Civil War 1864 "Olustee: Battle in the Pines" Full-Length Documentary

the civil war has raged for three years On February 20th 1864 the battle for Olustee will define Florida's role in the War Between the States with the Union anxious to regain the state and its resources and the Confederacy fighting to hold on this battle will end as one of the bloodiest in the wars history who will emerge the victor left standing amidst the carnage of the battlefield can either side gain enough of an advantage in such an evenly matched panel and will winning Florida turn the tide of the war [Music] [Music] [Music] by the mid-1800s after defeating the British once more in the war of 1812 America had become a nation simmering with inner turmoil delag allottee and moral stances of slave ownership through westward expansion has become the center of a debate it quickly becomes the eye of a storm one that threatens to tear the country asunder it mostly stemmed from the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slave ownership in any new states and was further aggravated by the kansas-nebraska Act which introduced popular sovereignty or the ability for territories to vote on the issue of slave ownership by the time Abraham Lincoln ran for the presidency in 1860 on the ticket for a party founded to oppose slavery the Republican Party America was starting to come apart at the seams when Lincoln won the presidency without a single southern electoral vote South Carolina rebelled by seceding from the Union on December 20th 1860 the north and south were now divided more greatly than ever before without having cast a single vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860 Florida was the third to secede from the federal government On January 10th 1861 the next month those states declared themselves the Confederate States of America their President Jefferson Davis would be based in Richmond Virginia Florida had first been a Spanish colony and then a British one in 1784 it once more fell into Spanish hands after the American Revolution at this time Florida became a haven for slaves hoping to escape the shackles of their masters on March 10th 1821 General Andrew Jackson who had helped lead the country to victory in the war of 1812 s pivotal Battle of New Orleans and had battled Florida's Indian population in the 1st Seminole War just a few years prior was appointed commissioner of the United States by President James Monroe Jackson would serve in this post as long as it took him to organize a territorial government in Florida on July 17th of that year Spain officially gave Florida over to the United States and Jackson left his post a few months later with a newly seated state government in Tallahassee Florida's gradually increasing population was a mixed bag of Americans from the southern plantation states blacks and native Indian tribes because these tribes lived on land desired by white settlers and also since they were known to harbor escaped slaves to settlers pressured the federal government to remove the Indian population in 1840 Florida boasted a population of 54,000 477 with slaves comprising about half that number Florida was admitted as the 27th state on March 3rd 1845 and within five years had grown its population to eighty-seven thousand seven hundred and forty-five which included 39,000 slaves and 1,000 free blacks on the day South Carolina seceded in 1861 u.s. Major Robert Anderson and his small force of 85 soldiers were placed in Fort Moultrie along the Charleston Harbor by December 26th Anderson moved his men to the more fortified Fort Sumter located in Mid Harbor as Confederate forces were occupying federal strongholds outfits like Anderson's were essentially cut off from any federal aid in their newly foreign territories Anderson refused to surrender Fort Sumter to Confederate forces on April 11 and at 4:30 the following morning the fort was stood a 34 hour civil war officially while major Anderson was making a stand at Fort Sumter Union forces landed near Pensacola Florida on April 12th to reinforce Fort Pickens soon they were engaged in a month-long standoff against the Confederate Army when it ended in May 1862 Fort Pickens was in Union hands and remained so for the duration of the war the Northeast region of Florida fell that year with Fernandina st. Augustine and Jacksonville now under Union rule Florida sent 15,000 of its soldiers out of state to fight for the Confederacy with about one-third failing to return by the end of 1862 the state meanwhile was having trouble providing its own military protection and militias were spread thin even early in the war as a union managed to gain footholds throughout the state the eastern part of Florida felt abandoned by the Confederacy that they had once been so fervent to join a letter from a captain Pierson stated I regret very much to have to report to you that at least 3/4 of the people on the st. Johns River and east of it are aiding and abetting the enemy with already dwindling resources Florida's only defense had been a hastily assembled and ineffective militia when the Confederate government took over all defense of the state in January 1862 this move abandoned the state-run militias left in the wake of Florida's soldiers who were leaving to fight out-of-state battle more troops were sent to Tennessee from Florida as the Confederacy suffered defeats at Fort Donelson and Henry in Tennessee in early 1862 despite Florida's early and fervent support of the Confederacy the state was deemed too large a coastline to successfully defend and the only troops thought