01, January in Florida History

1836      On this date, the Seminole people were supposed to migrate to Oklahoma.  The Second Seminole War started on December 28 to forestall this activity.

 

1862      Union guns on Santa Rosa Island opened fire on an unnamed steamer brought into the Navy yard by Confederate forces in Pensacola.  Although the Confederates suffered no casualties, a large storehouse was hit by an exploding shell and burned to the ground. 

 

1862      Governor John Milton called the “Columbia Trapiers” into service today.  This unit is commanded by Captain J. R. Francis.

 

1862      Two Federal blockade ships, the U.S.S. Rhode Island and the U.S.S. South Carolina, were sighted in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola.

1863      The Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone’s River) continued today as Confederate forces under General Braxton E. Bragg do battle with Union forces under the command of General William S. Rosecrans.  The Florida 4^th Infantry Regiment suffered 55 casualties, killed or wounded, but captured 250 enemy weapons. 

1863      The Federal ship  U.S.S. Gem of the Sea captured the Confederate sloop Ann six miles east of Jupiter Inlet. 

1864      The U.S.S. Rosalie put into Charlotte Harbor today after a rendezvous with the U.S.S. Gem of the Sea in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 

1883      The City of Eustis was incorporated.

 

1885      The City of Lakeland was incorporated today. 

 

1885      Florida’s fifth Constitution, created by a Constitutional Convention that met in Tallahassee on June 9, 1885, went into effect today and remained the basic law of the Sunshine State until 1968.  The 1885 Constitution replaced the “Carpetbag” Constitution of 1868.

 

1895      The Tampa Tribune began daily publication today.

 

1914      The first scheduled commercial airplane flight was made today from St. Petersburg to Tampa.  Tony Jannus, a pioneering aviator, opened the service with his flying boat, the Benoist, which could haul one passenger and a small amount of freight.  A. C. Pheil, former mayor St. Petersburg, purchases the first passenger ticket for $500.00.  Jay Dee Smith was Jannus’ mechanic.  Two daily round trips were flown for 28 consecutive days. 

1935      Bucknell University defeated the University of Miami 26-0 in the first every Miami Orange Bowl game. 

1936          Cypress Gardens, the longest continuously operating tourist attraction, was opened today by Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Pope, Sr.  Cypress Gardens closed in 2003 and is under consideration for purchase by the State of Florida.

 

1946      The University of South Carolina suffered a 26-14 loss to Wake Forest University in the first-ever Gator Bowl.

 

1960      Indian River Community College at Fort Pierce was established today.

 

1978      Anne Cawthon Booth was appointed the Judge of the First District Court of Appeal (Tallahassee) by Governor Reubin O’D. Askew today.  Ms. Booth became the first woman to serve as an appellate judge in the State of Florida. 

 

 

1830      Henry Morrison Flagler, founder of the Florida East Coast Railway and developer of the East Coast’s tourist industry, was born today in Hopewell, New York.  Flagler, whose interest in Florida stemmed from visits to St. Augustine, combined his railroad interests with hotels and steamships.  An early partner with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, Flagler spent millions on his Florida projects, eventually constructing the longest railroad over water with his Florida Overseas Railroad, which connected the mainland with Key West.  Flagler eventually planned to span the Straights of Florida to connect his Key West terminus with the island of Cuba.

 

1847      Nathaniel P. Bemis took office as Florida’s Comptroller today.

1848      Julia A. Tuttle, the so-called “Mother of Miami,” was born today in Ohio.  An early (1872)  settler in the present-day Miami area, Ms. Tuttle was reported to have lured Henry Flagler and his railroad south when she sent him a branch of blooming orange blossoms during the devastating freeze of 1894-95.  (See entry for September 14).

 

1861      The artillery duel between Confederate and Union forces at Pensacola continued until about 4 o’clock this morning.  Casualties were minimal for both sides. 

 

1861      General Robert E. Lee has asked Brigadier General J. H. Trapier to increase the number of cannons and manpower on Cumberland and Amelia Islands to protect Fernandina from a Union attack.

 

1863      Florida units with the Confederate Army of Tennessee were still engaged in the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone’s River) in Tennessee.  Captain Augustus O. MacDonnell of the 1^st and 3^rd Florida Consolidated narrowly escaped serious injury when his sword was shattered by a shell fragment.

1864      The Confederate Congress has approved the following Floridians as adjutants in Florida regiments and battalions:

      James B. Johnson, 5^th Infantry Regiment

      R. J. Reid, 2^nd Infantry Regiment

      W. McR. Jordan, 3^rd Infantry Battalion

      B. F. Parker, 4^th Infantry Battalion

      James O. Owens, 6^th Infantry Battalion

      George Dawson, 7^th Infantry Regiment

      F. Philips, 1^st Cavalry Regiment

      C. B. Paslay, 7^th Infantry Regiment

 

1865      Senators Augustus E. Maxwell and James M. Baker, along with Representative Robert B. Hilton, join other Confederate legislators as the Confederate Congress re-convenes after a one-day New Year’s Day recess.

 

1877      George Franklin Drew, the twelfth governor of Florida (1877-1881) was inaugurated today.  (See entry for August 6 for more information)

 

1898      Booker T. Washington, the noted African-American leader, addressed an audience in Jacksonville today.  His speech stressed that the development of commercial and industrial project held the key for the advancement of the American Negro.

 

1917      Ernest Amos took office as Florida’s Comptroller today.

 

1917      Sidney Johnston Catts, Florida’s Prohibition governor, took the oath of office today as the state’s twenty-second governor.  (For more information, see entry for July 31.)

 

1933      David Sholtz became Florida’s twenty-sixth governor today in inauguration ceremonies in Tallahassee.  (For more information about Sholtz, see the entry for October 6.)

 

1945      Millard Fillmore Caldwell was inaugurated as Florida’s twenty-ninth governor today in Tallahassee.  (For more information, see entry for October 23.)

 

1979      On this day, “Bob” [D. Robert} Graham was inaugurated as the Sunshine State’s thirty-eighth governor.  He would succeed himself as governor on January 4, 1983.  Graham was born on November 9, 1936 in Coral Gables.

