St. Augustine, Florida #2 - Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

The oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, the historic Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine was begun in 1672 and took more than 23 years to complete.

Authorized by the Queen of Spain to protect the nation's oldest permanently occupied settlement in the face of growing English and French settlements in the New World, the castillo was the most powerful fortress ever built by Spain to defend her coloney of La Florida.

Built of coquina, a unique natural rock formed of shell concretions and found in the St Augustine area, the massive fort was used as an active military post for more than 200 years and never fell to an enemy attack. Governor James Moore of South Carolina bombarded and laid siege to it in 1702. Governor James Oglethorpe of Georgia tried again in 1738, but also failed. Revolutionaries backed by the U.S. Army tried in 1812 but also failed to dent the walls of the massive Castillo de San Marcos.

The fort passed peacefully into the hands of the United States in 1821 and was renamed Fort Marion. It was a key post during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) and the great Seminole leader Osceola was confined there briefly after he was taken prisoner while negotiating under a white flag.

Both Union and Confederate forces occupied the fort at different times during the Civil War and it was used as a prison for Apache, Kiowa, Comanche and other Indians during the years after the war. In 1898, 200 men were housed there after they tried to desert during the Spanish American War.

Fort Marion was declared a national monument in 1933 and its original name was restored by the U.S. Congress in 1942. Now the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, it is open to the public daily. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/castillodesanmarcos1.

St. Augustine, Florida - Part One

This post begins a new series on beautiful and historic St. Augustine, Florida.

The oldest permanently occupied settlement in the continental United States, St. Augustine was already more than 40 years old by the time the English arrived at Jamestown, Virginia, and had been a thriving community for 56 years when the first Pilgrim set foot on Plymouth Rock. The number of "oldests" and "firsts" in the historic city is truly amazing.

Among them are the nation's oldest house, oldest masonry fort, oldest public park and oldest wooden schoolhouse. The Catholic Church has been active in St. Augustine since 1565, making it the oldest active religious organization in the United States.

Founded in 1565 by the Spanish military leader Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the city initially served as a fortified outpost against French expansion along the Atlantic seaboard. Soldiers from St. Augustine destroyed the French settlement of Fort Caroline at present-day Jacksonville, putting its garrison to the sword. Those who escaped the slaughter were captured near Fort Matanzas National Monument a short time later and were also massacred.

With the French presence in Florida thus exterminated, the Spanish settled into a centuries long effort to colonize Florida and built the city of St. Augustine.

Beginning with the next post, I will explore some of my favorite historic sites in the old city. Until then, you can learn more by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustine1.

Battle of Miccosukee - Leon County, Florida

One of the few significant confrontations of Andrew Jackson's final invasion of Spanish Florida took place on April 1, 1818, when Jackson attacked the massive Miccosukee towns along the west shore of Lake Miccosukee.

The center of what was then the western branch of the Seminole nation, the Miccosukee towns stretched for 10 miles along the lake and were a primary target for U.S. troops. Although the Miccosukee chief Kenhajo and his warriors had generally avoided conflict with the United States until after soldiers from Fort Scott attacked the Lower Creek town of Fowltown near what is now Bainbridge, Georgia, they quickly emerged as one of the primary fighting forces of what is now remembered as the First Seminole War.

After warriors blocked boat traffic and wiped out a military detachment on the Apalachicola River then attacked both Fort Scott and Fort Hughes in Southwest Georgia, officials in Washington ordered Major General Andrew Jackson to the frontier from his home in Nashville. Marching to Fort Scott, Jackson invaded Florida in March of 1818 with an army that would grow to over 3,000 men.

After establishing Fort Gadsden on the lower Apalachicola to serve as a base of operations, he turned northeast across today's Apalachicola National Forest and arrived in the vicinity of modern Tallahassee on March 31st. There he found the Seminole town of Tallahassee Talofa abandoned and burned it to the ground. The next morning, he resumed his march for Miccosukee.

