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[[Image:Bombardment-fort-pickens.jpg|thumb|right|Bombardment of [[Fort Pickens]]]]'''Pensacola''' and the surrounding area were home to several key clashes in the early stages of the [[Wikipedia:American Civil War|American Civil War]]. The Confederate Secretary of the Navy, [[Stephen Mallory]], was a Pensacolian and is buried in historic [[Saint Michael's Cemetery]]. ==First hostilities==[[Wikipedia:South Carolina|South Carolina]] became the first state to secede from the union on [[December 20]], [[1860]]. On [[January 108]], [[1861]], a small group of men under Colonel [[William H. Chase]] approached [[Fort Barrancas]] but were repelled by gunfire.<ref name="Views">Parks, Virginia and Sandra Johnson. ''Civil War Views of Pensacola''. Pensacola: 1993.</ref> On [[January 10]], Florida became the third state to secede from . In February the Union and join seceding states would form the newly formed [[Wikipedia:Confederate States of America|Confederate States of America]]. When Florida seceded on [[January 10]], the commanding officer at [[Fort Barrancas]], Lieutenant [[Adam J. Slemmer]], decided to abandon Forts Barrancas and [[Fort McRee|McRee]] and consolidate Union forces at [[Fort Pickens]]:{{cquote|I called on Commodore Armstrong (Union Commanding Officer of the [[Navy Yard]]) ... He had received orders to cooperate with me. We decided that with our limited means of defense we could hold but one fort, and that should be [[Fort Pickens]], as it commanded completely the harbor and the forts and also the navy yard.|20px|20px|"Pensacola in the Civil War." ''Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. IX, No. 2, 1978.}} [[Image:Reinforcement-fort-pickens.jpg|thumb|right|Reinforcement of Fort Pickens by the ''USS Brooklyn'']]Slemmer's men destroyed over 20, one 000 pounds of three forts guarding gunpowder at [[Fort McRee]], spiked the entrance guns at [[Fort Barrancas]], and evacuated 51 soldiers and 30 sailors to [[Fort Pickens]].<ref name="PICW">"Pensacola Bayin the Civil War." ''Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol. IX, No. 2, 1978.</ref> On [[January 12]], was held by Federal rebel troops from Alabama and Florida occupied the [[Navy Yard]] and never captured by Confederate forces[[Fort Barrancas]]. Colonel [[William H. Chase]] demanded the surrender of [[Fort Pickens]], but Lt. Slemmer refused, and indeed Fort Pickens would remain in Union control for the duration of the war, a feat not duplicated by any other fort in a seceding state.  In the early months of 1861, while [[Wikipedia:James Buchanan|James Buchanan]] was still President, [[Stephen Mallory]] had negotiated a gentleman's agreement that stipulated the Union would not reinforce [[Fort Pickens]] as long as rebel troops did not attempt to take it. However, incoming president [[Wikipedia:Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln]] did not intend to honor the agreement, and on [[March 12]] ordered troops about the ''[[Wikipedia:USS Brooklyn (1858)|USS Brooklyn]]'' to land at [[Fort Pickens]]. The orders reached the ''Brooklyn'' on [[March 31]], and on [[April 13]] the troops successfully reinforced the fort.<ref name="Views" /> Additional troops were landed from the ''USS Atlantic'' on [[April 16]].<ref name="PICW" /> ==Battle of Santa Rosa==In the [[Battle of Santa Rosa Island]], the city of Pensacola and the two Confederate forts fought against an invading United States army and forces stationed at Fort Pickens.  ==Pensacola surrenders==Pensacola surrendered to U.S. troops on [[May 10]], [[1862]], and most of the city was burned. Almost all residents evacuated inland to Greenville, Alabama. The Confederate Secretary of the Navy, [[Stephen Mallory]], was a Pensacolian and is buried in historic [[Saint Michael's Cemetery]].