Battle of Fort Brooke
Part of theAmerican Civil War
Date October 16, 1863 (1863-10-16) – October 18, 1863 (1863-10-18) Location Tampa, Florida Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
A.A. Semmes	John S. Westcott
Units involved
USSTahoma USSAdela	2nd Florida Infantry, Company A
Casualties and losses
16	Unknown

TheBattle of Fort Brooke was a minor engagement fought October 16–18, 1863 in and aroundTampa, Florida during theAmerican Civil War.^[1] The most important outcome of the action was the destruction of two Confederateblockade runners which had been hidden upstream on theHillsborough River.

An important facet of theUnion's long-term strategy during theAmerican Civil War was theAnaconda Plan, which established ablockade along much of the coast of theConfederate States. Though only a small town at the time,Tampa had been an important port for exporting cattle and crops from ranches and farms in the interior of central Florida before the war. By 1862, most local shipping had been stymied byUnion Navy ships patrolling near the mouth ofTampa Bay. However, several fastblockade runners based in Tampa had consistently slipped out to deliver cattle and cotton toSpanish Cuba in exchange for needed goods and gold.^[2]

TheBattle of Tampa took place in June 1862, after the UniongunboatUSSSagamore steamed into Tampa Bay and demanded the surrender of the small Confederate garrison at Fort Brooke. When the demand was rebuffed, the gunboat fired several volleys at the town, which were answered with return fire from the fort. Neither side suffered damage or casualties, and theSagamore returned to its station blockading the mouth of Tampa Bay after about 24 hours. While the brief exchange had no effect on the fort, the town, or the blockade runners based there, it did have the effect of allowing Union forces to determine the maximum range of the Confederate artillery in the area.^[3]

In the autumn of 1862, CaptainA.A. Semmes, the commander of Union naval forces off Florida's west coast, decided to mount an operation to end the blockade running that had continued from Tampa. Two Union gunships,USS Tahoma andUSS Adela, sailed into Tampa Bay on October 16, 1863 and began a slow bombardment ofFort Brooke while staying just out of the range of the fort's batteries.^[4] Two days later on October 18, a Union raiding party under Acting Master T.R. Harris secretly disembarked atBallast Point, landing near the current intersection ofBayshore Boulevard and Gandy Boulevard. While the Union gunships continued a diversionary bombardment of the fort, about 100 Union troops marched 14 miles (23 km) north through a heavily wooded area that was later developed into the neighborhoods ofPalma Ceia,West Tampa, andSeminole Heights. Their target was theJean Street Shipyard on theHillsborough River near today's Sligh Avenue, and upon reaching their destination, they quickly seized and burned several ships moored at the dock including two notorious blockade runners, thesteamshipScottish Chief and thesloopKate Dale.^[1][5]

The ships and the shipyard were owned by the once and future mayor of Tampa,James McKay. Escaping capture by the attackers along with some crew members, McKay sped to the town and warned theConfederate forces atFort Brooke about the raiding party and the fate of his ships. The 2nd Florida Infantry Battalion along with the Oklawaha Rangerscavalry unit and a few citizens of the town quickly gave chase and caught up with the Union detachment near their landing point on Tampa Bay. A short but sharp engagement known as theBattle of Ballast Point ensued as Union troops attempted to board theirdinghies near today'sBallast Point Park and return to the waiting ships in the bay. With the support of covering fire fromTahoma andAdelia directed at Confederate forces on shore, the raiding party reached the ships having suffered 16 casualties. Union forces sailed out of Tampa Bay soon thereafter.^[1]

The blockade running steamerScottish Chief was heavily damaged but remained afloat after it burned. It was towed back downriver to near today'sBlake High School, stripped of usable materials, and destroyed.^[2] The steamerA.B. Noyes, which had also been damaged in the raid, was similarly broken down to preclude her capture.^[4] TheKate Dale sank near its mooring and remains at the bottom of the Hillsborough River near the current location ofZooTampa.^[5]

The raid met its objectives. Shipping out of Tampa came to a virtual halt for the duration of the war, damaging the Confederate war effort and crippling the local economy.^[2] When Union forces again landed in May 1864, Fort Brooke was no longer garrisoned and the town had been virtually abandoned. Remaining cannon and supplies at the fort were destroyed, and after a short occupation, Union troops left the area.^[3]

28°00′02″N82°28′25″W / 28.00062°N 82.47368°W /28.00062; -82.47368

• Naval battles of the American Civil War
• Battles of the Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach of the American Civil War
• Union victories of the American Civil War
• Hillsborough County, Florida
• Battles of the American Civil War in Florida
• History of Tampa, Florida
• Conflicts in 1863
• 1863 in Florida
• Riverine warfare in the American Civil War
• October 1863
• Attacks on military installations in the United States
• Attacks on buildings and structures in Florida

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