So, here we have a flag in the Fort Clinch visitor center. It does not say, but from its condition, I am guessing it is a reproduction that has been flown over the fort in modern times.
Here is the current flag, a reproduction of the US flag in use in 1864. This is actually the most popular design of the 36 star flag, and several other variations existed.
This is my wife's version of the flag-in-the-window shot.
The Union campaign that climaxed in the Battle of Olustee (or Ocean Pond) began in February 1864, when troops commanded by General Truman A. Seymour embarked at Hilton Head, South Carolina. Their immediate objective was a fourth occupation of Jacksonville. The force could then disrupt transportation links and deprive the Confederacy of food supplies from central Florida; capture cotton, turpentine and timber; gain black recruits for the Union army; and induce Unionists in east Florida to organize a loyal state government.
Seymour's expeditionary force landed at Jacksonville on Feb 7. Scouts and raiders moved west and met little opposition.Meanwhile, during the month of January, movement of the Federal fleet had been noted by the Confederate forces, and they began to prepare for an offensive. The defense of Florida was placed in the hands of Brig. General Joseph Finegan and Brig. General Alfred Colquitt. Once it was apparent the Union forces were moving westward in Florida, Finegan began searching for the Confederate army's best defendable position.Finegan found that position at Olustee. With a lake called Ocean Pond on his left, a nearly impassable swamp on his right and only a narrow passage between, he called for troops to help defend Florida. Colquitt answered that call, bringing veteran troops from Savannah, Georgia.
On Feb 20, the Union force of 5,500 men and 16 cannon marched westward from Barber's Plantation, near modern day Macclenny. Their plan was to defeat the Confederates 32 miles away, near Lake City, and then cut off the railroad there. But by this time, the Confederate forces almost equaled the Union opposing army in number, and Finegan sent skirmishers to draw the Union forces to Olustee. The Union army drove the Confederate cavalry back several miles, but resistance kept growing stronger. H.W.B. Athens wrote "At 8 o' clock in the morning on the 20th instant we were informed that the Yankees were advancing. A part of the brigade was immediately ordered to some rifle pits hastily constrcuted near at hand, the remainder forming line of battle in open field. In this position we patiently waited the coming of the foe for an hour, when our General, who is a fair man, concluded to meet halfway." The opposing armies made contact that afternoon and the Confederate line was formed, infantry in the center with cavalry on each flank.
The battle was joined on the floor of a forest of virgin pines, free of underbrush. Men fought in the open forest; neither force constructed earthworks. The Union army was cauhgt between two swamps, one preventing their advance, and one hindering a retreat. Initially, neither side expected the battle here to amount to much.
Around 2 PM, the battle intensified as the 7th Connecticut opened up heavy fire with their Spencer repeating rifles. This caught the 64th Georgia off guard and killed all of their field officers. Colonel Barrow of the 64th had told his men "I am sure that we are in the right, and that God is on our side. Follow me today, my men, and I will lead you to the enemy. Remember, that the honor of Georgia rests with you." Soon after saying these words, Col Barrow was shot through the heart by a Union bullet and killed instantly. The 7th Connecticut advanced quickly, and soon found themselves ahead of the rest of the army, and in a deadly crossfire. The Union advance was finally halted when they ran low on ammunition and witdrew several hundred yards. Milton M. Woodford of the 7th CT wrote home "As we advanced, the enemy retired, keeping just in sight. Whenever we could get near enough to atnd any chance of doing execution we would blaze away at them and they returned the fire in a way that showed that they were good marksmen, for their shots came plenty near enough, although none of us were hit."
By 3 Pm, the 7th New Hampshire deployed on the Union right flank, battling heavy fire from the Confederates. The regiment had earlier been ordered to exchange their Spencer repeating rifles for old, defective muskets, many of which did not even fire. Colonel Hawley, leading the 7th new Hampshire, either gave a wrong command or his command was misunderstood, causing the confused 7th to scatter to the rear.
The 8th US Colored troops with no battle experience and little traing were deployed on the Union left flank. They had less than one month's service and had never practiced firing their weapons. They were severely mauled at a railroad crossing east of Olustee. Of the 375 men in this troop, 310 were killed or wounded. The 8th US Regimental Surgeon wrote "Here they stood for two hours... under one of the most terrible fires I ever witnessed, and here on the field of Olustee, was decided whether the colored man had the courage to stand without shelter, and run the dangers of the battlefield, and when I tell you that they stand with a fire in frint, on their flank without flinching, I have no doubt as to the center of every man who has gratitude for the defenders of his country, white or black."
