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Florida Civil War History |
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History has not been kind to the legacy of Florida’s Confederate
soldiers. Too often they appear as little more than a footnote in accounts of the American Civil War. Nevertheless, Florida
troops were present at Gettysburg and they fought bravely along side their comrades from Alabama and Georgia on July 2 and 3, 1863. Florida was represented at Gettysburg by a brigade of three
infantry regiments in Major General R. H. Anderson’s Division of A. P. Hill’s III Army Corps. By the summer of
1863, these soldiers were seasoned veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia. The 2nd Florida Infantry had experienced
heavy combat in several battles during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862 (aka Peninsular Campaign). The regiment fought at Yorktown, followed by a delaying action at Williamsburg where the regiment's first colonel was killed.
At a swampy Virginia crossroads called Seven Pines, the 2nd, then attached to Brigadier General Samuel Garland's brigade, fought a brutal contest through mud, heavy vegetation and waist deep water. There, the 2nd Florida gained
everlasting glory when it charged and captured a battery of Federal artillery while sustaining over 50% casualties. After
the Seven Days Battles, the battered 2nd was joined by the 5th and 8th Florida Infantry regiments. The Floridians
bravely fought at Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and continually proved themselves to be tough soldiers full of courage and fight. Following the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland,
in September 1862, the three regiments were consolidated into a single Florida brigade under Brigadier General Edward Aylesworth
Perry of Pensacola.
Perry’s Brigade marched towards Gettysburg on July 1,
the first day of the battle, and was not engaged. Anderson’s Division was assigned a position along Seminary Ridge. Cadmus Wilcox’s Alabama Brigade was on the Floridians’ right and
Rans Wright’s Georgia Brigade occupied the ground on its left. Early the next morning, Colonel Lang placed his
men behind a stone wall on the east edge of the woods on Abraham Spangler’s farm (the remnants of this wall can
be seen today). About 1:00 P.M. on July 2, Union General Daniel E. Sickles advanced a small reconnaissance force consisting
of the 3rd Maine and an elite unit, the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters. These troops crossed the Emmitsburg
Road and probed the woods to Perry's Brigade's right. There, they encountered Wilcox’s Brigade's 11th
Alabama and were repulsed after a rather brisk fight. Lang was instructed to aid Wilcox if he requested support. Although
this proved unnecessary, stray shots from the skirmish wounded a few men in Perry's Brigade. A few hours later, a cannonade erupted along the line south
of the Floridians’ position. Confederate cannon dueled with Federal artillery occupying the high ground in the Peach Orchard. Colonel Lang received orders that an attack would be made en echelon
from right to left all along the Confederate line. The Floridians were to advance when Wilcox’s Brigade, on their right,
was underway. After the battle, Lang wrote to the recuperating General Perry describing his brigade’s part in the action:
"About 4:30 p.m., Longstreet having advanced to Wilcox, he
swung his right forward and advanced. As soon as his left reached my right, I conformed to the movement, and advanced at the
double-quick upon the strongly fortified position in front, exposed to artillery and musketry fire from the start. Our men
suffered terribly, but advanced nobly to the charge. About half way across the field the enemy had a line of batteries strongly
supported by infantry. We swept over these, without once halting, capturing most of the guns and putting the infantry to rout
with great loss. Indeed, I do not remember having seen anywhere before, the dead lying thicker than where the Yankee infantry
attempted to make a stand in our front." At the
The charge of Perry and Wilcox on July 2 at Gettysburg.
(National Park Service)
A fresh battery of Federal artillery unlimbered on Cemetery
Ridge, sending shotgun-like blasts of canister fire into the Florida Brigade. It was then that Colonel Lang was notified that
a Federal force had pushed back the Confederate brigade on his right and was threatening to cut off his line of escape. Fearing
his force was about to be surrounded, Lang ordered his three regiments to retreat to the Emmitsburg Road. Finding no safe
place to re-form there, the brigade retired to its original position. In the hasty retreat the colors of the 8th
Florida were left on the field and picked up by Sgt. Thomas Horan of the 72nd New York, who later would receive
the Medal of Honor for the capture. This flag survives and is preserved at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee. The next day General Lee planned to attack again. This time,
he would head straight for the Union center ("The Angle"), which he felt might be weak because the Federals had moved troops to re-enforce
the flanks of their line. Major General George E. Pickett's all-Virginia division spearheaded the main assault. Attached to Wilcox’s
Brigade, Lang's command was to advance as supports to Pickett's column. At about 1:00 P.M., the great cannonade intended to soften up the Federal center
began. The Floridians were forced to lay prostrate for hours under the hot summer sun, surrounded by booming artillery
pieces, while tons of lead flew through the air only inches above their heads. At last, the artillery fire slackened and the
Virginians advanced, over Lang’s prostrate men, disappearing into the noise, smoke and fight on Cemetery Ridge.
