Anniversary of the Battle of Olustee, Florida

Tomorrow (Saturday, February 20th) marks the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Olustee, the largest Civil War engagement fought in the state of Florida.

Part of a politically-inspired campaign to return at least part of Florida to the Union in time for President Abraham Lincoln to claim the the state's electoral votes in the hard fought 1864 election, Olustee was a major Confederate victory. Ignoring orders from his direct superior to consolidate his newly achieved position in and around Jacksonville, Brigadier General Truman A. Seymour instead headed inland with 5,500 men.

He did not realize it, but he was marching into the teeth of an army of similar size being assembled at Olustee, a railroad siding between Jacksonville and Lake City, by Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Finegan. The two armies collided in the pine woods just east of Olustee on February 20, 1864.

The Battle of Olustee was a stand-up fight in the open woods, with neither side using breastworks. By the time it was over, Finegan and his second-in-command, Brigadier General Alfred Colquitt, had handed Seymour a major defeat. Over 1,800 Union soldiers were dead, wounded and missing, while Confederate losses were just under 1,000.

The site of the battle is now preserved at Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park on U.S. 90 between Jacksonville and Lake City, Florida. To learn more, read original reports and see photographs of the battlefield, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/olustee.

Camp Milton Historic Preserve - Jacksonville, Florida

Once destined to become a sludge field for the booming city of Jacksonville, Florida's Camp Milton Historic Preserve now stands as a beautiful example of the value of local historic preservation.

Instead of being used to dispose of waste, the site now attracts visitors with interests in history, wildlife, bird watching, nature and more. It serves as a vital link on a popular local "rails to trails" project and provides paved trails and boardwalks at are popular for afternoon walks with residents from throughout the vicinity.

One of these boardwalks leads to what remains of a remarkable system of siege fortifications designed by famed Confederate general P.G.T. Beauregard in March of 1864. The Confederate army of General Joseph Finegan had just handed a major defeat to a Union invasion force at the Battle of Olustee, the largest Civil War engagement in Florida. As the Federal troops fell back rapidly to Jacksonville, the Confederate army moved slowly in pursuit.

General Beauregard arrived on the scene from Charleston to find that the Federal army had Jacksonville had been given time to reorganize and take up positions in fortifications around the city. Disappointed that the opportunity for an even greater victory had slipped away, he established siege lines along McGirt's Creek west of the city to block any further attempts by the Federals to advance into the interior of Florida.

The lines he designed ran for three miles along the west side of the creek and were among the most remarkable field fortifications built during the Civil War. Some of them were so well finished that they looked almost like masonry.

Time and modern development destroyed all but a few hundred yards of this magnificent line, but what remains today can be seen along an interpretive boardwalk at Camp Milton. Other interpretive panels explain the significance of the massive Confederate camp and the fighting around Jacksonville in 1864. There is also a preserved 19th century Florida house, reconstruction of a Civil War era bridge over McGirt's Greek and much more.

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

Fort Caroline National Memorial - Jacksonville, Florida

It is a little known fact that America's first settlement for those seeking refuge from religious persecution in Europe stood on the St. Johns River in today's city of Jacksonville, Florida.

Established in 1564 by French Huguenots (Protestants), Fort Caroline was a triangular earth and timber fort built more than fifty years before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock. The first wave of settlers consisted of 200 soldiers, craftsmen and even a few women. They expected to build homes, clear fields and prepare for the arrival of hundreds more Huguenots the following year.

Despite a promising start, hard times quickly befell the colony. Promising relations with the local Timucua Indians soured and the colonists suffered from hunger, disease and other hardships. Some went home to France, but a core of the most devoted clung to their North American foothold.

A relief flotilla brought supplies and 600 more soldiers and settlers the following year, but also attracted the attention of King Phillip II of Spain who claimed control of all of North America. He sent Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles to dispose of the French, a duty that Menendez performed with bloody efficiency. Fort Caroline was captured and 140 of the French found there were put to the sword as heretics.

A reconstruction of the fort can be seen today at Fort Caroline National Memorial in Jacksonville, a park that commemorates the early French settlement and the dramatic events that took place on the St. Johns. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortcaroline.