SW0103 Silent Stone Sentinels and Replica Wooden Structures Stand as Testaments to Florida’s Frontier Fort Past

   

 

The Florida coastline has long been dotted with concrete or stone behemoths pointing to the sea to protect a designated port or area. These are a legacy of Old Spanish and Modern American times. In between, there are the wooden forts from the territorial and early U.S. statehood period in Florida. These were Army forts and they sprouted up quickly from the landscape before quickly wilting when no longer needed. Today, replica forts replace some of these but overall the forts are gone and even their former locations are suspect.

In this episode, the author of Florida Forts: On the Edge of Empire, Zach Zacharias, presents a stirring tale of some of the state’s great fortifications still standing, everything from Pensacola to the Dry Tortugas. How many forts?, you ask. Zach tells us that Florida had approximately 400 forts! His book, blessedly, details only the roughly 13 forts you can still visit as a tourist. Zach is the Senior Curator of Education and History at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Florida and has taught Florida history topics for over 25 years.

Host Patrick Swan is a board member with the Seminole Wars Foundation. He is a combat veteran and of the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Kosovo, and at the Pentagon after 9/11. A military historian, he holds masters degrees in Public History, Communication, and Homeland Security, and is a graduate of the US Army War College with an advanced degree in strategic studies. This podcast is recorded at the homestead of the Seminole Wars Foundation in Bushnell, Florida. 

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