Somewhere in my library I have a pamphlet published by local Florida historians that says the same thing. I purchased it at Fort Pickens.
I found my missing “pamphlet.” It is 120 pages long and is entitled, “Pensacola Fortifications, 1698-1980, Guardians on the Gulf” by James C. and Irene S. Coleman and published by the Pensacola Historical Society.
On page 39 it says, “About midnight on the eighth [January 8, 1861] a group of men approached the fort and failing to answer when challenged, were fired upon by the guard.”