The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-12-18
THE DEFENSES OF PENSACOLA
BY Lieutenant Furm an McCammon Coast Artillery Corps

In February, 1861. the Brooklyn ar
rived off Fort Pickens with reinforce
ments, but the troops were not land
ed at once as there had not, up to
this time, been any outbreak of hos
tiities. During the time that the
Brooklyn lay off Fort Pickens Lieu
tenant Smead, in command of one of
the companies aboard was ordered to
go ashore and proceed to Washington
with i'm portant dispatches for General
Scott and to deliver also several inn
portant verbal messages. Smead was
a southerner but he obeyed orders.
When he reported to General Scott
in Washington the old General thank
ed him for the fidelity and prompt
ness with which he executed orders,
and then asked Smead what he could
do for him. Smead replied that Gen
eral Scott could accept his resignation
and allow him to go to the side to
which his feelings led him.
A little later the reinforcements
were landed and in April. 1861, the
Atlantic arrived off Fort Pickens with
more troops bringing both infantry
and artillery. In June, of the same
year, company of engineer troops
was added to the garrison at Pick
ems. and later in the same month two
New York volunteer regiments were
landed and became part of the Fed
eral force. The fort was soon placed
in a practically impregnable condition
as was shown later. Bomb-proofs
were constructed inside the fort for
the refuge of the garrison when under
the casemate doors and sand banked
over the timber SO that the doors
could be entered from the side
but were practically shot-proof Ev.
cry precaution was made for a long
siege. Mr.. Russell, the military cor,
respondent of the London Times.
fresh from the seige of Sevastopol,
and well acquainted with all means
used for protection against heavy
fire. visited Fort Pickens about this
time as a neutral and expressed sur
prise at the effective means of protec-
ton which the garrison had improvis-
ed.
Mr.. Russell, in his memoirs, states
that he also visited the Confederate
works on the mainland. At Warning
ton he found Mr.. Jefferson Davis. and
number of officials from Montgom-
ery,-the then Confederate Capital
or a visit of inspection. Mr.. Davis
was disposed to order an attack on
Fort Pickens at once. There seems
to have been on both sides, at the
beginning of the war, the same intol-
erance of delay in the commencement
of operations, the same presumption
of certain success, and the same dis
position to find fault with every COM
mander who refused to make move
ments which his better judgment told
him not to make. Mr. Russell says
that General Bragg soon convinced
President Davis, himself a man bred
to the profession of arms, that an
attack on Fort Pickens was not a
thing to be easily carried out to sue
cess, and that the Confederate presi-
dent yielded to the better advice of
his military adviser.
Confederates on the Mainland.
The Confederates at this time had
possession of Forts McRee and Bar
rancas and also the navy yard. Along
the beach from the navy yard to Nc
Rec they constructed batteries, among
them a masked battery of 10-inch Col
umbiads. This battery was concealed
by a dense thicket, and in front of
it, as blind, was constructed a
small auxiliary battery not masked
During all this time the Federal fleet
lay outside and the Confederates at
night maintained picket boats to bring
warning of any attempted entrance
by these vessels. The channel was
also mined with torpedoes, this being
one of the first instances Of their use
in warfare The Confederates con-
structed, in all, thirteen batteries
along the beach, ani. the Federals at
Pickens had erected FIVE small water