As Kenhajo's warriors detected the approach of the thousands of soldiers, militiamen and Creek volunteers, they took up a position on a point of land in a pond to fight a delaying action until the women, children and elderly could be evacuated from the Indian towns. A severe firefight erupted and the Miccosukee warriors held their ground until part of Jackson's army moved into position to flank them. They then fell back in a fighting retreat.

Jackson and his men burned more than 300 homes in the Miccosukee towns and captured large quantities of provisions. No trace remains of the towns today and the battlefield is not marked.

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

Fort Walton Beach Area Historic Sites

Fort Walton Beach, of course, is known as a major gateway to the beautiful white sand beaches and emerald waters of Northwest Florida. Destin is just a short distance away, as are Navarre and Santa Rosa Island.

Nestled in the heart of this popular destination is a cluster of historic sites that are well worth taking a break away from fun on the beach to explore.

Fort Walton Beach's Heritage Park & Cultural Center has been developed around the well-known Fort Walton Temple Mound and adjacent Indian Temple Mound Museum and now also includes the beautifully restored Camp Walton Schoolhouse, dating from 1912, and the 1918 Garnier Post Office.

The buildings were saved through the efforts of the Junior Service League, Okaloosa County School District and City of Fort Walton Beach. They have been restored to their original appearance and offer visitors a chance to step back in time to learn more about the early educational and postal history of Northwest Florida.

Other exhibits of interest include a cannon from the Civil War fort built by Confederate forces at Fort Walton Beach, historic markers, displays and more.

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

Fort Pickens Once Again Accessible by Car

Historic Fort Pickens near Pensacola can once again be visited by automobile. The access road to the old fort is once again open to traffic.

The road was destroyed during Hurricane Ivan several years ago and further damaged during Hurricane Dennis a year later. It has taken the National Park Service years to work through the red tape, environmental, funding and other issues, but the access road finally reopened in late May.

Built during the antebellum era, Fort Pickens played a critical role during the Civil War. Like Fort Sumter, the massive brick fortress was held by the Union throughout the war, even though Confederate troops occupied nearby Fort Barrancas, Fort McRee and the Advanced Redoubt. Two fierce bombardments took place between Confederate and Union forces in 1861 and 1862 and the outer camps of Fort Pickens were the target of a major Southern attack during the Battle of Santa Rosa Island.

In later years the fort served as a prison for the famed Apache leader Geronimo and it remained a vital U.S. military installation until after World War II. Now part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, the fort is maintained by the National Park Service.

Fort Pickens is open daily from 8 a.m. until sunset and ranger tours are given each afternoon at 2 p.m. The visitor center at the fort is open from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. The entry fee to visit the fort and the Fort Pickens section of the national seashore is $8, which allows access for a full week.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortpickens1.

Alligators - Florida's Most Famous Residents

From the earliest days of the exploration of Florida, alligators have been the focus of marvel and curiosity. The unique reptiles have played a rich role in the history of the state and continue to do so today.

The earliest known drawings of alligators were made by the French artist Jacques LeMoyne. His sketches, drawn in the 1560s, show Indians battling, killing and cooking alligators. One of the monsters in LeMoyne's artwork is easily over 20 feet long.

The largest alligator verified by modern methods was a 19' 3" specimen discovered in Louisiana, but early naturalist William Bartram reported much larger ones in Florida during the late 1700s:

I have seen them twenty feet in length, and some are supposed to be twenty-two or twenty-three feet. Their body is as large as a horse....

Like many many other species that produce their young from eggs, alligators were almost wiped out during the 20th century. The insecticide DDT was widely applied in Florida and other Southern states to battle the fire ant infestation. While the chemical did not harm alligators and other species, it unfortunately weakened the shells of their eggs. As a result, the number of hatchlings dropped dramatically and populations of alligators and other birds and animals plunged.

