

Often overlooked even in histories of Florida, the Battle of Marianna was one of the most significant events of the Civil War in the Sunshine State. Census records confirm that the raid through Jackson, Washington, Holmes and Walton Counties inflicted more economic damage than any other event caused on any other counties in the state. A Union officer received the Congressional Medal of Honor in part for his actions in preventing a massacre of Confederate prisoners at Marianna. The 2nd Maine Cavalry sustained its greatest losses of the war. And Confederate authorities in the state were awakened to the dangers of a raid deep into the interior of Florida, an awakening that led them to fortify Tallahassee in time for the successful defense of the capital city during the Battle of Natural Bridge.

The new site features numerous photographs of the battlefield as well as detailed accounts of events leading up to, during and following the battle. There are casualty lists, orders of battle and even a walking tour of the battlefield as it appears today.

To learn more, please visit www.battleofmarianna.com.

A Florida Pocahontas in the 16th Century

One of the more interesting stories to arise from the days when Europeans were first beginning their exploration and conquest of Florida is that of Juan Ortiz and the Princess Hirrihigua.

Ortiz was a member of the Panfilo de Narvaez expedition that arrived in the St. Petersburg area in 1528. When his commander set off on his brutal march up the peninsula, however, Ortiz and others were sent back to Cuba to relay information on the progress of the expedition. When Narvaez's wife failed to hear more from her husband, she sent Ortiz and a small crew back to Florida to try to find out what had happened.

Ortiz and several others were captured almost as soon as they arrived at Tampa Bay. Taken to the village of the chief Hirrihigua (or so says one source, the other identifies him as Ucita), who intensely hated Europeans because Narvaez had cut off his nose and fed one of his relatives to the expedition's war dogs, three of the prisoners were killed and a more gruesome fate was prepared for Ortiz.

Building a large fire that eventually collapsed into hot coals, the chief had a large grill placed over the coals and Ortiz tied on top of it. The plan was to roast him to death, but his screams of pain attracted the attention of several of the women from the chief's family. They pleaded for his life and he was spared, although severely burned. The chief's daughter, remembered in legend as Princess Hirrihigua, played a key role in saving the unfortunate Ortiz and some have speculated that the later story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith was invented to provide English explorers with their own version of the Ortiz story.

Such stories aside, Ortiz survived twelve more years of captivity before being discovered by soldiers from the army of Hernando de Soto in 1539. He went on to become an important interpreter for De Soto as he made his way through the Southeast.

To learn more about the story of Juan Ortiz and the Princess, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/juanortiz.

Safety Harbor Mounds - Safety Harbor, Florida

One of the most significant archaeological and historic sites in Florida can be found in a beautiful bayfront park in Safety Harbor, located just north of St. Petersburg.

Philippi Park in Safety Harbor is the site of the Safety Harbor Mounds, a major archaeological site that was once the capital of the Tocobaga Indians. The site's large temple mound still remains, its flat top accessible by way of a unique stone staircase.

Safety Harbor was an important Native American town when the first Spanish explorers arrived in Florida. Panfilo de Narvaez passed through this vicinity in 1528, but it is not clear if he actually visited the Safety Harbor site. The same is true of Hernando de Soto, who landed in the Tampa Bay area in 1539.

In 1566, however, Pedro Menendez de Aviles came to Safety Harbor after establishing St. Augustine, the first permanent European settlement in the United States. He attempted to arrange a peace treaty between the Tocobaga and their neighbors to the South, the Calusa.

Menendez also established a fort at Safety Harbor, the exact site of which has not been found. Spanish soldiers remained there for only a year, however, before the warriors of the village rose up and killed them all. A key missionary of the time blamed the uprising on cruelty committed against the Tocobaga by the soldiers.

To learn more about the Safety Harbor Mounds, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/safetyharbor.