necessary were those who would defend Georgia from entry by Union forces not only the most geographically vulnerable of the states being a peninsula Florida was also the farthest away and had limited resources as the Confederacy experienced the growing pains of its first year Florida started to suffer under the strains of its own shortcomings frustrated by the Confederacy's unwillingness to provide resources to his state Florida Governor Milton made a prophetic statement in a letter to the Confederate Secretary of War in October 1862 I presume there is no state where in proportion to the amount cultivated such abundant crops of corn peas potatoes and sugarcane have been made and which will afford a more abundant supply of pork and beef than in Florida the enemy are afraid that these facts and will avail themselves of the advantages to be derived from our abundance to the exclusion of the Confederate States indeed as the war progressed the Union continually raided Florida while also tightening their blockades around the coast the Confederate defeat in Vicksburg in 1863 resulted in a stoppage of Confederate supplies from both Texas and Arkansas and with lessening means of gaining beef and vegetables Florida was becoming a greater asset to the Confederacy that had practically abandoned the New York Times in 1864 estimated that nearly 2 million cattle in Florida were sent mostly by rail to feed Confederate armies in both Virginia and Georgia this was not lost on Major General Quincy a Gilmore in charge of the federal department of the south by 1864 a military engineer from Ohio Gilmore became a national hero when he was key in the 1862 bombardment and eventual surrender of Confederate held Fort Pulaski in Georgia Gilmore's interest in taking over Florida was to not only exploit the state's resources but also to cut those resources further from the Confederate Army to disrupt the rail service and to recruit black soldiers into the Union cause with an election year coming up it was also desired to bring the disenchanted state back to the cause of the federal government President Lincoln in his December 1863 reconstruction Proclamation had even expressed a hope to see Florida return to the Union with the passing of the second Confiscation Act of July 17th 1862 the president was officially given power to recruit persons of African descent into the Union Army by the end of the Civil War the Union had held about a hundred and seventy eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-five black soldiers with over ninety nine thousand of them from Confederate States about 1,000 of those soldiers came from Florida alone it also became common practice for black regiments such as the one led by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver T beard to recruit slaves that were freed on the spot during raids according to him a freed slave given a musket began to fight for the freedom of others as early as January 15 1864 general Gilmore was requesting the formation of colored brigades to the Secretary of War on January 31st 1864 Gilmore outlined his plans first to procure an outlet for cotton lumber timber turpentine and the other products of that state second to cut off one of the enemy's sources of commissary supplies he now draws largely upon the herds of Florida for his beef and is making preparations to take up a portion of the Ferdinand iya and st. Mark's Railroad for the purpose of connecting the road from Jacksonville to Tallahassee with Thomasville on the Savannah Albany and Gulf Railroad and perhaps with Albany on the South Western Railroad third to obtain recruits for my colored regiments fourth to inaugurate measures for the speedy restoration of Florida to her allegiance in accordance with instructions which I have received from the president on February 4th Gilmour commanded brigadier general Seymour to dispatch a portion of the troops mostly brought in from stations along the South Carolina coast to Florida at 39 years old Seymour was a West Point graduate from Vermont he had served in the Mexican and Florida waters and was present at the first Civil War action at Fort Sumter and received promotion to Brigadier General in 1862 wounded during his unsuccessful assault on battery Wagner of the prior year he was coming into the florida invasion after an absence from battle brash and aggressive Seymour's reputation was that of a commander who won at great cost to his own man the invasion of Florida would prove the accuracy of that reputation the federal forces numbering 6000 land in Jacksonville On February 7 and quickly overtake the town the next day they take hold of Confederate bases at both 10-mile run and camp Finnegan attacking the latter at night one soldier later stated a knight's ride with the darkness so dense we could not see our horses heads through a hostile country which affords advantages for guerrillas over a road the bridges of which the enemies had destroyed and so forced our troops to Ford the streams we had not proceeded a half mile further when we discovered a picket station a charge of the advance was made on the picket station only to discover they had fallen back to their reserved post a half-mile gallop brought the troops within sight of the post campfires around which we could see the pickets hurriedly packing up their belongings preparatory to joining their comrades at camp Finnegan even though the infantrymen surprise and overtake the picket the rebels within the base are somehow alerted and many managed to escape camp Finnegan is easily one James H Clark of the hundred and fifteen New