Fort Michell, located in today's

Alachua County Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida. History Prehistory and ear ...

, was the capital of the short-lived Republic of East Florida during the Patriot War of 1814. Only one building was built, a 25-foot meterssquare, two-story blockhouse. It was located about one mile .6 kmfrom the city limits of modern

Micanopy, Florida Micanopy ( ) is a town in Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, United States, located south of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. It is part of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistica ...

. Its precise location is not known. In January 1814, a group of soldier-settlers erected a two-story blockhouse and dubbed it Fort Mitchell, after the Governor of Georgia, David Mitchell. General Buckner F. Harris declared Fort Mitchell to be the capital of the Republic of East Florida. After building the fort, a petition was drafted to the U.S. Congress asking to annex the " District of Elotchaway lachuain the Republic of East Florida" (much larger than the current county) as a territory to the U.S. They also offered to send soldiers to fight the British as the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

was occurring. The fort was abandoned by May of 1814 after Buckner was killed by Seminoles.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Alachua County, Florida Seminole Wars Forts in Florida Blockhouses Pre-statehood history of Florida Spanish Florida Capitals of former nations