The History of Florida (83 page)

era have been discovered and archaeological y investigated. In Pensacola

Bay, the Santa Rosa Island Wreck is an excellent example of an early-eigh-

teenth-century Spanish warship. University of West Florida archaeologists

identified the wreck, first recorded in 1992, as likely being
Nuestra
Señora

del
Rosario
y
Santiago
Apostol
. Built in Mexico in 1695, the vessel was ap-

proximately 130 feet long and was constructed of New World mahogany

and other tropical hardwoods. In 1705,
Rosario
sailed to Pensacola to sup-

ply the garrison and then returned to Veracruz with a cargo of pine and

cypress logs to be used for ship masts.
Rosario
was anchored in Pensacola

Bay when a hurricane caused it to ground in shal ow water on the north side

of Santa Rosa Island. Stripped of everything useful, the damaged ship was

abandoned and eventual y broke apart, leaving the lower hull buried under

sand and bal ast stones. Archaeological investigations revealed personal

possessions of the crew, stacks of brooms, and boxes of nails and replace-

ment pulley sheaves probably meant for the shipyards of New Spain.

Many of the same ships that supplied Spain’s colonies with basic necessi-

ties became annual treasure fleets when they returned with vast quantities

proof

of New World products, especial y gold and silver. Due to the success of

armed galleons in protecting those bullion shipments, only three fleets were

captured by enemies, in 1628, 1657, and 1702. More ships, however, were

destroyed by storms along Florida’s shores: the 1622 fleet off the Marquesas

and in the Dry Tortugas, the 1715 fleet off the east coast of Florida, and the

1733 fleet in the Keys. The loss of those fleets inspired pirates for hundreds

of years. Historical y, freebooters swarmed to wrecksites in an attempt to

capture shipwrecked cargo, and the Spanish responded by developing so-

phisticated salvage techniques. Spanish salvage was so successful, in fact,

that on the 1733 wrecks more precious metal was recovered than was listed

on the ships’ manifests—evidence of inevitable contraband and smuggling.

Despite the damage caused by treasure hunters, especial y since the 1960s,

archaeological investigations have revealed a range of New World materials

intended for the markets of Europe, including fine porcelain from China,

religious figurines, weaponry, and jewelry from the workshops of native

artisans. Today, the shipwrecks of the treasure fleets are among the oldest

artificial reefs off Florida’s shores.

396 · Del a A. Scott-Ireton and Amy M. Mitchell-Cook

British Florida and Return of the Spanish

When the Spanish left their colony of Florida in 1763 as part of the Treaty

of Paris, they took with them everything of use, including tools, cannons,

mil stones, and household implements. As a result, British settlers had to

import all of these mundane, yet necessary, items. At least one cargo ship

carrying replacement goods wrecked while entering the port at St. Augus-

tine, and historical documents indicate that other ships were lost as wel .

The transport sloop
Industry
ran aground in 1764 on the shal ow bar at

the entrance of St. Augustine harbor. Loaded with a varied cargo includ-

ing cannons for the Castillo de San Marcos, mil stones, chests of nails and

tools, and ammunition,
Industry’
s cargo was vital to the establishment of

the new British colony. The ship was discovered in 1997 during a survey of

the historic port by archaeologists with Southern Oceans Archaeological

Research, Inc., who found cannons still in position as they were loaded in

Industry
’s hold. Artifacts from
Industry
are on display at the St. Augustine

Lighthouse & Museum. A second vessel, currently called the Storm Wreck,

was discovered off St. Augustine in 2010 by archaeologists with the Light-

house Museum’s Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, or LAMP.

It, too, appears to have been a cargo vessel loaded with necessary goods such

proof

as cooking pots, cannons, ammunition, and tools. This shipwreck further

il ustrates the treacherous navigation often required to enter harbors and

ports before the days of dredging and channel marking.

Wooden hul s in tropical waters needed frequent repairs to replace

planks eaten by shipworm and fouled by barnacles and weed growth. Spe-

cial places called careening grounds were used for these repairs and gener-

al y had sandy bottoms gently sloping to shal ow water on wide beaches,

which allowed the ships to be careful y leaned on their sides so repair crews

could access the lower hul . A long-used careening ground in Pensacola Bay

was located at Old Navy Cove on the modern Gulf Breeze Peninsula. The

remains of several historic watercraft have been documented in the Cove,

and the area also was used for quarantining ships suspected of carrying

disease. In 1988, archaeologists with the University of West Florida con-

ducted a survey of the land surrounding the Cove, called Deadman’s Island.

Investigations in the Cove’s shallow water revealed a partial y intact ship’s

hul , and State of Florida archaeologists conducted a maritime archaeology

field school for UWF students. The field school, held in the summer of 1989,

uncovered the port side of a British warship, identified by artifacts and his-

torical documents as likely either HMS
Stork
or HMS
Florida
, both of which

The Maritime Heritage of Florida · 397

were careened in the Cove but, found to be unseaworthy, were abandoned.

A second British vessel was also discovered at Deadman’s Island, so likely

both
Stork
and
Florida
have been found, although archaeologists are not

certain which wreck is which ship.

The start of the American Revolution in 1775 caused British authorities

to strengthen the defenses of their loyal colonies, East and West Florida.