Around this time, Colonel Harrison arrived with Confederate reinforcements. The area recently vacated by the 7th New Hampshire now came under concentrated fire. The train also had a large cannon mounted on a flatcar which shot a lare shell every five minutes with devastating effects. By now the Union had five cannon captured and almost all others rendered useless. James H. Clark remarked "the horses and men were nearly all killed or wounded, and it was the greatest slaughter among artillery known in the history of the war."
By now the Union felt the day was lost, but the 54th Massachusetts and 1st North Carolina US Colored advanced, staggering the enemy.
The 1899 Florida legislature created a commission to select a site and to raise funds for a suitable monument to commemorate the battle. The site was acquired by the state of Florida in 1909. the monument was built in 1912 and dedicated in 1913, just 49 years after the battle.
A small onsite museum has several artifacts, but does not say if they are originals or reproductions.
This is the World's Smallest Police Station, in downtown Carrabelle, FL. A few stories abound about how it came to be, but here is what is known: The Polices had a phone bolted to a nearby building, but its use exposed them to the elements, and supposedly it was used by people for illegal calls. So in 1963 when the phone company decided to retire a phone booth, the Police took it to put their phone inside. The illegal calls continued, however, and vandalism plagued the tiny station, so eventually the phone was removed. But the reputation as a Police Station lived on.
Now it is an empty booth, still with the Smallest Police Station label. Supposedly, this is a reproduction and the original is on display somewhere else. I love local lore, never can get one straight story.
This marker is in a rest area just east of the Crooked River Lighthouse.
The Crooked River Lighthouse, just west of Carabelle, Florida, has seen many mariners safely home for the 100 years it was lit and used. It was built in 1895 to replace one on Dog Island that was destroyed in a hurricane in 1873. Authorities decided it would be better to have a lighthouse on the secure mainland rther than the exposed Dog Island. After construction delays, the Crooked River Lighthouse, flanked by two identical keeper's houses was completed. The twin houses, one for the keeper and the other for the assistant keeper were sold in 1964 and moved from the site. A fire destroyed one of the houses and the other remains in private ownership.
Electricity came to the lighthouse in 1933 and it became automated in 1952. The lens was built in 1894 by Henri LaPaute in Paris France. The lens currently is on display at the US Coast Guard District 8 headquarters in New Orleans. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1995.
In 1999, the lighthouse belonged to the US Coast Guard, but was inoperable and deemed surplus property. The Carrabelle Lighthouse Association was formed and in August 2001 the deed was transferred to the city of Carrabelle. The following February, the CLA reached an agreement with the city to care for and restore the lighthouse.
Tower Height: 103 feet
Currently the CLA and the city of Carrabelle are in the process of building a replica of the Light Keeper's house to be located in the park to serve as a museum. When completed the museum, lighthouse, and recreational conservation site will be open to the public.
This is a playground that was not here in 2003. I sure wish I had a pirate ship when I was growing up!!
From the Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News:
Despite this book's kid-like appearance, it is actually quite valuable, and I would have kept it if I had bought it, and not checked it out from the library. When it comes to the Seminole Wars, most books (which there are not many) focus on only one of the three wars, or a specific aspect, etc. Only two that I have found completely cover the entire conflict from start to finish. This is the good one. The other one was written and arranged in a very confusing manner that made the sequence of events hard to follow. This book is neither long, nor hard to read, but it covers all aspects of all three wars to satisfy any curious history buff. Anyone living in or near Florida should read this and I would recommend it to anyone else, also, as the Seminole Wars were THE major event in Florida of the 19th century and had a profound impact on the rest of the country as well. The book can be purchased on Amazon here. Also see the several Seminole War sites I have visited here.
This is a lighthouse on the Gulf coast that I visited in 2003, and decided to come see again. When I was here before, only one of the dwellings had been restored, while the other was in terrible condition. I had read that it had since been restored as well, which is my I came back to see it.
As it turns out, somehow I lost most of my pictures from the 2003 trip, which kinda upset me. I was going to do this great before and after sequence and blah blah blah.... Anyway, so this picture is not mine, it is from Lighthouse Friends. But it shows how the second dwelling looked when I was here before.
Now the second dwelling is fully restored and serves as a gift shop that is, naturally, not open on Sundays, which is when I was here.
