The Fort at Prospect Bluff

For our group project, Jamie, Sammi, Aleks, and I set out to film the remains of the 19th century fort at Prospect Bluff. As we drove further away from Tallahassee, the forest got thicker and the people were few and far between. After about an hour and a half of following the pine-lined roads, we finally spotted a sign marking our destination. Fort Gadsden, otherwise known as Prospect Bluff, is a fort that stands alongside the winding Apalachicola River. It has been remarked as a site of mixing cultures from the Spanish, British, freed African American slaves, and various tribes of Native Americans. It wasn't until 1816 that the Americans gained control of the fort in what resulted as the deadliest explosion by a single cannon shot that instantly killed nearly 300 men, women, and children. Our first trip to the fort was to gather b-roll and scope the area for our upcoming interview with Dale Cox. There was no one at the fort that morning and as we all separated to gather footage from different areas of the park, we realized just how incredible this place really is. There is little left, except the outlines of the structure that once stood there. But there is a feeling of an extraordinary history of people and their tragic end.

Our second trip was to film and interview Dale Cox about the history of the fort. Dale's tour unfolded a whole story that surrounded us as we wandered the park. I think I can speak on behalf of my group that the morbidity of the history at this fort will stick with us always.