Careful conservation methods, however, saved the alligator and the mysterious reptile has made a dramatic comeback. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/alligators1.

The Battle of Vernon, Florida

One of the least known episodes of the Civil War in Florida took place on September 28, 1864, as Union troops turned back toward the coast from the Battle of Marianna.

As they left Marianna, the Federals followed the old Vernon road that led southwest into Washington County and into the town of Vernon. Along the way they confiscated livestock, destroyed crops and burned barns.

Then the county seat of Washington County, Vernon was the designated muster point for the Vernon Home Guard, a militia unit made up of men and boys from across the county. Commanded by Captain W.B. Jones, a former lieutenant in the 4th Florida Infantry, the company had rallied on the morning of September 28th in response to an urgent plea from Marianna for help.

Joined by several disabled soldiers and regular Confederates home on leave, Jones and his men also "enlisted" several additional men in the community who were either too old or otherwise unfit for military service. Mounted on horses, these men left Vernon at about mid-morning and started up the road to Marianna. They had no way of knowing that the bloodied Union column, fresh from the battle there, was moving in their direction on the same road.

The two forces met when the men of the Vernon Home Guard came down the slope on one side of Hard Labor Creek and the vanguard of the Union column, made up of men from the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry, came down the opposite slope at the same time. The meeting apparently came as something of a shock to the men of both sides.

According to eyewitness accounts of the encounter, the Union soldiers apparently tried to avoid a fight and ordered Captain Jones and his ragtag command of 30-50 men to disperse. They apparently began to do so, but according to tradition a man named Stephen Pierce began to verbally abuse the Federals. A former soldier from Company H, 4th Florida Infantry, Pierce had been discharged due to disability but had joined with the Vernon men as they rode out that morning. The confrontation escalated, shots rang out and suddenly the Union soldiers unleashed a volley on Jones and his unprepared men.

According to one of the Vernon men who was wounded in the skirmish, he was shot in the shoulder and Pierce fell dead in the Union volley and the rest of the men broke and retreated. The Union troops charged. Other eyewitnesses described a running fight that continued for several miles to Vernon. Although most of Jones' men managed to escape, several were captured and carried away as prisoners of war. Captain Jones was among them.

The site of the "Battle of Vernon" is located at Hard Labor Creek in Washington County, near the intersection of Mitchell and Owens Pond Roads just northwest of Wausau. A small wooden bridge crosses the creek within sight of the skirmish location. The grave of Stephen Pierce, the only man killed in the fight, can be found just up the hill in the cemetery at Washington Church. There are no historic markers at the site.

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

Fort Gadsden in the Civil War

I've mentioned Fort Gadsden Historic Site in the Apalachicola National Forest on these pages from time to time, usually in relation to the destruction of the "Negro Fort" on the Apalachicola there in 1816 or the First Seminole War. The site also has a little known Civil War history.

In 1862-1863, following the evacuation of Apalachicola by Confederate forces, troops and a battery of field artillery were based in the old earthworks at the site and a guardhouse and possibly other structures were constructed there. Confederate engineers considered the old fort as a possible location for a battery of heavy artillery. While one engineer favored the location, others quickly recognized that the adjacent swamps made the site too high of a risk for sickness. The battery was never constructed and, likely, the earthworks of the original fort were preserved as a result.

In 1863, a Union boat expedition came up the river past the fort and captured the schooner Fashion which was being loaded with cotton for a blockade-running attempt in Owl Creek above the fort. The Confederate sentries at Fort Gadsden did not detect the passage of the Union sailors. The fort remained quiet as the boat party made its way back downstream with the captured blockade runner. The Union force lobbed a shell into the fort, but received no response.

Most of the troops were withdrawn from the fort in 1863 after a severe fever outbreak sickened a number of the men posted there. A small detachment of men from the 5th Florida Cavalry remained at the fort until the end of the war, however, assigned picket duty there to watch for any movement up the Apalachicola River by Union gunboats.

