Built near the end of the Civil War during the fall of 1864 as part of a plan to fortify and protect Tallahassee from attacks from the west by the Union Army, this old earthwork fort is located on a hilltop in the Myers Park area. It was originally connected to similar works by trenches and rifle pits. It was named Fort Houstoun because it was located on the Houstoun plantation with vast open fields which at that time surrounded the approaches to the state capitol building and the southeastern section of the city. These fields are now residential and commercial areas. The physical labor to build the fort was done by enslaved African Americans obtained from plantations across Northern Florida. Many of them briefly became Confederate soldiers when their enlistment into a regiment of state troops was authorized by General Samuel Jones following the Battle of Natural Bridge. This area is now known as Old Fort Park. For more information on this historic site, please go here.
11 comments:
An interesting article to read. Sort of reminds me of Valley Forge State Park that is not far from here. Even though Valley Forge was much earlier in time, Old Fort Park has some of the same things that Valley Forge has. Gettysburg is the closest place around here for the Civil War.
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I was surprised when you first mentioned the Civil War, but you also clarified that this was near the end of the war. It would not be a good sign for the South to be building forts in anticipation of attacks in Florida, as that would necessarily mean that the North had penetrated through many other Southern states.
I wonder what the slaves thought as they were forced to build fortifications to support the efforts to perpetuate their enslavement.
I saw one of these old earthen fort remains when I lived in Georgia. They are quite fascinating - each with a history that should not be forgotten. Thank you for sharing this one.
Thank you for sharing that! I LOVE history--and this is just fascinating to me.
Lovely! I really like the 'white' trees and the Spanish Moss.
Speaking of the Civil War, did you happen to watch "Stealing Lincoln's Body" on The History Channel last week? I couldn't believe what all had happened to that poor man & his family! I was shocked, to say the least!
Hi Lois,
We were tagged by NikonSniper to provide answers to 8 questions, then tag 8 others. Guess what? Yep, you've been tagged. You can check over at our blog for the questions, then please let us know when you've posted your answers.
Thanks in advance for being a good sport.
Very interesting. I like to see old forts. We have several on the islands out here although not as old as that one. MB
I always like any historical place. If I remember well this is not far from the Georgia border.
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