Battle of the Beaches

Pensacola Lighthouse, view from Pensacola Bay. Note: During the Civil War, the lighthouse was all white.

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By Marilyn Turk

Pensacola, Florida, has been the site of several battles between countries vying over its deep-water harbor that's protected from the Gulf of Mexico by a barrier island known as Santa Rosa Island. In the late 1700’s, Spanish forces defeated British forces for control of the area. However, in the War of 1812, American forces led by Andrew Jackson fought both British, Spanish and their allies for possession of the Florida territories, ultimately winning in 1814. And in the Civil War, the battle was between the northern states and the southern states of America.

On January 10, 1861, the state of Florida seceded from the United States, making it one of the first southern states to do so. Subsequently, Confederate troops attempted to take over the army garrison stationed at Fort Barrancas, just to the west of the city of Pensacola. The Union forces managed to repel the Confederates, then sneaked out during the night by ship to Fort Pickens, a fort on Santa Rosa Island just across the Pensacola Bay.

Over the next few months, the opposing forces exchanged cannon fire sporadically. By the end of the year, over 7000 Confederate troops under the command of General Braxton Bragg were positioned on the mainland at Fort Barrancas across from 2,000 troops under Colonel Harvey Brown at Fort Pickens. In October, Bragg ordered an attack on Fort Pickens that was unsuccessful. Brown decided to retaliate and in early November, attacked Fort McRae, a Union-held fort on an exposed peninsula at the mouth of the entrance to the bay.

Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island today

For two days, cannons at Fort Pickens and two Union ships in the Gulf of Mexico heavily bombarded the fort, partially destroying the fortification and killing several Confederates. Fort McRee was virtually useless after the attack, but neither side conceded defeat, and Confederates remained in control of the mainland.

Confederate troops on top of Fort Barrancas.
Note lighthouse is background.

However, in May of 1862, after New Orleans fell into Union hands, the Confederate forces at Fort Barrancas and the surrounding area of Pensacola were called away to fight elsewhere, burning buildings, lumber mills and docks in their wake to prevent the Union forces from using them. 

Pensacola came under control of the Union forces where it would remain throughout the Civil War.

Looking from the top of the lighthouse today to the
peninsula where Fort McRee used to be.

Today, Fort Barrancas and the Pensacola Lighthouse are on the grounds of the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. Both are open to tourists. Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island, is also open to tourists and is managed by the federal parks system. 

My newest book, Rekindled Light, is set in 1869 Pensacola when the town rebuilds after the Civil War.

The war destroyed their engagement. Misunderstandings keep them apart. Will a mysterious arsonist be the only one fanning a flame or can their love be rekindled?

https://www.amazon.com/Rekindled-Light-Coastal-Lights-Legacy-ebook/dp/B07NZWMD5V/

Marilyn Turk 

Historical fiction flavored with suspense and romance

Marilyn Turk’s roots are in the coastal South. Calling herself a “literary archaeologist,” she loves to discover stories hidden in history. She is the author of two World War II novels, and the Coastal Lights Legacy series set in 1800s Florida—Rebel Light, Revealing Light, Redeeming Light, and Rekindled Light—featuring lighthouse settings. Marilyn’s novella, The Wrong Survivor, is in the Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides collection. She also writes for the Daily Guideposts Devotions book.

Website: @http://pathwayheart.com

Email: marilynturkwriter@yahoo.com

IN MY BACKYARD? A CIVIL WAR POW CAMP?

You have to be kidding! A prisoner of war camp? In Tyler, Texas? In my backyard? Well ... almost.

My husband and I ran a Christian Camp and Conference Center north of Tyler, Texas, for about ten years. Tyler was the town where we went to buy groceries, to shop, to go out to eat, for dance classes. It was the hub of our socializing and shopping. Imagine my shock when in my research for my Civil War novel set in Texas, His Steadfast Love, I discovered that a Civil War POW camp for Union soldiers was on the loop around the city, and I passed it every time I traveled to town for whatever reason. Who knew? I had to go see it for myself.

About 5000 prisoners passed through the prison from 1862-1865. It was the largest POW camp for either side west of the Mississippi. The prisoners themselves had to construct their shelters. Some simply dug holes out of the side of the hill and built a shelter there. With the abundance of natural supplies, many of the men built small little cabins which they called "shebangs." Folk lore claims this is the origin of the word.

Because of the relatively mild winters in the East Texas piney woods, these shelters were sufficient for housing of the men.

A stream ran through the middle of the camp providing fresh water most of the time. The prisoners were fed basically what the guards ate: corn meal, beans, bacon and occasionally beef.

