Thanksgiving morning 2008 in Pensacola. The weather was gorgeous, sunny, and 66 degrees. A nice day to take my old boy Loki for a trip to Palafox Pier while Todd vacuumed the floors before our Thanksgiving feast later that day. I had already done my contribution to the Thanksgiving table with pumpkin pie, so it was Erika and Mom's turn to get the rest of the feast ready. It was my job to get Loki out of the house while Todd got the vacuuming done without having Loki under his feet.
On one of my trips to Downtown Pensacola, I tried to locate historic Fort George. The first time I couldn't find it, but another trip downtown, I found Fort George. It's a tiny fort located on the corner of Palafox and LaRua in a little park in a residential area full of historical Victorian homes. I decided to stop and check out Fort George before taking Loki to Palafox Pier for a nice walk before heading back to Erika's and dinner.
Traffic was very light on this Thanksgiving morning, and I had no problem parking my car on LaRua to see Fort George. Not wanting to struggle with Loki and taking him in and out of the car too many times, I left him in the backseat with the windows open while I made a quick exploration of Fort George.
Historic Fort George has a colorful and violent history dating from the Seven Years War of 1756-1763 and well into the American Revolution 12 years later. Before the Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years War, Pensacola had been a strategic Spanish port and trading post, but after 1763, the treaty turned Pensacola over to the British expanding British Territory in the south along the Gulf of Mexico to Spanish-controlled New Orleans.
Construction on Fort George began in 1779 under the supervision of General John Campbell and was built on the highest part of town, Gage Hill. Fort George was a star-shaped fortification consisiting of a parade ground, fenced wooden posts called pallisades, and cannons used to protect Pensacola from future enemy attacks.
But the Spanish weren't about to let Pensacola go from their control for long. Although Fort George and Pensacola's fortifications were strengthened in 1778 in anticipation of a possible Spanish attack, the Spanish fleet under the control of Bernardo de Galvez sailed past British fortifications at Santa Rosa Island and landed soldiers at Bayou Chico on March 9, 1781. On May 8, 1781, the Spaniard opened fire on the British at Pensacola killing many soldiers. After a short battle, the British surrendered Fort George and Pensacola was returned to Spanish control on May 10, 1781. After 34 years of decay and disuse, Fort George saw more action after Andrew Jackson invaded Pensacola and quickly overran the Spanish.
After the Americans took over Pensacola, parts of Fort George were destroyed for houses to be built and other developments. In 1974, an archeological team unearthed cannon balls and other artifacts from the old fort and plans were made to turn what remained of Fort George into a Historic Park. In 1976, restoration was finally completed and the Fort George Historic Park was dedicated to the city of Pensacola. Today, it is home to a little park with a couple of cannons and what remains of the wooden fortifications.
I spent a few minutes exploring the tiny park and fort. A couple of cannons overlook the park facing the First Baptist Church across the street. There is a park bench for one to enjoy a nice day in the shade and enjoy the view of the park. On the sidewalk leading to the fort, there is a sign depicting the Battle of Pensacola and stairs leading to the fort itself. There was a Victorian house next door with a tree house that I would have loved to have gone up to enjoy the view of the fort below, but not worth getting busted for trespassing. After a few minutes of looking and taking pictures, I went back Loki and the car and made my way to the promised walk at Palafox Pier for my old boy.
Fort George is located in a little park on the corner of Palafox and LaRua Streets about a 1/2 mile from Cervantes Street, one of Pensacola's main streets. It's free to tour and open from Sunrise to Sunset and worth a few minutes of your time to see a colonial sight that once was never thought to be found by archeologists and me.