Fort Gadsden, Fla.-- Part 3: British Post, Negro Fort

Before he left Florida, Edward Nicholls built a fort at Prospect Bluff, 15 miles above the mouth of the Apalachicola River and 60 miles below U.S. territory.

 It was originally known as British Post and served as base for British troops (though in Spanish Florida) and actively recruited former slaves into the new Corps of Colonial Marines.  It also was the local rallying point for Seminole Indians for attacks on U.S. territory.

When the British evacuated the fort in the spring of 1815, they left a well-constructed and fully armed fort on the east bank of the Apalachicola River and about 400 Colonial Marines assumed command.  News of the "Negro Fort" attracted 800 black fugitives (runaway slaves) ro the fort who settled around it.

--Brock-Perry