Henry Douglas & Fort Marion
Federals Lose, Then Retake, Florida's Fort Marion With No Shots Fired
by
Mark · January 10, 2017
Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida, was one of several masonry forts that were part of the coastal defenses of the United States. The Spanish, who controlled the area at the time, began building the fort in 1672, naming it the Castillo de San Marcos. After Spain ceded Florida to the United States, the fort became a U.S. Army base in 1821.
Forty years later, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union, doing so on January 10th, 1861. But secessionist Floridians were taking action even before the legislative vote, seizing or attempting to seize Federal properties in the state. One of these was Fort Marion, which was occupied by volunteer Florida troops on January 7th. At the time, the Federal presence at the fort was light; an ordinance sergeant was in command. The sergeant reported the seizure of the for in this report:
SAINT AUGUSTINE, EAST FLORIDA,
January 7, 1861.
SIR: I am obliged to perform what is to me a painful duty, viz, to report to the Chief of Ordnance that all the military stores at this place were seized this morning by the order of the governor of the State of Florida. A Company of volunteer soldiers marched to the barracks and took possession of me, and demanded peaceable possession of the keys of the fort and magazine. I demanded them to show me their authority. An aide-de-camp of the governor showed me his letter of instructions authorizing him to seize the property, and directing him to use what force might be necessary.
Upon reflection I decided that the only alternative for me was to deliver the keys, under protest, and demand a receipt for the property. One thing certain, with the exception of the guns composing the armament of the water battery, the property seized is of no great value. The gentleman acting under the governor's instructions has promised to receipt to me for the stores.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
HENRY DOUGLAS.
Ordnance Sergeant, U.S. Army.
Col. H. K. CRAIG,
Chief of Ordnance Department, U.S. Army.
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Bonus: The
First Battle of Dragoon Springs was a minor skirmish between a small troop of
Confederate dragoons of
Governor John R. Baylor's
Arizona Rangers, and a band of
Apache warriors during the
American Civil War. It was fought on
May 5, 1862, near the present-day town of
Benson,
Arizona, in
Confederate Arizona.
Wikipedia, wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Dragoon_Springs
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