York noted the provisions left in the wake of the rebels retreat the camp was abandoned in great haste we found hogs hanging up just dressed kettles of beef steaming over the fire plates of warm hominy and liver on the table and papers and books strewn in every direction rebel officers hardly stopped address and left their coats and swords behind for the dreaded Yankees had only 25 years old Colonel Guy V Henry was in command of the 40th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the entire cavalry brigade on the florida invasion working as an advance guard they further take the town of Baldwin with no resistance on February 9th and move forward to Barbara's plantation Barbour himself one of the richest men in the state owned upwards of 25,000 cattle and dozens of slaves all Henry's regiment found however was a practically abandoned plantation the only inhabitants remaining were a woman possibly his wife and two children Henry loses five men in the ambush while the Confederates only 270 rebel prisoners are taken the 30 plus casualties are taken to Barbara's house and placed under the care of the Union doctor the Union soldiers are buried at the base of a tree by the river one soldier takes his knife and hacks out a cross within the trunk it is accrued and final tribute to his fallen comrades as Henry and his men died that evening in the small town of Sanderson little do they suspect the turn that the invasion is destined to take they departs Anderson at 2 the next morning for Lake City nine hours later and only three miles from their goal Henry's men encounter a battle line of Confederate forces in the woods on the Confederate side Lieutenant John Porter fort stands with his men under orders to draw the federal forces out while Lake City is evacuated the fog is so thick that their enemy doesn't come into view until 75 yards from the defensive line faced with enemy forces that run a mile in Henry exercises the better part of valor and his men slowly retreat back down the road from the skirmish line with little supplies and 34 miles between himself and the infantry Colonel Henry and his men spend the night in a downpour as Henry and his forces invaded with ease the Confederate Army was quickly organizing from a small force into a formidable war all due to the presence of Brigadier General Joseph Finnegan this 49 year old Irish immigrant was in charge of the Confederacy's middle and East Florida districts an established railroad operator in Florida prior to the war Finnegan lacked the military experience of some of his counterparts upon learning of the union movement he promptly requested more soldiers to supplement his meager ranks after the skirmish at Lake City this expedition is really formidable and organized as it is with so large a force of cavalry or mounted infantry threatens disastrous results unless checked at once by a sufficient force the enemy is fortifying Baldwin and also I understand a position under little st. Mary's I should have more cavalry to prevent their superior mounted force for making raids into the rich counties of Alachua and Marion and not only running off the Negros by the st. Johns River but destroying the large amounts of sugar and syrup which has not yet been sent to market the supply of beef from the peninsula will of course be suspended until the enemy is driven out I am entrenched at the other C tonight and have about 1800 infantry 450 cavalry and two batteries and one section of artillery it is hardly prudent to move forward against so large a cavalry force but can operate by forced marches in the nights on my line of communication and perhaps cut me off from middle Florida by making a detour through the country and a sudden descent on the bridge over the Suwannee at Columbus where I have but 30 men I have no doubt that the commanding general appreciates the situation of affairs in this district and will make such provisions for its defense as the means of his command will allow it is evident however that was the large and well-appointed force of the enemy piloted by traitors familiar with every portion of the country and knowing the position and strength of my command the whole district will be ruined unless timely reinforcements are sent forward a February 11 general Finegan gains about 600 more troops to repel the Union raid on Lake City Confederate reinforcements continue to arrive in the form of brigades commanded by Brigadier General Alfred H Colquitt Colonel George P Harrison and Colonel caraway Smith once forgotten by the Confederate government it seems Florida is finally given the support it has always needed the federal invaders meanwhile suffer from their own internal quibbling in a letter to general Gilmore On February 11th general Seymour's brashness surfaces I am convinced that a movement upon Lake City is not in the present condition of transportation admissible and indeed that wood has been said of the desire of Florida to come back now is a delusion the backbone of Rebelde is not here and Florida will not cast its laws until more important successes elsewhere are assured I believe I have good ground for this faithful and as much as has been done here already and handsome trophies can be shown of success I would advise that the force be withdrawn at once from the interior that Jacksonville alone be held and that Palatka be also held which will permit as many union people to come in as will join us voluntarily this movement is an opposition to sound strategy and is not directed I understand by general Halleck who would doubtless have not advised it many more men