Free Kindle Books on Florida History: Today Only

As part of a special promotion, two of my books on Florida history are available today only (December 22nd) for FREE.
The Early History of Gadsden County, Florida, which focuses on key episodes in the history of Gadsden County from prehistoric times through the Civil War. Chapters detail Spanish exploration, the War of 1812, the First and Second Seminole Wars, the building of the U.S. Arsenal at Chattahoochee, early tobacco production in Gadsden County, discovery of the rare Florida Torreya tree, the seizure of the arsenal in 1861 and Gadsden County's role in the Battle of Natural Bridge. 

Please click here to download the Kindle edition today only for free:
The Early History of Gadsden County, Florida

A print edition is also available for $24.95 and can be ordered through Amazon by clicking here:
The Early History Of Gadsden County: Episodes From The History Of Florida's Fifth County

Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town, which tells the unique story of a forgotten riverboat town on the little known Florida section of the famed Chattahoochee River. From the earliest known presence of ancient Native American hunters in the area through the town's decline prior to World War II, the book details the origins, rise and eventual disappearance of a prosperous riverboat town.

Please click here to download the Kindle edition today only for free:
Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town

A print edition is also available for $19.95 and can be ordered by clicking here:
Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town


I hope you enjoy the free reading!  Merry Christmas!

Apalachicola Arsenal - Chattahoochee, Florida

Officer's Quarters of the Apalachicola Arsenal

One of Florida's more unexpected military landmarks can be found not in a park or battlefield, but on the grounds of the state's mental hospital.

Built in 1834-1839, the Apalachicola Arsenal is today neither in Apalachicola nor is it an arsenal. The surviving buildings of the complex now form part of the Florida State Hospital in the charming Gadsden County town of Chattahoochee. The grounds are open to the public daily, but photography is not allowed.

Built at a time when Florida was not yet a state but still a new U.S. territory, the arsenal was designed to provide a place for storing and manufacturing military supplies. Built of bricks manufactured on the site, with roofing slate brought in by boat, the original complex consisted of a series of substantial buildings arranged around a parade ground that covered four square acres. These were connected by a solid brick wall that was 9 feet high and 30 inches thick. Gates entered the compound near the center of its east and west walls.

Officer's Quarters (left) & Guard Room

In addition, there were two external magazines (one of which survives). Built of brick with vaulted chambers for storing gunpowder, these were located outside the main compound for safety reasons.

The arsenal was completed just six years before the outbreak of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) and served an important role in that conflict. Not only did the facility serve as a storehouse for arms and factory for repairing weapons, building artillery carriages and manufacturing bullets, its walls also provided protection to local citizens several times when war parties attacked homes and farms just south of Chattahoochee.

The Arsenal in the 1840s

The arsenal was the scene of the first military action of the Civil War in Florida. On January 6, 1861, acting under orders from Governor Madison Perry, the Quincy Young Guards seized the facility from its caretaker force without firing a shot. The arsenal then served the state and the Confederacy for the next four years. The 6th Florida Infantry was organized there and late in the war a company from the 1st Florida Reserves and a section of field artillery were housed at the facility.

The U.S. Army reoccupied the facility after the war and used it temporarily as a prison for Southern citizens accused of opposing Reconstruction efforts. It was eventually turned over to the State of Florida for use as a prison. It proved unsuited for this purpose, however, and after only a few years was converted into an "asylum for the insane." It provided the core for today's Florida State Hospital and the old officer's quarters are used today as the Administration Building for the facility.

To learn more about the Apalachicola Arsenal, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/arsenal1.

Reminders of War at Torreya State Park - Liberty County, Florida

Civil War Earthworks at Torreya State Park

Torreya State Park, located on the Apalachicola River in Liberty County, is best known for its stunning natural scenery and extremely rare trees and plants, but for those interested in Florida's Civil War history, it also holds a hidden treasure.

Located along the trail that leads down the slope from the beautifully restored antebellum Gregory House in the park can be found the earthwork remains of a Confederate fortification. Built to defend the river against invasion attempts by the Union Navy, the battery was one of a series of such fortifications along the river. It is, however, by far the best preserved.