Frequent attempts at escape were made, but because of the long distance to the Union front, few were successful. Dogs were used to track down the escapees which seemed abominable to the soldiers that dogs would be used against white men. Dogs were used regularly to track down slaves.

A garbage cart rumbled through the camp on a regular basis, which proved to be the most successful means of escape. Prisoners would hide under the trash and ride out. Of course, soon that trash run was eventually suspended. Those escapees returned were severely disciplined. In His Steadfast Love the hero, Captain Kent Littlefield, is taken prisoner in the Red River Campaign, and executes his escape by riding out in the garbage cart.

There was no hospital, but a doctor had been taken prisoner and so the Yankees set up their own clinic. Camp Ford had the fewest deaths of any POW camp in the Civil War at 280 out of nearly 5000 men. They boiled their clothing daily to try to keep the lice infestation at bay.

A granite marker was erected after the end of the war to mark the spot.

It might pay you to look around your area. Who knows what historical treasure you might find in your own "back yard!"

Golden Keyes Parsons writes historical fiction, and is also a popular retreat/conference speaker. Her highly acclaimed Darkness to Light Series (Thomas Nelson Publishing) chronicled the journey of her French Huguenot ancestors in 17^th century France. Her fourth novel, His Steadfast Love, is a Civil War novel set in Texas. Her latest release is a compilation of four novellas (WhiteFire Publishing) – a biblical fiction series entitled Hidden Faces, Portraits of Nameless Women in the Gospels. Golden lives in Waco, TX, with her husband, Blaine, where they enjoy their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and are avid sports fan of their alma mater, Baylor University. You can contact her at www.goldenkeyesparsons.com.

The Day the War Stood Still

By Martha Rogers

The Armistice in April of 1865 called a truce and ended the War Between the States, but the damage had been done and healing would take years for this wounded and bleeding nation. At that time thousands of young men were released or “exchanged” from prison camps all over the north and south. We read of the atrocities of Andersonville and Pt. Lookout and know that so many of the nation’s young men died in those places in addition to those who died on the battlefield.

My great-grandfather was one of those released from Pt. Lookout, Maryland in April of 1865. He and his brother Edwin survived to go home to Louisiana and Sallie, the girl he loved and married in June of that year. I found a copy of their marriage license at the courthouse in St. Francisville. Manfred's days are recorded in letters to Sallie and in things he wrote about those months of his life.

While researching family history, I came across some other fascinating facts about them and about the times in which they lived. All through the south homes were destroyed and families torn apart. Many people in the South referred to that time as the War of Northern Aggression. No matter what we call it, it happened and is a part of the history of this nation and can’t be denied.

One of the most interesting events of the war happened in my great-grandfather’s hometown of Bayou Sara and St. Francisville just up the hill from the river. A battle raged at Port Hudson twelve miles south of Bayou

Sara and St. Francisville. Port Hudson was a major Confederate fort to protect the Mississippi River.  I'm standing by one of the cannons Port Hudson used to fire at the ship on the river.

In March of 1863, a Federal warship, the U.S.S Albatross sat in the Mississippi River at the port of Bayou Sara. Its captain, Lt. Commander John E. Hart ordered guns to assail St. Francisville with a church as a target. The church sat high on a hill, quite visible to the ship which rained down shells on Grace Episcopal Church, a beautiful Gothic structure that was the church of my ancestors. The rector there is said to have run down the hill to the river waving a white flag and yelling for them to stop shelling his church.

On June 12, 1863 the guns fell silent, and the church elders breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe the siege was over. However, something even more dramatic was taking place. Lt. Commander Hart lay gravely ill with a high fever and before his crew could stop him, took his own life. Hart was a Mason, as were several others aboard the ship. A boat with a group of men was launched with a white flag of truce.

The messenger aboard the boat asked permission to bury the captain in the cemetery of Grace Church, the same one they had used as a target. Although the ship’s crew didn’t know it, St. Francisville was the home to the oldest Masonic Lodge in Louisiana. The Senior Warden of the Lodge No. 31, Captain W.W. Leake was also captain of Company C, 1^st Louisiana Cavalry, one of the units harassing the Federal army.

The rector at Grace summoned Captain Leake who met with the Union Officers. Upon learning that Hart was a fellow Mason, Leake arranged to have the funeral services and burial at Grace Church.

