October 13, 1861 – Important From Fort Pickens

Fight Between Col. Wilson’s Zouaves and Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama Soldiers on Santa Rosa Island

Baltimore, Oct. 12,1811.

The Norfolk Day Book, received this morning, contains despatches from New Orleans giving an account of a surprise and attack made on Col. Wm. Wilson’s Zouaves, at Rosa Island, on the 8th inst. Detachments from several Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama regiments made a landing in the night and drove in Wilson’s pickets, and shortly afterwards a fierce fight began. The Zouaves of Colonel Wilson are credited with having fought with great bravery, and the rebels admit a loss of forty killed and about double that number wounded. The rebels claim to have spiked the guns of the Zouaves and destroyed all their camp equipage. They also claim to have committed great slaughter among the Zouaves, but give no number of the killed. The rebels also say they carried off a number of prisoners.

Thrilling Scenes for Picture Made

Molly O movie poster

Mack Sennett Cameramen Make Film of Parachute Jump from Blimp

Several thrilling scenes for the Mack Sennett picture Mollie-O were made by cameramen at the naval air station yesterday. The hero of the picture climbed on a swinging rope ladder from one blimp down to another one and then leaped from the second blimp in a parachute.

April 11, 1861 – Affairs in Florida

The Pensacola correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune writes from the U. S. steamer Brooklyn, off Pensacola bar, April 2d :

I can assure you our condition has been deplorable enough for some time past. At one period, we were almost reduced to the point of starvation, so successfully had the edict of Gen. Braxton Bragg, forbidding all communication with United States vessels, been carried out. As we were thus necessitated to procure the necessities of life elsewhere, we “up anchor” on the 22d ult , and steamed direct to Key West, at which place we arrived in excellent time, Here, everything was perfectly quiet, but as we run into the harbor, the hotheaded rebels that observed us busied themselves in hoisting secession flags, and as they were tauntingly flung to the breeze, accompanied the act with shouts of derision.

Colored Currier & Ives lithograph of Fort Pickens

January 22, 1861 – The Pensacola Forts

The Daily Exchange, Baltimore, MD

Popular interest in warlike movements now centres nearer at home than when Charleston was the only point from which radiated the war excitements of the day. The immediate interest of at least three States—Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, is now becoming alive to the importance of occupying the forts within the borders of the latter Commonwealth. We see repeated at Pensacola, the manoeuvre of Anderson at Moultrie. There are three forts at Pensacola, a Navy Yard and a redoubt. Commandant Armstrong has abandoned the Navy Yard and Fort Barancas, removing munitions and spiking guns, and transferring his forces, amounting in the aggregate to between two and three hundred men, from the main land to Santa Rosa Island, has prepared to make good his position within the-immensely strong fortifications of Fort Pickens. Whether he has abandoned Fort McCree, also, we are not advised, but we doubt if he has. This fortress is a powerful and castle-like masonry erection, built on a low sand-spit of the main land, and appearing to rise out of the water. It is further seaward than Fort Pickens, of which it is the vis-a vis across the channel, and a vessel entering must needs run the gauntlet of its guns before approaching the latter, which, however, of itself, effectually closes the harbor against the admission of an enemy of even very heavy force.

One of the Battleships in the Tyne (photograph; silver gelatin print)

Daniels Believes in Limiting Navy

Pensacola Journal, Pensacola, FL, January 12, 1921 America Must Have Strongest Unless All Disarm, Secretary Asserts WASHINGTON, Jan. 11. The present time was described as ripe for a movement toward…