Fort Clinch (1)
Fort Clinch (1) (1847-1936) - Construction began in 1847 on this Third System masonry fort and continued until 1867. Named after Gen. Duncan L. Clinch Nov 1850.
Fort Clinch (1) History
Established to protect the entrance to Cumberland Sound and the mouths of the Amelia and St. Johns rivers.
Built as a masonry Third System fort with five sides and bastions located on each corner. Designed to mount 70 pieces of heavy ordnance, it was never fully armed.
At the beginning of the U.S. Civil War the Florida Militia occupied Fort Clinch. Union forces reoccupied the fort in Mar 1862 after it was abandoned by Confederate forces. The fort was never shelled and sustained no damage during the U.S. Civil War.
Fort Clinch was put in caretaker status after the U.S. Civil War and never finished or completely armed.
Some improvements were made during the Spanish American War but Fort Clinch did not have any of the heavy concrete batteries of the Endicott Period installed and remains much as it was at the end of the civil war. Service during the World War II was limited to a communications and security facility.
Current Status
In 1935, the state of Florida purchased 256 acres which included the abandoned fort and developed one of Florida's first State Parks. The civilian Conservation Corps restored the fort in the 1930s. It was formally opened to the public in 1938.
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Location: Fort Clinch is on route A1A at the north end of Amelia Island, three miles north of Fernandina Beach, Florida. Maps & Images Lat: 30.704689 Long: -81.454461 |
Sources:
- Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 158
- Weaver, John R. II, A Legacy in Brick and Stone: America Coastal Defense Forts of the Third System, Redoubt Press, McLean, 2001, First Printing, ISBN 1-57510-069-X, page 147-149
Links:
Visited: 17 Jan 2010
Fort Clinch (1) Picture Gallery
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