14A The Madison Enterprise-Recorder www. greenepublishing.corn Svouno flMaison Countp Friday, February 8, 2008 The Battle of Olustee Early in the morning of February 20, 1864, General Seymour's army left Barbers' Station and moved west- ward towards Lake City Because of the necessity of post- ing garrisons at Jacksonville and elsewhere, the Union force consisted of between 5,000 and 5,500 men. The small army was divided into three brigades of infantry. one brigade of motuted troops. and supporting artillery The Federals advanced in three columns along the Lake City and Jacksonville Road, which ran roughly par- allel to the Florida Atlantic and Gulf-Central Railroad. The Federal cavalry was in the vanguard, followed by the slower-moving infantry. By mid-day the Federals had reached Sanderson, where they briefly stopped for lunch. While it Sanderson. Seymotur and his staff were warned by a defiant southern woman: '"You will come back faster than you go."' The Union officers were amused at her boldness. In the early afternoon of February 20, a few miles west of Sanderson. the advance elements of the Union cavalry began skirmishing with a few southern horse- men that appeared to their front. This skirmishing was maintained for several miles, with the Federals driving the Confederates westward towards the railroad station at Olustee. about ten miles east of Lake City Southern re- sistance intensified as the Federals neared Olustee. In the days since the February 11 skirmish at Lake City, General Finegan had moved his force to Olustee Sta- tion. located about ten miles east of Lake City There the Confederates found one of the few defensible locations in the area where the railroad passed through a narrow cor- ridor for dry ground that was bordered by impassable swamps and bays to the south and a large body of water known as Ocean Pond to the north. The Southerners built strong earthworks and awaited the Federal ad- vance. When Finegan learned of the enemy's approach on February 20, he ordered his cavalry forward to skir- mish with the Federals and to drive them towards his main line. Unfortunately for Finegan. the fighting east of his main line intensified, forcing him to send out addi- tional troops to help those already deployed. A major en- gagement soon developed about two miles in front of the Confederate line. As the skirmishing intensified, both Finegan and Seymour fed additional troops into the battle. Finegan advanced first the 64th Georgia and part of the 32nd Georgia, followed by the 6th. 19th and 28th Georgia Regi- ments, and Gamble's Florida Artillery. General Colquitt commanded the detached units, while Finegan remained behind with the main body General Seymour brought forward the 7th Connecticut, followed by the remainder of Hawley's Brigade, the 7th New Hampshire and the 8th United States. By midafternoon the skirmishing has es- calated into a major battle. The battle threatened to turn rapidly into a rout for the Federals. While Colonel Hawley was positioning the 7th New Hampshire, a wrong command was given and the unit fell into confusion. The 7th soon collapsed, with some men running to the rear and others milling about in a disorganized mob. The collapse of the 7th New Hampshire directed southern attention towards the 8th United States Colored Troops. which occupied the left of the Union line. The 8th was an untried unit. having been organized only several months before. Prior to Olustee the regiment had seen no combat, and in fart the men were not even completely trained. Colonel Charles Fribley tried to steady his men, but he soon fell mortally wounded. The raw troops of the 8th held their ground for a time, suffering more than 300 casualties. Finally, however, they retreated in some con- fusion. leaving the Confederates in virtual command of the battlefield. With the dissolution of Hawley's Brigade, General Colquitt ordered the Confederate forces to advance. Since the beginning of the engagement Finegan had sent addi- tional units (the 6th Florida Battalion; the 1st. 23rd. 27th, and the remainder of the 32nd Georgia Regiments: and the Chatham Artillery) to Colquitt's support, so by now the Confederate lines stretched for about one mile. north to south. Colonel Harrison commanded the Confederate left, and Colquitt