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The unknown Civil War battle you’ve never heard of at this unique Florida vacation destination

On a quiet summer morning in 1861, a minor skirmish at East Pass, Florida—later dubbed the “Battle of Destin”—marked a tense confrontation between the USS Water Witch and local Confederate militia. This brief, bloodless exchange near the Choctawhatchee Bay reveals the war’s grip on the local community, specifically the family of Leonard Destin, whose loyalties were tested amid the shifting tides of the American Civil War.

The Creek’s unexpected, costly disaster at Shoal River

On Independence Day, 1837, the militiamen cornered the Creek warriors at a bend in the Shoal River, which, if you look at it on a map, eerily resembles Horseshoe Bend. The 70 or so Jackson County militiamen engaged about 100 Creek, just a portion of the total number of warriors estimated in the area, and routed them. As they fled across the river, they left between eight and ten dead Creek behind, according to Pensacola State Historian Brian Rucker. Jackson County’s men took three wounded in the 20-minute battle.

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