Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. It is the largest of four forts built to defend Pensacola Bay and its navy yard. The fort was completed in 1834 and was one of the few forts in the South that remained in Union hands throughout the American Civil War. It remained in use until 1947. Fort Pickens is included within the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and as such, is administered by the National Park Service.
Panorama of Fort Pickens
Engraving of wartime Fort Pickens
Adam Jacoby Slemmer
William Conway Union Navy quartermaster who refused to haul down the American flag when Pensacola Naval Yard was captured. From a sketch by William Waud
Santa Rosa Island (Florida)
Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile (64 km) barrier island located in the U.S. state of Florida, thirty miles (50 km) east of the Alabama state border. The communities of Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach, and Okaloosa Island are located on the island. On the northern side of the island, are Pensacola Bay on the west and Choctawhatchee Bay on the east, joined through Santa Rosa Sound.
Santa Rosa Island, looking east, with characteristic sea oats.
The Gulf of Mexico: the shining light in the back is from the sun's light being reflected off windblown particles of white sand from the beach.
George Catlin - White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola - 1985.66.354 - Smithsonian American Art Museum