Attack on the "Negro Fort"

Prospect Bluff's well-defended colony
of free blacks offered a natural refuge
for individuals fleeing the forced
labors of slavery. As a result, the
population of the fort grew steadily.

As might be expected, this original
"Underground Railroad" was not
viewed favorably by the U.S. military.
American officers demanded that their
Spanish counterparts in Florida
destroy the "Negro Fort" and return its
occupants to bondage. When the
Spanish delayed, orders were issued
for an attack on the fort and approved
after the fact by Washington.

A battalion from the 4th U.S. Infantry under Lt. Col. Duncan L. Clinch moved down the
Chattahoochee River from Fort Mitchell, Alabama and established new posts at Fort
Gaines and Camp Crawford (later Fort Scott) in Georgia. These provided bases for a
move against the "Negro Fort." Supplies and artillery for the new forts were sent via
the Gulf of Mexico under the escort of U.S. Navy Gunboats #149 and #154. When the
ships sent a party of sailors into the mouth of the Apalachicola River to secure water,
they were attacked by men from the "Negro Fort" in what became known as the
"Watering Party Massacre."

Reinforced by a large party of U.S.-allied Creek warriors under the Coweta chief,
"Major" William McIntosh, Col. Clinch now ordered the land side of the fort
surrounded and demanded its surrender. The garrison responded, Alamo-style, by
opening fire with their artillery.

On the morning of July 27, 1816, the U.S. gunboats moved within range of the fort and
opened fire. The men in the fort responded and an intense artillery exchange
followed. The battle, however, was brief. On their fifth volley, the American sailors
lobbed a heated cannonball over the walls of the fort and it sailed through the open
door of the gunpowder magazine. The entire "Negro Fort" vanished from view in a
massive explosion.

"The explosion was awful and the scene horrible beyond description," Col. Clinch
reported a short time later. The death toll was horrendous. Of the 320 men, women
and children in the fort when the attack began, 270 were killed. Many others were
horribly wounded. Stunned by the devastation and horror, the U.S. soldiers tried to
assist the wounded as best they could. Even so, two of the leaders of the garrison
survived the blast and were instantly executed by McIntosh's warriors.

The other survivors were carried upstream to Camp Crawford (Fort Scott) by Clinch
and notices posted so their former "owners" could come to the post and claim them.
The artillery of the fort and all of the supplies found there were seized by the United
States military, over the objection of Spanish officers who soon arrived in
Apalachicola Bay.