Site of Fort Peyton

Fort Peyton, established by Major General Thomas S. Jesup in August 1837 and garrisoned by regular army troops, was one of a chain of military outposts created during the Second Seminole Indian War for the protection of the St. Augustine area. It consisted of four log houses built in a hollow square, with two occupied by the troops, one by officers, and the fourth used as a hospital and commissary. The post was first known as Fort Moultrie, but its name was changed in honor of Lieutenant Richard H. Peyton, post commander in 1837. Seminole chief Osceola was captured about a mile south of this site. Fort Peyton was ordered abandoned by Secretary of War Joel R. Poinsett in May 1840, and the buildings burned to the ground on February 14, 1842, presumably set afire by an incendiary.

Florida · United States