Confederate Veterans honored in Jackson County

The Theophilus West, M.D., Camp 1346 hosted a moving tribute to three Confederate veterans buried at Circle Hill Baptist Church Cemetery in Jackson County on Saturday. The event was attended by over 100 relatives of the men.

Those honored were:

• William Henry Cox, Greenwood Club Cavalry, a school boy who fought in the Battle of Marianna at the age of fifteen. His father, Joseph B. Cox of the 1st Florida Reserves, fought in the same battle.


• Sherrod (Sherwood?) Scott, Company A. 11th Florida Infantry. He was 31 when the war began and, like many soldiers of that day, spent a great deal of his time in the military sick and under the care of Confederate surgeons.


• James Ray, Company C, 51st Georgia Infantry. He was 26 when he enlisted in the Confederate army, was captured at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1863 and spent the rest of the war in prison at Rock Island.

Military headstones were unveiled for Scott and Cox during the ceremonies. It was the first time Scott's grave had been marked in more than 50 years.

In addition to the ceremonies and headstone unveilings, the West Camp members continued their expanding educational mission by inviting those in attendance to participate in artillery drills and learn more about how field cannon worked during the War Between the States. The firings of the 12-pounder reproduction howitzer culminated the day of activities.

One of the most active SCV camps in Florida, the West Camp has undertaken a massive project to restore and maintain the graves of soldiers across Jackson County. Camp members have donated literally thousands of hours so far and the project is receiving widespread acclaim. The group has also been actively locating and marking the graves of Confederate soldiers and also places flags on graves on key holidays.

Florida Monument at Vicksburg, Mississippi

Located a bit off the beaten path, the Florida Monument is often overlooked by visitors to Mississippi's outstanding Vicksburg National Military Park.

Florida troops did not hold sections of the lines at Vicksburg, but were part of the Army of Relief organized by General Joseph E. Johnston in a futile effort to break the siege of the vital city. The 1st and 3rd Florida Infantry Regiments (consolidated), commanded by Colonel W.S. Dilworth, and the 4th Florida Infantry, commanded by Colonel Edward Badger served in Stovall's Brigade of Breckenridge's Division.

In addition, the following Confederate generals from Florida took part in the Vicksburg Campaign...

Brigadier General Francis L. Shoup commanded a section of the Confederate lines ringing the city. Although he had been born and raised in Indiana, Shoup left his home state for St. Augustine, Florida, when it became apparent that war was approaching. He was commissioned as a lieutenant by the governor but due to his background and intelligence, quickly rose through the ranks. He served with great courage at Shiloh and was recognized for his service there with a promotion to brigadier general in 1862.

Major General W.W. Loring, affectionately called "Old Blizzards" by his men, commanded fortifications on the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg prior to the main siege. With only 3 cannon and 1,500 men, he drove a Union attempt to advance on Vicksburg via the Yazoo. Cut off from the city itself, he joined his men with General Joe Johnston's Army of Relief. He had served three years in the Florida Legislature before the war.

Major General Martin L. Smith, the chief engineer of the Cedar Keys & Fernandina Railroad from 1856 to 1861, was the man who designed most of the massive fortifications that defended Vicksburg. He twice drove back Union forces attacking the city and commanded a division during the final siege.

The Florida Monument at Vicksburg was erected by Florida's United Daughters of the Confederacy at a cost of $5,000. It stands on South Confederate Avenue on property that the National Military Park deeded back to the City of Vicksburg. The best way to find it is to exit from Interstate 20 at Exit 1A and turn north on Washington Street. The first right will be Frontage Road. Take Frontage Road to South Confederate Avenue and turn left. The monument is on the left near the intersection of South Confederate and Mulva Hill Street.

To learn more about the Battle of Vicksburg, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/vicksburg1.

Annual Open House of West Gadsden Historical Society set for July 4th

If you are looking for a nice historical event to do in North Florida tomorrow, please consider the West Gadsden Historical Society's Open House in Greensboro (just west of Tallahassee off I-10).

