Ft. Pickens and the Pensacola Navy Yard III

Reinforcement of Ft. Pickens by Union forces in mid-1861 (source: Fla. Dept. of State):
In prior posts, I covered the events transpiring at the Pensacola Navy Yard (Florida) and Ft. Pickens through 1861:

Takeover of Pensacola by Confederates and Union withdrawal to Ft. Pickens (26 Aug 2011)

Additional reinforcement of Ft. Pickens and destruction of the privateer CSS Judah (11 Sep 2011)

Confederate landing on Santa Rosa Island and massive artillery duel (20 Nov 2011)

This post closes out the major events at Pensacola during the war, culminating in the reoccupation of the town and the Navy Yard by the Union in mid-1862. At the beginning of 1862, the Confederates had amassed a force of 16,000 troops at Pensacola, under the command of Major Gen. Braxton Bragg. Reinforcements could be brought in by rail from Mobile, Alabama, as needed. In January 1862 another, smaller artillery duel was fought between Union forces on Santa Rosa Island and Confederate forces on the mainland.

Events out west eventually dictated what the Confederacy would do at Pensacola. In February 1862, Forts Henry and Donelson fell to the Union, by a joint Navy/Army operation. In March 1862, US Navy and Army forces began to move on the Mississippi River, taking ports and important fortifications. These Union activities forced the Confederacy to have to deploy forces to the western theatre to meet the Union threat. Bragg was ordered to move his forces westward to bolster the Confederate military effort there. Preparatory to abandoning Pensacola, Bragg ordered his XO:

“I desire you particularly to leave nothing the enemy can use; burn all from Fort McRee to the junction with the Mobile road. Save the guns, and if necessary destroy your gunboats and all other boats. They might be used against us. Destroy all machinery, etc., public and private, which could be useful to the enemy; especially disable the sawmills in and around the bay and burn the lumber. Break up the railroad from Pensacola to the Junction, carrying the iron up to a safe point.”

Another skirmish between Union and Confederate troops was fought in late March/early April 1862 at Pensacola Bay. By then, withdrawal of Confederate forces was in full swing, although surprisingly the Union did not have detailed knowledge of these actions. In early April 1862, Bragg suffered a repulsing and bloody defeat by Gen. U.S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee, while later that month, Farragut bypassed Forts St. Philip and Jackson on the Mississippi and took New Orleans. These Union victories spelled the ultimate doom for any hope of holding on to Pensacola by the Confederacy, as well before then (approx. February 1862) the strategic decision had been made to withdraw all Confederate troops from Florida for use elsewhere.

By early May 1862, the evacuation of Pensacola and the Navy Yard was complete. The retreating Confederates set fire to any public property that “. . . could be of use to the foe.” Seeing the blaze, the US Army commander at Ft. Pickens dispatched his aide-de-camp and a small force to take possession of the Navy Yard and the town. Commander David D. Porter arrived at this time as well, hearing of the possible abandonment of the Navy Yard. For the rest of the war, Pensacola remained in Union hands and became a main base of operations for the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.

In retrospect, I think major kudos must go to young Army Lt. Adam J. Slemmer, who steadfastly obeyed his orders and retained possession of Ft. Pickens back in early 1861. Union control of this fort and Santa Rosa Island essentially bottled up the harbor at Pensacola and denied use of the Navy Yard by the Confederacy. In the words of Florida historian George F. Pearce (the title of his book on these events), Pensacola was "A Thorn in the Side of the Confederacy."

My USS Ft. Henry shipmate marine Sgt. Dave Ekardt has a great article summarizing all Union naval/marine actions at Pensacola on the Navy and Marine Living History web site.

Portrait of US Army Lt. Adam J. Slemmer (source: Fla. Dept. of State):

Union occupation of Ft. Clinch, Fernandina, Florida

Ft. Clinch, at the northern tip of Amelia Island, after recapture by Union forces:

While attention focused, then and now, on the impending battle of the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, things were really getting going in the Florida theatre of operations at this time. The Port of Fernandina, Florida, was important due to its ability to handle all but the largest US Navy ships in the entrance channel, its rail connections, and it’s proximity to the Bahamas (English territory and a key waypoint for blockade running). For a period of time (December 1861 to February 1862), the Union Navy was more occupied with shutting down the Port of Savannah, Georgia. Eventually however, interest in taking Fernandina resumed and a detachment from the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron headed toward the coast of Florida.

