The Civil War

1861-1865

Part Three

The Marianna Raid and Fortifying Tallahassee

                When the Civil War was entering its final months, Tallahassee was still largely unaffected from the conflict. The citizens of Florida’s capital did not experience much of the realities of war, besides seeing the wounded who were taken there after the Battle of Olustee in 1864. The area around Tallahassee, however, saw some brutal fighting in the form of a raid on Marianna on September 27, 1864. U.S. General Alexander Asboth marched inland from U.S held Pensacola and attacked Marianna, causing more than twenty percent of the town’s population to either be killed, wounded, or captured. The area was now in a panic, but was calmed when Confederate Major George Washington Scott reported that Asboth and the Union soldiers had returned to Pensacola rather than continuing on to Tallahassee as some thought may be his plan.

           

General John K. Jackson

The commander of military forces in Florida was General John K. Jackson, who was away from Tallahassee at the time of the Marianna raid. The next highest ranking official in Tallahassee was Brigadier General William Miller. Upon learning of the raid, Miller offered to do anything he could to help, in which General Jackson accepted. The first thing that Miller did was to order the fortification of Tallahassee, which before the raid had no defenses put up.[1] Old Fort St. Marks was to be garrisoned by Campbell’s Company of Georgia Siege Artillery. Throughout the 1830s, 40s, and 50s, locals had used the limestone blocks of the old Spanish fort to build other projects, such as the marine hospital and the St. Marks lighthouse. Unfortunately for posterity, historic preservation was not on people’s minds in those days, and by the time Confederate forces aimed to re-garrison the fort in 1861, nearly all the limestone blocks from the bastion along the Wakulla River had been removed. Confederates filled in what was left of the bastion with earth to create an elevated platform in which to place a cannon battery aimed toward the Wakulla River. They also shifted some stones around from the bastion to create a ramp to the top of the battery. People can still walk on this platform today. The garrison filled in and leveled out what was left of the old moat, and used it as the fort’s main floor. They also built a magazine, or storage space, out of stone and wood, then build a mound on top of it to protect their supplies. The magazine mound was almost sixteen feet tall, and was on the east end of Fort Ward, behind the old bombproof, which was being used as a cannon battery for the St. Marks River side of the fort.

The Confederates renamed the installation Fort Ward, after Colonel George T. Ward of the Second Florida Infantry, the one-time anti-secessionist, after he was killed at Williamsburg. Although Confederates did a lot to re-fortify the fort, it was not efficient enough to mount a real defense, should the Union launch an attack. Fort Ward was completely vulnerable on the north side of the fort. The magazine projected well above the ramparts of the battery, and the fort had no rear wall. If Federal forces could advance upriver enough to flank Fort Ward, its defenders would not stand a chance.

Brigadier General William Miller

            General Miller assigned Confederate Engineer Corps Captain Theodore Moreno to investigate and expand Tallahassee’s defenses, which included Fort Ward in St. Marks. Moreno came to the conclusion that if Tallahassee faced a threat from a large Union force, that force would most likely come ashore at St. Marks lighthouse or Shell Point in Wakulla County, then they would cross the St. Marks River and march inland to Tallahassee. Confederates began to strengthen their picket line along the coast, and permanently posted guards at the St. Marks lighthouse, Shell Point, and at the site of the former Port Leon. It was believed that if a Union force came ashore at the lighthouse, it would then march to the bridge at Newport to cross the St. Marks River. The captain ordered a line of entrenchments dug along the riverside of Newport, so that in the case of a Union attempt to cross the St. Marks River Confederates in the trenches could unleash a barrage of musket fire at the bridge.

            Next on Captain Moreno’s to-do list was the strengthening of Fort Ward, and he did this by having strong earthworks built on the rear of the fort, protecting the garrison from an attack from the north. The Confederates constructed a raised earth defensive wall to the rear of the fort, just north of the old filled in moat. This embankment was tall enough to offer protection to soldiers standing on the main floor of the fort (the old moat), and can still be seen to this day. After Fort Ward was strengthened, General Miller focused his attention on improving his communication and supply lines to Tallahassee. He wanted to undertake several projects, such as: build a new bridge that crossed the Suwannee River, extend the railroad to Live Oak, extend the railroad from Quincy to the Apalachicola River, and improve the dirt road that connected the railroad at Quincy to the wharf and arsenal at Chattahoochee.[2] To complete these tasks, General Miller got permission from the Florida Legislature to conscript slaves into the engineer corps.

           

Cadets from West Florida Seminary (today's FSU) 

After fortifications and supply lines were addressed, General Miller then turned to his troops. At his command was the First Florida Infantry Reserves, which was formed in 1864 out of companies from all across the state. Also at his command were a few companies from the Fifth Florida Cavalry, the Milton Light Artillery, the Kilcrease Light Artillery, Campbell’s Company of Heavy Siege Artillery at Fort Ward, and militias from counties all around Florida, kor “home guard”, as they were called. If the need should arise, the Second Florida Cavalry in eastern Florida could also be called upon. Daniel Ladd’s steamer the Spray, patrolled the waters of the lower St. Marks River and could be used during an attack. Also at General Miller’s beck and call were the young cadets of West Florida Seminary. The West Florida Seminary was founded in 1857 and was located at the intersection of Copeland and Clinton Street (present-day College Avenue). The Seminary was the predecessor of Florida State University, and trained students from the ages of 12 to 18 years of age.

Sources used:

Brig. Gen. William Miller to Lt. Col. T.B. Roy, Assist. Adjut-Gen., Jan. 11, 1865, Official Records, S.1, V.47-2, p.1005-1006

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[1] Miller to Roy, p.1006

[2] Ibid.