Yellow Bluff Fort Monument

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

This monument was erected in 1950 to commemorate a series of earthworks and defensive dirt mounds built in 1862 and later labeled "Yellow Bluff Fort" as part of a regional effort to encourage tourism and "Southern pride" at the behest of Confederate heritage groups in the mid-twentieth century. No actual fort was built on the site, rather the defensive earthworks were dirt mounds built in a T-shape to protect Confederate artillery from the Union Navy's offensive as they attacked Jacksonville and eventually gained control of the city during the Civil War. After the Union gained control of the city, they reinforced Yellow Bluff and added communications towers. In 1950, the site was made into a state park and a monument was erected, with much of the location remaining intact from its original form. In 1970, the site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. While the monument's text acknowledges that both Union and Confederate troops occupied this fort, the United Daughters of the Confederacy did not include the fact that the Confederacy abandoned this fort or that it was later manned by African American soldiers who garrisoned the fort until the conclusion of the war.

Images

Yellow Bluff Fort monument, erected in 1950.

One of the mounted cannons at Yellow Bluff Fort State Park.

Brigadier General Joseph Finegan

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Florida was part of the Confederacy during the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. In order to protect supply areas in the state, Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered the construction of defenses along the coast and inland waterways. In Florida, defenses were built along the St. Johns River, which served as a vital waterway for troops and supplies. One of those camps was located here and was constructed by Confederates and enslaved laborers in 1862. Early that year, Union troops took the Florida cities of Fernandina and St. Augustine. Because of the threat of approaching Union forces, Confederates under Brigadier General Joseph Finegan armed Yellow Bluff Fort with two 12-pound rifles, two 8-inch howitzers, and two 32-pound rifles. They constructed T-shaped earthworks, mounded dirt used for defense fighting, that could protect their men and artillery.

That year, Confederates temporarily withdrew to Jacksonville, where Union forces took over the city in March. By October of 1862, after a series of battles between both sides, Federal troops led an expedition of over 1,500 soldiers and gunboats against Jacksonville, occupying Yellow Bluff and the St. Johns Bluff with forced evacuations of Confederates. From 1863-1864, after Union forces evacuated Jacksonville, control of Yellow Bluff switched hands several times, but ultimately ended in Union control until the end of the war. By February of 1864, the final Union occupation of the city had begun. The U.S. Army Signal Corps ordered the construction of a 110-foot communications tower at the fort, one of several used to relay messages. Men of the U.S. Colored Troops, African American soldiers who joined the Union Army after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation authorized the recruitment of Black soldiers, were stationed at the fort. Along with other Union troops, these men prepared for a Confederate attack for the remainder of the war.

Throughout 1864, several Union reinforcement regiments arrives in the city, many being stationed at Yellow Bluff Fort. Some included the 54th Massachusetts African American regiment and companies of the 8th U.S. Colored Troops and 34th U.S. Colored Troops. During their time at Yellow Bluff, men likely slept in fabric tents, since the “fort” was just a series of earthworks. This was quite common during the Civil War due to the need to build defenses quickly and the recognition that building an extensive military installation would divert resources from the war effort. An extensive trench system was also dug at Yellow Bluff, with the trenches often measuring 10 feet deep and 15 feet wide, which can still be viewed at the park today along with several cannons mounted on cement, although their use is unclear.

At the end of the war, the site was abandoned. In 1950, Yellow Bluff Fort became a state park, and a monument was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Martha Reid Chapter, Jacksonville Chapter, Annie Perdue Sebring Chapter, Alexander H. Stephens Chapter, Mary Holland McCleary Chapter, and Robert E. Lee Chapter. On September 29, 1970, the site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Text on the 1950 marker reads:

Dedicated to the memory of the Confederate soldiers who defended Jacksonville, 1861-1865.

Yellow Bluff Fort

A Confederate earthworks designed and located by General Robert E. Lee as one of a series of forts for the defense of the Saint Johns River. This fort was occupied by both Confederate and Union forces during the course of the war and is today in its original state.

Erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Sources

Florida Civil War Heritage Trail, Department of State. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://dos.myflorida.com/media/32357/civilwarheritagetrail.pdf.
Taylor, Jr., George Lansing. Yellow Bluff Fort Monument 1, Jacksonville, FL, University of North Florida. January 24th 2009. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/2916/.
Civil War Memorials in Jax, Visit Jacksonville. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://www.visitjacksonville.com/things-to-do/culture/history/civil-war-memorials/.
Welcome to Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park, Florida State Parks. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/yellow-bluff-fort-historic-state-park.
Benington, Dale K.. Yellow Bluff Fort, Historical Marker Database. August 1st 2017. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=33458.
Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park, Military. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Yellow_Bluff_Fort_Historic_State_Park.
Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park, Florida State Parks. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/history-yellow-bluff.
History, Florida State Parks. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/yellow-bluff-fort-historic-state-park/history.
Timucuan, National Park Service. Accessed October 14th 2020. https://www.nps.gov/timu/planyourvisit/upload/civil_war_site_bulletin.pdf.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

By Dale K. Benington, June 26, 2010, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=33458

https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/history-yellow-bluff

Florida Memory, https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/history-yellow-bluff