Here is a copy of their press release:

On July 4, the West Gadsden Historical Society will host its 5th Annual Open House at its headquarters, the historic James A. Dezell House, located at the corner of E. 8th Street & Bristol Hwy. (State Rd. 12). Activities will be at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 3:00 p.m. Throughout the day the Society members will have a bake sale as well as hot boiled peanuts and soft drinks. In addition, note cards featuring various local scenes, t-shirts, the Society’s cookbook, as well as local history books by Dale Cox and Kay Davis Lay will be for sale. Dale’s book is The Early History of Gadsden County and Kay’s book, Something Gold, is a compilation of numerous interviews regarding the shade tobacco era in Gadsden County .

Various exhibits will include several local crafts persons who will have their wares on display and for sale. Buddy Pitts will show his collection of photographs from days of long ago in and around Greensboro . Kenneth Edwards will have a display featuring the McLane Family Massacre which took place April 23, 1840 only a few miles southwest of Greensboro . Kenneth, great-great-great grandson of the sole survivor John Kenzie McLane, will be showing historic family documents, photographs, relics, and other items of interest. Many descendants of John K. McLane live in Gadsden and the surrounding counties.

The annual quilt show will feature quilts made by the Peace Makers Quilters of the First Baptist Church in Greensboro . The group has generously donated a beautiful handmade full/queen size quilt which will be given to a lucky person. Tickets are $3.00 each and may be purchased at the following locations: Twin City News and Dr. Melzer’s office in Chattahoochee; Ivy Shop, A Touch of Tiffany, Mane Attraction, Padgett’s Jewelers, Flossie’s Cut & Curl, and Premier Bank in Quincy . The drawing will be held at 8:00 p.m. at the Greensboro Fireworks Celebration. You do not have to be present to win.

Coastal Seafood Restaurant in Panacea will be returning to sell delicious seafood lunches. Come join us on July 4 at our Open House and enjoy some down home time together with your friends and neighbors. Your support will be greatly appreciated.

A Northern Account of the Battle of Natural Bridge

The article below appeared in The New York Times on March 23, 1865. It was written on March 12, 1865, just six days after the Battle of Natural Bridge, by a reporter in Key West. To learn more about the battle, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/nbindex.

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Key West, Florida

March 12, 1865

The military expedition which left this place some two weeks since, returned yesterday, having been unsuccessful in accomplishing its object – the release of some 3,000 Union prisoners at Thomasville, near the southern boundary of Georgia. It consisted of portions of three regiments – the Second United States Colored Infantry, Col. Townsend, the Ninety-ninth United States Colored Infantry, Lieut.-Col. Pearsall, the Second Florida Cavalry, dismounted, Maj. Weeks, and numbered about 1,000 effective men, the whole under the immediate command of Brig.-Gen. Newton.

The troops landed near the mouth of the St. Mark’s River, and moved up the east bank, over a muddy road, skirted by impenetrable swamps. At Newport, some twenty miles up, the enemy made a stand, but, after a short skirmish, retreated across the river and burned the bridge. Here was a foundry for the manufacture of shot and shell, which was burned; also a saw and grist mill, and several dwellings. Being unable to cross at this point, the troops moved up to within about two miles of another bridge, and camped for the night. Early in the morning skirmishers were sent forward to the bridge, fourteen miles from Tallahassee, and by 8 o’clock the whole force was up.

The battle commenced in earnest about noon of the 6th, and continued until 4 P.M. The Second United States Colored Infantry were in front, followed by the Ninety-ninth. The Second Florida remained at Newport, to protect the rear. On account of the delay in landing, the enemy had gained time to concentrate their forces, consequently they met us with superior numbers and heavier artillery. An attempt was made about 12 o’clock to turn the right flank of the enemy, but the flanking column, composed of four companies of the Second United States Colored Infantry, were brought up, after a few minutes’ march, by an old canal, which they were unable to cross. Here they fought until about 3 P.M. when they fell back to the main body on the road. Upon this the enemy attempted an advance, but were repulsed with heavy loss – a piece of artillery which we had captured, in addition to our own battery, opening upon them with canister at short range. But it being found impossible to advance further, and our own supplies being limited, a retreat was ordered – the forces returning with little interruption, save the badness of the roads.
The following list of casualties is as complete as I can make it at present:

KILLED.