and you have here now will be required to support its operation which has not been matured as should have been done as far as I can learn yet Lake City will be defended by more artillery and infantry than I have with me to be thwarted defeated will be a sad termination to a project brilliant to thus far but for which you could not answer in case of mishap to your military superiors and Stickney and others have misinformed you the Union cause would have been far more benefited by Jeff Davis having removed this railroad to Virginia than by any trivial and non strategic success you may meet because victories must be decisive elsewhere before Florida can be won back by hearty devotion On February 14th Gilmour and Seymour meet in Jacksonville Seymour's orders from Gilmour are clear the Union Army is to focus on fortifying defensive measures in Baldwin Jacksonville and Barbara's rather than advanced forces further after Gilmore's returned to South Carolina leaving the federal forces in the hands of Seymour Seymour decided against Gilmore's wishes to advance towards the Suwannee River and destroy the railroad bridge On February 17th seymour writes the excessive and unexpected delays experienced with the locomotive which will not be ready for two days yet if at all have compelled me to remain where my command could be fed not enough supplies could be accumulated to permit me to execute my intentions of moving to swanee River but now I propose to go without supplies even if compelled to retrace my steps to procure them and with the object of destroying the railroad near the swanee that there will be no danger of carrying away any portion of the track all troops are therefore being moved up to barbers and probably by the time you receive this I shall be in motion in advance of that point Gilmour dispatches an officer to stop Seymour but it is too late going west from Baldwin and to the Suwannee will have Seymour and his forces passing Olustee and Lake City in his hubris he doesn't consider the alerted Confederate presence after the Lake City skirmish general Finnegan has moved his army to the most defensible position the Olustee rail station ten minutes east of Lake City Olustee features a narrow dry corridor flanked by impassable swamps to the south and the large ocean pond to the north the perfect spot for an ambush there entrenched at Olustee the Confederate Army waits in anticipation of the invading Union soldiers Seymour departs with his three brigades commanded by Colonel William Barton Colonel Joseph Holly and Colonel James Montgomery with support from Colonel Henry's mounted Brigade and artillery they hail from New York Connecticut and New Hampshire amongst the body of troops are three outfits of black soldiers the legendary 54th Massachusetts infantry one of the first black units the 35th United States Colored Troops who had not yet seen comrades and the completely new 8th the United States Colored Troops which also included white commissioned officers as general Seymour's army leaves barber plantation for Lake City numbering about 5,000 strong they travel in three columns parallel to the railroad a Long Lake City and Jacksonville Road Medal of Honor recipient Henry F W little of the seventh New Hampshire recalled that morning at daybreak we quietly fell into line and at once crossed the southern Fork of the st. Marys River and started for the front halting for a few moments only as we gained the turn bike across the ranch to allow a battery of flying artillery to gallop past the sky was cloudless and as the Sun appeared it warmed up the chilly atmosphere of the early morning it proved to be one of those beautiful Floridian days not only to those who have experienced them in the Everglade country it is early afternoon when advanced guard started skirmishing with southern horseman Colonel caraway Smith of the Confederate cavalry Brigade was sent forward to a-primes the invading Federal Army I discovered the enemy about four miles distance from our camp occupied and forced the second crossing of the railroad from Olustee I immediately reported this fact and directed Colonel clinch to advance a body of skirmishes from which the regiment was to attack the enemy's pickets which he did promptly and was pushing the attack earnestly when they were met by much larger force from the inner which compelled them to retired to the horses this they did in good order the enemy then moved forward with his whole force skirmishing on Aria which we resisted on our rear guard keeping him in check while the cavalry retired in line in in perfect order the skirmishing was kept up until we reached the first crossing of the railroad from Olustee as seymour's army pushes forward the southern resistance intensifies what starts as a skirmish will soon erupt into a major battle it is about 3 p.m. on February 20th 1864 Finnegan sends more troops into the breach under the command of Colonel Colquitt on the field perhaps realizing that the enemy will not make it far enough to the Olustee ambush they settle about two miles from Olustee station I found the enemy advance and rapidly and a cavalry retreating before them a threw forward a party of skirmishes and hastily formed a line of battle under the brisk fire the enemy's advance the line of infantry was ordered to advance which was gallantly done the enemy contested the ground and given away slowly perceiving that the enemy were in strong force as sent back for reinforcements and a fresh supply of ammunition the battle ground emerges as a circular patch of level ground pine covered and with a diameter