We Started our trip to FL on 11/04/2009 at Lake Gaston Club Resort in Gaston, VA. Our next stop was at Bass Lake Campground in Dillon SC on 11/11/2009. Then on 11/18/2009 we stop at Oaks at Point South in Yemassee, SC.
We traveled to Golden Isle Vacation Park in Brunswick, GA on 11/25/2009. Our Thanksgiving Day was a day of rest. For dinner Cliff grilled two Turkey Tenderloin Mignons. The next day on 11/27/2009 we arrived at King George RV Resort in Woodbine, GA. On 11/28/2009 we visited Fort Clinch State Historical Park in Fernandina Beach, FL on Amelia Island. This fort was maned from 1847 thru 1945. The Confederates took control of the fort at the beginning of the Civil War, in 1861. Since the fort was not completed, they established batteries in the fort, the town of Fernandina, and strategic locations on Amelia and Cumberland Islands. In March of 1862 the Union took control of the fort and with the 1st New York Volunteer Engineers Quickly began a push to complete the fort. The picture is of Fort Clinch Northeast wall from inside the fort.
The Picture is of Abigail on a Seacoast Gun.
While at Fort Clinch State Historical Park we viewed the Amelia Lighthouse in Fernandina Beach, FL. A lighthouse was built on Cumberland Island in 1820. In the interim, Congress had outlawed the importation of slaves in 1808. Given the proximity of Amelia Island to the Southern States, it soon became a major black market dealing in slaves and was home to scores of smugglers, drunkards and prostitutes. The United States eventually stepped in and took control of the island in 1819, and in 1821 Spain officially ceded Florida to the United States. In 1838, the Cumberland Lighthouse was dismantled brick by brick, shipped across the river, and reconstructed atop the highest spot-on Amelia Island, where the beacon was likely more visible. The light source for the tower consisted of a collection of fourteen lamps, backed by reflectors, which revolved to produce a flashing characteristic. Amos Latham was the first keeper of the tower at its new location. The lighthouse was upgraded in 1856 with a third order Fresnel lens manufactured in Paris by Barbier & Bernard. A red sector was added to the light in 1917 to alert mariners of dangerous shoals south of the tower in Nassau Sound. The picture is of the Amelia Lighthouse from a scenic view in Fort Clinch State Historical Park.
On Sunday 11/29/2009 we traveled to visit Castillo de San Marcos in Saint Augustine, FL. Begun in 1672 and completed by 1695, the Castillo replaced nine successive wooden fortifications that protected Saint Augustine since its founding. The fort’s commanding location on the west bank of Matanzas Bay allowed its guns to protect not only the harbor entrance but ground to the north against a land attack. The British tried in 1702 and then again in 1740 to take the fort with no avail. In 1763, the outcome of the Franch and Indian War (Seven Year War) was Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain in return for Cuba. Then in 1783, Spain was given back Florida after the American Revolution War. In 1821 Spain gave Florida to the United States after serious tensions arose between Spain and the United States. The US renamed the fort as Fort Marion. The picture is of Castillo de San Marcos east wall from outside the fort.
The picture is of Abigail on a small gun.
While in Saint Augustine, FL, we visited Fort Mose State Historic Park. Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (Fort Mose) hold great significance in American history as the first legally sanction African American community in the United States. This farming community’s free status precedes such landmarks in American history as the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation by over a century. Established for African American freedmen, Fort Mose and its militia became the northern defense post for St. Augustine. In 1739 Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose (Fort Mose) is established for African American freedmen. The settlement includes a four-sided fort, houses and fields. Fort Mose militia forms and Fort Mose becomes the northern defense post for St. Augustine. Then in 1740 General James Oglethorpe of Georgia attacks St. Augustine and Fort Mose is abandoned. Mose militia men fight bravely in defense of St. Augustine and recapture their town. This battle is a key turning point and Oglethorpe retreats. In 1752 Fort Mose resettled. In 1759 it contained twenty-two households of sixty-seven people. Then in 1763 The site is abandoned when the British take possession of Florida. The residents of Mose evacuate to Cuba and form a new town, Ceiba Mocha, Matanzas province. The picture is of a reconstructed open grass hut which was built for Fort Mose II.
We moved on 12/02/2009 to Casey Jones RV Campground in Lake City, FL. We visited Olustee Battlefield State Historical Park in Olustee, FL. This park commemorates the site of Florida’s largest Civil War battle, which took place February 20, 1864. More than 10,000 cavalry, infantry, and artillery troops fought a five-hour battle in a pine forest near Olustee. Three U.S. Colored Troops took part in the battle, including the now famous 54th Massachusetts. The battle ended with 2,807 casualties and the retreat of Union troops to Jacksonville until the war’s end just 14 months later. In 1912, when many living Civil War veterans still attended reunions, the battlefield became the state’s first historic site. The picture is of Museum and Monument from the entrance.
The picture is of Abigail on a field gun.