Armed warships and supplies were sent to St. Augustine and Pensacola. A

British warship lost as a result of the war has long been a maritime mystery

in Pensacola. HMS
Mentor
was built as the privateer
Who’s
Afraid
in Mary-

land in 1778. Captured by the British, the vessel was armed as a sloop-of-war

and commissioned into the British navy in 1780.
Mentor
was sent to Pen-

sacola to help defend the town during the Revolution. When a large Spanish

fleet under command of Don Bernardo de Gálvez sailed into Pensacola Bay

in 1781,
Mentor
was taken up the Blackwater River to prevent its falling into

enemy hands. While in the river, a squal caused
Mentor
to capsize; her crew,

unable to right the ship, set fire to the hul . To date, the wreck has not been

found. The Battle of Pensacola resulted in Spanish forces taking the town, a

major blow for British war efforts. The Treaty of Paris ending the American

War of Independence gave Florida back to Spain.

The Second Spanish Period in Florida began with Spain resuming control

proof

of the colonies in 1784, after only twenty-one years of British occupation.

Once again, ships brought settlers and supplies into the major ports of St.

Augustine and Pensacola. The Spanish tended to remain along coasts and

rivers for ease of trade and travel, leaving the interior of Florida unsettled

and unprotected. Firms specializing in trade with Native American tribes

flourished in the Spanish Floridas. For example, Panton, Leslie, and Com-

pany, founded in 1782–83, furnished Indians with trade goods such as guns,

blankets, clothes, cooking ware, and rum in exchange for primarily deer

hides but also exotic products such as furs, honey, and bear oil. Pensacola

became the main port for the southern Indian trade, causing Panton, Leslie,

and Company to locate their principal establishment in the town. Other

company offices and trading posts were located at St. Augustine and at St.

Marks. Import and export of Indian trading goods caused these ports to

prosper, spurring further trade and settlement in Florida.

U.S. Territory and Statehood

As Florida entered the U.S. Territorial Period in 1821, the land was only

sparsely settled. Pensacola and northeast Florida had reasonable centers of

398 · Del a A. Scott-Ireton and Amy M. Mitchell-Cook

population but not until the end of the Second Seminole War, in 1842, did

American settlements expand farther down the coasts and move slowly in-

land to take advantage of fertile soil and forest resources. Although some

internal improvements occurred in Florida at this time, natural waterways,

both inland and coastal, remained the primary means of transportation.

Ships of al nations sailed Florida waters to take advantage of natural re-

sources as well as a lack of official administration. Maritime activities along

southern Florida waters came primarily from Bahamians who fished and

smuggled goods to British Caribbean territory where they received better

trade conditions. The numerous vessels sailing, and sometimes grounding,

along the Keys contributed to the development of “wrecking,” the profitable

salvage of wrecked ships, by Keys inhabitants. Key West also became a ma-

jor port for fishing and sponging.

As the territory grew in population, the paying of duties, or taxes, became

an issue, and the U.S. government looked for ways to organize and con-

solidate shipping in and around Florida. During the Second Seminole War,

the United States Revenue Cutter Service, a forerunner of the U.S. Coast

Guard, had helped move troops and supplies through difficult-to-navigate

waters. Despite U.S. control of Florida, commercial fishing was conducted

primarily in Spanish or Native vessels. Fishermen typical y salted and dried

proof

their catches at smal vil ages, or “ranchos,” and then traded their goods

with Cuba, avoiding U.S. taxes. With an eye to broadening markets, U.S.

fishermen moved into Florida to take advantage of the Havana trade. With

the end of the Second Seminole War, many ranchos and indigenous com-

munities disappeared or were destroyed, thus leaving the resource open to

American nets and lines.

Like the Spanish and British before them, American colonists exploited

the immense virgin forests in Florida’s interior. Throughout the Territorial

Period, ports like Jacksonville grew to accommodate a growing timber in-

dustry. Inland river transport increased due to improved steam technology,

and logging became more efficient with the use of sawmil s. After the wars,

the interior opened up to cotton and agriculture that also relied on wa-

ter transportation. As the Territorial Period ended, inland areas of Florida

enjoyed some growth. However, problems of shallow-river navigation, in-

clement weather, the economic panic of 1839, and slowly spreading railroad

tracks kept much of the area from developing further.

Some of Florida’s best natural harbors, like Pensacola Bay, lacked navi-

gable water routes to connect the coast to interior areas and industries, thus

limiting their growth as viable ports. Apalachicola, with its convenient and

The Maritime Heritage of Florida · 399

relatively deep river, grew through trade while Pensacola remained primar-

ily a military port. Overal , Florida’s rivers and bays proved inadequate for

shipping goods inland. Improved steamship construction did provide for

regular communication and travel along the Gulf and Atlantic coastlines

and helped tie Florida ports to larger markets, but internal travel remained

limited with few ships able to steam up Florida’s shallow rivers. In response

to the growth of coastal shipping, several lighthouses were constructed to

improve navigation.

Florida’s agricultural and natural resources were not the only reasons

why the region became essential to the U.S. economy. Florida provided

safe anchorages and supplies for American ships, especial y those carrying

goods from the interior of the United States down the Mississippi River

and into the Gulf and Atlantic. Some Americans feared that foreign vessels

could block the Straits of Florida, the crucial passage between Florida and

Cuba and the Bahamas, and hamper international trade coming from the

United States. In addition, large bays such as Pensacola could harbor and

supply enemy fleets if not patrolled careful y. After statehood in 1845, efforts

were initiated to improve and protect the larger bays and waterways.

By 1822, the U.S. Navy’s West Indies Squadron was based at the Pensacola

Navy Yard (today’s Naval Air Station Pensacola). The yard was the primary

proof

support facility for ships operating in the Gulf, Caribbean, and South Atlan-

tic. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, the United States constructed coastal

forts to protect Pensacola Bay, including Fort Pickens, Fort McRee, and Fort

Barrancas. The yard served as the main supply base for ships operating off

Mexico and, as the closest naval base, it supported amphibious landings