History of Fort Clinch

In 1842, the United States government purchased a tract of land on the northern end of Amelia Island, at the Florida-Georgia border.

A military installation was to be built on the property, to guard the mouth of the St. Mary's River, protect coastal and interior shipping, and defend the deepwater port of Fernandina, Florida.

Construction began in 1847 on Fort Clinch, named in honor of General Duncan Lamont Clinch, a respected officer who fought bravely in the Second Seminole War.

In Defense of a New Nation
Over the years, three systems of fortifications were designed to protect the coastline of the United States.

First System of Fortifications
Earthworks, 1794-1807:
Ordered by President George Washington to protect the nation's seaports, these first structures were simple open earthworks.

Second System of Fortifications
Masonry Forts, 1807-1812:
Begun in the early 1800's, these were masonry-faced earth forts, and all-masonry forts, with casemated, bomb-proof gun emplacements.

Third System of Fortifications
The Ultimate Fort, 1812-1868:
A Facility like Fort Clinch, masonry and stone, contained a two wall system, brick and earth. Begun in 1847, Fort Clinch progressed slowly. By 1860, only two bastions and one third of the brick wall was completed. The ramparts were in place, the guardhouse and prison finished. The lumber sheds, storehouse, and kitchens were in various stages of completion. Not a single cannon had been placed in position.

The Civil War
With no federal garrison present, Confederate militia quietly took control of the fort at the beginning of the Civil War, in 1861. They did no work on the fort, but rather established batteries in the fort, the town of Fernandina, and strategic locations on Amelia and Cumberland Islands. Union forces advancing along several South Carolina and Georgia coastal islands in early 1862 caused General Robert E. Lee to authorize a withdrawal from the area. On March 3, the evacuation was completed, even as federal gunboats and troops arrived to reestablish Union control of Fort Clinch. Units of the 1st New York Volunteer Engineers quickly began a push to complete the fort.

The Decline of Seacoast Fortifications
the advent of the rifled barrel cannon ended the era of stone and brick fortifications. Firing heavier shot, with greater accuracy and higher velocity, these new weapons breached the walls of Savannah's Fort Pulaski on April 10, 1862. Nevertheless, continuing efforts led to the near completion of Fort Clinch until 1867, when work at the fort was halted and the post deactivated.

Partial list of units which served at Fort clinch or Fernandina during the Civil War.

Confederate Regiments:
2nd Florida Cavalry
3rd Florida Infantry
4th Florida Infantry
10th Florida Infantry
24th Mississippi Infantry
Florida Militia
Palatka Guard
Unattached Artillery Battery

Union Regiments:
6th Connecticut Infantry
7th Connecticut Infantry
9th Maine Infantry
11th Maine Infantry
4th New Hampshire Infantry
7th New Hampshire Infantry
1st New York Engineers
157th New York Infantry
107th Ohio Infantry
97th Pennsylvania Infantry
1st South Carolina Infantry
1st United States Colored Troops
3rd United States Colored Troops
21st United States Colored Troops
34th United States Colored Troops
7th United States Infantry

Remember the Maine!
From 1869 until 1898 the Army maintained the reservation on caretaker status. In early 1898, the explosion and sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor thrust the U.S. into war with Spain and brought Fort Clinch to life, again. Battery "A" of the 6th Artillery arrived to find Fort Clinch in a deteriorated condition. The drawbridge was rotting, sand blocked the entrance, and the site lacked drinking water and sanitation facilities. the soldiers repaired the damage and built the mount for an eight inch breechloading rifle. While the fun mount is obvious on the fort's northeast parapet, the weapon was not mounted while the fort was still garrisoned, as all troops were removed in September 1898.

The Second World War
Fort Clinch was pressed into service by the U.S. Armed Forces one last time, during World War II. The Coast Guard, in a joint operation with the Army and the Navy, established and maintained a surveillance and communications system within the fort and on various coastal islands in the area. This operation included the Coast Guard's mounted beach patrol, which kept watch along the beaches for landings by spies and saboteurs.

A National Treasure
Being judged no longer of military value, the U.S. government sold the reservation to private interest in 1926.

In 1935, the State of Florida bought the fort and property surrounding it for preservation and outdoor recreation opportunities. Then, the Civilian conservation Corps (CCC) developed the property into Fort Clinch State Park.

Today, Fort Clinch stands as one of the finest examples of Third System Fortifications now in existence, and is proudly listed on the National Register of Historic Places.