NPSHistory.com keeps the administrative histories, handbooks and reports for Gulf Islands National Seashore.
📚 Learn More at NPSHistory.com →In December 1863, a freedom seeker named Henry crossed Union lines and arrived at Fort Barrancas on Pensacola Bay wearing a heavy metal bar on his right leg. Soon after, he enlisted in the 14th Regiment, Corps d'Afrique, as Henry Stalburt. He was one of hundreds of formerly enslaved men who fled to this fort and took up arms for their own freedom.
Fort Barrancas became a station of the United States Colored Troops — Black soldiers who fought for the Union. In September 1863, the 14th Regiment arrived and engaged Confederate forces in combat. In 2021, the National Park Service officially recognized Fort Barrancas as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom — honoring it as a place where enslaved people sought and found liberty.
The administration now wants to replace the exhibit text that tells this story. The cost estimate for replacing the waysides alone is $42,234.24 — taxpayer money spent to remove historically accurate content about American soldiers who fought for freedom.
Why this matters: The waysides titled “Destination Liberty,” “Rowing to Freedom,” and “Bravery at Barrancas” tell a story of courage recognized by the NPS's own Underground Railroad program. Removing them would erase the very history that earned Fort Barrancas its designation.
The administration ordered these exhibits replaced because “the content could be considered disparagingly to certain visitors.” The flagged exhibits cover: “Building the Fort, The Civil War, and United States Color Troops” at Fort Barrancas, “The Islands and Human History” at Davis Bayou, and “Live Oaks and Legends” at Headquarters.
Waysides flagged as potentially “disparaging” include: “Built By Slaves,” “Stormy Night Escape,” “Apache Prisoners,” “Dueling with Confederates,” “Down the Island to Freedom,” “Blacks Join Union Army,” “Fight for Ship Island,” “Destination Liberty,” “Jim Crow and Segregation,” and “South on the Underground Railroad.” Three are specifically ordered to be replaced: Apache Prisoners, Built by Slaves, and Fort of Many Faces.
Two publications that “mention enslaved stories” were flagged as “could be considered disparagingly to certain visitors.”
See all 874+ entries across every national park and wildlife refuge.
Open Interactive Map →