The Battle of Fort Pickens was an attack on Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and remained in use until 1947...

 by a Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 army and fleet commanded by Harvey Brown

Harvey Brown (officer)

Harvey Brown was an American military officer who fought in the Black Hawk and Seminole Wars, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. He was also in command of military forces in New York City and later assisted in putting down the New York Draft Riots in 1863. His son Harvey E....

. The Confederates retained control of the fort through the bombardment.

Battle

With less than 50 men to occupy all three fortifications in Pensacola, First Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer

Adam J. Slemmer

Adam Jacoby Slemmer was an officer in the United States Army during the Seminole Wars and the American Civil War, as well as in the Old West.-Early years:...

 (the senior Army officer present) decided to concentrate his small force in a more defensible location. Over 9 and 10 January 1861, his garrison spiked the guns of Barrancas and McRee then moved across the bay to Fort Pickens. The move was a timely one as on 12 January, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

 arrived and took control of the evacuated fortifications.

Over the next several months, both sides built new cannon batteries and brought in more personnel. The opposing forces engaged in cannon duels many times but with little effect. Near the end of the year, manning stood at about 7,000 men on the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 side opposed by 2,000 Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 soldiers around Fort Pickens.

By the time of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, Fort Pickens had not been occupied since the Mexican-American War. Slemmer's decision to abandon Barrancas was hastened when, around midnight of January 8, 1861, his guards repelled a group of local men intending to take the fort. The fort was also reinforced by troops and material that were brought by General Meigs, who had been sent by Lincoln and Secretary-of-State Seward. Meigs was also the engineer who was responsible for building the Washington aqueduct and getting the dome on the US Capital. 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

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

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 was one of the few Southern forts to remain in Union hands throughout the Civil War.