January 28, 1861 - Developments on the Gulf Coast

Fort Pickens in 1861, by a Union officer.

January 28, 1861

A series of events that took place 150 years ago today in Louisiana and Florida resulted in the loss of several facilities to the U.S. government, while another was all but guaranteed to remain in Union control for the duration of the coming war.

From Pensacola, recently resigned U.S. Senator Stephen R. Mallory telegraphed still serving senators from Louisiana, Virginia and Pennsylvania in an effort to avoid bloodshed over Fort Pickens on Florida's Santa Rosa Island. If President James Buchanan would agree not to reinforce the fort, Mallory offered, Florida would not attack it. While Mallory's intent was noble, the move would lead to the Fort Pickens Truce on the next day, an agreement that gave U.S. forces the time they needed to prepare Fort Pickens for battle. Once the guns of the fort were mounted, any hopes Southern forces might have had of taking it were all but over.

To learn more about the events that took place in Florida in 1861, please visit our sister site, Civil War Florida.

In Louisiana, meanwhile, state forces took Fort Macomb east of New Orleans while also seizing military supplies in the Crescent City. One of the two forts located at the Rigolets, a channel leading from Lake Borgne into Lake Pontchartrain and to the "back door" of New Orleans, the masonry fort was a vital defense of New Orleans.

January 14, 1861 - Fort Pike Seized and Fort Taylor Occupied

Fort Taylor (Florida State Archives)

January 14, 1861

As the military situation in the South continued to grow more tense, moves were made on January 14, 1861 - 150 years ago today - involve key forts in Florida and Louisiana.

In Florida, Captain J.M. Brannan of the First U.S. Artillery moved his company from the Key West Barracks into Fort Taylor on the night of January 14th.  Begun in 1845 and still under construction, the fort was a strong work with three tiers of artillery that commanded the harbor at Key West. The movement was made at the request of Captain E.B. Hunt of the engineers, who was supervising work on the fort, following the secession of Florida and reports of seizures of other forts and arsenals throughout the South.

Fort Taylor is now a part of the Florida State Park system and is open to the public daily. To learn more, please visit www.floridastateparks.org/forttaylor.

In Louisiana on the same day, state militia forces occupied Fort Pike. Built in 1819-1826, the strong masonry fort guarded the Rigolets, a channel that connected Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain, providing water access from the Gulf of Mexico to the "back door" of New Orleans. The importance of this channel had been made clear by British operations at the time of the Battle of New Orleans (1814-1815) and the U.S. had moved quickly to strongly fortify the Rigolets.

Fort Pike is now a Louisiana State Historic Site and is open to the public by appointment. To learn more, please visit www.crt.state.la.us/parks/ifortpike.aspx,