Lieut. E. Carrington, A.D.C.
First Lieut. E.K. Landfield, 99th U.S.C.I.

WOUNDED.

Col. B.R. Townsend, 2nd U.S.C.I. – arm, slightly.
Maj. B.C. Lincoln, 2nd U.S.C.I. – groin – since died.
Capt. S.J. Grant, 99th U.S.C.I. – head.
Capt. E.B. Tracy, 2nd U.S.C.I. – thigh, dangerously.
First Lieut. C. Seymour, 2nd U.S.C.I. – breast.
First Lieut. O.H. Carpenter, 2nd U.S.C.I. – arm.
Second Lieut. T.H. Murphy, 2nd U.S.C.I. – artery cut – since died.
Second Lieut. G.W. Woodward, 2nd U.S.C.I. – lost an eye.

The casualties among the enlisted men, of which I can give no detailed account, will not exceed 100, including killed, wounded and missing. The loss of the enemy must have been nearly, if not quite equal to our own.

Maj. Lincoln, who was wounded early in the fight, was as noble as he was brave. He was among the foremost in the conflict, until a fragment of shell inflicted the fatal wound….

The Historic Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad

I've mentioned the old Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad before due to its connection to the Battle of Natural Bridge on March 6, 1865.

The railroad, however, was an important transportation route throughout the Civil War and was one of the few railroads in the South that continued to operate without interruption from 1861-1865.

The Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad was the second such line to begin operation in Florida. When the trains began running in 1836, it stretched from Tallahassee south to Port Leon, then an important port on the lower St. Marks River. The train cars were originally pulled by mules because the railroad was ready for operation before locomotives could be manufactured and arrive.

Port Leon was soon destroyed by hurricane and St. Marks became the southern terminus of the railroad. From 1836 until 1861, the trains rain daily back and forth between the capital city and the coast twenty miles away. Shipments of cotton, lumber, naval stores and passengers went down to the port while returning trains brought passengers and a wide variety of items brought to St. Marks by shallow draft steamer and schooner. Since Tallahassee had no source of water transportation, the railroad brought virtually everthing needed for the development of the city, from pre-fabricated houses to window panes, doorknobs to furniture, food and medicine.

When the war broke out in 1861, the cargo carried by the trains diminished as the Union blockade grew tighter, but official records indicate that blockade runners continued to slip out of the port of St. Marks until the end of the war. As these went out with cargoes of cotton and naval stores, they came back in with loads of military supplies, medicine and other necessities.

The Tallahassee-St. Marks line also carried troops back and forth from the coast to Tallahassee, as well as to a number of Confederate camps established along the railroad. Among these was Camp Leon, an important training camp south of Tallahassee.

The railroad is now a major "rails to trails" project that features a paved trail following the old rail bed from the southern edge of Tallahassee all the way to the waterfront at St. Marks. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/tallahasseerr.

Fort Pickens Once Again Accessible by Car

Historic Fort Pickens near Pensacola can once again be reached by automobile.

Hurricane Ivan had inflicted heavy damage on the western 7 miles of Santa Rosa Island, where the historic fort is located, and the road leading down the island to the fort has been closed for years. After much work and effort on the part of the National Park Service, the road reopened at the end of May and is now accessible 7 days a week.

The speed limit on the repaired access road is 15 miles per hour and the Fort Pickens area is open from 8 a.m. until sunset. The visitor center at the fort is open from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and ranger guided tours are once again given daily at 2 p.m. The entrance fee is $8 and is good for 7 days.

In addition to Fort Pickens itself, visitors can once again access the historic concrete artillery batteries on Santa Rosa Island. These date from 1898 through World War II and were once an important part of our nation's defenses.

Fort Pickens itself dates from the early 19th century and played a critical role during the Civil War. It took part in two major bombardments with Confederate troops on the mainland and in later years served as a prison for the famed Apache leader Geronimo.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortpickens1.

The Old Capitol - A Confederate Headquarters

It is a little known fact that Florida's historic Old Capitol in Tallahassee was also an important military headquarters and armory during the Civil War.

Built between 1839 and 1845 using a $20,000 appropriation from the U.S. Congress, the central part of the Old Capitol was completed in the days when Florida was still a U.S. Territory. It became a state in 1845, the same year that the capitol was completed.

It was here that the state Secession Convention met in January of 1861 and it was from the front steps of the historic structure that the state's declaration of independence from the Union was announced on January 10, 1861.

Throughout the war, the Old Capitol served both political and military purposes. Governors Madison S. Perry, John Milton and A.K. Allison maintained their offices there and the state legislature continued to meet through the war years. In addition, the Old Capitol became the military headquarters for the state and the basement or "lower" floor was used to store arms and ammunition belonging to the state.

In March of 1865, the Old Capitol served as a rallying point for troops arriving in Tallahassee to meet Union General John Newton's advance from the St. Marks Lighthouse. Artillery on the grounds was fired to alarm the citizens and the Leon County Home Guards met there to receive arms and ammunition for the coming fighting.

Major General Samuel Jones and Brigadier General William Miller met here in the early stages of the campaign to discuss strategy. These meetings led to the Confederate victory at the Battle of Natural Bridge on March 6, 1865.

After the battle, Governor John Milton addressed the victorious troops inside the old capitol and it was here that the Cadets of the West Florida Seminary were presented a flag by the ladies of the community.

The Old Capitol is today a beautiful museum facility, with exhibits interpreting the political history of Florida. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/oldcapitol.

Union Soldiers of Florida, Part Eight

As they left Marianna on the morning of September 28, 1864, the Union soldiers turned southwest down the old Vernon road.

Crossing over Hickory Hill (today's Orange Hill) into Washington County, they struck the plantation of David Porter Everett there, clearing out his livestock and burning his barn to the ground. They ate their noon meal on the grounds of the old Orange Hill Academy.

From there, the column continued down the Vernon road into the drainage valley of Hard Labor Creek. They had no way of knowing it, but they were on the same road as a company of Confederate militia from Vernon that was on its way to Marianna in response to an urgent call for reinforcements received the previous night.

Led by Captain W.B. Jones, a former lieutenant in the 4th Florida Infantry, the Vernon Home Guard had mustered in response to the plea for help. Numbering only 30-50 men, the unit had mounted up on the morning of the 28th and started for Marianna. The had no idea they were moving along the same road as the advancing Union column.

The two forces ran head on into each other at a small bridge over Hard Labor Creek. Members of the Vernon Home Guard later recalled that they had just descended the slope to the bridge when suddenly members of the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry approached from the other side.

The Florida Union cavalrymen ordered the militia members to disperse, but according to tradition they were berated by Stephen Pierce, a member of Jones' company and formerly a soldier in Company H of the 4th Florida Infantry. He had been discharged for disability, but joined Jones' company as the men rode out on the morning of the 28th.

Exactly what happened next is not clear, but the Union troops suddenly unleashed a volley of fire on the men and boys of the Vernon Home Guard. Pierce was killed and another man wounded. Captain Jones ordered his men to retreat, but the Federal troops immediately charged, storming into the ranks of the Vernon men. Legend that Pierce was executed is not confirmed by eyewitness accounts of the skirmish.

