The Battle of Fort Brooke was a minor engagement fought October 16–18, 1863 in and around

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The most important outcome of the action was the destruction of two Confederate blockade runners which had been hidden upstream on the Hillsborough River.

Background

An important facet of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

's long-term strategy during the

was the

Anaconda Plan The Anaconda Plan is the name applied to a strategy outlined by the Union Army for suppressing the Confederacy at the beginning of the American Civil War. Proposed by Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized a Union blockade ...

, which established a

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

along much of the coast of the

Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. Though only a small town at the time,

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

had been an important port for exporting cattle and crops from ranches and farms in the interior of central Florida before the war. By 1862, most local shipping had been stymied by

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

ships patrolling near the mouth of

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

. However, several fast blockade runners based in Tampa had consistently slipped out to deliver cattle and cotton to Spanish Cuba in exchange for needed goods and gold. The

Battle of Tampa The Battle of Tampa, also known as the "Yankee Outrage at Tampa", was a minor engagement of the American Civil War fought June 30 – July 1, 1862, between the United States Navy and a Confederate artillery company charged with "protecting" ...

took place in June 1862, after the Union

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

USS ''Sagamore'' steamed into Tampa Bay and demanded the surrender of the small Confederate garrison at Fort Brooke. When the demand was rebuffed, the gunboat fired several volleys at the town, which were answered with return fire from the fort. Neither side suffered damage or casualties, and the ''Sagamore'' returned to its station blockading the mouth of Tampa Bay after about 24 hours. While the brief exchange had no effect on the fort, the town, or the blockade runners based there, it did have the effect of allowing Union forces to determine the maximum range of the Confederate artillery in the area.

Battle

In the autumn of 1862, Captain A.A. Semmes, the commander of Union naval forces off Florida's west coast, decided to mount an operation to end the blockade running that had continued from Tampa. Two Union gunships, and , sailed into Tampa Bay on October 16, 1863 and began a slow bombardment of

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native Seminoles who had been confined ...

while staying just out of the range of the fort's batteries. Two days later on October 18, a Union raiding party under Acting Master T.R. Harris secretly disembarked at Ballast Point, landing near the current intersection of

Bayshore Boulevard Bayshore Boulevard is a waterfront road on Hillsborough Bay in South Tampa, Florida. Located south of downtown Tampa Downtown Tampa is the central business district of Tampa, Florida, United States, and the chief financial district of the ...

and Gandy Boulevard. While the Union gunships continued a diversionary bombardment of the fort, about 100 Union troops marched north through a heavily wooded area that was later developed into the neighborhoods of

Palma Ceia Palma Ceia is a neighborhood located southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida in South Tampa. It is bounded by Miguel Street West of MacDill Avenue and Neptune Street East of MacDill Avenue to the north; Bay to Bay Boulevard from Dale Mabry to Himes a ...

West Tampa West Tampa is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, United States. It was an independently incorporated city from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Tampa. West Tampa is located west of the Hillsborough ...

, and

Seminole Heights Seminole Heights is a historic neighborhood and district located in central Tampa, Florida, Tampa. It includes many early 20th century bungalow homes and historic buildings. It was an early residential area of Tampa connected by streetcar. The ...

. Their target was the

Jean Street Shipyard Jean Street Shipyard (established 1843) is a shipyard in the United States, located on the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. It is located approximately 5 miles from the mouth of the Hillsborough River, about 1 mile above the Hillsborough Ave ...

on the Hillsborough River near today's Sligh Avenue, and upon reaching their destination, they quickly seized and burned several ships moored at the dock including two notorious blockade runners, the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

''Scottish Chief'' and the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

''Kate Dale.'' The ships and the shipyard were owned by the once and future mayor of Tampa, James McKay. Escaping capture by the attackers along with some crew members, McKay sped to the town and warned the Confederate forces at Fort Brooke about the raiding party and the fate of his ships. The 2nd Florida Infantry Battalion along with the Oklawaha Rangers

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

unit and a few citizens of the town quickly gave chase and caught up with the Union detachment near their landing point on Tampa Bay. A short but sharp engagement known as the Battle of Ballast Point ensued as Union troops attempted to board their

dinghies A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

near today's Ballast Point Park and return to the waiting ships in the bay. With the support of covering fire from ''Tahoma'' and ''Adelia'' directed at Confederate forces on shore, the raiding party reached the ships having suffered 16 casualties. Union forces sailed out of Tampa Bay soon thereafter.

Aftermath

The blockade running steamer ''Scottish Chief'' was heavily damaged but remained afloat after it burned. It was towed back downriver to near today's Blake High School, stripped of usable materials, and destroyed. The steamer ''A.B. Noyes'', which had also been damaged in the raid, was similarly broken down to preclude her capture. The ''Kate Dale'' sank near its mooring and remains at the bottom of the Hillsborough River near the current location of ZooTampa. The raid met its objectives. Shipping out of Tampa came to a virtual halt for the duration of the war, damaging the Confederate war effort and crippling the local economy. When Union forces again landed in May 1864, Fort Brooke was no longer garrisoned and the town had been virtually abandoned. Remaining canon and supplies at the fort were destroyed, and after a short occupation, Union troops left the area.

References

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Hillsborough County, Florida

History of Tampa, Florida

1863 in Florida

October 1863 events