   Graham graduated from the University of Florida in 1959 and received a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1962.  He served in a variety of executive positions in the Sengra Corporation (The Graham Companies), was a developer of Miami Lakes, and helped administer the family’s cattle holdings. 

   As governor, Graham supported a number of environmental measures to save the state’s Everglades, sea shores, and barrier islands.

   Governor Graham engendered a strong public support through his personal program of “workdays,” a program he still practices as Senator. 

1979      George Firestone assumed the position of Florida’s Secretary of State.  He was succeeded on August 5, 1987 by Jim Smith, who was appointed by Governor Bob Martinez.

 

1979      Jim Smith assumed office as Florida’s Attorney General on this date.

 

    

1823      Joseph M. Hernandez was seated as the first Territorial Representative to the United States Congress from the Territory of Florida.

 

1861      Delegates to the Florida Secession Convention meet in Tallahassee to take up the question of secession.  Edmund Ruffin of Virginia arrived to confer with Governor Madison Starke Perry and members of the convention.

 

1863      John Branch, the sixth Territorial Governor of Florida, died today in Enfield, North Carolina.  (For more information, see entry for August 11.)

 

1863      The Battle of Murphreesboro (Stone’s River) came to an end today.  General Braxton E. Bragg withdrew from the battle despite apparent victory during the first two days.  Florida units in the Army of Tennessee suffered a large number of casualties.  (See entry for December 31.)

 

1865      The U.S.S. Kanawha today captured the Confederate schooner Mary Ellen today in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

 

1877      William D. Bloxham assumed office as Florida’s Secretary of State.  He will hold this position until he was succeeded by F.W.A. Rankin, Jr. on October 1, 1880.

 

1877      George P. Raney was sworn in as the Attorney General of Florida.

 

1893      Henry Laurens Mitchell was inaugurated as Florida’s sixteenth governor (1893-1897)  today.  (See entry for September 3 for more information.)

 

1893      William N. Sheats became the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction today, while C. B. Collins was sworn in as Treasurer.

 

1897      W. H. Reynolds took office as Florida’s Comptroller.

 

1905      Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, “Florida’s Fighting Democrat,” was inaugurated as Florida’s nineteenth governor today.  (For more information about Broward, see entry for October 1.)

 

1905      William M. Holloway became Florida’s Superintendent of Public Instruction  today.

 

1924      The “Southern Jewish Weekly” was founded today in Jacksonville.

1925      The first races at St. Petersburg’s Derby Lane greyhound track were run today.  The track, operated by the Kennel Club, was the oldest greyhound track in the world.

 

1933      J. M. lee assumed the office of Comptroller today.

 

1941      J. Edward Larson was sworn in as the Treasurer of Florida today.

 

1961      Cecil Farris Bryant took office today as the Sunshine State’s thirty-fourth governor.  (For more information on Bryant, see entry for July 26.)

 

1961      Doyle E. Connor was sworn in as Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture today, and Tom Adams was installed as Secretary of State.

 

1966      Dr. Earl S. Weldon assumed the presidency of Seminole Junior College, which was chartered in 1965.

1967      Claude Roy Kirk, Jr. was installed as Florida’s thirty-sixth governor today.  Kirk was born on January 7, 1926, in San Bernardino, California.  He lived in a variety of locales during his youth, and graduated from high school in Montgomery, Alabama, when he was seventeen.  He enlisted in the Marine Corps and, after officer training at Quantico, Virginia, was commissioned as a second lieutenant.  He left the Marines in 1946 and entered law school.  He received his law degree in 1949.

   Kirk returned  to active duty in 1950 and served in combat in Korea.  After the war, he entered the insurance and investment business in Jacksonville, eventually heading up the Kirk Investments Company.

   A former democrat, Kirk led the “Floridians for Nixon” campaign in 1960.  In 1964, he waged an unsuccessful race for the U.S. Senate.  In 1966, he was successful in his campaign for the governorship and became the first Republican to hold this position since the end of Reconstruction.

   In 1978, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor as a Democrat.  In 1988, he failed in his bid for the U.S. Senate as the Democratic nominee.

1987      John Wayne Mixon served only three days as Florida’s thirty-ninth governor.  Mixon, the Lieutenant Governor, succeeded Bob Graham, who resigned three days before the end of his second term to take his position in the United States Senate.  Mixon was born June 16, 1922, near Brockton, Alabama.  He entered public service in 1967 when he was elected to the first of six consecutive terms of office in the Florida House of Representatives.

   Mixon served in the United States Navy during World War II.  He attended Columbia University in new York, the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1947 from the University of Florida. 

1989      Tom Gallagher took the oath of office as Florida’s Treasurer today. 

 

 

1847      The appointment and licensing of port and harbor pilots by Dade County officials authorized by state government. 

 

1861      Governor Madison Perry and his advisors made the decision to seize Federal properties in Florida.

 

1862      The Union blockader, U.S.S. Sagamore, was sighted near Santa Rosa Island.

 

1863      William Dunn Moseley, Florida’s first governor under statehood (1845-1849), died today.  Moseley was born at Moseley Hall, Lenoir County, North Carolina, on February 1, 1795.  He attended the University of North Carolina with such notables as James K. Polk, later president of the United States.  After college, he practiced law in Wilmington, North Carolina, and entered public service as a state senator.  He was defeated in the North Carolina gubernatorial race of 1834.  In 1835, Moseley purchased a plantation in Jefferson County, Florida, and resided there until 1851.  A member of the Territorial Legislature, Moseley defeated Richard Keith Call, the third and fifth Territorial governor of Florida, in the contest to become the first governor of the new state of Florida.  In 1851, Moseley moved to Palatka, where he was a planter and fruit grower. 

 

1881      William Dunnington Bloxham, the thirteenth (1881-1885) and seventeenth (1897-1901) governor of Florida, was inaugurated today.  Born in Leon County on July 9, Bloxham’s first administration was marked by the sale of the Disston Land Purchase.  He died at Tallahassee on March 15, 1911.  (For more information, see the entry for July 9.)

