Fort Gadsden and the "Negro Fort"

The "Renegade Cemetery"
A single visible grave still marks
the site of what locals call the
"Renegade Cemetery," where
270 defenders of the "Negro
Fort" were buried after the
explosion that ended their
dreams of freedom.

Here on the banks of Northwest
Florida's Apalachicola River was
enacted one of the most dramatic
and tragic scenes in U.S. history.

During the War of 1812, British forces
erected a fort here. When the war
ended, they left it in the hands of a
large force of their "allies of color."
Still serving under the British flag,
these former British auxiliaries
provided shelter and hope for
runaway slaves from the Southern
frontier. American officials promptly
named the post the "Negro Fort."

On July 27, 1816, U.S. troops
attacked and destroyed the fort, killing
270 of the 320 men, women and
children sheltered inside. The attack
came despite the fact that the fort
was within the territory of another
country, Spain.

Soldiers returned to the site in 1818
and Andew Jackson ordered the
building of a second fort here. The
earthworks of Fort Gadsden can still
be seen.

Later, Confederate forces also
occupied Fort Gadsden, using it as
an observation post. The old fort is
now a preserved historic site in
Florida's beautiful Apalachicola
National Forest.