Fort Pickens, fortification on the western end of Santa Rosa Island at the entrance to Pensacola Bay, NW Fla. When Florida joined the Confederacy in Jan., 1861, Fort Barrancas on the mainland was evacuated and its garrison sent to Fort Pickens. Refusing to surrender, the fort was reinforced and repulsed a Confederate attack in Oct., 1861; it remained in Union hands throughout the war. Fort Pickens is part of a Florida state park.
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