the right, although the units of their brigades were somewhat intermingled. To stop the southern advance, General Seymour hastily ordered forward Colonel William Barton's Brigade of the 47th, 48th and 115th New York. The New Yorkers stopped the Confederate advance, and the battle lines stabilized for a time The Union commander would later be criticized for reacting slowly to an increasingly dangerous situation, and fordeploying his forces piece- meal into the battle. In fairness to Seymou,; the battle- field's terrain somewhat limited his options. The Feder- als lines were bordered by swamps on both flanks so there was little room to maneuver, and the field itself was an open pine barren with little cover. The fighting during this middle period of the battle was particularly severe, with each side suffering heavy casualties. During this seesaw combat, the Confederates captured several Union artillery pieces and threatened to overwhelmhn the Federal infantry Although the Yankees were under intense pressure, at a critical moment the surging Confederates began running low on amnununi- tion. Men searched the pockets and cartridge boxes of their wounded and dead comrades to obtain additional rounds, but still the southern fire slackened. Several reg- iments held their place in line despite being completely out of ammunition. After what seemed to be an inter- minable delay, ammunition was brought forward from Olustee, along with the remaining reserves: the 1st Flori- da Battalion and Bonaud's Battalion. General Finegan also reached the battlefield at about this time. With the arrival of these reinforcements, the Confed- erates again began advancing. By late afternoon, Gener- al Seymour had realized the battle was lost. To prevent a rout and to cover his retreat, he sent forward his last re- serves, Colonel James Montgomery's Brigade, which con- sisted of the 35th United States Colored Troops and the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.-Mont- gomery's Brigade stopped the Confederates for a brief time, enabling Seymour to begin withdrawing his other forces. One white veteran of the battle states: The col- ored troops went in grandly, and they fought like devils" By dusk, the Union forces had begun their long re- treat back to Jacksonville. The 54th Massachusetts, the Federal cavalry, and part of the 7th Connecticut covered the withdrawal. Many wounded and a large amount of equipment had to be abandoned in the hasty retreat. For- tunately for the Federals, the Confederate pursuit was poorly conducted, enabling most of the Yankees to es- cape. The southern cavalry led by Colonel Caraway Smith, was particularly criticized for its lackluster performance. That night the Federals retreated all the way back to Bar- bers,. where they had begun the day. By February 22, Sey- mour's battered army was back in Jacksonville. The casualties at Olustee were staggering compared to the niunbers that fought there. Each side had about 5,000 men present. Union casualties were 203 killed, 1,152 wounded, and 506 missing, a total of 1.861. Confederate losses were 93 killed, 847 wounded, and 6 missing, a total of 946. This works out to about 400o for the Federals and 20".. for the Confederates. The 47th New York had 313 ca- sualties and the 8th U.S.C.T. 310. Among the Confederate units. the 32nd Georgia lost 164 men and Bonaud's Bat- talion 107. For the North, the casualty percentage was among the highest of the war, aid Olustee ranks as the third bloodiest for the Union when comparing the casu- alties to the number on men engaged. Letters and diaries from the men involved indicate that the battle was the equal of. if not worse than, the savage fighting a number of the veteran regiments had experienced in the cam- paigns in Virginia or the Western theater. A regrettable episode in the aftermath of the battle was the apparent mistreatment of Union black soldiers by the Confederates. Contemporary sources, many from the Confederate side, indicate that a number of black soldiers were killed on the battlefield by roaming bands of southern troops following the close of the fighting. The Olustee defeat ended Union efforts to organize a loyal Florida government in time for the 1864 elec- tion. The Federals were somewhat more successful in meeting