Fort at Pensacola

Fort at Pensacola (1763-1781) - A British colonial post established on the site of previous Spanish fortifications in 1763 in present day Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. Abandoned in 1781.

Fort at Pensacola, Foundation Ruins	Fort at Pensacola, Commanding Officer's Compound
Fort at Pensacola 1778 Plan

Fort at Pensacola History

Built on the remains of the Spanish Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola by British forces under Brigadier Frederick Haldimand. The British laid out the plan for the new fort along with a new plan for the town of Pensacola, reserving a central location for the fort. The 1767 fort stockade measured 1400 feet by 850 feet back from the bay. The post was rebuilt in 1775 as a five-sided stockade about 1000 by 750 feet with four blockhouses. In 1780 most of the guns were removed to Fort George (9) as the British first tried to capture Spanish Mobile and, failing in that effort, prepared for the Spanish retaliation. Pensacola was besieged and taken in 1781 by the Spanish under Bernardo de Galvez. The Fort at Pensacola was renamed Presidio Santa Maria de Galvez by the Spanish.

Current Status

The site is on mostly private property in downtown Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. The site is bounded by Main Street and Romano Streets between Seville Square and Plaza Ferdinand and archeological digs are exposed behind the museum on East Zarragossa Street.

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Location: Private Property, Escambia County, Florida. The site is bounded by Main Street and Romano Streets between Seville Square and Plaza Ferdinand and archeological digs are exposed behind the museum on East Zarragossa Street. Maps & Images Lat: 30.409671 Long: -87.212005 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....'

Sources:

• Coleman, James and Irene, Guardians on the Gulf:Pensacola Fortifications, 1698-1980, Pensacola Historical Society, Pensacola, 2000, ISBN 0-939566-02-8
• Bense, Judith A., Archaeology of Colonial Pensacola, University Press of Florida, 1999, ISBN 0813016614, ISBN 9780813016610, 312 pages

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort at Pensacola

Visited: 3 Jan 2012

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