150 years ago the Apalachicola River was a vital avenue of transportation. Paddlewheel steamboats churned up and down the river from Apalachicola, carrying cargo and people as far upriver as the cities of Columbus and Albany,Georgia, located far up its tributaries, the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers.  Apalachicola at the beginning of the Civil War was one of the most important port cities on the Gulf Coast and the river itself provided access to some of the most successful plantations and farms in the South.

Gun Emplacement at Torreya State Park

When Apalachicola was evacuated by the Confederates in 1862, army engineers began to design a series of fortifications to stop Union warships from coming up the river to devastate inland cities and farming districts.

The battery at Torreya State Park once mounted an array of heavy guns and featured artillery emplacements, rifle pits and heavily reinforced magazines. Despite (and possibly because of) the reclamation of the site by the forest in the years after the Civil War, the earthworks remain in remarkable condition today and provide a rare opportunity to step back in time to the days when Florida desperately tried to defend itself from Northern invasion.

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

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.

Civil War in St. Augustine, Florida

Civil War activity in Florida is often overlooked because it was of smaller scale that the massive campaigns and battles fought at such places as Chickamauga, Gettysburg, Petersburg, etc.

Even so, there was critical Civil War activity in the Sunshine State, much of it centered around the state's important towns and seaports. Among these in 1861 was old St. Augustine, an Atlantic Coast port and the oldest city in United States (or the Confederacy, in this case).

State troops seized the Castillo de San Marcos (then called Fort Marion) without firing a shot on January 7, 1861, three days before Florida officially voted to leave the Union. Built by the Spanish in the 1600s, the old stone fortress was still an active military post that had been strengthened by the filling of its waterfront dry moat and the addition of a battery of heavy artillery there. When it was taken by Florida troops, the fort contained 20 pieces of heavy artillery, including four 8-inch Columbiads and sixteen 32-pounders. An additional six complete batteries of field artillery were also stored in the fort, along with a number of antique Spanish cannon.

Confederate troops occupied the Castillo until March of 1862 when they withdrew ahead of a planned Union effort to occupy St. Augustine. The U.S.S. Wabash arrived off St. Augustine on March 11, 1862, and sent a small boat into the harbor in an effort to arrange a peaceful surrender. The sailors found a white flag flying from the abandoned fort.

Commodore C.R.P. Rogers met with city leaders and negotiated a peaceful surrender with them. Not everyone, however, was glad to see the Federals. A large group of women went to the St. Francis Barracks and chopped down the flag staff so it couldn't be used to raise the U.S. flag. Mayor Paul Arneau also refused to reveal the location of the hidden lens from the St. Augustine Lighthouse. He was jailed until he gave up the information.

Today there are many sites in St. Augustine associated with the Civil War. The best known, of course, is the Castillo de San Marcos, now a national monument and open to the public daily. On the outside of the fort, the Water Battery in use during the Civil War can still be seen along with a number of cannon from that era. On the Plaza de la Constitucion, where the city was surrendered, several original Civil War era guns from the fort can also be seen. The St. Augustine Lighthouse is now a museum and is also open to the public.

To learn more about historic St. Augustine and Civil War activity there, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustine1.

The Battle of Marianna, Florida

One of Florida's least known yet most significant Civil War engagements took place on September 27, 1864.

A mounted force of 700 Union soldiers led by Brigadier General Alexander Asboth attacked the Northwest Florida city of Marianna. It was the culmination of the deepest penetration of the state by Federal troops during the entire War Between the States and the climactic moment of a raid that covered more miles than Sherman's March to the Sea.

The town was defended by an outnumbered force of Confederate reservists, militia and volunteers. Despite the signficant odds against them, they waged a fierce battle to protect their community, homes, family and friends. When the smoke cleared, they had been defeated, but they had also inflicted on the 2nd Maine Cavalry its most severe losses of the war.

The Battle of Marianna was significant for a number of reasons. Not only did it culminate the deepest Union penetration of the state, it also marked the first time that Union black troops engaged in hand to hand combat in Northwest Florida. More than 600 enslaved African Americans were liberated from slavery during the raid and massive economic damage done to the farms and plantations of Jackson, Washington, Holmes and Walton Counties. The four counties impacted by the raid, in fact, suffered more economic damage during the war than any other counties in Florida.

The battle is memorialized in Marianna today by markers, monuments and gravestones. To learn more, please visit http://www.battleofmarianna.net/.