Alexander McGillivray was a Creek chief and son of a prominent Scottish trader in the southeast when Florida was returned rule to the Spanish in 1783. From the time when his father Lachlan returned to Scotland, Alexander helped build a trading monopoly with the Indians. By 1785, supplies became hard to get and of poor quality, so Alexander McGillivray had to contract with William Panton of the "Panton, Leslie & Company." Even though the British had lost Florida back to the Spanish, it was proven that nobody could trade as well with the Indians and have as good supplies as the British traders.

The Panton Leslie store was established in Pensacola on land leased by Alexander McGillivray. A huge amount of deer skins and pelts were shipped to Europe in exchange for British trade goods. The main providers of the skins and pelts were Creeks and Seminoles throughout the southeast.

The trade was so successful during the 18th and early 19th century, that Pensacola was a major target for Andrew Jackson to capture in 1814 and 1818, who claimed that the Indians were being supplied weapons and incited against the United States here. Jackson also captured the nearby forts of Fort George and Fort Barrancas.

McGillivray died in 1793, and Panton died about eight years later. The business passed on to John and James Forbes, who continued until the U.S. flag was flown over Florida in 1821. There were several branch stores of Panton, Leslie & Co., which were later owned by John Forbes. They include stores at San Marcos or St. Marks, Volusia south of Lake George on the St. Johns River, on the St. Johns River north of Lake George, and "The Brickyard" across the Apalachicola River from Forbes Island. The Pensacola property was along the waterfront next to Baylen Street. There is nothing that remains of the Panton-Leslie store and mansion these days, but the property marked by a model of the store, in the middle of traffic at the southern end of Baylen Street.

After the end of colonial rule in 1814, things changed for worse for the Indians in the southeast, and they could no longer bargain between competing European powers and the United States. Those who supplied the trade goods could demand the prices they wanted, and forced the Indians to give away their land to pay off bad credit debts. The stores charged the Indians as much as a 500 percent mark-up on goods. It wasn't long before there were few Indians left to trade with, so business either had to become a mercantile store or go bankrupt.

There is a small portrait of Alexander McGillivray in the Creek Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. He had light brown curly hair.

If ever visiting the Pensacola area, make sure to stop by and see this scenic fort at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.

Fort Barrancas was started by the Spanish in 1698 to protect their new settlement at Pensacola Bay. It remained relatively inactive until the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The fort didn't do much to protect the city, because Andrew Jackson took the fort before capturing the city in 1814, and again in 1818.

Because the Panton store was in Pensacola, the Americans led by Andrew Jackson, looked on the town as a supply depot for hostile Indians. After capturing the city the second time in 1818, Jackson returned home and wrote Washington about all the wonderful things he did in Florida. The government was shocked, started apologizing the best they could to the Spanish government, and told Jackson to stay home until things cooled down. Three years later Jackson became the first American territorial governor of Florida.

Once the Americans gained Florida, they started reinforcing Fort Barrancas. Much of the brick work that you see today was started in 1839. Although in the middle of the Second Seminole War, the purpose of the fort was for defense of Pensacola Bay and shipyard from foreign powers. Today you can see this interesting mix of early American and Spanish fortifications. The fort is open to the public and maintained by the National Park Service.

Nearby is another small fort, known as the "Advanced Redoubt." This brick fort was begun in 1844, and linked to Fort Barrancas by a series of trenches. It was to guard the north of the naval yard from attack by land forces. The Irony is that the first person to attack Pensacola by land from the north was General Andrew Jackson. Kind of like building it to defend against yourself?

Besides Fort Barrancas at the entrance of Pensacola Bay, Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island also guards the entrance to the bay.

There is record of Indian mounds in the area of Fort Pickens when the fort was expanded in the 1820's. They probably were removed for use of the lime that was used for mortar like most of the gulf coast mounds.

Famous Apache leader Geronimo, Naiche, and their families were kept prisoner for two years (1886-1888) at Fort Pickens, and one of Geronimo's wives is buried at the Fort Barrancas National Cemetery across the bay in the Naval Air Station. The people in Arizona wanted the Indians as far away from them as they could send them, so the Apaches ended up here and at Fort Marion in St. Augustine. They became quite a tourist attraction while here, and the city was mad to lose the tourist business when Geronimo was moved to Mount Vernon Barracks near Mobile, Alabama. The Apache were hard working and caused no trouble, and the soldiers as well as the town folks were sad to see them leave. Today the fort is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Also while in Pensacola, check out these sites:

T.T. Wentworth Museum, 320 Jefferson Street.

Historic Pensacola Village, 205 E. Zarragossa Street

Pensacola Historical Society Museum, 115 E. Zarragossa St. Has some good exhibits on Pensacola during the Jackson invasion era.

If you buy a ticket in the Wentworth Museum, it will get you into six other historic attractions in the area.  Well worth the tour!

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(c) 1998, 2000, 2002 Chris Kimball
Note: None of this material can be reproduced without written permission from the author.