It called for taking the Confederate capital at Richmond, blockading southern coasts, and controlling the Mis- sissippi River. While Florida played no part in the taking of Richmond, the state became a vital component in the Union’s blockade and inland river 400 · Del a A. Scott-Ireton and Amy M. Mitchell-Cook campaigns. For the South, Florida remained an area ripe for blockade-run- ners, and it was a necessary buffer to maintain inland supplies. Blockade- runners operated out of several ports, especial y those with interior rail- road access such as Pensacola, Jacksonville, Apalachicola, and St. Marks. To maintain the blockade, the Union captured ports such as Jacksonville, Fer- nandina, and St. Augustine in the early months of the war, while Fort Taylor in Key West and Fort Pickens in Pensacola never fell to the Confederacy. The blockade consisted of four squadrons, with three of those squad- rons relying on Florida ports and coastlines for fuel and supplies. Key West was headquarters for the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, whose territory stretched from St.
