Fort San Carlos De Barrancas | |
 Aerial view of Fort Barrancas. The water battery is the white section. | |
| Location | Warrington,Florida, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Pensacola |
| Coordinates | 30°20′52.22″N87°17′51.22″W / 30.3478389°N 87.2975611°W /30.3478389; -87.2975611 |
| Built | 1787 |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000263[1][2] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[2] |
| Designated NHL | October 9, 1960[1] |
Fort Barrancas (1839) orFort San Carlos de Barrancas (from 1787) is aUnited States military fort andNational Historic Landmark in the formerWarrington area ofPensacola, Florida, located physically withinNaval Air Station Pensacola, which was developed later around it.[3][4]
The hill-top fort, connected to a sea level waterbattery,[5]overlooksPensacola Bay.[6] From 1839 to 1844, the historic Spanish fort on the hill was reconstructed and dramatically expanded in brick. This is now termed "Fort Barrancas". The older, water battery downhill (Bateria de San Antonio, 1787) has been separately named as "Fort San Carlos".[7]It is a remnant from the Spanish fortification, the wooden (Spanish:Fuerte)Fort San Carlos de Barrancas of the late 18th century.
Due to changing requirements, theU.S. Army deactivated Fort Barrancas on April 15, 1947, following World War II. Designated aNational Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1960, the fort was transferred to the control and administration of theNational Park Service in 1971. After extensive restoration during 1971–1980, Fort Barrancas was opened to the public (see below:Timeline).
Fort San Carlos de Austria was constructed by the Spanish in 1698. It wasbesieged in 1707 by Native Americans under the general leadership of some English traders, but was not taken. In 1719 French forcescaptured Pensacola and destroyed the Spanish fort.[4]
Following Britain's success over the French in theSeven Years' War, in 1763 it exchanged some territory with Spain and took overWest Florida. The British used this site as a harbor fortification, building theRoyal Navy Redoubt in 1763.[3] More than a decade later, as enemies of the British, theSpanish joined the war against them in 1779 during theAmerican Revolutionary War, though they never officially became American allies. Theytook Pensacola in 1781. After the war, the Spanish retook control of West Florida. They completed the fortSan Carlos de Barrancas in 1797.[3]Barranca is a Spanish word forbluff, the natural terrain feature that makes this location ideal for the fortress.
During theWar of 1812 between the United States and theUnited Kingdom,Fort San Carlos De Barrancas was abandoned by the British, in the face of advancing American troops, who had already capturedFort San Miguel and its Spanish garrison numbering 268 troops surrendered on November 7.[8] GeneralAndrew Jackson had planned to capture the fort by storming it the next day, but it was blown up and abandoned before Jackson could move on it. The remaining British withdrew from Pensacola[9] along with the British naval squadron commanded by CaptainGordon.
American units raided West Florida. In 1818, the Spanish garrison of the fort exchanged cannon fire with anAmerican battery for a few days. The U.S. force was led by General Jackson. Eventually the Spanish surrendered the fort, leavingPensacola inAmerican hands.
When the United States purchasedFlorida from Spain in 1821, it selected Pensacola as the site for a major Navy Yard, which was developed around the Spanish Fort Barrancas. In addition, the US developed plans for construction of additional harbor fortifications to protect this deepwater bay.Fort Pickens was completed onSanta Rosa Island in 1834, andFort McRee was completed in 1839 to defend the pass to Pensacola Bay.[3]
Fort Barrancas was reconstructed and expanded with brick between 1839 and 1844 on its hilltop overlooking the bay. It was strengthened to defend against both ships entering the harbor and attack across land. TheAdvanced Redoubt was built north of the fort, and a trenchline connected them. This system protected the Navy Yard to the east from infantry attacks.
The expanded Fort Barrancas was designed byJoseph Gilbert Totten. It was connected to the Spanish-built water-battery by an underground walkway tunnel. MajorWilliam Henry Chase supervised the construction, done mostly by Black slaves.
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On January 8, 1861, more than three months before theAmerican Civil War officially started atFort Sumter, South Carolina, a company of 50 U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Barrancas, under the command ofJohn H. Winder, fired upon a militia of Florida state troops, under Colonel William Henry Chase, who demanded for the U.S. troops to surrender the fort. LieutenantAdam J. Slemmer, acting commander in Winder's absence, had the troops fire shots meant to repel the militia. Slemmer knew thatFort Pickens was easier to defend and so he spiked the guns at Barrancas, loaded ammunition and supplies on aflatboat, and moved his company across the bay to Fort Pickens. The Union held the fort throughout the Civil War.
The Confederacy stationed soldiers fromAlabama,Louisiana, andMississippi at Fort Barrancas. While a small company of soldiers could man the fort successfully, the Confederate Army fortified the position with additional sand batteries along the coast, to be operated by the garrison. GeneralBraxton Bragg took command of Confederate Pensacola on March 11, 1861, and continued work on the batteries.
On October 9, a Confederate force of 1000 troops landed east of Fort Pickens but was repelled by Union forces.Fort McRee and Fort Barrancas exchanged heavy cannon fire with Fort Pickens on November 22–23, 1861 and January 1, 1862. However, in May 1862, after learning that the Union Army had takenNew Orleans, Confederate troops abandoned Pensacola.
Stronger, rifled cannon andironclad ships developed during theCivil War made masonry forts like Fort Barrancas outmoded. The fort was used as a signal station, small arms range, and storage area by the Army until 1946. Newer weapon technology developed during World War II made coastal defense artillery forts completely obsolete.
On April 15, 1947, Fort Barrancas was deactivated. TheU.S. Navy incorporated the site intoNaval Air Station Pensacola. At the same time, local leaders, Congress, and theNational Park Service were working to designate the harbor defenses of Pensacola as a historic national monument. In 1971, Congress authorized the establishment of theGulf Islands National Seashore, to be managed by theNational Park Service. Fort Barrancas was included in this. After a $1.2 million restoration, Fort Barrancas was opened to the public in 1980.
Fort Barrancas and the nearby Advanced Redoubt are located onNaval Air Station Pensacola but they are both managed as historic properties by theNational Park Service. Access toNaval Air Station Pensacola by non-Department of Defense affiliated personnel may be subject tohomeland security and militaryforce protection concerns.
Fort Barrancas and its site has changed names several times over the past five centuries, depending on which country ruled in the region:[7]
Fort Barrancas currently houses a visitor center for theGulf Islands National Seashore. The visitor center has exhibits which explain the fort's history. Visitors can tour the restored fort and thebattery. Tours of the advanced redoubt are also available. Visitors must receive permission at the security checkpoint ofNaval Air Station Pensacola to pass through the grounds of the base to reach the fort.
| 1861 | |
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| 1862 | |
| 1863 | |
| 1864 | |
| 1865 | |
| Reconstruction | |
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| Other | |