A number of the men of the Vernon Home Guard were captured, but others managed to escape in a running fight that continued all the way to Vernon. The soldiers of the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry bore the brunt of the fight for the Union forces. It was the last skirmish of the Marianna raid and no Union soldiers were wounded.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/battleofvernon.

Union Soldiers of Florida, Part Seven

Note: This posting is part of a series on Union soldiers from Florida. To read previous posts, please scroll down the page or check the Archives section.

In the wake of the fighting at Marianna, the men of the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry played an unusual role in helping to protect the citizens of the community and care for the wounded.

An account that appeared in the West Florida News, a local newspaper, shortly after the Battle of Marianna, for example, credited "deserters" who knew the people of the town with protecting many of the Confederate fallen from further injury. The paper also reported that orders were given to burn the town, but the command was withdrawn due to "intercession" by deserters from the community, clearly members of the 1st Florida U.S.

In addition, it appears that the men of the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry were instrumental in summoning additional medical help to the scene to assist in caring for the wounded men of the local home guard. Dr. Ethelred Philips, a local physician, wrote to a cousin in North Carolina about one week after the battle and described how he had been summoned by a man from the community but then with the Union forces. The surgeons of the 2nd Maine Cavalry were overwhelmed with their own wounded and many of the doctors of the town had fought in the battle and been either wounded or taken prisoner. Individual soldiers from the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry were familiar with the town, however, and knew where to find additional doctors.

There also must have undoubtedly been some involvement on the part of the Union soldiers from Florida in General Alexander Asboth's decision to parole a number of men and boys captured during the battle. While he initially took a large number of prisoners, more than one dozen were released on parole before the Federals left town. All of these were either known Unionists or men and boys associated with Union families. Clearly someone familiar with their views intervened in their favor and secured their releases, despite the fact that they had taken up arms with their pro-Confederate neighbors to defend their homes, community and families.

The Union column left Marianna at around 3 a.m. on the morning of September 28, 1864. Subsequent events indicate that it was led by a vanguard of men from the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry as it moved southwest away from town in the direction of the Washington County seat of Vernon. More on the "Battle" of Vernon in the next post.

57th Annual Florida Folk Festival is this Weekend

This weekend offers a great opportunity to learn more about pioneer life in Florida as it was lived at the time of Civil War.

The 57th Annual Florida Folk Festival takes place this weekend at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs. Located just off I-75, just north of the I-10 interchange, the park hosts the outstanding event each year.

Considered one of the finest festivals of its kind in the country, this year's version of the Florida Folk Festival features more than 200 Florida folk artists, classic Florida cooking (yes, including cornbread and collard greens and shrimp gumbo), pine needle basket making and a variety of other demonstrations as well as venders of traditional crafts. Many of the traditional activities on display this weekend date back to before the Civil War and give visitors a great chance to learn more about life in early Florida. Plus the music and food are just outstanding!

Admission is $25 for adults, $5 for kids ages 6 to 16. Children under 6 are admitted free.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stephenfoster.

Union Soldiers of Florida, Part Six

This is part of a continuing series on the part played by Union soldiers from Florida during the Civil War. To read the previous posts, please scroll down the page or check the archives section.

As the Union troops under Brigadier General Alexander Asboth approached Marianna on the morning of September 27, 1864, the 2nd Maine Cavalry was in the lead but the men of the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry were close enough to the action to see and know what was happening.

The 2nd Maine broke through a Confederate line of battle about three miles northwest of Marianna at around midmorning and from there the Union troops engaged the retreating cavalry in a running skirmish back to the edge of Marianna. In a brief pause at the edge of town, the Union forces divided. Some of the troops, apparently almost all from the 1st Florida U.S., undertook a flanking move along a logging road that passed around the northern edge of town. The others, also including at least a company of men from the 1st Florida U.S. headed straight up the main road.

