Yellow Bluff Fort
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Yellow Bluff Fort (1862-1865) - First established as a Confederate Earthworks Fort during the U.S. Civil War. Abandoned in 1865.
HistoryGeneral Robert E. Lee originally suggested the location for this earthworks fort on the St. Johns River and suggested that it be a part of the main defense of the St. Johns River leading into Jacksonville, Florida. The earthwork fort was established in 1862 on the 22 foot high Yellow Bluff. On 3 Oct 1862, the Union forces advanced against the sister fortification at St. John's Bluff finding that battery abandoned, they next advanced against Yellow Bluff Fort on 5 Oct 1862, finding it lightly armed and abandoned. The Yellow Bluff Fort had been prepared for seven heavy guns but the heavy guns had not arrived and the fort was armed with only eight light field pieces. The Confederate troops chose not to defend it without the heavy guns. A Confederate force under Capt. J.J. Dickinson reoccupied Yellow Bluff Fort after the Union forces departed and stood off repeated attacks by Union gunboats. The fort was again abandoned by the Confederates and it was converted to a signal station by Union troops in March 1864. Current StatusPeriod guns and a marker are in place along with some remains of the earthworks.
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Links: Visited: 31 Aug 2021, 17 Jan 2010 Gallery
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