Fort Myers, Florida Blockhouse.
Major Samuel C. Ridgely established Fort Myers, Florida, a U.S. Army post, on February 20, 1850. It was named for Captain Abraham C. Myers, the son-in-law of Major General David E. Twiggs, who ordered the fort built. It was built on the site of earlier Fort Harvie. A lack of building materials delayed the fort’s initial construction. However, supplies sent from Pensacola fueled a building boom, resulting in a fine post with many permanent buildings. The facilities included officers’ quarters, administration offices, a 2½-story hospital, warehouses for munitions and general supplies, a guardhouse, blacksmith’s and carpenter’s shops, a kitchen, bakery, laundry, sutler’s store, stables, and even a bowling alley, bathing pier, and pavilion. It also boasted a nearly 700-foot-long pier that let soldiers bring supplies by tram.
By 1854, the post was considered one of Florida’s finest. However, Major J. McKinstry investigated reports of lavish facilities, including the bowling alley and bathing pavilion. By 1856, 57 buildings stood. The Third Seminole War began in December 1855 and was over in the Spring of 1858, and Fort Myers played a central role. After the war, about 124 Indians under Billy Bowlegs surrendered and were shipped to a reservation in Arkansas in May 1858. The Fort was then abandoned in June 1858.
In December 1863, during the Civil War, five companies of Union troops under Captain James Doyle reoccupied the fort. It was the only federally occupied fort in South Florida. The Union troops erected a new barracks and a log-and-earth breastwork around the post. With the fort secured, the troops conducted raids against Confederate beef ranchers in the Florida interior to disrupt beef shipments to the Confederacy. The fort also became a refuge for a handful of escaped slaves and Union sympathizers.
Fort Myers, Florida in the Civil War
In early February 1865, the Cattle Guard Battalion was deployed from Fort Meade, Florida, and ordered to attack Fort Myers because it was learned that the fort might soon be abandoned. On February 20, they surprised several black Union soldiers on picket duty at Fort Myers and shot them as they tried to flee. The firing had alerted the fort, so the Confederates fired a warning shot from their cannon, followed by a messenger demanding the Union troops surrender. Captain Doyal returned a refusal, stating: “Your demand for an unconditional surrender has been received. I respectfully decline; I have force enough to maintain my position and will fight you to the last.”
Doyle then wheeled his own two cannons outside the fort. The Battle of Fort Myers began with black Union soldiers firing the artillery and the white Union cavalrymen firing their carbines. Throughout the day, both sides continued sporadic firing, which finally ceased at dark. One black Federal soldier was killed in the skirmish. The next morning, the Cattle Guard Battalion returned to Fort Meade.
The Fort was abandoned in June 1865.
Fort Myers, Florida Historic Marker.
Captain Manuel A. Gonzalez founded the community of Fort Myers on February 21, 1866. Captain Gonzalez knew the area from years of service delivering mail and supplies to the Union Army at the fort during the Seminole Indian Wars and Civil War.
Nothing remains of the fort today.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
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