 

1901      The first issue of the “Daytona News” was published today.

 

1921      Rivers Buford was sworn in as Florida’s Attorney General today.

 

1925      Cary Augustus Hardee, the 23^rd governor of Florida, was inaugurated today.  During his administration, the convict leasing system was outlawed.  Hardee died ion November 21, 1957.  (For more information, see the entry for November 13.)

 

1949      Fuller Warren, the thirtieth governor of Florida, was inaugurated today.  A native of Blountstown, Warren was born on October 3, 1905, and died in Miami on September 23, 1973.  (For more information, see the entry for October 3.)

 

1949      Richard W. Ervin took office as Florida’s Attorney General, and Thomas D. Bailey assumed office as the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

 

1961      Thomas LeRoy Collins, the thirty-third governor of Florida, took the oath of office today.  Collins was born on march 10, 1909, in Tallahassee.  A graduate of Leon High School, Collins attended the Eastman School of Business at Poughkeepsie, New York, and received a law degree from Cumberland University.  He married Mary Call Darby, the great-granddaughter of two-time Territorial Governor Richard Keith Call.  Collins was elected as Leon County’s  representative to the Florida House  in 1934, 1936, and 1938.  He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1940 an re-elected in 1942.  He resigned to serve in the U.S. navy, and was re-elected in 1946 and 1950.  Collins was first elected governor to complete the two remaining years of the term of the late Governor Dan McCarty.  He was elected for a full term in 1956.

   Collins’ term was marked by the rise of the civil rights movement in Florida, and through his leadership, Florida avoided much of the violence and turmoil that marked desegregation in other Southern states.

   Following his terms as governor, Collins served as Undersecretary of Commerce in the Johnson administration.  He was unsuccessful in a bid for the U.S. Senate in 1968.  He died on March 25, 1991.

1978      Janet Reno became Florida’s first State Attorney when Governor Reubin O’D. Askew appointed her to head up the Eleventh Judicial District (Miami) when Richard Gerstein resigned.  Ms. Reno was  the Attorney General of the United States during the administration of President Bill Clinton. 

 

 

1836      Lewis Cass requests an appropriation of $80,000 from the U.S. House of Representatives for “the expenses attending the repression of the hostilities commenced by the Seminole Indians in Florida.”

 

1861      The Quincy Guards, commanded by Colonel Duryea, seized the Chattahoochee Arsenal today.  The troops confiscate 500,000 rounds of musket cartridges, 300,000 rounds of rifle cartridges, and 50,000 pounds of gunpowder.

 

1861      The Florida Secession Convention reconvened today.  John C. McGehee, a passionate state-rights planter from Madison County, was elected permanent chairman.  McQueen Macintosh of Apalachicola introduced a resolution declaring Florida’s right to secede and urged the passage of a proclamation declaring that the state was no longer a part of the United States.

 

1863      Crews from the U.S.S. Sagamore seized the British blockade runner Avenger in Jupiter Inlet.  The Avenger was carrying a cargo of coffee, gin, salt, and other goods.

1865      An expedition from the U.S.S. Winnebago seized two copper kettles used for distilling turpentine, 1,280 copper pipes, and four sloop-rigged boats in the Gulf of Mexico today.

 

1887      An inch of snow fell at Pensacola today.

 

1929      Gene Sarazin won the $750 first prize at the Miami Open Golf Tournament.  His score was 294 for 72 holes.  The monetary prize was $750.

 

1941      Frederick Preston Cone took the oath of office today to become Florida’s 27^th governor.  (See entries for July 28 and September 28.)

 

1965      William Hayden Burns took the oath of office today to become Florida’s 35^th governor (1965-1967).  Burns was born on March 17, 1912 in Chicago, Illinois.  he attended Jacksonville public schools and Babson College.  During World War II, Burns served in the U.S. navy.

   In 1949, he won his first election to public office when he was elected Mayor-Commissioner of Jacksonville, a position he won in 1951, 1955, 1959, and 1963.  In 1960, he finished third in a race for the Democratic nomination for governor.  In 1964, he achieved the office.

   Although eligible for a second two-year term, he was defeated by Claude Roy Kirk, Jr., a Republican, in 1966.

   In 1971, Burns was defeated in his bid for election as Mayor of Jacksonville. 

   Burns died in Jacksonville on November 22, 1987.

 

1965      Earl Faircloth was installed at the Attorney General of Florida today.

 

1971      Reubin O’Donovan Askew, the thirty-seventh Governor of Florida, was inaugurated today for the first of his two consecutive terms as governor.  (For more information, see entry for September 11.)

 

1971      Thomas D. O’Malley assumed office today as Florida’s Treasurer, and Robert L. Shevin was inaugurated as Attorney General.  Richard B. Stone was inaugurated as Secretary of State.

 

1979      Jim Smith took the oath of office today for the position of Florida Attorney General.

 

    

1836      Casualties from the Seminole uprising continue.  Authorities report that sixteen East Florida plantations have been laid to waste.

 

1839      E. L. Drake of Escambia County became the first Speaker of the Florida Territorial House of Representatives today.

 

1855      The Internal Improvements Fund was established today.  This created the mechanism by which improvements can be funded through the sale of public lands.

 

1861      U.S. Senator Stephen F. Mallory of Florida recommends that the state’s Secession Convention secede.  This declaration followed a caucus of Southern senators called by Jefferson Davis and John Slidell of Mississippi.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Pocahontas captured the blockade runner Antona today off Cape San Blas, Florida.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Ariel  today captured the sloop Good Luck, a blockade runner from New Smyrna near Key Biscayne Bay.

 

1885      Edward Aylsworth Perry became the fourteenth governor of Florida (1885-1889) today.  (See entry for October 15 for more information.)

 

1895      The first Sunday edition of the Tampa Tribune was published today.

 

1925      John Wellborn Martin took the oath of office today as Florida’s twenty-fourth governor.  Martin was born on June 21, 1884, in Marion County.  Admitted to the bar in 1914, he began the practice of law in Jacksonville.  From 1917 until 1924, martin was the Mayor of Jacksonville.  Martin presided over the end of the Florida “Boom” and  the Florida “Bust.”   During his administration, Florida began an expansive program of highway construction, direct State appropriations to finance public schools, and the distribution of free textbooks to students in grades 1-6.  In 1928, he was defeated in his bid for a United States Senate seat.  In 1932, he lost a bid to regain the governor’s office.  In the 1940s, Martin served as a co-receiver and trustee for the Florida East Coast Railroad.