The site has no markers or brochures, so no locally available information. This small building is also there and was probably associated with operation of the lighthouse.
A brief overview of the light's history, thanks again to Lighthouse Friends. To read the full story, go to their site. I don't want any kind of copyright snafu.
A lighthouse here was originally built in 1836, further north, near the tip of the St Joseph cape. From 1847-48 it was dismantled and rebuilt at the current location near the southern end. This light was destroyed by wind in 1851. A second brick tower was built in 1855, but was destroyed by a hurricane less than a year later. In 1857 the third brick tower was built, which lasted until 1882, when the beach around it had completely eroded away.
Following the loss of the third tower, it was decided to replace it with an iron skeleton tower that could easily be moved if needed. It was built in 1885, after the ship carrying it, ironically, sank. The iron skeleton proved to be a good idea in 1918, when the light was moved inland to protect it from the eroding shoreline. The light remained active until 1996, and in 1999 was placed under care of the Air Force.
A short walk takes you to the beach
The light is also clearly visible from the beach
The light is on Air Force property, part of the Eglin Air Force Base, seen above. It is accessible to the public, unless special AF testing is occurring. There is also a state park a few miles up the road.
This is another little known fascinating site, just a while south of Tallahassee. During the War of 1812, the British recruited Native Americans and runaway slaves in an attempt to use them against the Americans. Here on the banks of the Apalachicola River they built a fort to shelter them and make a base for operations against American shipping on the river. The British left in 1815, but the fort continued to harass American shipping on the river. In spite of the fort being in what was still Spanish territory, the United States ordered it destroyed.
Alerted to the threat from the US, the local Natives and runaways took shelter in the fort and awaited an attack. Col Duncan Lamont Clinch with 116 men in riverboats met with Major John McIntosh and 150 friendly natives. On July 23, 1816 word was received that four men sent to the river for water had been killed by men from the fort. That was the excuse needed to attack, and on July 27, they approached by land and on the river with the gunboats.
The gunboats opened fire, and on the fifth salvo, an explosive shot landed in the fort's magazine, which exploded, killing over 300 of the people in the fort. Clinch reported that "the explosion was awful and the scene horrible beyond description." When the fort surrendered, the Native Chief and leading runaway were captured and executed for the murder of the four men who went to the river. In the above photo, small wooden posts mark the corners of the fort's magazine. In the center is a flagpole flying the British flag.
While this dramatic episode occurred after the official end of the War of 1812, and before the official beginning of the First Seminole War, it has often been considered a battle of both wars.
In 1818, after the official start of the First Seminole War, Andrew Jackson sent a group of men down the Apalachicola River to destroy Seminole Villages. Upon encountering the site of the old fort here, he was so impressed by the location, that he ordered a new fort constructed. The new fort was smaller, but on the same spot. The above model shows what the new American fort would have looked like.
The new fort was not occupied for long, and the site was virtually forgotten until the Civil War. With the Apalachicola River leading to vital plantations in southern Georgia and Alabama, the Confederates realized its importance and occupied the Fort Gadsden site until 1863 when Malaria drove them away. 
Today little remains of the American fort, and almost no trace exists of the British fort. The site is a National Historic Landmark, and is well maintained by the Apalachicola National Forest. 
In this site, locally known as the "Renegade Cemetery," the remains of many of the persons killed in the explosion of the British Fort were buried. The brick burial vault dates from the late 19th century. Grave Robbers, though to be workmen building a nearby railroad, broke into it in the early part of the twentieth century. Archaeological excavations revealed that the wet acid soils had destroyed all physical remains of the persons buried here. Only the numerous shallow depressions mark the resting places of those killed in the terrible explosion.
The brick vault in the cemetery
In 1838 the Steamship Irvington, carrying 200 bales of cotton on a downstream run, burned and sank four miles upstream from here. This 15 foot sidewheeler was constructed in 1836 in Madison, Indiana. These boilers and parts were dredged from the river about where the Irvington went down. The ship's short life on the river came during the early part of the Apalachicola steamship period. Later over 200 ships worked the river from the Gulf to as far north as Columbus, Georgia.
More parts from the Irvington
View of the Apalachicola River
Near the parking lot for the site is a large encased booth with many excellent artifacts found here and displays including the fort model and Gadsden portrait. Above are Native and British items from the time of the first fort.
Remains of a British musket and bayonet
Items from river steamboats found in the area
I'm not sure what this is, unless it's just a baby tree. 