of roughly 2/3 of a mile it is to the east of Ocean pond and north of the railroad tracks that run east to west unlike finnegans intended ambush spot this puts both sides on relatively even footing the battle will depend solely on the strength and strategic might of each army the Battle of Olustee is now underway as general seymour sends forward more men including the 7th connecticut the remainder of Holly's Brigade with the 7th New Hampshire and the 8th the United States Colored Troops a blunder with the 7th New Hampshire will give the Confederate Army enough of an advantage to tip the scales in their favor it is very likely a mistake that affects the term general Holly's orders are either incorrect or misunderstood and the regiment scrambles 200 yards of the front line amidst gunfire Henry f/w little of the seventh an order was then given by general Holly to deploy column on the 5th company which was the color company Colonel Abbott repeating the order clearly and distinctly ordered the battalion to face to the right and left when general Holly finding himself wrong said on your 8th company Colonel Abbott when again seeing his mistake the general said on your 10th company sir all the companies except the 10th having already faced to the right and left we're marching to get into line as though deploying on the 5th company and under the successive change of orders the companies who were trying to deploy into line became badly embarrassed and being under terrific fire from the artillery and infantry of the enemy and the wrong orders having been given and obeyed upon the instant and the maneuver having been partially executed before the correct order reached them the battalion had become so badly mixed that it could not be reformed although those broken masses of troops bravely stood their muskets according to Colonel Holly somebody must have misunderstood the order for a portion of the regiment was going wrong when myself and staff and Colonel Abbott repeated it vigorously but vainly all semblance of organization was lost in a few moments saved with about one company which faced the enemy and opened fire the remainder constantly drifted back suffering from the fire which a few moments decision and energy would have checked if not suppressed according to little the old weapons given the men compound the mistake but the mistake of our commanding officers could not then be remedied the ground was becoming thickly dotted with the bodies of the fallen yet those brave men faced to the front and what execution was possible under the circumstances although the whole left-wing was armed with those same old muskets which had been exchanged some of the mounted troops attached to the command had been completely spoiled for effective use at a time like this the broken column which had now lost 1/3 of its entire number only gave way when a portion of the color Brigade was brought up in splendid style and filled the space with the disarray of the 7th the inexperienced 8th is even more exposed to Confederate fire enlisted with the 8th is lieutenant Oliver Norton after the war Norton will write two books on his experiences in the Civil War he joined the 8th on November 10th 1863 his recollections of Olustee provide a unique perspective on the role of black troops in the Union Army in a letter to his father Norton States we were double-quick for half a mile came under fire by the flank formed line with empty pieces under fire and before the men had loaded many of them were shot down they behaved as anyone acquainted with him would have expected they were stunned bewildered and as the balls came hissing past or crashing through their heads arms and legs they curled to the ground like frightened sheep in a hailstorm the officer finally got them to firing and they recovered their senses somewhat but here was the great difficulty they did not know how to shoot with effect when we were flanked flesh and blood could stand it no longer and Colonel Fred Lee without orders gave the command to fall back slowly firing as we went he fell shot through the heart very soon after that where was our general and where was our force as the 8th Colonel freely dies and major Byrd has both legs broken they are left without leadership third in rank captain RC Bailey rallies the fighting regimen amidst the chaos and the carnage officer should know exactly what to do you may say certainly but it is a damper on that duty when there is a certainty on the mind that the commander does not know when with eight or ten regimens ready you see only two or three fighting and feel you are getting whipped from your generals incompetency it is hard to be soldierly the eighth fight valiantly but suffer more than 300 casualties as they are forced to retreat the Confederates gain the upper hand on the battlefield general Colquitt brings the Confederate forces to bear down and advance across the battlefield with the addition of finnegan's reinforcements and the support of Colonel Harrison Colquitt pushes the mile long force running from north to south down on to the enemy general Cemal orders Colonel Barton's New York Brigade forward and they managed to stop the advance and level out the battle lines as soldiers on both side of the unprotected battlefield continued to fall the Confederates once more gained the tactical advantage when they secure Union artillery and turn them against their invaders some feel the armaments close proximity to the Confederate forces left the operators more vulnerable to the encroaching Confederate Army Colonel Barton brings his three regiments to 