   He died in Jacksonville on February 22, 1958.

1953      Daniel Thomas McCarty was inaugurated as the state’s 31^st governor today.  McCarty was born in Fort Pierce on January 18, 1912.  On February 25, 1953, McCarty suffered a debilitating heart attack and died on September 28.  (See entry for September 28 for more information.)

 

1985      A Pensacola abortion clinic was bombed today marking a significant turn of direction in the anti-abortion movement’s opposition to legalized abortion.

 

1987      Robert “Bob” Martinez of Tampa became the 40^th governor of Florida today.  Martinez was born in Tampa on December 25, 1934.  He attended the University of Tampa and the University of Illinois.    A high school teacher for seven years, Martinez also served as the Executive Director of the Hillsborough [County] Classroom Teachers Association until he took over the family business, the Cafe Sevilla.  In 1979, Martinez was elected Mayor of Tampa as a Democrat, and re-elected as a Republican in 1983.

   Martinez alienated many Floridians through his anti-abortion stance, because of his reneging on a campaign promise not to raise taxes, and because of his somewhat imperious leadership style.  He also campaigned against the creation of a state lottery system, but approved the measure after it was passed by the Florida legislature. 

   He was defeated for re-election by Lawton Chiles in 1990.  Following his tenure as governor, he served briefly as the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency under President George Bush.

 

    

1821      The first organized Baptist congregation, Pigeon Creek Baptist Church, was organized today near Callahan (Northeast Florida).  The congregation consisted of both black and white parishioners.

 

1841      Company I, 3^rd Artillery, United States Army engaged in fighting with Seminole Indians near Ft. Lauderdale today.  One enlisted man was wounded and subsequently died from his wounds on January 22.

 

1848      William R. Hayward was sworn in as the Treasurer of the State of Florida.

 

1861      Federal soldiers guarding Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos) in St. Augustine surrender the post to a company of local volunteers.  In Tallahassee, the Secession Convention, after hearing appeals from Edmund Ruffin of Virginia, E.C. Bullock of Alabama, and L.S. Spratt of South Carolina, approves the McIntosh resolution by a vote of 62-5 for immediate secession.  A committee of 13 was appointed to prepare the official secession ordinance.

 

1903      Florida author Zora Neale Hurston was born today.  Some controversy exists as to the actual place of her birth.  Some authorities claim it was in Eatonville (east of Orlando), but the latest scholarship places her birth place in Alabama.  Regardless of where she was born, Hurston certainly considered Eatonville her home and centered many of her stories there.

 

1911      Thelma (Butterfly) McQueen was born today in Tampa.  McQueen gained enduring fame for her portrayal of “Prissy” in the 1939 epic, “Gone with the Wind.”

 

1913      Park Trammell, the 21^st governor of Florida (1913-1917), took the oath of office today.  Trammell, who was born on April 9, 1876 in Macon County, Alabama, attended grade school in Polk County.  During the Spanish-American War, he served in the Quartermaster Corps in Tampa.  After studies at Vanderbilt University, Trammell received a law degree from Cumberland College (also the alma mater of LeRoy Collins) in 1899.  A citrus grower and attorney in Lakeland, he served two terms as Mayor of the city.  He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1903 and to the Florida Senate in 1905.  He served as President of the Senate.  In 1908, Trammell was elected Attorney general, and in 1912, he was elected governor.  The hallmark of the Trammell administration was campaign spending reform and the equalization of property tax assessments in all counties.  In 1916, he was elected to the United States Senate and served in that capacity until his death in Washington on May 8, 1936.

 

1913      Thomas F. West took the oath of office as the Attorney General of Florida today, while William N. Sheats was installed as the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

 

1941      Spessard Lindsey Holland was sworn in as the 28^th governor (1941-1945).  He was born at Bartow on July 10, 1892 and died on November 6, 1971.  (For more information see entries for July 10 and November 6.)

 

1941      J. Tom Watson took the oath of office as Attorney General today.  Watson was somewhat frustrated as Attorney General since Florida was a “right to work” state and Federal war industries contracts recognized the rights of unions to organize laborers.  Despite a lawsuit and strong protests by Watson, the Federal government persisted in this policy.  As soon as World War II was over, Watson immediately and successfully sought to restore the “right to work” law. 

 

1969      Floyd T. Christian assumed office as the first Commissioner of Education in Florida.  The Constitution Revision of 1968 provides for this new title, which was a change from the previously Superintendent of Public Instruction.

 

1975      Bruce A. Smathers was installed as Florida’s Secretary of State today, and Gerald Lewis took the oath of office as the Comptroller of Florida.

 

    

1848      Holmes County was established as Florida’s 27^th county today.  The county took its name from Holmes Creek, the eastern boundary of the county.  County Seat:  Bonifay

 

1853      Sumter County, Florida’s 29^th county, was created today.  The county was named in honor of General Thomas Sumter, a native of South Carolina who was prominent in the Revolutionary War.  County Seat:  Bushnell

 

1853      David Levy Yulee and his financial partners incorporated the Florida Railroad Company today.  The railroad was planned to run between Fernandina and Cedar Key.

 

1861      Governor Madison Starke Perry ordered the occupation of Fort Clinch (Amelia Island) by Florida troops.  He also authorized Colonel William Chase to seize the Federal forts at Pensacola if he can.

 

1861      In the Secession Convention, the Ordinance of Secession was introduced for debate.  The efforts of George T. Ward of Leon County and Jackson Morton of Santa Rosa County to defer secession until Georgia and Alabama have seceded were defeated.

 

1863      In a rather busy day of activity, the Union Navy ships of the Blockading Squadron engaged in efforts along the entire coast of Florida.  In North Florida, the U.S.S. Uncas reported an attack by land-based Confederates as it moved along the Nassau River.  Three Federals were wounded.  In Tampa Bay, the U.S.S. Tahoma captured the blockade runner Silas Henry with a cargo of cotton.  The Silas Henry had run aground in Tampa Bay.  The U.S.S. Sagamore seized the British sloop Julia ten miles north of Jupiter Inlet with a cargo of salt.  The Julia was the ship suspected for carrying away the light from the Cape Florida lighthouse.

