Fort Caben was a

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

fort in

Flagler County, Florida Flagler County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 115,378. Its county seat is Bunnell, and the largest city is Palm Coast. Created in 1917 from portions of ...

. In 1958, a report listing Flagler County historical sites, compiled for Florida Governor Thomas LeRoy Collins (1909–1991) and the State Park Board, stated, "Fort Caben' was built for defense against the Indians – about 1834. No trace left. t wasprobably a wood building. Location: Section 38, Township 13 – South, Range 29 East, on Fish Hawk Point."Jaye, Randy. (2017) ''Flagler County, Florida: A Centennial History''. St. Petersburg, Florida: Booklocker.com.

Brief history

Fort Caben was built on the banks of Crescent Lake (near St. Johns Park in present-day Flagler County, Florida) by the U.S. Army during the Second Seminole War to prevent

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

Indian raiding parties, that were traveling on boats and canoes on the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

, from attacking and looting the numerous

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

s that were located south of

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

. Fort Caben was most likely a

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

style fortification as it was located near a waterway, and the area provided a vast number of trees for building materials.Mahon, John K. (1967) History of the Second Seminole War. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press.Jaye, Randy. Second Seminole War (1835-1842) Fortifications in the Present-day Volusia and Flagler County Area. Halifax Herald, Volume 35, Number 2, Fall 2017.

Operations

Fort Caben was likely occupied by U.S. Army troops on a part-time basis during the Second Seminole War for training, reconnaissance and defensive purposes. Many of these smaller and remote forts were not defended on a full-time basis as troops were regularly relocated to areas where there was Seminole Indian activity during the Second Seminole War. No known attacks or skirmishes were recorded at Fort Caben.Missall, John and Mary Lou Missall. (2004) The Seminole Wars: America's Longest Indian Conflict. University Press of Florida.

Fate

Fort Caben was most likely abandoned, and burned down, sometime around 1839 as no mention of it after this time is documented. Today, the site of Fort Caben is in a densely wooded and secluded area and would most likely require

Lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...

technology and an experienced archaeologist to locate the exact spot where it was built.

References

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External links

Seminole War Fort Diagram (Ft. Micanopy)

Florida Seminole Wars Heritage Trail

Frontiers: Search on for fort
Seminole Wars Caben Buildings and structures in Flagler County, Florida Pre-statehood history of Florida Second Seminole War fortifications