The First Shot of the Civil War - A Controversy Ignited?

Fort Barrancas, Florida

If you have seen today's Associated Press article quoting me, it looks like quite a stir has been created over where the actual first shot of the Civil War took place. 

The AP story is about an incident that took place on the drawbridge at Fort Barrancas in Pensacola, Florida, on January 8, 1861. Union troops there opened fire on a party of mysterious figures who approached the fort, hours before cadets from The Citadel fired on the supply ship Star of the West and three months before Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Back in January, I posted an article about the shooting on one of my other blogs, Civil War Florida (Please click here to read it.)

Fort Sumter, South Carolina

Last week I was contacted by a writer from the Associated Press and spoke with her briefly about the incident. That interview, of course, was condensed down to a couple of lines in the article. I hadn't thought much more about it until I woke up this morning to find the article had appeared in newspapers and on media websites literally around the world. (Please click here to read it.)

The reaction has been fascinating and from my browsing around the web, it seems that people from the United States to Australia and back are debating it.  Its enjoyable to me to see so many people discussing history, although it is a shame that far too many are just using it as a chance to be rude and insulting to Southerners in general.

Since the AP writer didn't have space to include much of what I actually think on the topic, I wrote up my thoughts this morning and posted them at Civil War Florida. If you are interested in reading more, I hope you'll take a few minutes to read them. Here is the link:  http://civilwarflorida.blogspot.com/.

Fort Barrancas, Florida - First Hostile Shots of the Civil War

Note: We are observing Confederate History Month by looking at historic sites and points of interest in the South related to the War between the States.

It might require a little rewriting of history, but the first hostile shots of the War Between the States were fired by U.S. troops in Florida, not by Confederate troops in South Carolina.

On January 6, 1861, sentries at Fort Barrancas, an important post protecting Pensacola Bay and the Pensacola Navy Yard, observed shadowy figures approaching the main gate of the fort through the darkness. Barrancas was then the only one of the harbor fortifications at Pensacola occupied by the U.S. Army in any strength at all. The nearby posts of Fort Pickens and Fort McRee were held only by caretakers and the Advanced Redoubt, a subsidiary work to Fort Barrancas, was not occupied at all.

The men occupying Fort Barrancas that night normally occupied more comfortable quarters in the nearby Barrancas Barracks, but Lt. Adam J. Slemmer had moved them into the main fort after hearing rumors that state militia troops planned to seize the fort. According to a report filed just three days earlier, Barrancas was heavily armed. The Ordnance Department in Washington had reported on January 3rd that the fort contained 44 seacoast and garrison cannon and 20,244 pounds of gunpowder.

The rumors that Southern troops might try to seize the fort, however, had the sentries on edge. As they saw the unknown men walking onto the drawbridge on January 6th, they reacted quickly. After the mysterious figures did not respond to their calls, the sentries opened fire. The figures disappeared, but the first hostile shots of the Civil War had been fired. Deciding to move his command to the more secure Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, Lieutenant Slemmer began preparing to evacuate Fort Barrancas the next day.

It was later disclosed that the figures on the drawbridge had been volunteer soldiers from Alabama who approached the fort after hearing a rumor that it had been evacuated by the Federals. Instead they found themselves facing the firing end of the muskets of Slemmer's sentries and scrambled for cover. No one was injured in the incident, which happened before the firing on the Union ship Star of the West by cadets from The Citadel a short time later and more than three months before the bombardment of Fort Sumter.

To learn more about Fort Barrancas, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortbarrancas1.

Memorial Day, Part Two - Barrancas National Cemetery, Florida

Continuing our Memorial Day series, we focus today on Barrancas National Cemetery near Pensacola, Florida.

One of the oldest national cemeteries in the Deep South, this burial ground dates back to the early 1800s. The cemetery was established shortly after the United States took possession of Florida and was designated to serve as a final resting places for soldiers, sailors and workers engaged in building the Pensacola Navy Yard and Fort Pickens, Fort Barrancas, Fort McRee and the Advanced Redoubt.

Buried here are the men and women who served our country over a time span of nearly 200 years. Some of these men bear names recognizable from the battles against the British during the War of 1812. Others served in the Creek and Seminole Wars, the war with Mexico and, of course, the Civil War. The cemetery was used by both the Union and the Confederacy during the War Between the States.

The cemetery remains in use today, with large numbers of veterans of World War II, Korea and more recent conflicts.

Located on board the Pensacola Naval Air Station, the Barrancas National Cemetery is open to the public daily. Simply ask at the gates for directions and a pass. The personnel there are extremely helpful. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/barrancasnationalcemetery.

Historic Pensacola, Florida

The first part of our new section on the historic city of Pensacola, Florida, is now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com.

The site of a settlement founded by the Spanish in 1559, Pensacola is one of the oldest cities on the Gulf Coast. Noted for its beautiful beaches and sparkling waters, the city is home to an impressive array of historic sites, structures and more. With landmarks including colonial homes, a Revolutionary War battlefield and important Civil War sites such as Forts Pickens, Barrancas and Advanced Redoubt, Pensacola is a major destination for heritage tourism.

To learn more and visit phase one of our Pensacola section, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the "Pensacola" heading.