 

1864      Two armed boats from the U.S.S. Roebuck were dispatched to Jupiter Inlet to halt the influx of small blockade-runners from the Bahamas.

 

1885      C. M. Cooper was installed as the Attorney General of Florida.

 

1888      William B. Lamar took the oath of office as Attorney General of Florida.

 

1889   Francis Philip Fleming, the 15^th governor of Florida (1889-1893), took office today.  Fleming was born at Panama Park, Duval County, on September 28, 1841 and died in Jacksonville on December 20, 1908.  (For more information, see entries for September 28 and December 20.)

 

1889      F. J. Pons was sworn into office today as the Treasurer of Florida.

 

1901      William Sherman Jennings, the 18^th governor of Florida (1901-1905), was sworn into office today.  Jennings was born at Walnut Hill, Illinois, on March 24, 1863.  He was a cousin of three-time Democratic presidential nominee, William Jennings Bryan.  He came to Florida in 1885 to complete his training as an attorney and later opened a practice in Brooksville.  He was appointed Circuit Court Commissioner in 1887 and County Judge in 1888.  In 1893, he resigned the judgeship to serve as a member of the Florida House of representatives, where he became Speaker in 1895. 

   The primary election system, which replaced the nominating convention, was instituted during his administration.  Jennings was credited with saving 3,000,000 acres of public land and for espousing the reclamation of the Everglades.  He died in St. Augustine on February 27, 1920.

 

1914      Mrs. L. A. Whitney became the first woman to fly aboard a scheduled airline when she flew from St. Petersburg to Tampa on the Benoist, piloted by Anthony Jannus.

 

1929      Doyle Elam Carlton took the oath of office today to become Florida’s 25^th governor (1929-1933).  (For more information, see entries for July 6 and October 25.)

 

1965      Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy and a companion were arrested today in Miami.  They were suspects in the American Museum of natural History robbery last October in which the fabled “Star of India,” the world’s largest sapphire, was stolen. 

 

1965      A three-judge Federal court ordered Florida to complete reapportionment by July 1.

 

1969      In a daring ploy, 81 Cubans shoot their way past Cuban guards at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.  They seek asylum in Florida.

 

1987      Construction started today on the Orlando Arena, the home of the Orlando Magic, the National Basketball Association franchise.

 

    

1855      Manatee County, Florida’s 31^st county, was established today.  It was named in honor of the manatee or sea cow, an endangered species.  County Seat:  Bradenton

 

1861      Federal troops in Pensacola make ready to defend Federal forts against confiscation by Florida troops.

 

1861      Floridians were in a quandary about the news that South Carolina troops had fired on the Union vessel Star of the West, which was carrying reinforcements for Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.

 

1861      In Tallahassee, the final debate on the Ordinance of Secession concludes in late afternoon.  Delegates agree to postpone a final vote until tomorrow.

 

1862      Elias Yulee, brother of David levy Yulee, was nominated by Confederate President Jefferson Davis for a commission as major in the Confederate Army.

1863      According to federal dispatches, an empty and unmanned schooner, the Flying Cloud, has been boarded near the St. Lucie River.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Ethan Allen today destroyed a large salt works south of St. Joseph’s Bay.  The works were capable of producing 75 bushels of salt per day.

 

1876      The Union Congregational Church, now the Arlington Congregation Church, of Jacksonville was organized today.

 

1990      Shuttle launch STS-32 was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

 

 

1800      A survey party measured 5 inches of snow today at Point Peter, near the mouth of the St. Mary’s River.  This was the highest recorded total in Florida history.

 

1839      The first Florida Constitution was adopted in the assembly at St. Joseph’s today.

 

    Governor Madison Starke Perry read a telegram from Florida’s congressional delegation that informed them that “Federal troops are said to be moving or about to move on Pensacola forts.”  This warning, given just before the final debate on the state’s secession ordinance, creates a sense of urgency among the delegates.  After two hours of debate, the Secession Convention approves the measure by a vote of 62-7.  Florida thus becomes the third state to leave the Union.  In Tallahassee, crowds dance in the street.  Fireworks, a large parade, and the ringing of church bells join together to manufacture an atmosphere of celebration and joy.  Similar demonstrations were held in Tampa, St. Augustine, Madison, Pensacola and Jacksonville.

   In Pensacola,  the commanding officer of Federal forces consolidates his men in Fort Pickens.  Later that evening, Union Lieutenant H. Erben leads a raiding party which batters in the gates of Fort McRea.  The Union raiding party spikes the guns of the fort and dumps about a dozen barrels of gunpowder into the sea.

 

1863      The Confederate War department authorized the formation of a new cavalry regiment in Florida to be composed on men not subject to conscription to operate in Florida and Alabama west of the Apalachicola River.

  

1864      Boat crews from the U.S.S. Roebuck, under the command pf Acting Master John Sherrill, captured the blockade-running Confederate sloop, Maria Louise, with a cargo of cotton off Jupiter Inlet, Florida.

 

1880      Construction started today on the South Florida Railroad in Sanford.

 

1885             Voters in Plant City approved the incorporation of that city today.  The vote was 49-1.

 

1888      Henry Flagler’s famous Ponce de Leon Hotel, one of the earliest luxury resorts in Florida, opened today in St. Augustine.

 

1959             Gold medal Olympic runner Chandra Cheeseborough was born today in Jacksonville.

 

1968      Floridians and other Americans joined together to lament the end of the 141 year-old Saturday Evening Post.  The magazine, which frequently came into Florida homes, was a staple in the literary diet of rural Floridians.

 

 

1839      Florida’s first constitution was signed by members of the constitutional convention meeting in St. Joseph’s today.  Although the document would not become the law of the land in 1839, it provided the basic framework for the first state constitution in 1845. 

 

1861      The Ordinance of Secession, approved by the Secession Convention yesterday, was signed today.  Florida became an “independent nation” until it joined the Confederate States of America on January 28.  Soon-to-be governor, John Milton, unfurls the new flag of Florida, a white silk banner with three stars.  The stars represent the three southern states that have seceded—South Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Honeysuckle, under the command of Acting Ensign Cyrus Sears, captured the British blockade runner, Fly, near Jupiter Inlet.  Boat crews from the U.S.S. Roebuck, under the command of Acting Master Sherrill, captured the British Blockade runner, Susan, and its cargo of salt at Jupiter Inlet.

 

1880      Former President Ulysses S. Grant visited the Silver Springs resort today.  Grant was part of a group of northern tourists who took the steam boat Osceola up the Oklawaha River to the Springs.

 

1966      The Constitutional Commission to revise the 1885 state constitution was organized today.  The Commission delivered its recommendations to the Legislature on December 13.

 

1828       The City of Key West was incorporated today by the Territorial government of Florida.

 

1861      Confederate forces seize the U.S. Navy Yard at Pensacola.  Forts McRee and Barrancas were also taken.  Federal forces garrisoned Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island.

 

1877       Columbus Drew was sworn in today as the Comptroller of Florida.

 

1911      The Jacksonville YWCA was founded today.

 

1930    Don Grooms, contemporary Florida Folk singer, was born today in the Cherokee region of North Carolina. Don later moved to Florida and taught at the School of Journalism at the University of Florida. A staple at the folk festivals in the state, Don Grooms wrote many songs including "Walk Proud My Son", "Winnebago" and "Vitachuco." He died in January 1998 and was laid to rest in the hills near the place of his birth in North Carolina.

1942      Lieutenant Alexander (Sandy) Nininger, Jr. of Fort Lauderdale was killed in action today at Bataan, Philippine Islands.  He became the first United States soldier to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II.

 

1969      Joe Namath and the New York Jets defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in the first ever Super Bowl in Miami.  The score was 16-7.

 

1986      Representative Bill Nelson, a resident of Brevard County, rode into space today aboard the shuttle Columbia (STS 61-C), which was launched from Cape Canaveral.

      

1988      The first Florida lottery tickets went on sale today.  Thousands of  citizens from Alabama and Georgia crossed state lines to purchase tickets.

 

 

1849      Putnam County was established today.  Putnam County was named for Benjamin Alexander Putnam, a lawyer, politician, and judge.  He was the first president of the Florida Historical Society.  Putnam was born on Putnam Plantation near Savannah, Georgia.  He attended Harvard University, studied law privately in St. Augustine, and practiced there.  In the Seminole War (1835-1842), Putnam served as a major, colonel, and adjutant general.  From 1849 until 1854, he served as the Surveyor General of Florida.  He died at his home in Palatka on January 25, 1869.  County Seat:  Palatka

 

1861      Shots from the Federal garrison in Fort Pickens forced a Confederate reconnaissance detachment to abandon their effort to reconnoiter the area around the fort. 

 

1863      Benjamin F. Allen assumed office as Florida’s Secretary of State.  Allen was appointed by Governor John Milton to replace Fred L. Villepigue, who was ruled ineligible for the office by the Florida Attorney General because he held a commission in the Confederate Army.  Allen, who was a private in the Florida Light Artillery Company, was seeking a discharge in order to assume his new office.

 

1863      A Confederate officer from Lake City met with the commander of the U.S.S. Norwich, operating in the St. John’s River, in an effort to re-open postal routes between Florida and northern states.  Confederate officials, by command of General Joseph J. Finegan, forward letters from northern

 

1864      Boat crews from the U.S.S. Two Sisters, under the command of Acting Master Thomas Chatfield, captured the schooner William off the Suwannee River today.  The William carried a cargo of salt, bagging, and rope. 

 

1881      W. D. Barnes took office today as Florida’s Comptroller General. 

 

1939      The first concert in Miami’s Lummus Park was given today by the 20-piece Miami Federal orchestra.

 

1963      More than 100 U.S. citizens arrived today from Castro’s Cuba.

 

1964      The Stephen Foster Center in White Springs observed the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death.

 

1974      The Miami Dolphins won Super Bowl VIII by defeating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7.

 

1982      A twin-engine Air Florida jet, bound for Tampa, crashed into the Potomac River today immediately after takeoff from Washington’s national Airport.  Some seventy-eight persons were killed.  The jet, encumbered by ice on the wings, crashed into the 14th Street Bridge, struck a truck and at least four cars.  Six persons died on the bridge.  Horrified commuters and emergency  personnel worked to rescue the passengers from the icy waters of the river.  Traffic was so snarled that emergency vehicles were forced to resort to using the sidewalks to reach the crash scene.  Some investigators suspected that the mass firing of the air controllers by the Reagan administration five months earlier contributed to the disaster, although the final report of the national Transportation safety Board did not place any blame on this occurrence.

 

1993      Space Shuttle launch STS-54 was sent into space today from Cape Canaveral.

 

 

1861      The United States Senators from Florida, David Levy Yulee and Stephen F. Mallory, were officially informed today of Florida’s secession from the Union.

 

1862      The bodies of three Union sailors were recovered on the beach at St. George’s Island and given a military burial.

 

1864      Small boats from the U.S.S. Roebuck chased the blockade-running British sloop, Young Racer, and forced her aground north of Jupiter Inlet.  The sloop, which was carrying a cargo of salt, was destroyed by her crew.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Union, under the command of Acting Lieutenant Edward Conroy, captured the blockade-running steamer, Mayflower, and its cargo of cotton near Tampa Bay today.

 

1874      The Florida Medical Association was founded today in the office of Dr. Abel Seymour Baldwin in Jacksonville.

 

1892      Pensacola report four-tenths of an inch of snow today. 

 

1941      Oscar-winning actress Faye Dunaway was born today in Bascom.

 

1949      Lawrence Kasdan, award-winning screenwriter, was born today in Miami Beach.

 

1968      The Oakland Raiders lost to the Green Bay Packers (33-14) before an estimated 75,000 fans in the first Super Bowl held in Miami’s Orange Bowl.

