Fort Scott, Georgia

Although the site is no longer accessible to most people, Fort Scott is one of
Georgia's most significant historic sites.

This frontier post was established by the 4th U.S. Infantry under Lt. Col. Duncan
Clinch in 1816 on land that just one year earlier had belonged to the Creek Nation.

The fort served as a launching point for Clinch's July 27, 1816, successful attack
on the "Negro Fort," a former British post on the Apalachicola River in Florida that
was occupied by 320 escaped slaves, free African Americans and Choctaw
Indians.

The fort was abandoned briefly that winter and burned by local Indians, but the
U.S. Army reoccupied and reconstructed it in the spring of 1817. Fort Scott served
as a base of operations for the U.S. Army during the First Seminole War
(1817-1818) and was commanded briefly by future President Andrew Jackson.

From the close of the war in 1818 until the cession of Florida from Spain to the
United States in 1821, the army maintained a significant garrison here. The
presence of these troops contributed to Spain's decision to give up Florida as they
left little doubt of the willingness of the U.S. Army to invade the territory if necessary.

When Fort Scott was abandoned in 1821, the troops moved west to a new frontier
post - Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Fort Scott is located on a protected site on the shores of Lake Seminole in
Southwest Georgia. A historic marker can be viewed on the south shore of the
lake at Hutchinson Ferry Landing. Other sites associated with the fort are
accessible to the public, including Fort Gadsden, Florida, Fort Mitchell, Alabama,
and Fort Gaines, Georgia.