Today, when we think of the beginning of the Civil War, we think only of the bombardment at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Little if no attention is given to the three forts in Pensacola, Florida. Yet, it was here that the first strategic decisions of the Civil War are seen. So, let’s begin in the City of Pensacola, the year 1861.
The United States is on the eve of self-destruction. Inside the Panhandle of Florida, it is a very lonely place, specifically Pensacola. In 1850, the population of Pensacola was only 2,164 citizens. Many who lived in the city had relatives in Southern Alabama. Most of the population in Pensacola at the time migrated from Alabama to work in farming or the railroads. The climate was hot and the vegetation covered with cypress swamps and dense pine forests. Because the sand is bleach white and hot, going to the beach too cool down was not an option.
Many ask the following repetitive questions. Will Florida withdraw from the union? If so, will this cause a civil war among the states? And what side will Florida be on, the Union or the Confederacy? Will Florida play a part in a war between the states?
Pensacola is a deep-water harbor, and in 1861, it had commercial lumbering mills and a navy yard. The town was an important railroad hub and contained the southern terminus for the Alabama and Florida Railroad. The Pensacola and Mobile Railroad operated from Perdido River to a junction with the Alabama and Florida Railroad 14 miles north of Pensacola. So one can see, Pensacola was a vital economic interest to both the North and the South.
In 1861, Pensacola Bay had three operational forts: Fort Pickens, Fort McRee, and Fort Barrancas. They were built as a first line of defense against European powers. Whoever controlled all three forts, controlled Pensacola Bay and the city of Pensacola. So as on can conclude, Pensacola played a vital strategic interest to the Union.
On January 8, 1861, Colonel William Chase demanded the U.S. troops surrender Fort Barrancas. The fort was under the command of Lieutenant Adam Slemmer. On January 10, 1861, Florida officially succeeded from the United States and Lieutenant Adam Slemmer moved his fifty-one U.S. Regular troops stationed at Fort Barrancas to Fort Pickens. Slemmer was of the belief Fort Pickens was more secured. Fort Pickens overlooked the bay and the Pensacola Navy Yard from its location on Santa Rosa Island. Before he evacuated Fort Barrancas, Slemmer spiked the guns at Fort Barrancas. Fort McRee was also abandoned by the union but only after disabling its guns and tossing its gunpowder into the harbor.
Back in Washington, D.C., Attorney General Edward Bates was convinced that Fort Sumter and the forts surrounding Charleston, South Carolina, were not of strategic vital interests. These forts lacked the economic and defensive interest that the forts in Florida possessed, specifically in the Panhandle and Key West. On March 15, 1861, Bates, acting in an almost treasonous manner, requested that provisions not be provided to Fort Sumter. He believed that any provisions going to Fort Sumter should be sent to Fort Pickens and Key West to fight against invasion.
So, Bates requested that Lincoln not provide provisions for Fort Sumter. He further advised Lincoln that if Fort Sumter was surrendered, Fort Pickens and Key West should be given support to fight against invasion. Bates understood that Pensacola was a strategic commercial and military location. The city’s defense and protection was a must.
Florida and Alabama state troops acting under orders from the Confederate Union of the United States held Forts Barrancas and McRee, in addition to the Navy Yard. U.S. soldiers bolstered defenses at Fort Pickens and anxiously anticipated the possibility Florida state troops may attempt to take Fort Pickens.
On January 15, 1861, Slemmer was pressed by Confederate soldiers to surrender Fort Pickens. Slemmer refused. However, he attempted to make a deal with the Confederate troops. On January 28, 1861, Slemmer told Colonel Chase, in exchange for a Confederate promise not to attack, the Union would not reinforce Fort Pickens.
Union General Winfield Scott gave a confidential order for U.S. Regular troops to head for Pensacola. The troops would be on the sloop U.S.S. Brooklyn. The troops would be under the command of Captain Israel Vodges of the 1st Artillery. It is unclear if Slemmer knew of the attempt to reinforce Fort Pickens
Stephen Mallory, the Confederate Secretary of the Navy, was informed of Vodge’s destination. Mallory attempted to get President Buchanan to stop the vessel. Buchanan, however, was an extremely weak and inept President. He could not make decisions and really did not want to be President. He particularly did not want to be President at a time of crisis. So Buchanan came up with the following compromise. He would allow the ship to sail to Pensacola. In exchange for the passage of the Brooklyn to Pensacola, Buchanan promised Mallory the troops would not land to reinforce the fort, unless Fort Pickens was attacked.
Vodges and his men remained on the Brooklyn in anticipation of reinforcing Fort Pickens. On March 31, 1861, Vodges and his troops were secretly ordered onshore and into Fort Pickens by General Scott and the Union’s Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Wells. However, the order was never passed on to Vodges. The U.S.S. Sabine was anchored off Fort Pickens. Its Captain, Captain Henry Adams, said it would be an act of war to reinforce the fort and Vodges and his men remained on Brooklyn.
However, the attempts to reinforce Fort Pickens and Pensacola never stopped. On April 11, 1861, Lieutenant David Porter was aboard the warship U.S.S. Powhatan along with Vodges and his troops. They disembarked on the night of April 11, 1861, and reinforced Fort Pickens.
On April 12, 1861, the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter and the Civil War officially began. On April 16 and 17, 1861, additional troops landed and reinforced Fort Pickens. They were under the direction of Colonel Harvey Brown. With the help of the U.S. Navel blockade of Pensacola harbor, Fort Pickens’ defenses were strengthened and supplies refurbished.
