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Fort Pickens - Pensacola, Florida
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ExploreSouthernHistory.com
Fort Pickens: Citadel of Santa Rosa Island
On the western tip of Florida's Santa Rosa Island, historic Fort
Pickens has guarded the entrance of Pensacola Bay for more
than 175 years. Now part of Gulf Islands National Seashore,
the fort is preserved and interpreted by the National Park
Service.
Constructed by the U.S. government between 1829 and 1834
to defend Pensacola and its important Navy Yard, the old fort
was the largest of a series of masonry fortifications built
around the bay. Its guns overlooked the approaches, entrance
and channel of Pensacola Bay and, combined with those at
Forts McRee and Barrancas, were arranged to reduce enemy
ships to matchwood.
When a threat to the fort finally materialized, however, it came
not from the Gulf of Mexico but from the Florida mainland. In
January of 1861, on the verge of the Civil War, militia troops
from Florida and Alabama seized Forts Barrancas and McRee
and demanded the surrender of Fort Pickens. Lt. Adam
Slemmer, the commanding officer of the fort refused to give up
his post and for a time it appeared that the first battle of the war
might be fought here.
Instead, officials from both sides negotiated the Fort Pickens
Truce by which Southern forces agreed not to attack the fort so
long as Union forces did not try to reinforce it. As a result, the
first shots of the war were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.
Federal troops broke the truce following the attack on Fort
Sumter and poured additional troops and supplies into Fort
Pickens. The Confederates responded by assigning General
Braxton Bragg to build an army at Pensacola. The Southern
general ringed the bay with artillery batteries and formed an
army in anticipation of a coming battle for control of Fort
Pickens.
In September of 1861, Union sailors and marines opened the
fighting at Pensacola by raiding the Navy Yard on the mainland
and burning the Confederate privateer Judah. An outraged
Bragg responded by launching a 1,000 man attack against the
camps and outposts of Fort Pickens in October, an action that
resulted in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island. The fighting took
place within site of the walls of Fort Pickens and resulted in
casualties to both sides and the partial destruction of the camp
of the 6th New York Infantry.
The long anticipated artillery duel between the Union and
Confederate forces at Pensacola Bay began on November 22,
1861, when the Federals opened fire on the Confederate
fortifications on the mainland. Bragg responded and for two
days the firing of heavy artillery shook the ground for miles
around. Fort McRee, exposed to fire from Fort Pickens in front
and the Union navy in rear, was seriously damaged, but
neither Pickens nor Fort Barrancas on the mainland sustained
significant losses. Bragg reported that the bombardment was
one of the heaviest in world history.
The two sides exchanged fire again in January of 1862, but this
second bombardment was much smaller than the first.
After the Confederates evacuated Pensacola in May of 1862,
Fort Pickens continued to serve as an important Union post
and was also used to hold small numbers of Confederate
prisoners.
Following the Civil War, the old fort remained a military
installation and was for a time used as a prison for Geronimo
and other Apache prisoners. Numerous additional batteries
and other defenses were constructed in and around the fort
over the years and it remained an important military post until
1947.
Fort Pickens and many batteries dating from the Spanish-
American War, World War I and World War II eras are now
preserved as part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, which
includes the western seven miles of Santa Rosa Island. This
area was heavily damaged during Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and
Hurricane Dennis in 2005. Although the fort and artillery
batteries survived, the storms did extensive damage to the
road s and other modern facilities on the island.
Fort Pickens is once again open to the public, but the road
linking the fort with the rest of Santa Rosa Island is not
expected to reopen until 2009. Until then, the only way to reach
the fort is either by boat or by a very long hike.
For the latest on the progress in restoring public access to the
fort and for more information on Gulf Islands National
Seashore and the Fort Pickens area, please click here.
Pickens has guarded the entrance of Pensacola Bay for more
than 175 years. Now part of Gulf Islands National Seashore,
the fort is preserved and interpreted by the National Park
Service.
Constructed by the U.S. government between 1829 and 1834
to defend Pensacola and its important Navy Yard, the old fort
was the largest of a series of masonry fortifications built
around the bay. Its guns overlooked the approaches, entrance
and channel of Pensacola Bay and, combined with those at
Forts McRee and Barrancas, were arranged to reduce enemy
ships to matchwood.
