The Battle of Waterman's Bluff - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

During the War of 1812, Georgia settlers invaded Spanish East Florida in an attempt to destabilize Spanish control and prevent British forces from using the region as a military staging ground. This conflict was known as the Patriot War. In March 1813, American forces encamped here on Eleazar Waterman's plantation because its commanding views of the Bells and Jolly rivers gave it strategic value. They remained throughout the spring and summer, living off of Waterman's crops and livestock. Spanish loyalists, coming by boat from Amelia Island and over land, attacked the American camp on August 8, 1813. Buckner Harris, the American commander, had thirty men well concealed in preparation for the attack. He and his men were able to turn back both Spanish assaults due to their superior position and by capitalizing on tactical mistakes of the Spanish. The battle lasted less than twenty minutes and resulted in eighteen Spanish casualties, six dead and twelve wounded. Harris’s victory at Waterman’s Bluff allowed American forces to launch further raids on the Fernandina region. Shifting politics in 1814, however, caused support for the Patriot War to dwindle, and the Americans were forced to abandon Spanish East Florida.

Marker Number: F-935 Date: 2016 County: Nassau Marker Type: Roadside Sponsored or placed by: Trevett Building Systems, Inc. and the Florida Department of State Website: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/08/2019 electrical_chris visited it 02/21/2018 Markerman62 visited it

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