Union Defenses of the City of Pensacola, Florida (1862-1865) (original) (raw)

The urban development of Spanish colonial Pensacola, 1781--1821

2007

Many people have helped me complete this research and deserve special acknowledgement. I realize that I have omitted mentioning several people who deserve acknowledgement. Know that this is not for lack of appreciation. I was blessed to have access to the knowledge of many scholarly experts while at LSU Geography and Anthropology, but my committee deserves special recognition for their scholarly insight and continual moral support. Andrew Curtis provided GIS and statistics expertise, and persistently kept me on course. Kent Mathewson afforded his unparalleled understanding of the history of geography at LSU and beyond. Michael Leitner supplied valuable insight into the various intricacies of spatial analysis and computer cartography. Paul Farnsworth challenged me to consider theoretical approaches and methods of researching historical documents. I am also indebted to Paul Hoffman whose knowledge of colonial America, and of those who study its history, continually proved invaluable. Geographer Carville Earle deserves special mention for challenging me in his own blunt and direct way to focus my research interests into something worthwhile. Dr. Earle demanded much of me but, I soon discovered, not nearly as much as he demanded of himself. During the initial weeks in his introductory graduate seminar, Dr. Earle quite emphatically asked me why he should "spend his precious time" with someone who had not defined his research goals. In retrospect, I now know that his choice of words had other meanings beyond motivating a new, impressionable graduate student. But at the time I realized that this particular path required me to obtain skills that I did not yet possess, skills that Dr. Earle had in abundance. Although I have no way of proving it now, I believe he iv agreed to co-chair my committee because he realized that I was determined to learn as much from him as I could about historical geography and geographical history, and because he recognized that I simply was not going to quit. I am very proud that Dr. Earle decided to spare a few moments of his precious time to help me "find a star" on which to hang my research. While at Louisiana State University, the Department of Geography and Anthropology provided me with an assistantship that allowed me to complete the necessary course load and much of my dissertation research. The department also granted me support through the West Fund that permitted me to travel to Pensacola and find pertinent historical documents. Dana Sanders, the department's graduate secretary, was my rock of faith through this entire ordeal. Much of my time in Baton Rouge I was distracted by other, more pressing issues, but the love and support of friends and family brought me through these difficult times and allowed me to recover and continue my academic endeavors. My mother and Joe stayed with me during the most difficult times, and phone conversations with Lou kept me sane. My many friends visited and called, lifting my spirits and giving me hope. These include:

Rediscovering Pensacola’s Lost Spanish Missions

Southeastern Archaeological Conference, 2008

In 1763, 108 Yamasee and Apalachee Indians accompanied the Spanish evacuees from Pensacola to a new home in Veracruz, and two years later just 47 survivors laid out a new town north of Veracruz called San Carlos de Chachalacas, electing dual mayors representing each ethnicity. These expatriates were the remants of two Pensacola-area missions that had been burned by Creek raids in 1761-San Antonio de Punta Rasa and San Joseph de Escambe. This paper will explore the origins and history of these missions, and the ongoing search for archaeological traces of their existence.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Cummings and the Fort Brooke to Fort Mellon Road

Journal of the Tampa Historical Society Volume XXVI …

This finely detailed map, prepared by Adjutant Clendenin, 2nd Regiment of Infantry, United States Army, clearly shows the locations of several fortifications on the Florida frontier. Forts Mellon, Maitland, and Gatlin are in the top right section. Lake Ahapopka is due west of Fort Maitland. Tampa Bay, the Hillsborough River, and Fort Brooke can he seen in the bottom left. Fort Dade is just up from center. Fort Cummings, known today as Lake Alfred, was named for Lt. Col. Alexander Cummings. (Map from the National Archives courtesy of the author.) A reproduction of page two of Lt. Col. Alexander Cummings' report of June 10, 1839 to Brig. General Zachary Taylor, Commanding Army of the South, Tampa Bay. Cummings writes, "I reached Fort Brooke on the 8th of December, where I found about 260 Indians & negroes assembled for emigration, . . . I deemed it hardly safe to leave the post without sufficient force . . ." (Reproduction of the document from the National Archives courtesy of the author.

The Hammock Landing Battery, Florida

Paper presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology 45th Annual Conference on Historic and Underwater Archaeology, Baltimore, Maryland, 2012

Throughout the American Civil War, the defense of the Apalachicola River in northwest Florida was of strategic military and economic importance to the Confederacy. The river system is navigable as far north as Columbus, Georgia, and its security was essential in preventing Federal blockading vessels positioned at Apalachicola Bay from reaching this important industrial city. Constructed during the summer of 1863, the Hammock Landing Battery on Neal's Bluff in Liberty County, Florida (8LI334) was one component in this line of defense. This paper examines the construction methods and geographical placement of the Hammock Landing Battery through historical and archaeological research, as well as through concepts drawn from landscape theory and KOCOA terrain analysis. Material culture analysis is also utilized to examine the effectiveness of the Federal blockade on Confederate ordnance supplies.