We were just down enjoying the winter weather in Florida's Panhandle this past week, and even though we didn't get all the way west to Fort Walton Beach as we had intended (Panama City Beach waylaid us).
It was interesting to see how this town got its name in Dale Cox's Civil War Florida blog.
It got its name from a Civil War fort established by the Walton Guards in 1861 and occupied until 1862. On April 1, 1862, it was attacked by Union troops who had marched over from Fort Pickens, Pensacola who found out there had been a fight between the fort's occupants and the crew of a Union naval blockader.
The Guards were driven off, but General Braxton Bragg sent a 16-pdr cannon to help defend against future attacks. When the Walton Guards left the fort in the summer of that year, they buried the cannon in a shell mound.
It has since been dug up and is on display at Fort Walton Beach;s Heritage Park, which occupies the site of the old Confederate fort..
I Didn't Know That. --Old B-Runner
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
