Tragic Assault on St. Andrews Bay 20 March 1863

On 20 March 1863, a landing party from the USS Roebuck landed on St. Andrews Bay, near present-day Panama City. Their objective was to atte...

Ambush on the St. Johns River

The dock and hotel at Magnolia Springs, Florida, probably after the Civil War. Source: Florida Dept. of State photo archives: In his report ...

Battle of St. Johns Bluff Living History Weekend Recap

Since 2007, the Ft. Caroline National Monument in Jacksonville has hosted a Civil War Living History event to commemorate the actions of Uni...

Salt Works Raid at Cedar Key

Drawing of USS Ellen , a converted New York ferryboat; USS Somerset would likely have looked similar. Note that ship is firing on a target o...

US Navy Patrols on the St. Johns River, Florida

The take-over of the Confederate battery on St. Johns Bluff opened the St. Johns River to US Navy forces to conduct patrols up the river. ...

St. Johns Bluff Part III - Taking the Battery

Sketch of the configuration of the Confederate Battery on St. Johns Bluff following capture. From the "Official Records of the Union an...

Naval Engagement at St. Johns Bluff - Part II

USS Paul Jones (From Naval History and Heritage Command archives) Reports of the firing on the gunboats USS Uncas and Patroon on 11 Septemb...

Naval Engagement at St. Johns Bluff - Part I

Harper's Weekly drawing of the Confederate Battery at St. Johns Bluff (Source: Florida Dept. of State Archives) In prior posts, I highli...

Florida Lighthouses in the Civil War

Jupiter Inlet Light (designed and built by Lt. George Gordon Meade): Florida ranks seventh among the states in the number of lighthouses/lig...

CWN History Announcement

The Museum of Florida History, in Tallahassee, is "the" official Florida history museum. From 1 May to 5 August of this year they ...

St. Johns River Steamboats in the Civil War

Confederate steamboat Darlington , captured by Union forces near Fernandina and converted into a Union gunboat of the same name: Here's ...

St. Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Event 21-22 April 2012

Salt works kettle/boiler display: Salt works historic marker: During the Civil War, St. Andrews Bay, Florida, was an immensely important are...

Ft. Pickens and the Pensacola Navy Yard III

Reinforcement of Ft. Pickens by Union forces in mid-1861 (source: Fla. Dept. of State): In prior posts, I covered the events transpiring at...

"The enemy entered Palatka"

Palatka (where I live) is a small town on the St. Johns River about 40 miles south of Jacksonville, Florida. The name of the town comes from...

Union occupation of Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida

US Navy Base at Mayport Mills, Florida, St. Johns River (Fla. Dept. of State on-line photo archive): After taking Ft. Clinch and the Town of...

How to catch a train with a gunboat

During the occupation of Fernandina, Florida, in early March 1862, one the weirdest events of the Civil War involving a US Navy ship transpi...

Union occupation of Ft. Clinch, Fernandina, Florida

Ft. Clinch, at the northern tip of Amelia Island, after recapture by Union forces: While attention focused, then and now, on the impending b...

Naval Actions at Seahorse Key, Florida 1862

The Cedar Keys, on the Gulf Coast of Florida (consisting of Way, Depot, Atsena Otie, Seahorse, Snake, and North Keys), was an important port...

Key West and the East Gulf Blockading Squadron

Sketch of Key West in Civil War period In a prior post (" The Blockade Begins "), I covered the formation of the Union Navy block...

The River War in Florida

Union Navy steamer skirmishing with Confederate sharpshooters "near Fernandina, Fla." Possibly the Amelia or St. Marys Rivers. Sou...