The New-York Times June 25, 1861
On June 25, 1861 The New-York Times published a map of the Pensacola area, where federal occupied Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island opposed the Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg. By this time Harvey Brown commanded the Union force at Fort Pickens and, as you might be able to see from the map, William McKean was commanding the blockading squadron.
Harvey Brown: Beware the Dry Dock
One thing that caught my eye in the map was the “Immense Floating Dry Dock”. Here’s the story according to a document about Barancas National Cemetery at the Veterans Administration site:
A number of actions took place in and around Pensacola Bay before the Confederates evacuated the area. While Confederates were moving a large floating drydock from the Navy Yard to Pensacola in May 1861, the towline broke and the dock drifted close to Fort Pickens near Batteries Lincoln and Cameron. Colonel Brown, commanding officer of Fort Pickens, suspected the dry dock would be used as a floating battery. He prepared to fire upon it. However, before Brown could take any action, the Confederates scuttled the dry dock. Because of Confederate endeavors to refloat the dry dock during the summer, the Federals sent a small detachment from Fort Pickens during the evening of September 2 and destroyed by fire all that remained of the dry dock above the waterline.
Pensacola 1768 (LOC - LC-USZ62-46099)
Pensacola in Harper's December 7, 1861 (LOC - LC-USZ62-101246)
I thought about four score years after the Harper’s issue
