Pensacola, Florida – On July 17, 1821, Spain formally ceded control of West Florida to the United States in a ceremonial event held at Plaza Ferdinand VII in Pensacola. This marked the final step in the transfer of Florida under the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, which was ratified earlier that year.
U.S. military commissioner Andrew Jackson accepted the territory from Spanish Governor José María Callava in a formal flag ceremony. The Spanish flag was lowered, the American flag was raised, and a 21-gun salute was fired from the USS Hornet. A similar ceremony for East Florida took place a week earlier, on July 10, in St. Augustine.
This transfer marked the beginning of Florida as a U.S. territory and set the foundation for its eventual admission as the 27th state in 1845.