On March 7, 1861, General Braxton Bragg was given the command of Confederate troops in and around Pensacola. Bragg was a close friend of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. On March 11, 1861, Bragg arrived in Pensacola and made his headquarters at Fort Barrancas. By March 31, 1861, Bragg commanded approximately 1,100 officers and men. He requested an additional 5,000 troops from the governors of Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida. By the second week of April, Bragg had his 5,000 troops.
General Bragg’s main goal was to take Fort Pickens. However, he did not have the necessary guns or even manpower to take the fort. In any event, Bragg did develop a plan in which Confederate troops would row across the bay, climb the walls of Fort Pickens, and storm the Union troops. The plan was never attempted because a local reported for a Pensacola newspaper had spoiled the plot. The reporter was subsequently imprisoned.
When all else had failed the Confederacy in gaining control of all three forts, President Davis did the only thing that a desperate war torn leader could do, pray for an epidemic, specifically, yellow fever. However, the epidemic never came in the summer of 1861. Instead, a stalemate of sorts ensued. Union and Confederate defenders of Pensacola sat around hoping for the opportunity to do battle, and each knowing the strategic importance of capturing all three forts.
Meanwhile, back in Washington D.C., Lincoln sent additional naval forces to Pensacola. On May 2, 1861, the steam frigate Niagara arrived at Santa Rosa Island. It was under the command of Captain William McKean. Also, in late June, Lincoln sent Colonel Billy Wilson’s 6th New York Volunteers too Pensacola. In the late summer months, Union and Confederate troops became desperate to end the stalemate. They wanted to move onto a ‘real’ battlefield and fight the enemy. Meanwhile, the citizens of Pensacola hoped and prayed their city would not become a major battlefield.
The months of September and October 1861 were the turning points for the North in gaining control of Pensacola and the surrounding waterways. On September 2, 1861, Union raiders intercepted an attempt by Confederates to sink into the channel a drydock located at the Navy Yard, which would have obstructed Union offensive maneuvers. On September 14, 1861, the Confederate ship Judah was set a-blazed by Union sailors and marines. The ship was docked at the Navy Yard. They also spiked a Confederate Columbiad cannon at a nearby battery. This raid cost each side the lives of three soldiers and an unknown number of wounded.
For most of October 1861, the Union troops stationed at Fort Pickens were in fear of retaliation for the burning of the Judah. They were correct. The Confederates were seeking retribution and on October 8, 1861, the Battle of Santa Rosa Island began. General Bragg ordered 1,000 Confederate troops to conduct an assault on Santa Rosa Island under the cover of darkness.
Nighttime on the waterways of Pensacola is very dark. Darker than normal. There is absent any sound, except the waves splashing on the shoreline or the occasional splashing of a fish. The Confederate soldiers were under the command of Brigadier General Richard Anderson. The soldiers boarded makeshift barges and sailed across the bay. At midnight, they had landed four miles east of Fort Pickens. They marched three miles in the direction of the Fort. Suddenly and without warning, they encountered the camp of the 6th New York. A brief fight broke out followed by a horrific retreat of Confederate soldiers. When he no longer enjoyed the element of darkness, Anderson was forced to retreat back across the bay in defeat. In the end, the Union suffered 67 casualties and the Confederates suffered 87 casualties.
When General Bragg strengthened his force to approximately 7,000 troops, the Union knew it had to do something or run the risk of forfeiting all three forts in the Pensacola area. Even though General Bragg enjoyed the troops strength, fate was not on his side. On October 11, 1861. the Niagara arrived at Santa Rosa Island. On November 21, 1816, Colonel Brown along with the U.S.S. Niagara and the U.S.S. Richmond developed a plan to bombard the Confederate defenses before General Bragg could use his massive army. On the days of November 22-23, 1861, the artillery at Fort Pickens, along with the two U.S. warships, began the bombardment of Fort McRee. The Confederates returned fire. After eight hours of nothing but pure terror, Fort McRee and the Navy Yard was severely damaged. Amazingly, there were few casualties. In December 1861, there was one more bombardment between these two forces. A stalemate followed providing the Union military an opportunity to focus further west, into the areas of Mobile and New Orleans. This caused the Confederate leadership to review and readjust their plans for Pensacola.
Picture taken by this author of a gun embankment at Fort Pickens.
It was no secret that General Bragg faced supply shortages as well as men reluctant to reenlist. Also, the Union army achieved very significant gains in the Gulf, to include: Pascagoula, Mississippi; Ship Island, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama. These victories enabled the Union to bolster the blockade of the Mississippi River.
It was thus debated among the Confederacy to abandon Pensacola entirely, specifically in February 1862, when the Union enjoyed victories in Kentucky and New Orleans. General Bragg was ordered to send troops to Tennessee and he found himself transferred to Mobile. General Samuel Jones took command of Pensacola and was ordered to withdraw Confederate forces from the area. General Jones was ordered to take any guns, ammunition, and supplies to Mobile and destroy anything considered valuable to Union forces.
On May 9, 1862, Confederate forces evacuated Pensacola. The calvary burned the Navy Yard, storehouses, an oil factory, boats, and streamers. Civilians of Pensacola fled for safety. On May 10, 1862, Union forces occupied the town and would occupy it for the rest of the war.
The Union’s decision to supply Fort Pickens was a major strategy decision. It lead to the Confederates to abandon the city of Pensacola, and it freed up Union troops which later took control of the Mississippi River. Yes, the citizens of Pensacola were spared a heavy toll and a major battle was never fought within her boundaries.
Today the bombing of Fort Sumter is known as the start of the American Civil War. Fort Pickens is little known among anyone outside Florida’s Panhandle. But this cannot take away from the impact it had on the American Civil War. Fort Pickens’ strategic value was not forgotten by Lincoln or Bates. In the end, the bloodshed and notoriety that goes with every battle was lost to history.
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