 

1973      The Miami Dolphins won Superbowl VII today by defeating the Washington Redskins by a score of 14-7.

 

 

1811      The United States Congress authorized the U.S. Army to occupy Florida.

 

1859      Lake City, formerly known as “Alligator,” was incorporated today.

 

1864      The federal schooner, U.S.S. Beauregard, today captured the British schooner, Minnie, about twenty miles south of Mosquito Inlet.  The captured ship was carrying a cargo of salt, liquors, and earthenware. 

 

1865      Florida units attached to the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate) were engaged in heavy fighting today at Petersburg, Virginia. 

 

1864      Captain John Westcott of the 2nd Florida Infantry Battalion has been promoted to major by the Confederate War Department.  His effective date of rank will be January 24, 1863.

 

1873      Clayton A. Cowgill assumed office as the Comptroller of Florida today.

 

1897      The Royal Palm, Henry Flagler’s luxury hotel, opened today in Miami.  The Royal palm featured a swimming pool and other amenities.

 

1918      Country and western singer/songwriter Hank Locklin was born today in McLellan.

 

1925      Hialeah Race Track opened today. 

 

1936      The Florida branch of the Colonial Dames of the XVII Century was chartered today in New Port Richey.

 

1949      Ronnie Van Zant, the leader of the Jacksonville rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, was born in Jacksonville today.

 

1959      Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach was incorporated today.

 

1979      J. H. Williams  of Ocala was appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture by President Jimmy Carter today.

 

 

1792      William Augustus Bowles and a band of Creek warriors today captured the Panton, Leslie and Company trading post near St. Marks.

 

1862      Union sailors and soldiers took possession of Sea Horse Key and Cedar key today.  Although there were no casualties, Union forces destroyed the railroad depot and wharf, several box cars loaded with supplies, several ships and boats, and a considerable supply of guns and ammunition.  Capture of Cedar Key effectively ends the importance of the newly constructed railroad from Fernandina to this Gulf town.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Roebuck captured the Confederate sloop Caroline today as it was attempting to run the blockade into Jupiter Inlet.  The Caroline was carrying a cargo of salt, gin, soda, and dry goods.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Stars and Stripes captured the British blockade runner Laura off the Ocklockonee River  with a cargo of whiskey, cigars, and assorted merchandise.

 

1873      William A. Cocke was sworn in today as Florida’s Attorney General, while Charles H. Foster took the oath of office as State Treasurer.

 

1935      Ma Barker and her gangster family were killed by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, led by Melvin Purvis,  in a bloody shootout today in Oklawaha near Lake Weir.

 

1936      A “photo-finish” camera was used for the first time today at Hialeah Race Track.

 

1944      Country music singer Jim Stafford was born today in Eloise.

 

 

1821       Ossian Bingley Hart, the first Florida-born governor of the state, was born today in Jacksonville. Hart’s father, Isaiah David Hart, was a founder of Jacksonville. Ossian B. Hart was an attorney who initially practiced law in Jacksonville, but eventually moved to Fort Pierce to become a farmer. In 1845, he represented St. Lucie County in the Florida House of Representatives. In 1846, he moved to Key West and resumed the practice of law. In 1856, he moved to Tampa. Although the son of a slave-owner, Hart was opposed to Florida’s secession and actively opposed it. His opposition earned him a great deal of trouble during the Civil War. In 1868, Hart was appointed an Associate Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. In 1870, he was defeated in a bid for Congress. He was elected governor as a Republican in 1872, but died of pneumonia in 1874.

1861       Jackson Morton of Santa Rosa County, Patton Anderson of Jefferson County, and James B. Owens of Marion County were appointed as Florida’s delegates to the Southern Convention scheduled to meet in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 4.

1862       The U.S.S. Connecticut captured the British blockade-runner, Emma, off the Florida Keys.

1863       A Federal naval officer reported that he had found 45 bags of salt on a conch bar near Jupiter Inlet.  It was also reported that a small boat with two Confederates has been captured near the St. Lucie River.

1866       John Beard assumed office today as Florida’s Comptroller.

1873       S. B. McLin was installed as Florida’s Secretary of State today.

1884       The first issue of the Florida Baptist Witness was published today.

 

1919       Florida’s first Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post #30, was chartered today in St. Petersburg.

 

1964       James W. Kynes took the oath of office today as Florida’s Attorney General.

 

1981       Snow fell in Fort Lauderdale and Miami today.

 

 

1856       Detachments of Companies C and L of the 2nd United States Artillery, consisting of six men, were attacked today by Seminole Indians near Fort Deynaud.

 

1861       Despite demands by Confederate forces in Pensacola, Union Lieutenant Adam Slemmer refuses to surrender Fort Pickens to them.

 

1862       The Federal gunboat Sagamore, operating off the Gulf Coast near the Apalachicola River, sent several boats ashore to investigate conditions on St. Vincent’s Island. The Federal officer in charge reported that the fort on the island had been burned and abandoned.

 

1864       The U.S.S. Stars and Stripes captured the British blockade-runner Laura today off the Ocklockonee River after a chase of nearly seven hours. The Laura was carrying a cargo of cigars, whiskey, and general merchandise.

 

1908       The Jewish Congregation Sons of Israel was chartered today in St.

Augustine.

 

1912       Daniel Thomas McCarty, the 31st Governor (1/6-9/28/53), was born today near Fort Pierce. For more information, see the entries for January 6 and September 28.

 

1941       Singer Bobby Goldsboro was born today in Marianna.

 

 

1861       A Federal force under the command of Brevet Major L. G. Arnold occupied Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas today. In St. Augustine, Colonel G. C. Gibbs announced that the city was preparing its defenses against a Federal attack.

 

1862       The U.S.S. Itasca, under the command of lieutenant Charles H. B. Caldwell, today captured the Confederate ship, Lizzie Weston, off the coast of Florida enroute to Jamaica with a cargo of cotton.

 

1863       The effectiveness of the Federal blockade of the Southern coast was revealed in this captured letter from Nassau: “There are men here who are making immense fortunes by shipping goods to Dixie…Salt, for example, was one of the most paying things to send in.  Here in Nassau it is only worth 60 cents a bushel, but in Charleston brings at auction from $80 to $100 in Confederate

money, but as Confederate money is no good out of the Confederacy they send back cotton or turpentine, which, if it reaches here, is worth proportionally as much here as the salt is there….It is a speculation by which one makes either 600 or 800 per cent or loses all.”

