Apalachicola River, Part Eighteen

South of Ricco's Bluff, the Apalachicola River once flowed through a winding series of curves that were known to riverboat pilots as "the Narrows."

In 1863, deciding that the defenses at Ricco's Bluff were too far upstream and perhaps not placed well to provide a suitable defense, the Confederates set about building new fortifications and batteries at the Narrows.

The task was extremely difficult. The land around the Narrows was low and swampy. At high water, the swamps overflowed. At low water, the location was covered with a mosquito population so thick that clouds of them often darkened the sky.

Despite these hardships, the Confederates constructed two batteries at the Narrows. Known as Battery Gilmer and Battery Cobb, these installations were created by taking pre-built frames downstream and then filling them with earth. Two large mounds were created, atop which the artillery batteries were constructed.

In addition, the Confederates obstructed the river at the Narrows, by placing similar pre-built frames in the river and allowing the river itself to pile driftwood against them until finally a mass so thick was created that the soldiers could walk back and forth across the river on the tangle of driftwood.

The Confederate warship Chattahoochee came down to guard the work crews as they built the batteries. It was bittersweet duty for the officers and men on the ship, however. The same obstructions that would prevent Union ships from coming upstream also doomed the Chattahoochee to a career of service in the river.

The batteries at the Narrows never came under fire and the location proved so unhealthy that the Confederates soon abandoned it. In addition, it was quickly realized that the batteries could be bypassed using a series of smaller streams and sloughs. As a result the guns were removed and taken upriver to Alum Bluff.

The Apalachicola River has since been straightened and no longer flows by the battery site at the Narrows. The mounds still exist, but are far back in the river swamp and very difficult to reach today. Curiously, one of Florida's top archaeologists mistook them for a major Native American mound complex, despite the fact that no significant Native American artifacts have been found there. Another group of archaeologists, also thinking they were investigating a Native American mound complex, learned the truth when they found a few rusty nails and recognized the pattern of the earthworks atop the mounds as fortifications.

Our series will continue.