Fort Dallas was a military base during the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

on the banks of the Miami River in what is now Downtown

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

History

Old Fort Dallas was established on the

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

of Richard Fitzpatrick and William English in 1836 as a United States military post and cantonment in southern Florida during the

.Nathan D. Shappee, "Fort Dallas and the Naval Depot on Key Biscayne, 1836 -1926," ''Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida'' 1, no. 21 (1961): 13. In 1836, the U.S. Navy established patrols on

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...

to prevent trading between the Seminoles and traders from Cuba or the West Indies. Fort Dallas was established to support the Navy's efforts, but more pointedly, "for the purpose of harassing the enemy." It was named in honor of Commodore Alexander James Dallas, United States Navy, then in command of the United States naval forces in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. The first commandant was Lieutenant F. M. Powell, who remained in command for about two years. Another noteworthy commander was U.S. Army Colonel William S. Harney (1839–1840) of the 2nd Dragoons who led an attack against Seminole chief Chakaika in 1840. From 1836 to 1857 it was occupied much of the time by troops, but was not a military reservation. Quite a number of buildings were erected, and today only two remain. In addition to these, there were a ten barracks, slave quarters, stables, and a blacksmith forge. During the tumultuous Seminole Wars, Fort Dallas provided the nervous Miami River settlers with a sense of security during the hostilities and soldiers from the fort contributed to the development of the area. These infrastructure expansions included a hospital, a road from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, and a trading post.James C. Staubach, "Miami During the Civil War: 1861-65," ''Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida'' 1, no. 53 (1993): 33-34. Fort Dallas remained in

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 ...

hands 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 ...

and was abandoned afterward. During the war, the place was occupied by refugees from many places, and at the close of the war by a band of desperadoes.

Judah P. Benjamin Judah Philip Benjamin, QC (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English ba ...

, who served as Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State for the Confederacy, made his escape to Cuba through Indian River and Bay Biscayne. In describing the trip, he refers to the rough treatment he received at the hands of occupants of the fort, but, he added that it was a beautiful and picturesque spot, with its white houses and fine parade ground. The interior of the fort has been improved, and care has been taken to preserve the exterior unchanged. When the soldiers left, the fort became the base for a village established by William H. English, the new owner, which he called Miami. Some of the buildings were demolished or moved to other locations, and in 1872, all the remaining buildings except the two still standing were burned, the fire originating accidentally in the house occupied by Dr. Jeptha Vining Harris. In 1891,

Julia Tuttle Julia DeForest Tuttle (née Sturtevant; January 22, 1849 – September 14, 1898) was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami, Florida, was built. For this reason, she is called the "Mother of Miami." She is the only woma ...

brought her family to live in a large home on the Miami River that had been in use when Fort Dallas occupied the spot. Tuttle repaired and converted the home into one of the show places in the area with a sweeping view of the river and Biscayne Bay. The barracks served as plantation slave quarters, then as army barracks during the Seminole Wars, and finally as Julia Tuttle's home in 1891. The building remained on the site as the only remnant of the fort until 1924 when an apartment building was slated to occupy the site. The coquina stone building was disassembled in sections and moved to Lummus Park on the north side of the Miami River at Northwest River Drive and North Third Street. In 1895, following the successful efforts of Tuttle and fellow landowner

William Brickell William Brickell (May 22, 1817(?) – January 14, 1908) joined Julia Tuttle as a co-founder of Miami, Florida. During the Civil War, Brickell and his wife Mary, whom he met and married in Australia, lived in the White House while he worked as an ...

to attract a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, Fort Dallas was part of the site of the new

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, when

Henry M. Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founde ...

extended his Florida East Coast Railway south from Palm Beach.

Gallery

Image:Entrance to Fort Dallas Park, Miami, FL.jpg, Original Fort Dallas Park entrance at Downtown, c. 1905

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * "Old Fort Dallas", Official Directory to the City of Miami and Nearby Towns, 1904

External links

* * *
Florida Seminole Wars Heritage Trail.
{{authority control Dallas, Fort Buildings and structures in Miami

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

History of Miami Pre-statehood history of Florida Florida in the American Civil War Parks in Miami Former populated places in Florida Former populated places in Miami-Dade County, Florida 1836 establishments in Florida Territory Second Seminole War fortifications