47 48 and 115 New York into three parallel lines filling the fate will void left by the 7th and 8th my battles and Colonel Barton's Brigade suffered a loss of 811 men Colonel George P Harrison jr. of the 32nd Georgia infantry recalls what could be a fatal shortcoming for the Confederate Army it was whispered down the line particularly in the 6th and 32nd Georgia regiment that I ammunition was failing and no ordnance trained inside with a shortage of ammunition at I'd can easily turn in the Union Army's favor desperately Confederate soldiers even searched the bodies of fallen comrades for spare and mission this I immediately reported to general Coakley the words that we hold our ground stating that ammunition was certainly reaches directly this I'm proud to say was heroically complied with by my command many of them for 15 or 20 minutes standing their ground without a round of ammunition Harrison dismounts his horse and gathering as much help as he can borders staff and couriers to assist him in personally bringing forth ammunition from a train car it was half a mile distant by several trips they succeeded in supplant sufficient ammunition to our line to enable the reopening of a rapid and effective fire before which the enemy had commits to retire slowly still keeping up their fire upon us Harrison's quick thinking and the simultaneous arrival of reinforcements cement the Confederacy's advantage general Colquitt pushes the two battalions to partly advance through the center of the battle line and buy time for the rest of the army to reload general seymour takes advantage of the ammunition shortage to introduce a new element to the battlefield by for the 35th colored troops and 54th Massachusetts infantry commanded by Colonel James Montgomery are brought on to the scene rushing from the railroad back east of the battlefield Montgomery's men drop any extraneous gear for the sake of speed and leave a trail of knapsacks and gear in their wake they are met with the carnage that is fast becoming the Battle of Olustee one soldier from the 54th because when we got there we rushed in double-quick the command from the general right in the line we commenced with the severe firing and the enemy soon gave way for some 200 yards even though the Union forces are losing the battle the addition of the 497 men and 13 officers temporarily stagger the Confederates where it first appears that the Union forces are establishing a defensive posture it is actually to provide cover for a strategic withdrawal colquitt his army's ammunition restocked aggressively advances his forces towards the Union Army by sending the 6th and 32nd Georgia regiments toward the union's right flanks and the 6th Florida already moving likewise on the left flank Colquitt shapes the battle line into a concave form that covers the Union Army on the center and the sides pushing forward with great vigor upon the center the whole line moving as directed the enemy gave way in confusion we continued the pursuit for several miles when not put an end to the conflict instructions were given to the cavalry to follow closely upon the enemy and seize every opportunity to strike a favorable blow as general seymour starts the long retreat back to jacksonville the 54th Massachusetts federal cavalry and remainder of the 7th Connecticut kept the Confederate Army at bay darkness starts to descend behind the pine trees at 5:30 and the 54th prepared to disperse giving false cheers to effect the arrival of reinforcements they retreat in a line and fire back behind them every two to three hundred yards soon they join up with Seymour's forces Finnegan orders Colquitt to pursue the fleeing Union Army but is convinced otherwise by the general it is Colonel Smith's cavalry that apparently fails to apprehend the retreating enemy in deference with suggestion of the fatigue of the troops the absence of rations and the disadvantages of the pursuit in the dark and the consequence of a report from an advanced cavalry Pickett that the enemy had halted for the night and taken a position which was subsequently ascertained to be incorrect I withdrew the order during the continuance of the battle also after the enemy had given way I sent repeated orders to Colonel Smith commanding cavalry to press the enemy on his flanks and to continue in the pursuit but through some misapprehension these orders failed to be executed by him the battle is now over with each side evenly matched to 5000 men each the Union suffered 203 killed 1152 wounded and 506 missing for a total of 1861 the Confederates suffer 93 killed 847 wounded and six mi a for a total of 946 nearly half that of the invading forces the entire battle lasted for about three and a half hours it will go down as the Battle of Ocean pond to some but also as the Battle of Olustee to others general Seymour's words to Gilmour upon his defeat have met the enemy at elasti and now falling back many wounded a devilish hard raba the Union dead were so carelessly buried by the Confederate forces that hogs dig up the remains mere weeks later leaving bones and skulls strewn across the battlefield the Union lost in Florida puts an end to the attempt to win Florida over in time for Lincoln's election general Gilmore days after the battle noted this about Florida the enemy have thrown so large a force into Florida that I judge it to be in expedient to attempt to do more at this present time than to hold the line of the st. Johns River the presence of so large a forces general Seymour represents the enemy to have in his front shows the importance he attaches to Florida