2018 St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment
Cancelled for 2018. Site has been sold; looking for new location.
Witness history at the St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment on April 6-8, 2018 – across the street from 328 Beach Drive in Panama City, Florida. The Union Marines and Navy come ashore and burn down the Confederate salt works. The Pawnee Guard, a Civil War reenacting group hosts the annual event, using a rowed launch to land Marines on the beach! If you’d like to be part of the action, they are looking for people to portray salt workers and home guard.
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St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment
The St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment will take place just west of the Marina in downtown Panama City, on Beach Drive. Civilian and Naval impressions are welcome! No fees. Free firewood. We will have a mess.
The reenactment starts with the Marines landing from their rowed launch on the white sand beach as pyrotechnics explode in the sand. The Confederate home guard puts on a spirited defense, but the Marines steadily push them back through the woods and the tent camp as well as the field in front of the spectators. Spectators have a front row seat to view the battle up close. The Marines will explode one of the boilers during the action. After the battle, the wounded are taken to a field hospital where they are treated as part of Civil War era battlefield medical demonstrations.
Although small, there is plenty of room for camping under the trees. Evenings offer great sunsets and sea breezes.
The reenactment will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with camp tours open at 10:00 a.m. and the battle reenactment at 1:00 p.m.
Public Welcome – Free Admission
Schedule: Saturday & Sunday
10:00 a.m. Camp Tours begin
1:00 p.m. Marine Landing and Battle Reenactment
4:00 p.m. Camps close to public.
Location
St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment Site
328 Beach Drive
Panama City, FL 32413
For More Information: Call 850-258-1670; Email ronboyce50@gmail.com
About the St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid
Before refrigeration, salt was crucial for food preservation, and hundreds of salt works sprang up along Florida’s Gulf Coast, boiling sea water in iron kettles for its production. To stop supplies from reaching the Confederates, a series of Union assaults were initiated in late summer 1862. Over a year later, in December 1863, men from the U.S.S. Restless and other naval ships landed at St. Andrews Bay, and proceeded to destroy more than 290 salt works operations, valued at $3 million at the time.
About the Pawnee Guard
St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment is hosted by the Pawnee Guard, a local historical reenacting unit that participates in other reenactments across the Southeast. The Pawnee Guard reenactors are supported by the Bay County Historical Society and National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia.
Mark your calendar today so you don’t miss the next St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment in April in Panama City, Florida.
Tags: St Andrews Bay Salt Works Raid Reenactment, Florida Civil War Reenactment, Civil War Reenactment