Camp Milton: Site Visit

Entrance to the preserve

Me in front of the Entrance

    Today I went to the Camp Milton Historic Preserve in Jacksonville, FL. The address is 1225 Halsema Rd N Jacksonville, FL 32220 United States. I visited on today's date October 8th, 2022 from 2:30-4:00 and I went with my mother where we were two of around 6 people I had seen in the preserve. 

Me standing on timber fortifications

   Being the largest confederate fortification in Florida, Camp Milton stood as "the first line of defense against the Union forces in Jacksonville" (City of Jacksonville, 1). Named after the governor of Florida John Milton, this fort was erected to defend against the Union's attempts to invade Jacksonville to stop the movement of goods and troops out of Florida and into the battleground states to its North. "After a portion of the remaining earthworks was discovered in 1973, efforts began to acquire the property," until 2006 with help from the Preservation Project when the project was finished (City of Jacksonville, 1). Here I found a replication of timber fortifications (Seen above) as well as the Harvey Farm on the property and the variety of trees significant to the Civil War that were planted there.

Harvey Farm Barn

Pathway into Harvey Farm

Harvey Farm House

Sign regarding one of many trees in the area

   

 It was very interesting to see the Civil War history of Florida and especially Jacksonville because up until now I had never looked into it. I had assumed that Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia were the only states that really mattered when it came to the Confederacy but I had underestimated the role of Florida. Obviously, the Confederacy was the slave power and ultimately the villain of American History during this time but it is still good to know thy enemy as they say. Still, seeing the impact of the war on Jacksonville was very interesting to see first-hand and read about. 

    This is relevant to the texts for two reasons. Firstly, it is relevant to Gannon's textbook because Chapter 14 is about "The Civil War, 1861-1865" written by Robert A. Taylor (Gannon vii). This entire preserve is dedicated to preserving a site with relevance to the American Civil War, thusly it is relevant to the text. Additionally, certain chapters of A Land Remembered take place in the 1860s which was the period in which the Civil War takes place, and therefore affects the narrative we are reading. 

Sources Cited:

1). City of Jacksonville. (n.d.). Camp Milton historic preserve. COJ.net. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://www.coj.net/departments/parks-and-recreation/recreation-and-community-programming/parks/camp-milton-historic-preserve.aspx

2.) Gannon, M. (2018). The History of Florida. University Press of Florida.