Fort Pickens was a Union stronghold in 1861
The beginning days of the War Between the States brought about a great deal of uncertainty and calculated political moves by leaders in Washington and Montgomery, AL (the capital of the Confederate states at that time). Among these calculated political moves the issue of re-supplying Federal garrisons became a major point of contention between the two governments.
The South had warned that any Federal efforts to re-supply US coastal fortifications would be considered an act of war. During this time a string of forts stretching from Virginia to Texas guarded the Southeast from foreign attack; acting as a sort of defensive shield around the young nation.
Lincoln knew that he could achieve the necessary flash point to bring about war by re supplying the federal garrisons. Many in the area expected Fort Pickens to be the flash point that would set off the powder keg of war in that it was a Federal garrison located at the entrance to Pensacola Bay on Santa Rosa Island.
Yet before the Federals could re supply the fort, a tiny fort in Charleston Harbor; Ft. Sumter, became the starting point of the War Between the States. Even with history being made in South Carolina, the potential for military intrigues around Ft. Pickens was far from over.
One of the earliest military operations in the Pensacola area occurred around October 9, 1861 when 1,090 MS, AL, FL, LA, and GA troops overran the camp of the 6th New York Zouaves (Zouaves wore a bright uniform that some would liken to a set of flashy pajamas) in a predawn attack on Santa Rosa Island.
These same Zouaves had only recently arrived at Ft. Pickens. Their leaders kept their destination a secret upon leaving New York and after the destination was disclosed (after rounding the tip of Florida) the men nearly mutinied at the thought of going to such a remote post.
According to an Atlanta Century article of October 13, 1861; after the raid the Zouaves fled to Ft. Pickens for safety but soon rallied their Union counterparts inside the installation. The Confederates beat off a counterattack but stopped to plunder the now deserted Union camp. Soon the Union troops returned; this time armed with Enfield rifles. The Confederates thereafter began an organized withdrawal.
Confederate forces filed onto barges which were to be towed by a steamer which was waiting to return them to one of the Confederate forts in the area. Unfortunately, the steamer's propeller became entangled in one of the cables connecting it with the barges. Now the gallant efforts of the Confederates in their earlier raid were quickly turning into a meaningless disaster as the steamer and barges drifted hopelessly in the waters of the bay. Federal troops began to pour fire into the barges with their long range rifles. The Confederates were armed with short range weapons and could do nothing but take the pounding delivered by the revenge minded Federals.
The Confederate steamer managed to somehow free itself (although the record doesn't state how) and the ship made its way to safety. The raid inflicted 14 Union killed, 29 wounded and 24 captured. Confederate loses were 18 killed (most on the barges no doubt), 39 wounded, and 30 captured. Among the Confederate dead was Capt. R. H. Bradford of Madison, FL.
Other exchanges between the two armies would soon transpire, culminating in the Confederate withdrawal from Pensacola in May of 1862. Eventually the Pensacola city council would set up a city government in exile in Greenville, AL. As the Pensacola government moved north to Greenville, Confederate deserters and war refugees moved south into Union territory in the Pensacola area.
A special thanks goes to Dr. Gene West for copies of The Atlanta Century from 1861 which were used in this article.
The William Carney Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans is proud to offer the book: Canoe: History of a Southern Town for purchase. The book is available for a $20 donation to the William Carney Camp Historic Marker Fund, 357 Page Road Atmore, AL 36502. Books are also available at Baker's Grocery in Canoe. For an overview of the Civil War in our area read the book: Shadows and Dust: The Journal of the Confederate Experience in Northwest Florida and Southwest Alabama which is available through Lulu Publishing at: http://www.lulu.com/content/256036 or through the author.