On 3 March 1862, US Navy and Marine forces arrived off the mouth of the St. Marys River (the Atlantic coast border between Georgia and Florida) and occupied Ft. Clinch, controlling the river mouth and the Port of Fernandina. Ft. Clinch, along with some well-constructed batteries in earthworks, was found abandoned, with a variety of artillery pieces in fine condition, along with powder and shot. The next day, the nearby town of Fernandina was occupied by Union forces. Ft. Clinch was turned over to US Army troops a day or so later. Flag Officer DuPont of the South Atlantic Squadron reported:

“. . . I learned from a contraband who had been picked up at sea by Commander Lanier, and from the neighboring residents on Cumberland Island, that the (Confederates) had abandoned in haste the whole of the defenses of Fernandina and were even at that moment retreating from Amelia Island . . . . . on receiving this intelligence I detached the gunboats and armed steamers of light draft from the main line and, placing them under the command of Commander P. Drayton, of the steam sloop Pawnee, I ordered him to push through the sound with the utmost speed, to save public and private property from threatened destruction . . .”

“Immediately on his entering the harbor, Commander Drayton sent Lieutenant White, of the Ottawa, to hoist the flag on Fort Clinch, the first of the national forts on which the ensign of the Union has resumed its (place).”

“We captured Port Royal, but Fernandina and Fort Clinch have been given to us.”


A detailed account of the occupation of Ft. Clinch and Fernandina is in a paper by Chuck Veit on the Navy and Marine Living History web site at: http://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1862Fernandina.htm . Illustration source – Florida Dept. of State on-line photo archive.

Key West and the East Gulf Blockading Squadron

Sketch of Key West in Civil War period

In a prior post ("The Blockade Begins"), I covered the formation of the Union Navy blockading squadrons. The blockade of the Gulf coast of the southern states was initially the responsibility of the Gulf Coast Blockading Squadron, under the command of Flag Officer William Mervine. In February 1862, the Gulf Squadron was divided into the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, under the command of Flag Officer David G. Farragut, and the East Gulf Blockading Squadron under the command of Flag Officer William McKean, who succeeded Mervine, possibly in part because Navy Sec. Gideon Welles thought the former Gulf Squadron commander not aggressive enough. The East Gulf Squadron initially had the sector of coast from Cape Florida (just north of the Florida Keys) around to St. Andrews Bay, east of Pensacola, FL. Protestations from the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron that their sector was too extensive resulted in the extension of the East Gulf Squadron’s sector of operations north up the Florida East Coast to Mosquito Inlet (present day Ponce De Leon Inlet), north of Cape Canaveral.

The East Gulf Blockading Squadron was based out of Key West, Florida, which always remained in Union hands; it never had to be re-taken by Union forces. Back in those days, the only way to get to Key West was by sea. The overseas railroad across the Florida Keys, built by Mr. Flagler, and the later overseas highway that was the old “US 1” were decades away. Key West had a US Navy base and was guarded by Ft. Taylor on the mainland and Ft. Jefferson, offshore on the Dry Tortugas. The East Gulf Squadron had low priority for the US Navy throughout the War, mainly because there were no major ports such as Wilmington, Charleston, Mobile or New Orleans, and thus little potential for major action. It was “the backwater” for USN personnel assigned to ships in the squadron. Yellow fever and malaria were constant plagues on the men who served there. Cdr. Percival Drayton, on his way from the South Atlantic Squadron over to the West Gulf Squadron to serve as Farragut’s Flag Captain, commented on his time in Key West (to a friend in the northern US):

“This is rather a dreary residence I should suppose, a sand bank varied with cocoa nut and a few other trees of the tropics, but the soil so light and sandy, as to be almost unfit for gardening purposes, and for all such products as the ordinary table vegetables your city affords their only supply, . . .”