When a threat to the fort finally materialized, however, it came
not from the Gulf of Mexico but from the Florida mainland. In
January of 1861, on the verge of the Civil War, militia troops
from Florida and Alabama seized Forts Barrancas and McRee
and demanded the surrender of Fort Pickens. Lt. Adam
Slemmer, the commanding officer of the fort refused to give up
his post and for a time it appeared that the first battle of the war
might be fought here.
Instead, officials from both sides negotiated the Fort Pickens
Truce by which Southern forces agreed not to attack the fort so
long as Union forces did not try to reinforce it. As a result, the
first shots of the war were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.
Federal troops broke the truce following the attack on Fort
Sumter and poured additional troops and supplies into Fort
Pickens. The Confederates responded by assigning General
Braxton Bragg to build an army at Pensacola. The Southern
general ringed the bay with artillery batteries and formed an
army in anticipation of a coming battle for control of Fort
Pickens.
In September of 1861, Union sailors and marines opened the
fighting at Pensacola by raiding the Navy Yard on the mainland
and burning the Confederate privateer Judah. An outraged
Bragg responded by launching a 1,000 man attack against the
camps and outposts of Fort Pickens in October, an action that
resulted in the Battle of Santa Rosa Island. The fighting took
place within site of the walls of Fort Pickens and resulted in
casualties to both sides and the partial destruction of the camp
of the 6th New York Infantry.
The long anticipated artillery duel between the Union and
Confederate forces at Pensacola Bay began on November 22,
1861, when the Federals opened fire on the Confederate
fortifications on the mainland. Bragg responded and for two
days the firing of heavy artillery shook the ground for miles
around. Fort McRee, exposed to fire from Fort Pickens in front
and the Union navy in rear, was seriously damaged, but
neither Pickens nor Fort Barrancas on the mainland sustained
significant losses. Bragg reported that the bombardment was
one of the heaviest in world history.
The two sides exchanged fire again in January of 1862, but this
second bombardment was much smaller than the first.
After the Confederates evacuated Pensacola in May of 1862,
Fort Pickens continued to serve as an important Union post
and was also used to hold small numbers of Confederate
prisoners.
Following the Civil War, the old fort remained a military
installation and was for a time used as a prison for Geronimo
and other Apache prisoners. Numerous additional batteries
and other defenses were constructed in and around the fort
over the years and it remained an important military post until
1947.
Fort Pickens and many batteries dating from the Spanish-
American War, World War I and World War II eras are now
preserved as part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, which
includes the western seven miles of Santa Rosa Island. This
area was heavily damaged during Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and
Hurricane Dennis in 2005. Although the fort and artillery
batteries survived, the storms did extensive damage to the
road s and other modern facilities on the island.
Fort Pickens is once again open to the public, but the road
linking the fort with the rest of Santa Rosa Island is not
expected to reopen until 2009. Until then, the only way to reach
the fort is either by boat or by a very long hike.
For the latest on the progress in restoring public access to the
fort and for more information on Gulf Islands National
Seashore and the Fort Pickens area, please click here.
| Fort Pickens The masonry walls of Fort Pickens have survived wars, hurricanes, accidental explosion and human alteration and stand to this day. |
| The Parade Ground of Fort Pickens The Fort Pickens site preserves the remains of military fortifications built and used by the U.S. Army for 125 years. |
| Massive Rodman Gun at Fort Pickens This huge gun was of the type mounted at Fort Pickens during the years after the Civil War. It represented a major advancement in artillery power. |
| Lowered walls at Fort Pickens This section of Fort Pickens was lowered in height during the years before the Spanish American War so a new battery could fire over the old walls. |
| Upper Batteries of Fort Pickens The original cannon of Fort Pickens were mounted on two levels. The upper guns fired over the walls from the positions seen here. |
| Civil War Mortar at Fort Pickens The Civil War armament of the fort included mortars like this one. The muzzle-loading weapons fired exploding shells at Confederate troops across the bay at Forts McRee and Barrancas. |