Florida Almost Fired The First Shots Of The Civil War, Not South Carolina
Fort Pickens, Pensacola, and the shots fired in January
Fort Sumter is famously remembered as the place where the American Civil War officially started. The loud artillery duel marked the first official shots of the war between two rival nations. It was fitting that South Carolina led the secession efforts by being the first state to secede and also was the location of the war’s first battle. However, this was not set in stone. At the same time that the crisis surrounding Fort Sumter was happening, another crisis was unfolding 600 miles away in Florida.
Florida Secedes
Florida was one of the earliest states to secede. They voted to secede on January 10th, 1861, just 30 days after South Carolina made its exit from the Union. Florida was the third state to secede from the Union.
For comparison, Tennessee was the last state to secede, and they did not do so until June 8th, six months after Florida.
As states seceded from the Union, there was a crisis that unfolded at every piece of formerly federal property. The new government came in and seized the federal lands and claimed them for the state, effectively stealing them from the government. This took place at military bases…
