The confederates who stood in this well-formed line saw active service from the earliest period of the war. The day that Florida seceeded from the Union, First-Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer withdrew with Company G of the First United States Artillery from the shore to Fort Pickens, on the western extremity of Santa Rosa Island. Colonel W. H. Chase was in command of the southerners and demanded the surrender of Fort Pickens January 13, 1861. It is recorded that his voice shook and his eyes filled with tears when he attempted to read his formal demand for the surrender. Photo, ca. 1861, courtesy of the Florida Photo Archives.

Photo, ca. 1880s, courtesy of the Florida Photo Archives.