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This is the Jason Gregory home at Torreya State Park near Bristol, Florida. The house originally sat on the opposite bank of the Apalachicola River and was the center of a large plantation. The home was moved across to the park when it was established during the 1930s. Torreya State Park takes its name from Florida's rare Torreya tree, which grows only in this vicinity. Local legend holds that the Torreya is the Biblical "gopher wood" tree |
Enlarge The commanding bluffs in the park were of strategic importance during the Civil War because of the view they provided of the Apalachicola River. The Confederates emplaced six heavy guns here to stop any attempt by the Union Navy to force its way up the river to the Confederate naval installations in Columbus, Georgia. The battery was never attacked |
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This is Gun Emplacement #1 at Torreya State Park. Although it is somewhat difficult to tell from the photograph, the earthworks of the battery are well-preserved. The battery consisted of three pairs of emplacements, connected by trenches and rifle pits and a protected magazine |
This is another view of the earthworks of the Confederate battery at Torreya State Park. This battery was one of four constructed by the Confederates along the Apalachicola and Chattahoochee Rivers between the Gulf of Mexico and Columbus, Georgia. Designed to work in conjunction with obstructions in the river and the gunship C.S.S. Chattahoochee, the batteries were never tested by the Union navy |