Despite the unspectacular nature of the duty, I have to think that the efforts of the sailors of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron contributed to the success of the blockade, as much as those of any other of the squadrons. Dr. George Buker chronicled the efforts of the East Gulf Squadron in his book “Blockaders, Refugees, & Contrabands. Civil War on Florida’s Gulf Coast, 1861-1865” and Robert Macomber created a compelling story of the activities of the fictional naval officer Peter Wake of the East Gulf Squadron in three novels: “At the Edge of Honor”, “Point of Honor” and “Honorable Mention.” I highly recommend all to you.

Many thanks to Sarah, fellow CWN 150 Guest Blogger, for making available a link to Percival Drayton’s letters (I have found them fascinating) and the Florida Dept. of State on-line photo archive for the old photos and illustrations of Key West.

Fort Taylor, Key West, FL:


Navy anchorage at Key West, FL:


Navy barracks at Key West after the War:

Artillery Duel at Pensacola Bay

Artillery engagement on Pensacola Bay on 22-23 November 1861. Santa Rosa Island, Ft. Pickens, and Union batteries on the island are in the foreground; Pensacola Navy Yard and adjacent towns on the mainland are in the background. Source: Fla. Dept. of State on-line photo archive.

Angered by the Union Navy’s destruction of the privateer Judah in September 1861 (my 11 Sept 2011 post), Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, commanding the CS Army forces garrisoning Pensacola and the Pensacola Navy Yard, sent a force of 1,200 soldiers to Santa Rosa Island. The force landed at night on 8 October 1861 and assaulted the camp of the 6th New York, a Zouave regiment. The Union troops were initially routed, but reinforcements from Ft. Pickens helped them reform and they pushed the Confederate forces back, who then departed the island by the next morning.

In response to this attack, and the increasing size of the Confederate force garrisoning Pensacola, Col. Harvey Brown, now commanding the Union forces in Ft. Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, ordered his artillery to open fire on the mainland on 22 November. The army artillery was supplemented by gunfire from the steam frigate USS Niagra and steam sloop USS Richmond. The Confederates returned the Union gunfire. For two days, the bombardment continued, with thousands of rounds expended by both sides. Ft. McRee was destroyed by the gunfire from the US Navy ships, and portions of the Navy Yard and adjacent villages were set on fire from the barrage. Richmond suffered one sailor killed and seven injured by fire from the Confederate batteries. Hostilities ceased on the night of 23 November.


Steam frigate USS Niagra. Source: USN History and Heritage Command on-line photo library.

Ft. Pickens and the Pensacola Navy Yard II

In a prior post (26 August 2011), I introduced you to the events transpiring at the Pensacola Navy Yard (Florida) and Ft. Pickens through the first half of 1861. The summer of 1861 passed quietly, with the Confederates reinforcing their positions on the mainland and Union forces fortifying their garrison at Ft. Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island. Because the Union position effectively sealed off use of the Navy Yard and Pensacola Bay from the adjacent Gulf of Mexico, the seizure of the Navy Yard never really benefitted the Confederacy. In late August, a vessel attempted to put to sea from the Navy Yard, but gunfire from batteries erected on Santa Rosa turned it back.

In early September, a Union raiding party burned a dry dock that had floated loose in the Bay to prevent its recovery and use by the Confederates. About this same time, Flag Officer Mervine of the Gulf Blockading squadron received a report that the Confederates were fitting out the privateer Judah at the Pensacola Yard. During the night of 13-14 September 1861, a raiding force of 100 bluejackets and marines under Lt. John H. Russell set out from the USS Colorado. Somehow the Confederate watch on the Judah had been forewarned and they opened fire on the Union raiders. Undaunted, the sailors and marines swarmed over the gunwales and captured the privateer. Confederate reinforcements arrived on the adjacent dock and an intense fire fight ensued between ship and shore. Russell ordered the spiking of the guns mounted on the privateer, and subsequently set fire to the schooner. The entire affair was over in 15 minutes, and the Union raiders returned to the Colorado with the Judah burning away brightly. The Union force suffered 3 killed and 13 wounded, the Confederates the same number killed and unknown wounded. Historian Ed Bearss has noted that this was the first Florida Civil War battle involving loss of life.

