The Battle of Olustee
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When people think of the American Civil War, they, more often then not, have no idea that it was fought in Florida. Instead, they think of the Civil War as being fought in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The Battle of Olustee was pretty much the turning point in the Florida expedition and the attempt to make Florida a loyal state.
The Battle of Olustee came about during 1864 of the Florida Campaign. The Florida Campaign was the idea of Simon P. Chase . The hopes were to gain the loyalty of Florida for the Republican Convention in 1864. The Florida expedition did not even begin until the invasion of Jacksonville in 1864 . The goal was simple, to take the capital of Tallahassee.
Union Order of Battle.
The Union commander at Olustee was Brigadier General Truman Seymour . Under his command were three brigades. The first was Colonel William B. Bartons Brigade. This brigade included the 47th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (47th NY) under the instruction of Colonel Henry Moore, the 48th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (48th NY) under the leadership of Major W. B, Coan, and the last of these infantry units was the 115th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment (115th NY) under the command of Colonel Simeon Sammon .
Seymours second Brigade was that of Colonel Joseph Roswell Hawley. The regiments that made up this brigade was the 7th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment (7th CT) commanded by Captain Benjamin F. Skinner, the 7th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry Regiment (7th NH) led by Colonel Joseph C. Abbott, and the last of these regiments was the 8th United States Colored Troops (8th USCT) under the leadership of Colonel Charles W. Firbley .
The third brigade was under the command of Colonel James Montgomery. In his brigade was the legendary 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment (54th MA/colored) having been commanded by Colonel Edward N. Hallowell. Also in this brigade was the 35 United States Colored Troops (35th USCT), commanded by Colonel W. N. Reed, the 40th Massachusetts Mounted Infantry Regiment (40th MA Mounted) led into battle by Colonel G. V. Henry, and finally with this brigade was the Independent Massachusetts Cavalry Battalion commanded by Major Stevens. Along with these regiments of the third brigade were the four guns of Battery B, 1st United States Artillery (Elders Horse Battery) commanded by Captain Elder.
The artillery commander for the battle was Captain John Hamilton. Under his command were six guns of his very own Battery E, 3rd United States Artillery. Along with these guns were the six pieces of Battery M, 1st United States Artillery, commanded by Captain Loomis L. Langdon. To
complete the artillery there was also Sections C and B of the 3rd Rhode Island Artillery commanded by Lieutenant Henry H. Metcalf. There were also two companies of engineers from the 1st New York Volunteer Regiment.
Confederate Order of Battle.
The Confederate commander at the Battle of Olustee was Brigadier General Joseph Finegan of the District of East Florida . Under his command were three grey-clad brigades. The first brigade was that of Brigadier General Alfred H. Colquitt. This brigade was made up of six infantry units and two artillery units. These units were: The 6th Florida Infantry Battalion (6th FL) commanded by Major Pickens Bird, The 6th Georgia Infantry Regiment (6th GA) commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John T. Lofton, The 19th Georgia Infantry Regiment (19th GA) commanded by Colonel James H. Neal, The 23rd Georgia Infantry Regiment (23rd GA) commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Huggins, The 27th Georgia Infantry Regiment (27th GA) commanded by Colonel Charles T. Zachry, and The 28th Georgia Infantry Regiment (28th GA) commanded by Captain Crawford, Attached to this brigade were two artillery units, the Chatham Artillery out of Georgia, and Leon Light Artillery out of Florida. Chatham Artillerys four cannon were under the command of Captain John F. Wheaton and the guns of Leon Light were under the instruction of Captain Robert H. Gamble .
The second brigade was under the command of Colonel George P. Harrison. This brigade was made up of four infantry units as well as three artillery units. There were three Georgia infantry units and one from Florida as well. This included the 32nd Georgia Infantry Regiment (32nd GA) under the command of Major W. T. Holland, the 64th Georgia Infantry Regiment (64th GA) under the command of Captain C. S. Jenkins, and the 1st Georgia Regular Infantry (1st GA) under the command of Captain H. A. Cannon. From Florida there was the 1st Florida Infantry Battalion (1st FL) was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel C. F. Hopkins. Accompanying these infantry units were three artillery units. The 28th Georgia Artillery Battalion, also known as Bonands Battalion, Abells Artillery out of Florida was serving as infantry, and also there were four guns of Geurands Battery out of Georgia, which was commanded by Captain John M. Guerand .
With these two brigades was also the cavalry brigade of Colonel Caraway Smith. In this brigade were three mounted units; The 4th Georgia Cavalry (4th GA Cav) under the command of Colonel Duncan L. Clinch, The 2nd Florida Cavalry (2nd FL Cav) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A. H. McCormick, and last, but not least, was the 5th Florida Cavalry (5th FL Cav) under the command of Major G. W. Scott .
The Battle of Olustee.
On the morning of February 20th, 1864, Brigadier Truman Seymour departed from Barbers Station marching west to take Lake City in route to the Florida Confederate capital of Tallahassee. His force was at a made up of roughly 5,000 to 5,500 men. This small blue-clad forces marched west down the Lake City and Jacksonville Road. This route ran almost parallel to two railroads, the Gulf-Central and Florida Atlantic. The cavalry was positioned at the front of the advance to serve as scouts, often referred to as the “eyes” of any forces. The cavalry was followed by the rest of the forces. The infantry forces moved much slower, obviously because they were not mounted on horseback. The Federal forces took a brief lunch break at Sanderson, Florida; while he and his staff were enjoying the meal, their hostess said to them “You will come back faster than you go” . When the officers heard this, they were amused. Little did they know their amusement at that time, would later on become a harsh reality.
From Sanderson, Seymour began to hear gunfire going off in the distance. The Union mounted