His body, accompanied by an honor guard of U.S. Marines and a delegation of Navy officers and sailors, was carried up the steep hill to the church. With Leake and other local Masons participating, they buried Hart with full Masonic honors. A brief moment of peace and fellowship happened during the bloodiest war in America’s history and become known as “The Day the War Stopped.” It is still remembered each year in St. Francisville.

As my great-grandmother Sallie asked her mother, “If they stopped the fighting for

one day, why couldn’t they just quit then? Why do men have to fight about everything?”

My cousins and I visited Grace Church in St. Francisville in June of 2005 in remembrance of our great-grandparents 150^th wedding anniversary. We walked through the cemetery to find our ancestors’ graves. Here I'm standing beside my great-great-grandmother's grave. She is the mother of my hero in LOVE STAYS TRUE. We also saw the memorial erected for Lt. Commander Hart. The church hasn’t changed much, but it took years to repair the damage to the building that had been completed in 1860. Those repairs are still visible today on the side of the church.




Have you done any research into your family history? I found it to be most interesting and a lot of fun. If you're not careful, it can be addictive.

I'm giving away a copy of Love Stays True to one lucky person today, so leave your comment and be in the drawing for the book released this month.

LOVE STAYS TRUE:  

In April, 1865, the day following the surrender at Appomattox, Manfred McDaniel Whiteman and his brother Edward are released from in an exchange of prisoners. They are given a few provisions before they begin a long journey by foot to their home in Bayou Sara, Louisiana.

At home, Sallie Dyer is waiting word of her beloved Manfred. Though just a young girl when Manfred left, Sallie has grown into a caring you woman who is determined to wait for her love—despite her father’s worries that she is wasting her life on someone who may never come home.

On their journey, Manfred and his brother encounter storms, thieves, and destruction, and are even thrown in jail in one town. Sallie carries a heavy burden of guilt and fears Manfred will reject her when he learns what she has done. Will these two young lovers be able to reunite despite all obstacles?

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and the author of the Winds Across the Prairie series as well as the novella, Key to Her Heart in River Walk Christmas. Her second series, Seasons of the Heart, is now available as is her Christmas novel, Christmas at Holly Hill. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009 and is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex where they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren and attending football, baseball, and rugby games when one of the grandchildren is playing or performing.

When the Lights Went Out

By Marilyn Turk

Have you ever wondered how many lighthouses are on the shores of the United States? There are over a thousand. The state of Michigan alone has 150. Obviously, the importance of these structures to the safety of shipping is evident by their presence on all our coastlines.

But did you realize there were times when the lighthouses were kept dark?

The first time it happened was in the spring of 1861 after President Abraham Lincoln ordered a naval blockade of all southern ports. Confederate sympathizers responded by removing the lanterns from lighthouses along the coasts. By doing this, the Confederates intended to prevent Union ships from using southern navigational aids, as well as, weaken the Union fleet by causing shipwrecks.

These southerners were quite creative in keeping the lanterns and lens from their enemy. Some pieces were shipped inland to other cities. Some were destroyed. Still others were buried in hidden locations. In Texas, one was even buried in an obvious place, a cemetery, where it had its own headstone. After the Civil War, finding these lanterns was quite a challenge for the federal government in their efforts to rebuild or relight the lighthouses. In fact, some of them were never found.

By the 1880s, the lighthouses were operational again and more lighthouses were built. In World War I, a few lighthouse keepers in the northern Atlantic states sighted the first German submarines (U-boats) close to shore. As a result some of the lights in that area were dimmed to hinder the boats’ visibility of American shorelines.

 However, the biggest blackout came in 1942 after the United States entered WWII. From the Canada to the Florida Keys, and on both the east and west coasts, hundreds of ships, including tankers and private ships, were torpedoed by German U-boats prowling the shorelines. The area off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, was known by ship captains as “torpedo junction.”

 When the number of ships lost hit a record high in March 1942, the federal government ordered a total blackout.  Coastal residents painted the windows of their homes black and kept lights off or to a minimum at night. Even the upper half of each automobile headlight was painted black, and all exterior lights were extinguished. Lighthouses were ordered to stay unlit while keepers and coast guard personnel manned the towers with binoculars to search for German subs lurking nearby.

After the war, former U-boats captains were quoted as saying that before the blackout, American ships were easy targets when they were highlighted by the lights on shore. One even described the scene as a “shooting gallery.

But once the blackout was in place, and the United States broke the German code and took the offensive by pursuing the U-boats, the threat was removed.

Today, the lights shine once again, a reminder of days past, and a welcome sight to mariners.

Like lighthouses? Read more about them at http://pathwayheart.com, lighthouse blog.