In January of 1865, a Union boat party that had come up Bear Creek into the Chipola River from St. Andrew Bay moved down into the Apalachicola and made a successful raid on the Confederate outpost upstream at Ricco's Bluff. Some of these men then made their way down the Apalachicola, capturing a few of the pickets at Fort Gadsden as well, but evidently without firing a shot. The incident was the last mention of Fort Gadsden in the military records of the Civil War.

To learn more about Fort Gadsden Historic Site, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortgadsden.

Tours Available of the Marianna Battlefield

If you are in the Marianna area or plan to visit soon and would like to learn more about the fascinating and tragic Battle of Marianna, you can now take a guided walking tour of the battlefield!

The tour covers the key areas of the fighting including the area where Confederate troops hurled back the first Union assault, the location where home guard troops ambushed the 2nd Maine Cavalry, inflicting on that regiment its heaviest losses of the entire Civil War, and the site of the Marianna Home Guard's last stand. The discussion is unbiased and includes accurate and detailed information, as well as unusual facts. The entire tour lasts from 60 to 90 minutes and also passes by some of the most beautiful old homes and landmarks of the historic city.

Fought on September 27, 1864, the Battle of Marianna culminated the deepest penetration of Florida by Union troops during the entire Civil War. One of the few battles fought through the heart of a town, it resulted in heavy losses for both sides as well as the destruction of St. Luke's Episcopal Church and two nearby homes. More than 20% of the male population of Marianna was either killed, wounded or captured in the fighting, which also marked the first time that African American troops launched a bayonet charge in Northwest Florida.

Advance reservations are required and the cost is $10 per person (children 15 and under can join for free). For more information, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ContactUs and submit an inquiry.

An Interesting Early Account of Florida Caverns State Park

Marianna – One of the earliest recorded accounts of the caves within the limits of today’s Florida Caverns State Park was a description of the Natural Bridge Cave (now closed to the public) written in 1842 by the editor of the Tallahassee Floridian:

…Its entrance is on the side of a small hill, the mouth sufficiently large to admit two persons at a time in a standing posture. After furnishing ourselves with lighted candles we commenced our “exploring expedition.” A few steps led us into a large subterranean hall, of very irregular and curious structure. Its floor was quite uneven; and its roof thickly studded with glittering stalactites, forming a splendid arch, apparently supported by finely chiseled pillars of solid rock. After proceeding some distance, clambering over rocks, jumping ravines, now ascending land, anon descending, we at length reached a fine, cool spring, which gushed forth from a cleft in a large rock situated in a remote corner of the first apartment.

Unable to fathom that centuries of dripping water had hollowed out the cavern, the writer puzzled over what cataclysmic upheaval could have created the cave. He mentioned that local residents had explored a number of similar caverns in the area, including the Arch Cave west of the Chipola and the Rock Cave on the plantation of Dr. Samuel Bellamy.

After drinking cool water from the natural pool, the editor and his fellow explorers continued deeper into the cave:

…We pursued our uneven course into the net apartment, which presented much the appearance of the first. Having by this time become somewhat fatigued – the atmosphere being rather oppressive – we retraced our steps, and once more emerged into the light of day without meeting any accident. We think the position of the cave we explored was about 150 yards in length and ranging, in height, from 6 to 16 feet.

Such descriptions helped stimulate Florida’s first tourism industry, bringing visitors from across the country to Marianna to explore the caves and experience the beautiful scenery. Early accounts describe how visitors to Marianna were taken out to the natural bridge in wagons or carriages and given torchlight tours of the cavern. The process continues to this day, albeit in more modern form. If you would like to learn more about Florida Caverns State Park, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/floridacaverns.

Note: This article is excerpted from The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years by Dale Cox. The book is available in Marianna at Chipola River Book and Tea on Lafayette Street downtown or online at www.amazon.com.