Fort Hanson (St. Augustine, Florida)

St. Augustine · Florida · Second Seminole War

Quick BriefFort Hanson was a blockhouse fortification built in 1838 by the United States Army as one of a chain of military outposts created during the Second Seminole War. Fort Hanson was primarily built for the protection of the St. Augustine area in the Florida Territory. After only two years of service Fort Hanson was ordered abandoned on May 13, 1840, and later burned to the ground by the Seminoles.

History & Significance

Built in 1838 during the Second Seminole War, Fort Hanson was one of numerous military outposts positioned near vital road and waterway routes within a day's journey of one another. The fort originally stood about thirteen miles southwest of St. Augustine.

It was constructed primarily to protect the St. Augustine area, which had become a refuge for white settlers and enslaved people who fled nearby plantations for safety in the city, and as an important shipping port and supply center for the war effort, the additional civilians made the city a key stronghold requiring substantial military presence. It was also tasked with providing reconnaissance and communications to warn U.S. Army troops stationed in St. Augustine of any Seminole Indian activity in its general vicinity.

The fort was ordered abandoned on May 13, 1840, by the United States Secretary of War Joel Roberts Poinsett. Fort Hanson was abandoned in 1840 and later burned to the ground by the Seminoles, though no known attacks or skirmishes were recorded at the fort during the Second Seminole War. The fort is most likely named after Colonel John Hanson, a plantation owner of St. Augustine.