When The Spanish-American War Came To Springfield

[Metro Jacksonville]

When The Spanish-American War Came To Springfield



Army Camps sprang to life as the Spanish American War came to Springfield and Panama Park. Join us as we march back in time to Camp Cuba Libre and a very different Jacksonville.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-may-when-the-spanish-american-war-came-to-springfield

[Jason]

Excellent bit of history!  I had no idea there were Howitzers posted at St. Johns Bluff.

Well done!

[stephenc]

Is there not pubic access to the battery on St. Johns Bluff? Thats a big piece of history!!

[JaxByDefault]

Cool! As I'm on lower Walnut, I find stuff in my yard (bullets, iron tools, transferware china, patent medicine bottle, etc.) that dates back to the camp with decent frequency anytime I dig about .75 meter or more.

[kam311]

I wonder if that explains this:


Last time I was out hiking around Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Area, I found this large, unmarked concrete foundation next to the marsh.  Something had obviously been mounted on top of it.  It's just off the trail and surrounded by small trees and shrubs - easy to miss.  I may have some other photos at home - this is just the one I happened to post on my site.
(This is about a mile southeast of the Ribault Monument)

[Tacachale]

Is there not pubic access to the battery on St. Johns Bluff? Thats a big piece of history!!

No, unless I'm mistaken it's on private property.

[stephenc]

Is there not pubic access to the battery on St. Johns Bluff? Thats a big piece of history!!

No, unless I'm mistaken it's on private property.

Anyone have an address? Tried to pull it up on Google Earth but couldn't find it.

[Mr. Charleston]

The concrete ramp at Roosevelt was from a lumber operation that Willie Brown and his brother ran.

[Ocklawaha]

Lumber operations were omnipresent in early Jacksonville. When the great virgin cypress forests were cut over in the 1920's, things shifted to pine and didn't really vanish until the post WWII era. 

How many knew for example that Switzerland, Florida had a 'railroad' that ran from a similar river landing a few miles southeast into a swamp around today's Greenbriar Road?

At the time of the Spanish American War, our giant water oaks were still a very popular building material for ships. When people first saw these trees, it was believed they had a corner on the world furniture market... trouble was they split apart when the wood cures. But just before throwing in the towel, someone put the idea of 'wet' and 'water oak' together and thus launched Jacksonville into a brisk ship building locale.

[duvaldude08]

Kool to read this! I grew up in Panama Park and my parents still stay there. Very cool

[MajorCordite]

I have a couple comments about this article and the pictures in the comment section.  I grew up in the Ft Caroline area during the 1960's and I knew Mr Willie Brown as I camped on his property as a guest with our Boy Scout troop from Gilmore Methodist Church on Ft Caroline Rd.  The concrete slab ruins photo posted by kam311 appear to be Willie's boat ramp and crab-fish-oyster house foundation where he kept his boat in his younger days.  I am very familiar with the Spanish American Fort at St Johns Bluff as I  have collected a fair amount of research on this site.  There was a previous "temporary" earthen fort built just about where Ribault Monument stands at the overlook.  It was fortified with pre-Civil War cannons borrowed from the armory in Jacksonville.   Also, in the featured article it states Spanish American War soldiers arrived in Jacksonville on the Atlantic Coast Line RR.  They might have travelled on the ACL in NC, SC, and VA, but the ACL did not reach Jacksonville until late in 1900 or 1901.  Just a technicality, but to RR buffs it is a big deal.  My grandfather and father both worked for the ACL for 45 years. 

[MajorCordite]

One more comment about the "official" photo that always appears in every search when you pull up Spanish American War Fort in Jacksonville.   I might be the only one on the planet who believes this, but I feel certain this particular photo is NOT the correct photo of Jacksonville's Spanish American War fort.  I have seen this photo before the internet existed in library collections and I realize it has been labeled with an ink marker stating it is Jacksonville.  I also realize it is in the state archives and available for internet viewing, but I have found errors before in these collections.  If you study the actual blueprints from the Library of Congress for the Jacksonville fort there are some differences in the actual fort and this photograph.  At the actual fort the Rodman carriage that the 8-inch M1888 gun rode on -- these mounts are slightly elevated -- and the deck surface at the fort drops down behind the mounts.  In the photograph above the metal rail foundation for the Rodman carriage is recessed in a pit, altogether different than the mounts existing currently at St Johns Bluff.  For my closing arguments - ;-) - my history professor at Jacksonville University, Dr. George Buker retired US Navy commander, who has conducted much research on this topic stated: "The fortifications at St Johns Bluff were under control of civilian workers of the Corps of Engineers. At no time during the history of the military reservation at St Johns Bluff were troops assigned to the fortifications."  As you can see in this photo there are soldiers on duty.  It doesn't add up.  Any thoughts?