Olustee
Ocean Pond
Civil War Florida

American Civil War
February 20, 1864

In February 1864, the commander of the Department of the South, Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, launched an expedition into Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Rebel supply routes, and recruit black soldiers.

Brigadier General Truman Seymour moved deep into the state, occupying, destroying, and  liberating,  meeting little resistance on February 20, he approached Brigadier General Joseph Finegan's 5,000 Confederates entrenched near Olustee.  One infantry brigade pushed out to meet Seymour's advance units. 

The Union forces attacked but were repulsed. The battle raged, and as Finegan committed the last of his reserves, the Union line broke and began to retreat.

Finegan did not exploit the retreat, allowing most of the fleeing Union forces to reach Jacksonville.

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Baker County

Campaign: Florida Expedition (1864)

Date(s): February 20, 1864

Principal Commanders: Brigadier General Truman Seymour [US]; Brigadier General Joseph Finegan [CS]

Forces Engaged: Division [US]; District of East Florida [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 2,806 total (US 1,860; CS 946)


The Federal Campaign of 1864 in East Florida, by Mark E. Boyd in the Florida Historical Quarterly

The Union campaign that climaxed in the Battle of Olustee began in February, 1864, when troops commanded by General Truman A. Seymour embarked at Hilton Head, S.C. Their immediate objective was a fourth occupation of Jacksonville . The force could then disrupt transportation links and deprive the Confederacy of food supplies from central Florida; capture cotton, turpentine and timber; gain black recruits for the Union army; and induce Unionists in east Florida to organize a loyal state government.

Seymour's expeditionary force landed at Jacksonville on February 7, 1864. Scouts and raiders moved west and met little opposition. Meanwhile, during the month of January, movement of the Federal fleet had been noted by the Confederate forces, and they began to prepare for an offensive. The defense of Florida was placed in the hands of Brigadier General Joseph Finegan and Brigadier General Alfred Colquitt .

Once it was apparent the Union forces were moving westward in Florida, Finegan began searching for the Confederate army's best defendable position. Finegan found that position at Olustee. With a lake called Ocean Pond on his left, a nearly impassable swamp on his right and only a narrow passage between, he called for troops to help defend Florida. Colquitt answered that call, bringing veteran troops from Savannah, Georgia.

On February 20, 1864 the Union force of 5,500 men and 16 cannon marched westward from Macclenny. By this time, the Confederate forces almost equaled the Union opposing army in number. Finegan sent skirmishers to draw the Union forces to Olustee, and they made contact that afternoon. The Confederate line was formed.

The infantry in the center was supported by cavalry on each flank. The battle was joined on the floor of a forest of virgin pines, free of underbrush. Men fought in the open forest with neither force constructing earthworks. The battle raged until dark, when the Union forces began a hasty retreat. In proportion to the number of troops involved, it was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.

Union forces remained in Jacksonville until the end of the war and occupied several coastal towns and various places along the St. Johns River. They carried out frequent operations against Confederate forces defending east Florida but did not venture out in significant force again.


Florida State Archives - Provost Guard House, Jacksonville, Florida. ca. 1864

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Florida Civil War Book Club Reading Titles

The Battle of Olustee 1864: The Final Union Attempt to Seize Florida
When the Civil War began in 1861, Florida the third state to secede from the Union of little strategic importance to North or South. By the end of 1863, this position had changed dramatically. For the struggling Confederacy, Florida had become a crucial source of supplies, most especially for the troops in Savannah and Charleston. President Lincoln, soon to be seeking re-election and facing immense dissatisfaction due to the course which the war had taken, was desperately seeking some method of remedying his political situation. Bringing a reconstructed Florida back into the Union, with delegates who he hoped would be friendly to the Republican cause, seemed to be an ideal solution. Thus the Union launched a last-minute endeavor to regain control of Florida, an effort that culminated in the Battle of Olustee.
Confederate Military History of Florida
Confederate Military History of Florida, written by Florida's flamboyant cavalry commander J. J. Dickison, traces the political and military events in the Confederacy's least-populated state during the American Civil War. It begins with the secession of the Florida in January 1861 and continues through the actions at Santa Rosa Island, the Battle of Olustee, and the engagement at Natural Bridge. It also includes all the smaller, yet just as important, engagements and skirmishes that occurred in Florida between 1861 and the final surrender in 1865. Florida regiments composed one brigade each in the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of Tennessee and fought in all the major battles in both theaters of war, often in the thickest of the fighting.
Harriet Beecher Stowe in Florida, 1867 to 1884
Harriet Beecher Stowe was certainly a pioneer of her time, as an abolitionist and as a woman, when she wrote the famous antislavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. In 1867, Stowe relocated to Mandarin, Florida, to escape the pressures of her antislavery writing and to deal with personal issues. In Florida, she immersed herself in programs to educate former slaves and black children, and supervised the organization of an Episcopalian church. The author centers his work on Stowe's time in Florida from 1867 to 1884 and what emerges is a view of a lesser-known side of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Such questions as why she moved to Florida, how she was received in the South after the Civil War, and what attracted her to Florida are discussed, as well as her role as an early activist for environmental protection.
Discovering the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide
Discovering the Civil War in Florida chronicles Civil War activity in thirteen Florida towns, exploring both land and sea maneuvers. Maps showing the major skirmishes in each geographical area, as well as railroads that existed at the time, highlight the text. Sprinkled throughout are photos from the state archives and woodcut illustrations from books written during or soon after the war. For each town, the author has included excerpts from official government reports by officers on both sides of the battle lines as well as excerpts from other sources, including first-hand reports of the death and destruction soldiers brought to Florida's sparsely populated towns.

 
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Sources:
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