as a source of supply Florida Governor John Milton received the following from general Finnegan at the end of the battle I met the enemy and full force today under general Cemal and defeated him with great loss I captured five pieces of artillery hold possession of the battlefield and the killed and wounded of the enemy my cavalry are in pursuit I don't know precisely the number of prisoners as they're being brought in constantly among them I mourn the loss of many brave officers and On February 26th general Seymour's sent a flag of truce and a letter to general Finnegan in the note he requests the return of Colonel freely body it would remain lost and possibly buried amongst the dead who lived forever on the fields of Olustee kept alive by the blood-soaked history of the land allegedly amongst those buried were also several black soldiers murdered by the Confederates after being taken prisoner Norton recalled a flag of truce from the enemy brought the news that prisoners black and white were treated alike oh I hope it is so for I have sworn never to take a prisoner if my men left there were murdered Major General hatch after the battle suspected specific outfits on the Confederate side it is now known that most of the wounded color men were loaded on the field these outrages were pepper trated so far as I can ascertain by the Georgia regulars and the Georgia volunteers in Colquitt spur gave as many as these troops are now in our hands as prisoners an investigation of second stances might be easily made all accounts represent Florida troops has not engaged in these motives perhaps the most stirring account of the black soldiers was given by a soldier of the 8th here we stood for two hours and a half under one of the most terrible fires I have ever witnessed and here on the field of Olustee was decided whether the colored man had the courage to stand without shelter and risk the dangers of the battlefield and when I tell you that they stood with a fire in front on their flank and in their rear for two hours and a half without flinching and when I tell you the number of dead and wounded I have no doubt as to the verdict of every man attitude for the fenders of his country what poor black on June 2nd 1865 Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith signed the surrender terms bringing an end to the u.s. Civil War the total toll on both armies was six hundred and twenty thousand dead it remains the bloodiest war in Americans history fought on America's own soil by her own children for the Union Army the Battle of Olustee ranks as a third bloodiest of the Civil War in 1866 US Army lieutenant Frederick II Grossman letter detachment to recover the remains of Union soldiers I collected two wagon loads and half of bones I then had a large gray of dug 18 feet by 12 feet in which all the bones collected were the positive I counted 125 human skulls among the remains considering that the Confederate dead were principally buried on the south side of the railway and that they were more carefully interred their graves are now even in perfect condition it is fair to presume that all the remains collected are those of Union soldiers the remains were placed in a mass grave with a 12-foot wooden monument that read to the memory of the officers and soldiers of the United States Army who fell in the Battle of Olustee February 20th 1864 by 1873 the marker had been taken down Florida as with many of the southern states changed radically with the war's end as slaves were freed the ports once more opened up for trade in 1868 the government's reconstruction program began federal troops remained until they were removed in 1877 in 1909 Florida acquired the Olustee battlefield memorial after the United Daughters of the Confederacy spent 12 years raising funds for it completed in 1912 and dedicated on October 23rd the memorials dedication brought in more than four thousand people the Florida Board of parks and historic memorials assumed responsibility of the site in 1949 at which point Olustee became the state's first Park the Olustee battlefield citizens support organization working with the Florida State Park Service and the blue/grey army stages a yearly reenactment starting at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville in 1964 the Olustee reenactment moved to the State Historic Site in 1977 this reenactment of a legendary battle is the largest annual reenactment in the southeastern United States with reenactors traveling the country over to relive history 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Olustee the best way to experience this history is to see it come to life every February and to walk where many brave men fart [Music] [Music] [Music] thanks for watching if you'd like to help us produce more compelling historical content like this please like comment below and share this video with fellow history buffs and of course be sure to subscribe to help keep history happening [Music]

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Keywords: civil war, battle of olustee (event), 150th anniversary, american civil war, battle of ocean pond florida, civil war florida, american civil war documentary, living history, union army, american history, civil war reenactment, battle of olustee, battle of olustee reenactment 2019, battle of olustee documentary, battle of olustee facts, battle of olustee florida, civil war documentary, civil war oversimplified, military history, civil war reenactment florida

Id: 28Ukf7wg0ac

Length: 53min 48sec (3228 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 20 2020