Fort Gadsden
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Coinseekers
N 29° 56.408 W 085° 00.690
16R E 691920 N 3313814
Located off Hwy 65 on FR-129 in Apalachicola National Forest in Franklin County, Fla.
Waymark Code: WM8HQM
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 04/06/2010
Views: 24
Built in 1814 by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nichols, His Majesty's marines, as a rallying point to encourage the Seminole Indians to ally themselves with England against the United States in the War of 1812. Abandoned after 1814, it was occupied by a band of free Negroes, and was known by 1816 as "The Negro Fort." Its location in Spanish Florida did not deter Major General Andrew Jackson from ordering its elimination as a threat to American commerce on the Apalachicola River. On July 27, 1816, Lieutenant Colonel Duncan L. Clinch, with U.S. forces and 150 Creek Indians, fired on the fort and destroyed it with a "hot shot" cannon ball which exploded in the powder magazine killing all but 30 of 300 occupants. In 1818 General Jackson directed Lieutenant James Gadsden to build "Fort Gadsden" here, in spite of Spanish protests. Confederate troops occupied the fort until July, 1863, when malaria forced its abandonment.
Marker Number: F-159
Date: 1968
County: Franklin
Marker Type: Other
Sponsored or placed by: Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials
Website: [Web Link]
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