Senator David Levy Yulee, founder of the Florida Railroad, wanted the eastern terminus of his railroad line to end in Amelia Island. The Third System fort was named after General Duncan Lamont Clinch who fought in the War of 1812 and the Seminole Wars. In 1847 construction of Fort Clinch began in nearby present-day Fernandina.

Navy forces drove Aury from the island, and President James Monroe vowed to hold Amelia Island 'in trust for Spain.' Hubbard and Irwin later joined forces with the French-born pirate Louis Aury, who laid claim to the island on behalf of the Republic of Mexico. Spanish soldiers forced MacGregor's withdrawal, but their attempt to regain complete control was foiled by American irregulars organized by Ruggles Hubbard and former Pennsylvania congressman Jared Irwin. MacGregor claimed to be Brigadier General of the armies of the United Provinces of New Grenada and Venezuela (where he had successfully fought and led troops), and General-in-Chief of the armies for the two Floridas, commissioned by the Supreme Director of Mexico. However, A Scottish soldier and adventurer named Gregor MacGregor with 55 musketeers seized Fort San Carlos in 1817, claiming the island on behalf of 'the brethren of Mexico, Buenos Ayres, New Grenada and Venezuela', and raised the Green Cross of Florida flag over the Spanish Fort San Carlos. Spanish forces erected Fort San Carlos on the island in 1816. Spanish pressure forced the American evacuation from the island in 1813. President Madison eventually denounced the filibustering of George Mathews, however, on the grounds that Mathews had violated his instructions. Outgunned, the American gunboat withdrew, which enabled several vessels to escape from the port. 168, which had fired on the loyalist merchant vessel Fernando to prevent her leaving. American gunboats under the command of Commodore Hugh Campbell maintained control of the island. After raising a Patriot flag, they replaced it with the United States flag. In the following years, it was captured and recaptured by a succession of renegades and privateers.Īt the beginning of the Patriot War, with the approval of President James Madison and Georgia Governor George Mathews on March 13, 1812, insurgents known as the 'Patriots of Amelia Island' seized the island. The town was intended as a bulwark against U.S. On May 10 of that year, Fernandina became the last town platted under the Laws of the Indies in the Western hemisphere. On January 1, 1811, Enrique White, governor of Spain's East Florida province, named the town of Fernandina, about a mile from the present city, in honor of King Ferdinand VII. Main article: Original Town of Fernandina Historic Site They remained on the island until the early 18th century, when European settlement began. Native American bands associated with the Timucuan mound-building culture had settled on the island about 1000 CE, calling it Napoyca. Prior to the arrival of Europeans on what is now Amelia Island, Native Americans occupied the site of the original town of Fernandina. It is also the largest incorporated city in the county since Yulee is an unincorporated town.

Īccording to the 2010 census, the city population was 11,487. Fernandina has the distinction of being the last Spanish city platted in the Western Hemisphere, in 1811. The town of Fernandina, which was about a mile from the present city, was named in honor of King Ferdinand VII of Spain by the governor of the Spanish province of East Florida, Enrique White.

The French, English, and Spanish all maintained a presence on Amelia Island at various times during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, but the Spanish established Fernandina. Known as the 'Isle of 8 Flags', Amelia Island has had the flags of the following nations flown over it: France, Spain, Great Britain, Spain (again), the Republic of East Florida (1812), the Republic of the Floridas (1817), Mexico, the Confederate States of America, and the United States. The area was first inhabited by the Timucuan Indian people. It is the northernmost city on Florida's Atlantic coast, situated on Amelia Island, and is one of the principal municipalities comprising Greater Jacksonville. Fernandina Beach is a city in northeastern Florida and the county seat of Nassau County, Florida, United States.

Scapple fernindina beach fl