Fort Ward (Florida)
Encyclopedia
Fort Ward was a Confederate States of America
fort located in Wakulla County
, Florida
, at the confluence of the Wakulla River
and St. Marks River
and named after Colonel George T. Ward
, owner of Southwood Plantation
, Waverly Plantation
, and Clifford Place Plantation
south of Tallahassee
. During the American Civil War
, Confederate troops
placed a battery
of cannons at Fort Ward.
explorer Pánfilo de Narváez
, in 1528, when he ventured north from Tampa
. Narváez saw that the area was advantageous in a geographic sense. In 1539, Hernando de Soto
followed with his men.
By 1679, the Spanish governor of Florida started construction on the first fort (named Fort San Marcos de Apalache) using logs coated with lime to give the look of stone. The fort stood, until 1681, then was burned and looted by pirates. In 1719, Spanish Captain Jose Primo de Ribera arrived to construct a second wooden fort. The fort was called San Marcos de Apalache. The wood for construction was cut at Mission San Luis de Apalachee
to the north.
As a stone fort, its construction began in 1739.
The fort was turned over to the English in 1763, half complete, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars
. Spain regained control and ownership, by 1787, reoccupying it for 13 more years.
In 1800, a former British
officer named William Augustus Bowles
attempted to unify and lead 400 Creek Indians against the Spanish, eventually capturing San Marcos. A Spanish flotilla arrived some five weeks later and re-assumed control of the fort.
In 1818, General Andrew Jackson
invaded the territory and took San Marcos after raids originating in Spanish Florida
had a deep impact in Georgia
. Two captured British citizens, Robert Christy Ambrister and Alexander George Arbuthnot
, were tried and found guilty of inciting Indian raids and executed, causing a diplomatic nightmare between the United States
and England
.
In 1821, Florida became the property of the United States and the fort was occupied by U.S. troops. In 1824, the fort was abandoned by the U.S. and turned over to the Territory of Florida. By 1839, the fort was returned to the U.S. and a federal marine hospital was built there 18 years later, using stones from the Spanish fort. The hospital provided care for victims of yellow fever
.
In 1861, the final conflict took place at San Marcos when the Confederates took the fort and renamed it Fort Ward. From 1861-1865, a Union squadron blockaded the mouth of the St. Marks River. The Battle of Natural Bridge
eventually stopped the Union force that intended to take Fort Ward.
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
fort located in Wakulla County
Wakulla County, Florida
Wakulla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 22,863. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 28,212 people...
, 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...
, at the confluence of the Wakulla River
Wakulla River
The Wakulla River is an river in Wakulla County, Florida. It carries the outflow from Wakulla Springs, site of the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, to the St. Marks River north of the Gulf of Mexico...
and St. Marks River
St. Marks River
The St. Marks River is a river in the Big Bend region of Florida. It has been classified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as an Outstanding Florida Water, and is the easternmost river within the Northwest Florida Water Management District....
and named after Colonel George T. Ward
George Taliaferro Ward
George Taliaferro Ward was a cotton plantation owner and politician from Leon County, Florida. He served the Confederate States of America as a colonel during the American Civil War.-Personal:...
, owner of Southwood Plantation
Southwood Plantation
Southwood Plantation was a large cotton plantation of located in southern Leon County, Florida, United States and owned by George Taliafero Ward.-Location:Southwood Plantation bordered the Francis Eppes Plantation on the north and the R. G...
, Waverly Plantation
Waverly Plantation
Waverly Plantation was a large cotton plantation of unknown area located in southern Leon County, Florida, United States and owned by George Taliafero Ward.-Multiple Plantation Statistics:...
, and Clifford Place Plantation
Clifford Place Plantation
Clifford Place Plantation or Clifford Place was a cotton plantation of unknown area located in southern Leon County, Florida, United States and owned by George Taliafero Ward....
south of Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. During 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...
, Confederate troops
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...
placed a battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of cannons at Fort Ward.
History
The site on which Fort Ward stands was originally a camp site of SpanishSpanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
explorer Pánfilo de Narváez
Pánfilo de Narváez
Pánfilo de Narváez was a Spanish conqueror and soldier in the Americas. He is most remembered as the leader of two expeditions, one to Mexico in 1520 to oppose Hernán Cortés, and the disastrous Narváez expedition to Florida in 1527....
, in 1528, when he ventured north from Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. Narváez saw that the area was advantageous in a geographic sense. In 1539, Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto (explorer)
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
followed with his men.
By 1679, the Spanish governor of Florida started construction on the first fort (named Fort San Marcos de Apalache) using logs coated with lime to give the look of stone. The fort stood, until 1681, then was burned and looted by pirates. In 1719, Spanish Captain Jose Primo de Ribera arrived to construct a second wooden fort. The fort was called San Marcos de Apalache. The wood for construction was cut at Mission San Luis de Apalachee
Mission San Luis de Apalachee
Mission San Luis de Apalachee was a Spanish Franciscan mission built in 1633 in the Florida Panhandle, two miles west of the present-day Florida Capitol Building in Tallahassee, Florida. It was located in the descendent settlement of Anhaica capital of Apalachee Province...
to the north.
As a stone fort, its construction began in 1739.
The fort was turned over to the English in 1763, half complete, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Spain regained control and ownership, by 1787, reoccupying it for 13 more years.
In 1800, a former British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
officer named William Augustus Bowles
William Augustus Bowles
William Augustus Bowles , also known as Estajoca, was a Maryland-born English adventurer and organizer of Native American attempts to create their own state outside of Euro-American control. He is also affectionately called Billy Bowlegs, although there is no evidence that he ever used that name...
attempted to unify and lead 400 Creek Indians against the Spanish, eventually capturing San Marcos. A Spanish flotilla arrived some five weeks later and re-assumed control of the fort.
In 1818, General Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
invaded the territory and took San Marcos after raids originating in Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
had a deep impact in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Two captured British citizens, Robert Christy Ambrister and Alexander George Arbuthnot
Alexander George Arbuthnot
The Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident occurred in 1818 during the First Seminole War when American General Andrew Jackson invaded Spanish Florida and captured and executed two British subjects charged with aiding Seminole and Creek Indians against the United States...
, were tried and found guilty of inciting Indian raids and executed, causing a diplomatic nightmare between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
In 1821, Florida became the property of the United States and the fort was occupied by U.S. troops. In 1824, the fort was abandoned by the U.S. and turned over to the Territory of Florida. By 1839, the fort was returned to the U.S. and a federal marine hospital was built there 18 years later, using stones from the Spanish fort. The hospital provided care for victims of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
.
In 1861, the final conflict took place at San Marcos when the Confederates took the fort and renamed it Fort Ward. From 1861-1865, a Union squadron blockaded the mouth of the St. Marks River. The Battle of Natural Bridge
Battle of Natural Bridge
The Battle of Natural Bridge was a battle during the American Civil War, fought in what is now Woodville, Florida, near Tallahassee, on March 6, 1865...
eventually stopped the Union force that intended to take Fort Ward.