About 20 minutes after Pickett advanced, the order arrived for Wilcox’s command to advance. The Floridians went
over the wall and once again moved eastward at quick step. From the start, the brigade was subjected to long range artillery
fire from both Little Round Top and Cemetery Ridge. The fire turned to canister and musketry as the Confederates
crossed the Emmitsburg Road and approached the main Union battle line. A dense pall of smoke clung to the ridge, and the brigade
drifted away from its intended direction. Instead of following Pickett’s men, the supporting column marched to its right,
just slightly south of the place the Floridians had fought the previous day.
After Lee’s army had begun the withdrawal from Gettysburg
and was in retreat towards the Potomac River, Colonel Lang tallied his losses and recorded that 455 out of the 700 men of
Perry’s Brigade were killed, wounded or missing. This represents the highest casualty rate (65%) sustained by any
brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. The 26th North Carolina Infantry, however, suffered 80% casualties which is the highest casualty rate
of any regiment (North or South) at Gettysburg. Perry’s "intrepid little band of Floridians" never fully
recovered from the harsh handling it received in Pennsylvania. The brigade received additional losses at Bristoe Station in October 1863. General Perry was severely wounded at the Wilderness during the Overland Campaign of 1864 and sent to the Confederate Invalid Corps
in Alabama. The brigade was consolidated with other troops from Florida and the independent unit that had been Perry’s
Brigade ceased to exist. Most of the men of the 5th and 8th Florida were captured at Sailor's Creek
(aka Saylor's Creek) the following year, and Florida was represented by a mere fraction of its original fighting force
at the surrender at Appomattox Court House. Among those Floridians captured at Gettysburg was Lewis Powell
of Company I, 2nd Florida Infantry. Powell was wounded in the hand and exchanged later in the war. He joined the
famous 53rd Virginia Cavalry, Mosby’s Partisan Rangers, and served for a time in the Shenandoah Valley. He
then left the army and moved to Baltimore, Maryland. There he assumed the name Lewis Paine and took his place in history with
the likes of Mary Surratt and John Wilkes Booth as a member of the Lincoln assassination conspiracy. On the night
of April 14, 1865, Paine viciously attacked U.S. Secretary of State William Seward. Paine had rushed into Seward's home
and stabbed the secretary repeatedly as he lay sick in his bed. Seward survived though the attack left him terribly scarred.
Paine tried to escape but was caught, tried for his part in the conspiracy and hanged on July 7, 1865. After his execution,
no relatives arrived to claim his body. In 1992, his skull surfaced at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and
was released to a descendant in 1994. It was buried next to the grave of his mother in Live Oak, Florida. Two brothers, Francis
and C. Seton Fleming, were members of the 2nd Florida Infantry. So many officers in the 2nd became casualties
at Gettysburg that by the end of the battle Seton, a captain, commanded the regiment. Seton was also one of the bravest and
most popular members of the regiment. He was killed the following year at Cold Harbor while attempting to carry out a suicidal order to counter-charge. After
the war, Francis served as Governor of Florida (as did Brigadier General E. A. Perry, who returned to lead his brigade after
Gettysburg) and wrote a memoir about Seton recounting their service in the 2nd. After Appomattox, Colonel Lang
became a civil engineer and worked closely with Governors Perry and Fleming in the 1880s. Lang and two other officers from
Perry’s Brigade returned to Gettysburg in the 1890s and staked out the positions where the Floridians had fought. They
marveled over the fact that any of them had survived after advancing so far against such heavy artillery and musket fire.
Soon after, several tablets representing Perry’s Brigade’s participation in the battle were erected on the battlefield
by the United States War Department.
On July 3, 1963, Florida Congressman Sam Gibbons dedicated the Florida Monument
on West Confederate Avenue. The monument features a simple design of three gray granite monoliths, emblazoned with the state
seal, brief narrative, and three stars. Each star represents one of the Florida regiments of Perry's Brigade that
fought at Gettysburg. The monument is located near the site where Perry's Brigade arranged their battle lines prior to the
charges of July 2 and 3, 1863.
Recommended Reading: A Small but Spartan Band: The
Florida Brigade in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (2010). Reader's Review: For those with an interest in Floridians
who fought in the Civil War you understand the difficulties in finding good material. For the most part the contributions
to the fighting side of the war were limited and source material is difficult to find. This is not to say that Floridians
did not do their part for the Confederate effort however. Zack Waters and James Edmonds have spent years researching to try
and put an end to the belief that Floridians (or Flowers as they were often called due to Florida being the "Land of Flowers")
were cowards in battle as has been put forth in the past. For those Floridians who fought in the Army of Northern Virginia
they have finally received their due credit. Continued below…
Traditionally the Florida Brigade has consisted of the 2nd, 5th, and 8th
Infantry Regiments and was led by Edward A. Perry (thus Perry's Brigade). Three other regiments (9th, 10th, and 11th) were
added later in the war. As the war progressed the brigade was at times led by Col. David Lang and later, on a permanent basis,
by Brigadier General Joseph Finegan. The very end of the war saw T.W. Brevard promoted to Brigadier General. Brevard was commanding
at the surrender at Appomattox. Perry's Brigade was at many of the major
battles of the war though they did not participate in all of them. Floridians suffered major losses at battles such as Seven
Pines, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg (they took part in Pickett's Charge), The Wilderness, and Cold Harbor. In addition to battlefield
casualties the brigade had major issues with sickness and desertion which became more problematic as the war progressed. Sickness
during the siege at Petersburg became rampant as poor rations, poor living conditions (including filth and vermin), and bad
weather took their toll. The winter of 1864 prompted Dr. Thomas Palmer to ask that the Florida troops be sent home as they
were unaccustomed to such conditions. His request was of course denied.
Desertion, or French leave as Waters and Edmonds call it, became a problem
for the Confederacy as a whole but a major issue for the Florida brigade. While the above mentioned rations and living conditions
played a major part in why men left there were other reasons as well. While a general sense of hopelessness was beginning
to take over Waters and Edmonds argue that the home front played a larger part in desertions. While morale was low on the
field it was even lower at home. Letters from home described the difficulties those left behind were suffering. Many men were
torn between their duty as soldiers and their duty as husbands and fathers. Often being a family man prevailed. It is also
argued that a lack of strong command help push men to leave. In the Florida brigade under Finegan many officer positions went
unfilled due to both lack of qualified men and also Finegan's failings. Those higher up also must share blame. By not being
able to provide food, clothing, and pay to the soldiers the Confederate government must be held accountable.
Waters and Edmonds have shown that the men from Florida who fought in the
Civil War were neither cowards nor were they the major leaders. These were average men fighting for what they believed in.
All they asked in return was to be treated fairly by their government. Unfortunately issues beyond their control did not allow
this to happen. While many deserted the large majority remained and ultimately surrendered their weapons at Appomattox, effectively
signalling the end of the war. Waters and Edmonds have written a much
needed work and they are to be commended for the effort. The lack of and difficulty in finding Florida material makes this
book an achievement to be respected. The notes section runs over 30 pages and contains much valuable information. The bibliography
will no doubt be relied upon by generations of future researchers. There
are some areas I feel improvements could be made however. As I have seen other reviewers say more maps could be added. This
is a consistent gripe with almost every book however. Cartographers could make a living just off of Civil War books with the
way we want maps. While overall the writing is good I found myself confused regarding the Siege of Petersburg and what transpired.
I don't know much about this though so it could just be my lack of knowledge of the subject. Col. David Lang played a vital
role in Perry's Brigade and I would have like to have had more information on him and also on how and why T. W. Brevard was
appointed Brigadier General over him. A Small But Spartan Band has earned
it's place amongst the important works on Florida during the Civil War. I do not believe this to be the final or ultimately
most authoritative work we will see however. That being said based upon what I have seen this is the leader and future authors
will rely on the research Waters and Edmonds have done. Recommended!
Recommended
Although the smallest in terms of population,
Recommended Reading: Discovering
the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide. Description: Discovering the Civil War in Florida
includes readings and a travel guide. The Civil War in Florida may not have been the scene for the decisive battles everyone
remembers, but Florida played a crucial role. While Confederates fought to preserve their sovereignty and way of life, Union
troops descended on Florida with a three-part mission to cripple the Confederacy: to destroy seashore salt works, to prevent
the transfer of supplies and raw materials into and out of the state, and to seize slaves and cattle. Continued below...
Union soldiers
skirmished with the famous, or infamous, Confederate Cavalry Captain John J. Dickison, who held his ground in Recommended Reading: Blockaders,
Refugees, and Contrabands: Civil War on Florida's Gulf Coast, 1861-1865. Description:
"[Buker] argues that the presence of Union sailors and their extensive contacts ashore did serious damage to home-front morale
and retarded Florida's value as a component of the rebel war machine. Since the state's long coastlines made it a ready target
for a naval cordon, its commercial life suffered beginning in 1861 and deteriorated even further as the war progressed despite
the efforts of blockade runners. Continued below...
Florida Unionists, antiwar natives, and runaway slaves flocked to these
Federal warships to seek protection and quickly became a source of manpower for their crews as well as for land forces."--Journal
of Southern History. "The proliferation of publications concerning the American Civil War occasionally produces one that really
contributes to our understanding of that conflict. George E. Buker's Blockaders, Refugees, and Contrabands is such a book."--Journal
of American History
NEW! Recommended
Reading: Florida's Civil War: Explorations into Conflict, Interpretations and Memory (Florida Historical
Society Press) (March 15, 2008). Description: The Florida Historical Society Press
releases its initial volume in this newly created Gold Seal series. This is the first of what will eventually be a multi-volume
series of specialized books that deal with narrowly focused issues in Florida history. Given the emotional and ongoing interest
in the American Civil War, it is appropriate that this inaugural issue focuses on that seminal event. Just sixteen
years after its admission to the Union as a state, Florida, under the control of a slave owning planter elite, brushed aside
the flimsy ties that bound it to the nation and joined its sister slave states in creating a new nation, the Confederate States
of America. Continued below...
As every American knows, the result was a long, bloody and costly war that produced many changes in the
political and economic climate of the United States. Pitting brother against brother, state against state and ideology against
ideology, the war swept aside the dominance of agrarian Americans and ushered in a new era controlled by industrialists and
bankers. Florida, and her fellow southern states, was left to the task of picking up the pieces of its culture, bolstered
by a persistent and unflagging mentality of what should have been. It has literally taken more than a century-and-a-half for
the open wounds of defeat to heal. Dr. I. D. S. Winsboro of Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Meyers is the editor of
the first Gold Seal volume. His scholarship on the role that African-Americans played in the Civil War is well known. Once
again, welcome to the inaugural volume.
Recommended Reading: The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy (444
pages) (Louisiana State University Press) (Updated edition: November 2007) Description: The
Life of Johnny Reb does not merely describe the battles and skirmishes fought by the Confederate foot soldier. Rather,
it provides an intimate history of a soldier's daily life--the songs he sang, the foods he ate, the hopes and fears he experienced,
the reasons he fought. Wiley examined countless letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and official records to construct this
frequently poignant, sometimes humorous account of the life of Johnny Reb. In a new foreword for this updated edition, Civil
War expert James I. Robertson, Jr., explores the exemplary career of Bell Irvin Wiley, who championed the common folk, whom
he saw as ensnared in the great conflict of the 1860s. Continued below...
About Johnny Reb:
"A Civil War classic."--Florida Historical Quarterly
"This book deserves to be on the shelf of every Civil War modeler and enthusiast."--Model
Retailer
"[Wiley] has painted with skill a picture of the life of the Confederate
private. . . . It is a picture that is not only by far the most complete we have ever had but perhaps the best of its kind
we ever shall have."--Saturday Review of Literature
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