As I sit out by the Gulf of Mexico here at Panama City Beach, Florida peering at the water about 100 yards away, had this been a little over 150 years ago, I just might have seen a Union blockader sailing or anchored off shore.
There was no Panama City back then, just a small settlement called St. Andrew's, taking its name from the large bays located there. That is part of today's downtown Panama City. Panama City Beach didn't come into being until the 1930s.
Before the war, St. Andrew's was a place people came to during the summer to enjoy the cool gulf breezes (and it sure was cool earlier today). There was a small fishing industry as well.
Once the war came, it became a major center of salt making to provide the people and armies of the Confederacy with the much needed condiment. This caused attacks by Union blockaders on several occasions.
Plus, later on, after Southern ports fell to the Union, there was some blockade running by smaller ships.
One famous blockade runner was the Florida (not to be confused with the Confederate cruiser of the same name. It was eventually captured and became the Union Ship USS Hendrick Hudson.
--Old B-Runner
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