Fort Clinch 04/04/24

Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Beach, Florida

Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, ‘throw Yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” ~ Matthew 4:5-6 Does it surprise you to know that Satan can quote scripture? This is Psalm 91:11-12. I think we tend to forget that Satan was once very close to God (Isaiah 14:12-14, Ezekiel 28:12-17). More than that, I think we tend to forget that he is real, or we don’t take him seriously. If he had no qualms about tempting the very Son of God, what makes us think that we’re above his temptations? There are many verses that speak to us being aware and cautious of his schemes. Here are a few if you want to look them up: I Peter 5:8; James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-18; II Corinthians 11:3, 13-15; John 8:44; II Timothy 2:24-26; Matthew 16:23; I Chronicles 21:1-22:1. Even today, Satan is very real. He cannot snatch salvation from men and women of true faith, but he can still tempt us to do his bidding to draw other’s away from God by our choices of words and deeds. We must always be mindful of how we appear before others. In addition, he can tempt us into living and thinking as the world does, rather than as God would have us. Our best defense? Knowing God’s Word.

It was a great day to meet the sun on the beach!

And it was the perfect day to explore Fort Clinch. The crowds were waaay down from the weekend and the weather was beautiful!

We didn’t see any information about this guy.

A part of the park system since 1935, Fort Clinch is one of the most well-preserved 19th century forts in the country. Although no battles were fought here, it was garrisoned during both the Civil and Spanish-American wars. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps began preserving and rebuilding many of the structures of the abandoned fort.

Fort Clinch was named for General Duncan Lamont Clinch, an important figure in Florida’s Seminole War of the 1830s. Construction of the fort started in 1847 by the federal government and continued during the Civil War.

It was designed to garrison 500 soldiers and 78 pieces of artillery.

Although incomplete, Fort Clinch was occupied by Confederate forces when the war began in 1861. By December, 1,524 troops were stationed here.
It was taken by federal troops when a withdrawal was ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee the following year.

The garrison operation was greatly reduced in the years following the Civil War and eventually ceased altogether. In 1898, the fort was reactivated for several months during the Spanish-American War. Today, it remains in a remarkable state of preservation.

In 1935, the state of Florida purchased 256 acres which included the abandoned fort. It was the beginning of a program to acquire adjacent lands and begin development of one of the first and finest state parks in Florida. The civilian Conservation Corps was responsible for the initial building and development of the park. It was formally opened to the public in 1938.

During World War II, Fort Clinch served its final mission as a joint operations center for surveillance and communications. At the end of the war it was given back to the state to open to the public. ~ stateparks.com

I don’t know why they made this one so you could barely read it.

It was a small room of information. We’re headed outside now.

You cross a drawbridge to get into the actual fort.
As a side note – there was a gopher tortoise wandering around in the “moat” area.
One family was leaving and the parents pointed out the tortoise to the kids,
to which one son of about 4 said, as he kept walking, “Not interested!”
Apparently, he was on his way to a snack. : )

We asked about the flag.
I guess at the time, flag companies could make the flags anyway they wanted.
This one is unique to us.

That’s the same beach we biked on, and also where they caught the shark.

It was almost impossible to take indoor pictures because of all the windows.
Good lighting for the men who lived and worked here though.

This bastion was added in 1898 for the Spanish American war.

It was a nice place, but the one thing we missed were sign boards telling you history or how the various rooms were used, what life was like, etc. Maybe it’s because it never saw any combat and men were only stationed here for a short time? Or it could be because the first weekend of every month they have re-enactors on the grounds.

We’d ridden our bikes here, and after our tour, stopped by a trail on the way home. This one you have to walk. It was pretty much just a walk through the marshy woods, although Blaine was startled by a large black snake. Or maybe the snake was startled by Blaine? Either way, it disappeared so fast, there wasn’t even time to think about taking a picture. Darn!