Photos by Morgan Calenberg
It rests upon a beautiful stretch of North Florida beach and while it was in operation for three wars, it never experienced a shot fired in conflict. Fort Clinch, a fixture at the northern tip of Amelia Island, has stood watch over the entrance to Cumberland Sound and the St. Marys River for nearly 180 years, nearly all of them peaceful.
• Following widespread destruction in many parts of the nation during the War of 1812, the call to protect the fledgling United States from other nations led to the construction of a series of fortifications up and down the East Coast. The first bricks were laid at Fort Clinch, named for General Duncan Lamont Clinch, in 1847. However, the start of the Civil War halted construction with only about two-thirds of it complete and zero cannons mounted on its high walls
• Confederate troops took possession of the fort and Amelia Island for a time. But, as the isolated outpost would be costly to defend and as Union forces began to take control coastal Georgia and Florida, orders to evacuate were given by General Robert E. Lee. Union soldiers marched into the fort in March of 1862 without a whiff of opposition.
• Additional building on the outpost commenced soon after Union troops occupied the site, spearheaded by a company of engineers from New York. The war ended before construction was complete and, by 1869, the fort was left empty and unfinished. It sat incomplete and unused for 20 years, until the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. More improvements were quickly ordered, including installing guns, strengthening the fortifications and laying a minefield outside the walls. Hostilities in this conflict lasted less than a year and, again, Fort Clinch was abandoned as a military installation.
• Neglected and empty for more than 30 years, the fort and surrounding property were given new life in 1935, becoming one of Florida’s first state parks. Crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program created during the Depression, began historic restorations and new construction at the park in 1936. They removed massive amounts of brush, debris and sand from within the fort, as well as built the present-day museum structure, campground facilities and roads throughout the 1,400-acre park, one of eight the CCC built in Florida.
• Another war would see the five-sided fortification return to service. During World War II, the site became a center for coastal surveillance and communications, assisting in keeping a watchful eye on the Atlantic seaboard for German submarines, ships and aircraft.
• Today, visitors can tour Clinch’s guard rooms, prison, barracks, hospitals, kitchens and a blacksmith shop—all restored and furnished as they would have appeared during the Civil War and Union occupation circa 1864. The museum contains artifacts such as small arms, soldier uniforms, and personal letters. The park welcomes guest daily at 8 AM, gates to the Fort open at 9 AM. Park admission is $6 per vehicle.
