Torreya State Park, Part Two

This is part two of a short series on Torreya State Park in Gadsden County, Florida. To read part one, just scroll down the page until you see it.

In the early summer of 1863, Confederate troops constructed a fortification on Neal or Battery Bluff in the park. This bluff is located on the reverse slope of Rock Bluff, where the Gregory House stands today.

This placement of the earthworks was unique among the Civil War fortifications along the Apalachicola River because it turned the entire crest of the main bluff into a massive defense for the artillery emplacements. Union vessels coming up the river would have to fire over the top of the bluff and hope to hit the Confederate guns on the reverse slope, an unlikely proposition at best.

The fortifications at Battery Bluff consisted of six artillery emplacements. This photograph was taken from outside Emplacement #1, looking across the rampart (where the sign stands) into the emplacement beyond. The mounds of earth on each side of the sign are the defensive earthworks of the emplacement.

The battery consisted of three pairs of emplacements. Each pair was connected by a deep infantry trench and fortified observation platform/rifle pit. The emplacements reflected the latest military engineering of the time and were actually dug down into the top of the bluff (as opposed to being built up with earth on top of it). This provided better protection for the guns. The earth removed from the excavations was used to form ramparts around each emplacement.

We will look closer at the Torreya State Park artillery emplacements in the next part of our series. Until then, you can read more about the park and see additional photographs by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com and looking for the Torreya State Park section.