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− | + | [[Image:Fort-pickens.jpg|thumb|right|Engraving of wartime Fort Pickens]] | |
− | + | '''Fort Pickens''' is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on [[Santa Rosa Island]], at the entrance to [[Pensacola Bay]]. It is named after [[Wikipedia:American Revolutionary War|American Revolutionary War]] hero [[Andrew Pickens]]. The fort was completed in [[1834]] and remained in use in some form until [[1947]]. Fort Pickens is currently part of the [[Gulf Islands National Seashore]], and as such, is administered by the [[Wikipedia:National Park Service|National Park Service]]. | |
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− | '''Fort Pickens''' is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on [[Santa Rosa Island]], at the entrance to [[Pensacola Bay]]. It is named after [[Wikipedia:American Revolutionary War|American Revolutionary War]] hero [[Andrew Pickens]]. The fort was completed in [[1834]] and remained in use in some form until [[1947]]. | ||
− | + | ==Construction== | |
− | + | French engineer [[Wikipedia:Simon Bernard|Simon Bernard]] was appointed to design Fort Pickens. Construction on Fort Pickens lasted from [[1829]] to [[1834]], with 21.5 million bricks being used to build the fort. Much of the construction was done by slave labor. | |
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− | French engineer [[Wikipedia:Simon Bernard|Simon Bernard]] was appointed to design Fort Pickens. | ||
Fort Pickens was the largest of a group of forts designed to fortify Pensacola's harbor. Fort Pickens supplemented [[Fort Barrancas]], [[Fort McRee]], and the [[Navy Yard]]. Located at the western tip of Santa Rosa Island, just offshore from the mainland, Pickens guarded the island and the entrance to the harbor. Its construction was supervised by Colonel [[William H. Chase]] of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ironically, during the [[Civil War]] some years later, Chase was later appointed by the State of Florida to command its troops and seize for the South the very fort he had built. | Fort Pickens was the largest of a group of forts designed to fortify Pensacola's harbor. Fort Pickens supplemented [[Fort Barrancas]], [[Fort McRee]], and the [[Navy Yard]]. Located at the western tip of Santa Rosa Island, just offshore from the mainland, Pickens guarded the island and the entrance to the harbor. Its construction was supervised by Colonel [[William H. Chase]] of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ironically, during the [[Civil War]] some years later, Chase was later appointed by the State of Florida to command its troops and seize for the South the very fort he had built. | ||
==Civil War== | ==Civil War== | ||
− | [[Image:Fort | + | [[Image:Fort Pickens map 1861.png|thumb|right|1861 sketch of the fort]] |
− | By the time of the Civil War, Fort Pickens had not been regularly occupied since the [[Wikipedia:Mexican–American War|Mexican–American War]]. However, Lieutenant [[Adam | + | By the time of the Civil War, Fort Pickens had not been regularly occupied since the [[Wikipedia:Mexican–American War|Mexican–American War]]. However, Lieutenant [[Wikipedia:Adam J. Slemmer|Adam J. Slemmer]], in charge of United States forces at Fort Barrancas, determined that Fort Pickens was more defensible than any of the other posts in the area. |
His decision to abandon Fort Barrancas was hastened when, around midnight of [[January 8]], [[1861]], his guards repelled a group of local men intending to take the fort. Some historians suggest that these were the first shots fired by United States forces in the Civil War. Shortly after this incident, Slemmer destroyed over 20,000 pounds of gunpowder at Fort McRee, spiked the guns at Barrancas, and evacuated about eighty troops to Fort Pickens. Despite repeated Confederate military threats to it, Fort Pickens remained in Union hands throughout the Civil War. | His decision to abandon Fort Barrancas was hastened when, around midnight of [[January 8]], [[1861]], his guards repelled a group of local men intending to take the fort. Some historians suggest that these were the first shots fired by United States forces in the Civil War. Shortly after this incident, Slemmer destroyed over 20,000 pounds of gunpowder at Fort McRee, spiked the guns at Barrancas, and evacuated about eighty troops to Fort Pickens. Despite repeated Confederate military threats to it, Fort Pickens remained in Union hands throughout the Civil War. | ||
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==Hurricane Ivan== | ==Hurricane Ivan== | ||
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In September [[2004]], [[Hurricane Ivan]] battered the Gulf Islands National Seashore, causing extensive flooding, the destruction of a number of buildings, and a large number of felled trees. Despite the extensive damage, the actual fort "held its ground during the hurricane with only minor damage."<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/archive/guis/FLA/Hurricane%20Ivan/Hurricane.html http://www.nps.gov/archive/guis/FLA/Hurricane%20Ivan/Hurricane.html]</ref> | In September [[2004]], [[Hurricane Ivan]] battered the Gulf Islands National Seashore, causing extensive flooding, the destruction of a number of buildings, and a large number of felled trees. Despite the extensive damage, the actual fort "held its ground during the hurricane with only minor damage."<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/archive/guis/FLA/Hurricane%20Ivan/Hurricane.html http://www.nps.gov/archive/guis/FLA/Hurricane%20Ivan/Hurricane.html]</ref> | ||
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==Other images== | ==Other images== | ||
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Image:Reinforcement-fort-pickens.jpg|Reinforcement of Fort Pickens | Image:Reinforcement-fort-pickens.jpg|Reinforcement of Fort Pickens | ||
Image:Bombardment-fort-pickens-2.jpg|"The two bombardments of Fort Pickens" | Image:Bombardment-fort-pickens-2.jpg|"The two bombardments of Fort Pickens" | ||
− | + | Image:Fort-pickens-bh.jpg|Boat-house and landing at [[Fort Pickens]] | |
− | Image:Fort-pickens-bh.jpg|Boat-house and landing at Fort Pickens | + | Image:Inside-fort-pickens.jpg|Casemate battery at [[Fort Pickens]] |
− | Image:Inside-fort-pickens.jpg|Casemate battery at Fort Pickens | + | Image:Wilsons-zouaves.jpg|Wilson's Zouaves in [[Fort Pickens]] |
− | Image:Wilsons-zouaves.jpg|Wilson's Zouaves in Fort Pickens | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||