The initial attack on the town by Cutler's Battalion of the 2nd Maine Cavalry was driven back in confusion after running into stiff resistance by Colonel Alexander Montgomery and a couple of companies of Confederate cavalry. General Asboth spurred to the front and led a second charge of the main road, this one by Hutchinson's Battalion of the Second Maine, a company of the 1st Florida U.S. right behind.

The charging Federals ran into a line of wagons and other debris placed across the main road to slow a cavalry charge and as they were making their way around, through and over it, several companies of local home guards suddenly opened on them with a fierce volley of fire from shotguns, old muskets and any other weapon they could get their hands on. More than 30 men at the head of the column, including General Asboth, fell dead or wounded.

According to Wade Richardson of the 1st Florida U.S., the home guards made an attempt to capture the wounded general, but were driven back by some of his comrades with their sabers.

The flanking party, meanwhile, entered town from the north and took up positions at the Courthouse Square, blocking the main road as Montgomery and his retreating Confederate cavalry came thundering up the street in an effort to reach the Chipola River and make a second stand at the bridge there.

The two mounted forces engaged in hand to hand fighting around the courthouse. Montgomery was unhorsed and other men wounded or captured. At least one of the Federals was unhorsed and his saber taken away from him by a couple of men from Captain Alexander Godwin's Campbellton Cavalry, a local militia unit.

After the battle, local residents noted that Union soldiers from the community, obviously members of the 1st Florida U.S., intervened on their behalf several times and helped to protect buildings and property from looting. They also summoned doctors to assist some of the fallen Confederates. The regiment sustained only 1 man wounded at the Battle of Marianna.

To learn more about the battle, please visit http://www.battleofmarianna.net/.

Union Soldiers of Florida, Part Five

The 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry continued to train at Barrancas near Pensacola through the summer of 1864.

According to the account later written by Private Wade Richardson, the unit did not yet have horses, so the men drilled as infantry using borrowed weapons. The summer was extremely hot and both men and horses experienced high levels of sickness.

During late summer the men received sabers, but no carbines or other firearms. They speculated this was because the Union officers were wary of them because of their Southern backgrounds. Many felt they were distrusted by the officers of both sides.

The 1st Florida was reinforced in August by the arrival of the 2nd Maine Cavalry from Louisiana. General Alexander Asboth, commanding at Pensacola Bay, immediately began to move his men into action. Several small raids took place in the Pensacola vicinity during late summer. One, against a company of Confederate cavalry camped at Milton, Florida, resulted in the capture of 3 black Confederate soldiers.

The first real action for the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry, however, was the raid against Marianna in September of 1864. Since the men were familiar with the backroads and trails of Northwest Florida and South Alabama, Asboth included a full battalion of the regiment in his column. Surprisingly, the men were not provided firearms but rode out armed with sabers only.

Asboth left Pensacola Bay on September 18, 1864, and advanced through Northwest Florida. There was a skirmish at Eucheeanna Courthouse in Walton County on September 23rd and another near Campbellton in Jackson County on September 26th. Although men from the 1st Florida served as guides throughout the raid, none were injured in these skirmishes.

When Asboth struck Marianna on September 27, 1864, the 1st Florida played a critical role in the battle there. I'll take a closer look at the role of these "disaffected Southerners" at the Battle of Marianna in the next post. You can also learn more about the battle by visiting http://www.battleofmarianna.net/.

Union Soldiers of Florida, Part Four

This is part four of a continuing series on Floridians who served in the Union Army. To read the previous parts, please scroll down or check the Archive section.

The 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry began forming at Pensacola during the final months of 1863. One of the best accounts of the events surrounding the creation of the regiment can be found in a history written for the Milwaukee Journal.

The account was penned by Wade H. Richardson, an Alabama Unionist who fled through the lines to Pensacola. He joined Company A as a private:

Enrollment began the latter part of December, and on the 3d of January, 1864, I enlisted in Company A, whose quota of 100 men was not yet half filled. I was detailed to assist at headquarters in enlisting th emen as they came in. At that time there were several hundred men in hiding in southern Alabama and Florida, and squads of our recruits were passed through the lines to assist these men to our camp...As to the rank and file, they were a motley crew of as dare-devil fellows as can be collected at any seaport town, I guess. Among them were Spaniards, French creoles, half-breed Indians, Germans, a few Poles and a host of crackers and gophers - the western Floridians were derisively called gophers.

