The Battle of Santa Rosa Island (October 9, 1861) was an unsuccessful Confederate attempt to take Union-held Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and remained in use until 1947...

 on Santa Rosa Island, Florida

Santa Rosa Island, Florida

Santa Rosa Island[p] is a 40-mile barrier island located in the U.S. state of Florida, thirty miles east of the Alabama state border...

.

Background

Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile barrier island in the U.S. state of Florida, thirty miles from the Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 state border. At the western end stands Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and remained in use until 1947...

, which in the fall of 1861 was garrisoned by parts of the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th U. S. artillery and the 3rd U.S. Infantry, under command of Col. Harvey Brown

Harvey Brown (officer)

Harvey Brown was an American military officer who fought in the Black Hawk and Seminole Wars, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. He was also in command of military forces in New York City and later assisted in putting down the New York Draft Riots in 1863. His son Harvey E....

, of the 5th artillery. The 6th New York Volunteer Infantry

6th New York Volunteer Infantry

6th Regiment Infantry also called "Wilson's Zouaves" was organized at New York City on May 25, 1861. The Regiment was composed of 5 initial companies of A, B, C, and D...

, commanded by Col. William Wilson, was encamped outside the fort, a short distance east of it.

Battle

After midnight on October 9, Brig. Gen. Richard Anderson crossed from the mainland to Santa Rosa Island with 1,200 men in two small steamers to surprise the Union camps and capture Fort Pickens. He landed on the north beach about four miles east of Fort Pickens and divided his command into three columns. After proceeding about three miles, the Confederates surprised the 6th Regiment, New York Volunteers, in its camp and routed the regiment. Gen. Anderson then adopted a defensive stance to entice the Federals to leave the fort and attack. Receiving reinforcements, Col. Harvey Brown sallied against the Confederates, who reembarked and returned to the mainland.

The Union loss was 14 killed, 29 wounded and 24 captured or missing. General Braxton Bragg

Braxton Bragg

Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...

, commanding the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 forces at Pensacola

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

, reported their loss as "30 or 40 killed and wounded," but a Confederate newspaper, found by Lieut. Seeley a few days after the occurrence, gave the total casualties as 175. Maj. Vodges, of the 1st artillery, was captured, and on the Confederate side Gen. Anderson was severely wounded. The camp of the 6th N. Y. was partially destroyed.

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and remained in use until 1947...

 and the battle site are preserved within the Gulf Islands National Seashore

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of 7 islands...

.

Order of battle

Union Forces

Col. Harvey Brown

• 6th New York Zouave Infantry, Col. William Wilson
• Vodge’s Command – Major Israel Vogdes
  Israel Vogdes
  Israel Vogdes was a career soldier and military educator from Pennsylvania who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
  
   (c), Capt. John McL. Hildt

Company A, 1st Artillery – Lieutenant F. E. Taylor

Company E, 3rd Infantry – Captain John McL. Hildt

• Company G, 3rd New York Infantry – Captain Dobie
  • Arnold’s Command – Major Lewis Golding Arnold
    Lewis Golding Arnold
    Lewis Golding Arnold was a career U.S. Army officer and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, primarily noted for his service in Florida.-Birth and early years:...
    
    

Company C, 3rd Infantry – Lieutenant Shipley

Company H, 2nd Artillery – Captain James M. Robertson

Confederate Forces

Brig. Gen. Richard Heron Anderson

• Demolition Team --- Lieutenant J. H. Hallonquist
• 1st Battalion – Colonel J. R. Chalmers

Detachment, 10th Mississippi Infantry

10th Mississippi Infantry

The 10th Mississippi Infantry was a regiment of infantry in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought in several campaigns and battles in the Western Theater.-"Old" 10th Mississippi:...

Detachment, 1st Alabama Infantry

• 2nd Battalion – Colonel J. Patton Anderson

3 Companies, 7th Alabama Infantry

2 Companies, Louisiana Infantry

2 Companies, 1st Florida Infantry

• 3rd Battalion - Colonel John K. Jackson
  John K. Jackson
  John King Jackson was an American lawyer and soldier. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, mainly in Florida and the Western Theater of the conflict...
  
  

Detachment, 5th Georgia Infantry

Detachment, Georgia Infantry Battalion

• Artillery

Homer’s Artillery Company - Lieutenant Hollonquist

• Confederate Naval Forces

CSS Neaffie

See also

• History of Pensacola, Florida
  History of Pensacola, Florida
  The history of Pensacola, Florida begins long before the official founding of the modern city in 1698. The area around present-day Pensacola was inhabited by Native American peoples thousands of years before the historical area. The historical era begins with the arrival of Spanish exlorers in the...
  
  
• The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division (The Battle of Santa Rosa Island)