the expedition's military objectives. Jack- sonville remained in Union hands until the end of the war, open for trade with the north; the operation had undoubtedly disrupted the supply of Florida cattle and other foodstuffs to the rest of the Confederacy; and the increased area of Federal control made it easier for Florida blacks to reach Union lines and for recruits to fill the ranks of northern military units. Of course, all of these objectives could have been met simply by the occupation of Jacksonville and without the nearly 2,000 casualties suffered at Olustee. Military operations continued in Northeast Florida throughout the remainder of the war. Union troops fre- quently raided out from Jacksonville to harass Confed- erate supply operations. Captain J.J. Dickison of the 2nd Florida Cavalry earned fame during the period as the "Swamp Fox" of Florida. In a series of minor yet spectacular victories, and with only a small force under his command, Dickison was able to thwart many of the Union drives'into the-interior of the state., although the Federal handed him a stinging defeat at the first "bat- tle" of Gainesville. Despite Dickison's successes, by ear- ly 1865 it was obvious that the defeat of the Confedera- cy was near. In early March, 1865, the last military op- eration of any significance in Florida took place. At the Battle of Natural Bridge, a scratch force of Confederate militia and home guard units, along with a few regular troops, stopped a Union raid against St. Marks, on the coast south o0 Tallahassee. When Tallahassee was final- ly occupied by Northern troops in early.May, it was the last Confederate capital-east of the Mississippi to fall into Union hands. The Civil War was over. Thank God. F F Fa cti lt a Neighborhood Grill & Bar East Hwvv. 90 Lake City, FL (386) 752-7087 VERONICA & JOHNNY ARE HERE HELP! Th flT *F "r4A L'I ^ I | B, 5 -.",- ii Hours: ixfu*, Ail 11am 12pm Monday Thursday PORITABLE-BUIL5.-( ....0 11am lam Friday Saturday 1lam lpm Sunday Sales@northiloddatrallerscom T)-41- ",l kn ~ii~innnr ca+i ln fpir ,.,~n 01ustee Festival Pageant February 2, 2008 Awards/Sponsors Reception February 12, 2008 5K Run February 9, 2008 starting at 7:30 a.m "Civil War and Living History TBA Civil War talk will be presented at the Allied Health Complex Auditorium at LCCC - February 13, 2008 noon til 1 p.m. American Music Festival FREE to the public Audito- rium at School Board administration on US-90 Thurs- day, February 14, 7 p.m. till 9 p.m. Festival Events... Friday, February 15, 9:00 a.m. Civil War Memorial Ser- vice, (Oaklawn Cemetery W. Franklin Street) 9:00 am 6 p.m. Arts/Crafts/Collectibles Booths Open, Entertainment, Authentic Village Displays 6 p.m. 9 p.m. Historical Museum--"Angels of Mercy" drama, Civil War-era hospital Noon Official Festival Opening Ceremony Noon Official Festival Opening Ceremony b p.m. Battle between mthe Monitor and the v irgiia (Merrimac) along with a Re-enactment Skirmish at Lake DeSoto * * Saturday, February 16 8:30 a.m. Blue-Grey One Mile Fun Run (Awards after the Fun Run held at stage area) 9 a.m. 6 p.m. Arts/Crafts/Collectibles, Food Booths, Entertainment Begins, Authentic Village Displays, Children Area 10 a.m.. 4 p.m. Historical Museum--Open house. Ex- hibits, docents in period attire 10:30 a.m. Annual Olustee Civil War Parade (From S. Marion St. to U.S. 90 W.) * * Noon Visiting Dignitaries and Special Parade Guests to appear on Stage 7:45 p.m. Blue/Grey Square Dance Battlefield Events... Friday, February 15, 9 a.m. 2 p.m. Class Tours for School Children NOTE: Admission Free to Park Re-enactors and Sutlers arriving throughout the day and se ung up uAeir ca mp Saturday, February 16 8 a.m. Presentation of Colors 9 a.m. 6:15 p.m. (Open to Public) Reenactment. Camp & Sutlers Row Admission at gate,- $4 Adult, $2 Students, Pre-School 5yrs. and under FREE * * 1 p.m. Medical Demonstration 2:30 p.m. Period Music Concert 3:30 p.m. Battle * * Sunday, February 17 8:30 a.m. Presentation of Colors * ' 9 a.m. 3 p.m. Reenactment Camp & Sutlers Row-Park open to Public Admission at gate $4 Adult, $2 Students, Pre-School - 5yrs; and under FREE * * 1:30 p.m. 32nd Annual Olustee Battle Reenactment *144th Anniversary of the original battle. (NOTE: Please No Pets Allowed At Battle site) Nomm= ' H '