The term "gopher" refers to the former use of gopher tortoises as a popular food by rural residents of Northwest Florida. In fact, the region was a major exporter of gopher tortoises. Thousands were shipped from Vernon in Washignton County and so many were eaten and shipped away that they almost were eaten into extinction. They are now a protected species.

By the end of January 1864, General Asboth was able to report that 120 volunteers had enlisted in the new regiment and were then in his camps. Others were reported to be on their way and he moved a force to Point Washington (shown above) on Choctawhatchee Bay to help them make it through the lines.

A detachment of these, along with some men from the 7th Vermont, decided to capture a Confederate company that had moved into position at Cedar Bluff on the Choctawhatchee River. An apparently unauthorized raid was launched up the river on February 8, 1864, and Captain Gabriel Floyd's company from the 4th Florida Infantry was surrounded and captured that night without the firing of a shot.

Two Confederate lieutenants escaped, however, and notified a nearby cavalry company that pursued the raiders and freed the rest of Floyd's men. Eighteen men, including Captain James Galloway of the organizing Union regiment, were captured.

Despite such incidents, Asboth had enough men on hand by March to muster the new unit into the Union service as the 1st Florida Cavalry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers.

I will take a closer look at the history of the regiment in the next post.

Union Soldiers of Florida, Part Three

This is part three of a continuing series on Union soldiers from Florida. To read the previous parts, please scroll down the page or check the archive section.

By the end of 1863, there were large numbers of Unionists and Confederate deserters hiding in the swamps of the Choctawhatchee, Chipola and Apalachicola Rivers in Northwest Florida. Some of these men were organized into what local citizens called "raider gangs." Led by men such as Jim Ward, they emerged from their hiding places to raid and still on both sides of the Florida line. Others, however, did not resort to such illegal activities and merely hid out until they could make their way through the Union lines at Choctawhatchee Bay and Pensacola.

Many, particularly those who crossed into Union lines for ideological reasons, took their families with them and a large refugee camp called "Shanty Town" grew up near Fort Barrancas on Pensacola Bay.

The presence of these men and their families was not particularly threatening to Confederate authorities in Florida until a delegation of them went to visit the newly arrived commander of Union forces in Pensacola, Brigadier General Alexander Asboth, during closing months of 1863. Asboth (pictured above) was a former Hungarian freedom fighter who had been brought to the United States aboard an American warship after the Hungarian Revolt collapsed in 1848. A resident of New York prior to the war, he was the surveyor who laid out Central Park in that city. He commanded a division at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, where he was severely wounded.

The general was handicapped by a lack of cavalry and listened with interest to the delegation of refugees. They told of how they were committed to the Union and how their families were suffering as a result of their decision not to fight for the Confederacy. They offered to enlist in the Union army.

Asboth sought and received permission to form the men into a new regiment of Union cavalry. This unit, the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry, would play a critical role in operations in Northwest Florida and South Alabama for the next two years.

I will take a closer look at the formation of the 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry in the next post.

Nice Online Article on Battle of Natural Bridge

I will continue to explore the story of Union soldiers from Florida in coming days, but I wanted to let you know about a very nice article on the Battle of Natural Bridge in the latest issue of Sweet Tea Journal.

Written by Jim Noles, the piece gives a nice overview of the Natural Bridge expedition and a good discussion of the site as it appears today.

Here's the link to the article: http://www.joe.com/Yankees_are_Landing-Article

As always, if you are interested in learning more, please consider my book on the Battle of Natural Bridge. It can be purchased by clicking the book cover on the right hand side of this page. The link takes you to Amazon.com where the book is available.