12/11/2018     And so It begins!

Today, I was awarded the 2019 Elsaesser Fellowship from Sea Education Association. The project is summarized as follows:

I have had the opportunity to travel the world by sea. A rare chance to see the world as our ancestors have experienced it, from a perspective very few in today’s world get a chance to experience. I have seen the islands of the Pacific and the related fortifications and remnants of conflict around the world. I have explored the British, Dutch and French fortifications, residences and lighthouses of the Caribbean and even the fortifications, lighthouses and abandoned research stations and shipwrecks of the Southern Ocean.  Traveling the world gave me a unique vision of the maritime history of the world, but my own country, I have very little experience with. 

The Gulf Islands National Seashore tells a unique story of the coastal history of the United States. The annexation of the territories of the Gulf Coast in 1804, and Spain ceding its Florida territories to the United States in 1819. This set the stage for events, which have had a vast impact on American history.  It is with this great and interesting history in mind, that I am proposing a thorough and detailed expedition to thoroughly explore and document each of the islands, fortifications, and lighthouses along with the homes and buildings of historic significance.

My work in the Gulf of Mexico and especially in and around the Gulf Islands National Seashore has shown me the rich maritime history of our nation and the impacts on its growth.  My personal research into the history of our nation’s southern coast has shown how the opportunity of a new land, rich with resources, played (and still plays) a very important part of our heritage. Unfortunately, I have found very little literature concerning the fortifications from the Mississippi River Delta along to the panhandle of Florida. There are the occasional “wiki” pages about an abandoned lighthouse, or where a pirate crew may have made camp.  There are satellite images of abandoned fortifications (as below) in the many river approaches of the Mississippi Delta up to New Orleans. Many locations are not accessible to the public or in places that you can only find through meticulous searching of Army records. Some of the better-known fortifications such as Fort Massachusetts and Fort Morgan have been turned into active museums and give visitors a glimpse of the past, but many other facilities lie ignored without any record of disposition, overgrown and in various states of reclamation by nature.  It is these pieces of history that truly excite me.

Years ago, as a student at Sea Education Association at Woods Hole Massachusetts (SEA), I was greatly influenced by a member of the faculty by the name of Jim Millenger.  Mr. Millenger instilled into me a previously unrealized but deep-running interest of maritime history and literature that has followed with me to this day. Though my education and profession took me in a different direction, I always made time and took any opportunity to delve into the nautical history, archeology, and literature of the Gulf of Mexico region where I lived.

My work constantly takes me onto and around the Gulf Islands National Seashore where I provide small vessel operations support as well as educational outreach for the Northern Gulf Institute and Mississippi State University.  As part of my job, I build scientific marine and environmental curriculum for students, specifically along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and operate marine hydrographic and biological sampling in support of several state and federal research programs. 

The work I do allows me to see the beauty of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, but only from a scientific perspective.  The Gulf Islands National Seashore also tells a unique story of the coastal history of the United States. The annexation of the territories of coastal Mississippi in 1804, and Spain ceding its Florida territories to the United States in 1819 set the stage for events, which have had a vast impact on American history. Numerous historic fortifications stand as sentinels along the beaches and islands from Louisiana to Florida.  Lighthouses and their remains stand or have stood to protect shipping and seaman from treacherous shoals and currents. Historic homes and tales of pirates abound, including the stories and legends of Jean Lafitte and his impact on our very freedoms.

There are 21 primary fortifications and over 100 batteries and gun emplacements along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Additionally, there are over 30 standing lighthouses and numerous others lost or destroyed ranging along from the Louisiana coast To Cedar Key in Florida.

There are hundreds of historic coastal homes and historic points of interest for pirates and explorers including some of the oldest operating businesses in the U.S., such as Mary Mahoney’s Old French House, a French trading post which has been in operation since 1699.

Even the Pirate Jean Lafitte, a French pirate, and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico, and hero of the American War of 1812 was known to operate between Galveston and Biloxi and is represented in a number of establishments still operating in the New Orleans French Quarter. The legacy and legends of his treasure and exploits are still the stuff of legend to this day. The loss of one of Lafitte’s ships, the “L’Hirondelle” which burned and sank in Biloxi Bay, as well as bullets, gunflints and other relics including cannon and cutlasses which were recovered in the area near the “carved magnolia trees” on Lovers Lane in Old Town Biloxi, have driven many local legends of pirate treasure yet undiscovered.

It is with this great and interesting history in mind, that I am proposing a thorough and detailed expedition to thoroughly explore and document each of the islands, fortifications, and lighthouses along with the homes and buildings of historic significance from the water, from New Orleans, Louisiana to Cedar Key in Florida, from a sailing and hiking perspective. 

 

Above: Jonathan Harris, C-112, in the Gulf of Mexico

Jonathan Harris, C-112, is the winner of the 2019 Armin E. Elsaesser III Fellowship. Jonathan, a geologist, and former SEA crewmember, is an education and outreach coordinator at Mississippi State University. Harris was selected from a field of 13 applicants.

The title of the project is:

“Pirates, Blockades and Commerce: an expedition to explore the maritime history, fortifications, and lighthouses of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.”