Photo sources: Naval History and Heritage Command and Florida Dept. of State photo archive.

Ft. Pickens and the Pensacola Navy Yard

In all the excitement this spring with the start of the CW Sesquicentnnial, I forgot to post this significant event in Florida’s CW Navy history. The Pensacola Navy Yard was considered by some to be second only to the Norfolk Navy Yard in importance. Confederate forces occupied the Navy Yard and adjacent Fts. Barrancas and McRee in January 1861, shortly after Florida’s secession. Just prior to that occupation, in a move strikingly similar to Anderson’s movement out to Ft. Sumter, US Army Lt. Adam Slemmer moved his small garrison of 57 men to Ft. Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island at the mouth of Pensacola Bay. The garrison was supported by the gunboat USS Wyandotte and the supply ship USS Supply, along with 30 additional seamen in the Fort.


Slemmer steadfastly refused several requests by Confederate officers to surrender the Fort. In early February 1861, additional reinforcements arrived in the form of the sailing frigate USS Sabine, the steam sloop USS Brooklyn, and the sailing sloop USS St. Louis. Over the next several months, both sides worked to fortify their positions. In April additional Union troops were landed to fortify the fort garrison, and the steam sloop USS Powhatan,under the command of Navy Lt. David Dixon Porter, brought in needed supplies. Through most of the summer of 1861, things were quiet in Pensacola, but the situation would change by the fall of that year. More on that to come. Drop me an email if you would like to see sources used for this post. Photo sources are the Naval History and Heritage Command and the Florida Dept. of State on-line photo archive.


USN Squadron supporting Ft. Pickens. Shown are the USS Sabine and the USS Brooklyn (center foreground), to the left the gunboat USS Wyandotte, and in the background the USS Supply and USS Crusader.

Fort Clinch, Fernandina, Florida

Construction of Ft. Clinch, located in the town of Fernandina, Florida, began in 1847. The masonry fort was named for Gen. Duncan L. Clinch, a hero of the Seminole Wars in Florida. The fort protected the natural deepwater port of Fernandina, the mouth of the St. Mary’s River, and the eastern terminus of the first (and at the time only) cross-state railroad in Florida (Fernandina to Cedar Keys). It was part of the “Third System” of coastal fortifications on the U.S. east coast. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Ft. Clinch was still a work in progress and was not yet completed. Confederate forces occupied the fort sometime between April-June 1861. After great Union victories in the western theatre in February 1862 (particularly the capture of Fts. Henry and Donelson by a joint U.S. Army/Navy force), most Confederate military forces in Florida were withdrawn at the orders of Gen. Robert E. Lee, at the time commanding the coastal defenses in S. Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and sent out west, or north to eventually serve with Lee in Virginia. On 3 March 1862, a party of Union marines and sailors landed at the mouth of the St. Mary’s River and took possession of Ft. Clinch, which had been abandoned by the Confederate forces (more on that next year when we reach the 150th Anniversary of that event).

Today, Ft. Clinch is part of Florida’s national gold medal-winning state park system, and has been restored to roughly its condition in 1864, much of this work conducted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. A number of living history events are held there throughout the year, two of the “big ones” being a Union Garrison the first weekend of May, and a Confederate Garrison the first weekend in October. The 2011 Union Garrison at Ft. Clinch was held this past weekend, 7-8 May. Union Army, Marine, and Navy re-enactors conducted activities that would have occurred in the fort during the latter parts of the war. Photos below show some scenes from the weekend.

View of Drill Field and fort compound:

Union Infantry at drill:

Columbiad artillery piece guarding St. Mary's River entrance:

Marine gun crew at drill on 3" ordnance rifle (token sailor in white):

RESOURCES

Nulty, Wm. H. Confederate Florida. The Road to Olustee. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1990.

Schafer, Daniel L. Thunder on the River. The Civil War in Northeast Florida. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 2010.