Living History at Fort Clinch

Glacis

One of Florida’s first State Parks, the preserved towering masonry walls at Fort Clinch State Park draw us into an immense parade of splendor. Constructed by Army Engineers in 1847, this fort served to protect the Fernandina port during the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War II.

Parade at Fort Clinch

We cross over the swing bridge through the glacis, dry ditch, rampart, parapet, and finally, the terreplein fort wall sections to reach the green courtyard. We gaze up at the magnitude of the fort walls in wonder of the events that took place here while the fort was constructed to defend Fernandina Harbor.

Soldiers’ Barracks

We explore the prison first, encountering a staged experience of what it would feel like to be locked in the cold steel iron cages with balls chained to one’s feet, with rickety beds offering the only small solace. We peer into the windows of the soldiers’ barracks, where a present-day display of dining utensils and educational area suggest a space of community. The blacksmith shop sits directly behind the barracks next to the bakery, where again we look to the performative displays to tell us a story. I imagine the garrison soldiers gathering in these spaces in the harsh cold of night to keep warm, waiting for battle, engaging in intimate exchanges to pass the time.

Rampart at Fort Clinch

Curtain wall galleries separate these living spaces from the latrines and the outer rampart walls that are jutted up against the dry ditches, lining each exterior wall of the brick pentagon. We venture through the galleries to explore the tightly tucked away spaces of the fort’s interior, leading up to the first of five bastions. A bastion is a high tower, accessed via a narrow spiral staircase to reach an observation lookout at the top, where a soldier could keep watch for foreign intruders. Hand-in-hand, we tiptoe along the rampart wall to the next bastion, making our way around the fort. We encounter a full setup of weaponry in the north bastion, making our way around to the east bastion, our final stop on the fort’s second story.

Columbiad Cannon

Outside in the sun, we pause on some pieces of artillery to capture the scene and linger in the fresh air. Live reenactments featuring the Federal Garrisons are held the first weekend of every month, so we conclude our self-guided tour with the opportunity to watch a live cannon explode before our eyes, the cannon’s bomb propelled into the crisp January morning air and sinking deep into the Atlantic Ocean.

The fort is just one feature of this 1,427-acre park.

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