Yellow Bluff State Historic Park: See Civil War Earthworks in Florida

Yellow Bluff State Historic Park is an original Civil War encampment near Jacksonville, Florida. Today, visitors can go on a short hike and picnic in the spot where both Confederate and Union soldiers stood guard. 

The park is tiny—only 1.3 acres—but it’s been pretty well preserved since the Civil War. I got there mid-afternoon on a cool late January afternoon. My wife and I were on a 10-day road trip through Georgia and Florida, checking out various parks and sites. There was not much information online about this park, so expectations were up in the air. We have a habit of visiting Civil War sites when we can. 

After parking, we jumped and headed towards the entrance sign.  Houses surrounded the park.  I wonder how many of them were on part of the original encampment—but there is no way to know that. 

Visiting Yellow Bluff State Historic Park

There is a monument at the entrance. “Dedicated to the memory of the Confederate Soldiers who defended Jacksonville, 1861 – 1854 Yellow Bluff Fort.” Fort is a bit of a misnomer. It was never a fort per se, but definitely an encampment. The monument goes on to say Robert E. Lee designed the Confederate earthworks here to defend Saint John River and its supply lines to Jacksonville. The earthworks were built in 1862 and, at its peak, housed more than 250 troops. Confederate or Union troops occupied the site for the entirety of the war. 

As you walk through the small site today, you can still see the earthworks slowly wearing down with time. We only spent about a half hour there, walking the short trail through the earthworks, checking out the canons on display, and having a quick lunch at the picnic tables in the middle of the site. 

Yellow Bluff State Historic Park is not a destination Civil War site, but I was pleased we stopped.