1864       The U.S.S. Roebuck today captured the British blockade-runner Eliza about a mile inside Jupiter Inlet with a cargo of fourteen bales of cotton.   Roebuck also captured the British sloop Mary inside Jupiter Inlet later in the day. The Mary had a cargo of 31 bales of cotton.

1926       The first broadcast from Radio Station WIOD, originating from Collins Island near Miami Beach, was aired today.

 

1957       National Football League running back Ottis “O.J.” Anderson was born today in West Palm Beach.

 

 

 

1827      Jefferson County was created today by the Florida Legislature.  Jefferson County was the thirteenth county created in the state and was named for President Thomas Jefferson, who died on July 4, 1826.  County Seat:  Monticello

 

1874      The public library, reading room, and historical association of St. Augustine was chartered today.

 

1885      C. M. Cooper assumed office as the Attorney General of Florida today.

 

1890      The St. John’s River railroad bridge, the first major steel railroad bridge in Florida, opened to traffic today.

 

1920      Today is the birthday of former U.S. Congressman Sam M. Gibbons of Tampa.  A highly decorated combat veteran in World War II, Gibbons had a distinguished career in the Florida House of representatives, the Florida Senate, and was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1962.  He served until 1996.

 

1924      Country and western singer “Slim” Whitman was born today in Tampa.

 

1969      Alan S. Boyd, the first Federal Secretary of Transportation (appointed January 16, 1967 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson), left office today.  Boyd, a native of Jacksonville, was born on July 20, 1922.  After successful stints as the general counsel for the Florida Turnpike Authority and as a member of the Florida Railroad and Public Utilities Commission in the Collins administration, Boyd served on the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board.  He was appointed first to the position of Undersecretary of Commerce for Transportation by Johnson, and when that position was elevated to a separate Cabinet department, he was promoted.  After his Federal service, Boyd served as the President of the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.  He subsequently returned to Federal service as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMTRAK, a position he held until June 20, 1982.

 

1977      Today Florida residents as far south as Cutler Ridge in Dade County saw snow.  The extreme cold and numbing wind brought about widespread power failures, hundreds of traffic accidents, several deaths and the loss of a large part of the state’s citrus and vegetable crops.

 

1978      Although appointed on January 4 as State Attorney, Janet Reno began her tenure today as the first female State Attorney in Florida.

 

 

1861      Florida’s United States senators David Levy Yulee and Stephen R. Mallory, along with U.S. Representative George S. Hawkins, formally withdraw from the United States Congress today.  This following Florida’s secession from the Union.

 

1861      Florida’s Secession Convention adjourns in Tallahassee.

 

1863      The Federal steamer U.S.S. Uncas in the St. John’s River fired on Confederate pickets near Cedar Creek.  A Parrott gun on board the Union vessel exploded, seriously wounding one man whose arm was shattered and amputated.

 

1865      The U.S.S. Honeysuckle arrived in Cedar key today with the British schooner Augusta in tow.  The British vessel will be taken to key West and claimed as a war prize by Acting Ensign Charles N. Hall and his crew.

 

1862      The Confederate schooner Olive Branch bound from Cedar Key to Nassau with a cargo of turpentine was captured by the U.S.S. Ethan Allen.

 

1881      Jno. L. Crawford took the oath of office today as Florida’s Secretary of State.

 

1927      Today President Calvin Coolidge signed the Act to Survey A Waterway from Cumberland Sound, Georgia, and Florida to the Mississippi River.”  This act was the forerunner of the later Cross-Florida Barge Canal legislation. 

 

SOME FLORIDA POPULATION FACTS:

 

Year                           Population

 

1830                             34, 730

1840                             54,477

1850                             87,445

1860                           140,424

1870                           187,748

1880                           269,493

1890                           391,422

1900                           528,542

1910                           752,619

1920                           968,470

1930                                1,468,211

1940                                1,897,414

1950                                2,771,305

1960                                4,951,560

1970                                6,789,443

1980                                9,746,324

1990                              14,500,000

 

 

 

1863      The Federal steamer U.S.S. Bibb left the St. John’s River for Port Royal, South Carolina, today.  It carried a white refugee named Jackson, who reported to Federal officials that the Confederates had a man-of-war carrying eight guns on the Chattahoochee River.  He also reported that the steamer Cuba was preparing to run the blockade via the Suwannee River.

 

1863      It was reported that Federal Brigadier General Adam J. Slemmer was captured in the recent Battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Slemmer first came to the attention of Floridians when he was a Lieutenant in command of Fort Barrancas in January 1861.  It was Slemmer who ordered Federal troops to concentrate in Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island in Pensacola Harbor.

 

1880      Residents of key West were awakened today by aftershocks from the earthquakes that struck the island of Cuba.

 

1912      The first train arrived in Key West, marking the completion of the Florida East Coast Railway.  Henry Flagler arrived in his private car, “Moultrie.”  The Overseas Extension of the Florida East Coast system spanned 127.84 miles from Homestead to Key West.  Seventy-five miles were over marsh or water.  The longest viaduct of the system, between Knights Key and Bahia Honda Key, covered seven miles.  Building the extension from Miami to key West required a labor force of 3-4,000 men and seven years of work.  The railroad extension was abandoned after the destructive hurricane of 1935, but was eventually adapted for use as a major highway.

 

1935      Snow started falling late today in the Florida Panhandle.

 

1973      The Orlando “Sentinel” and the Orlando “Evening Star” were combined as the “Sentinel Star” today. 

 

1984      The Oakland Raiders scored a 38-9 win over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII, which was held in Tampa.

 

1985      Ninety percent of Florida’s citrus crop was destroyed by the worst freezing weather in the 20th Century in the state.  Governor Bob Graham declared a “state of emergency” since the Weather Bureau predicted more cold weather.

 

1992      The space shuttle (STS 42) was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

 

FLORIDA FACT:

 

1908      In Jacksonville, the Kalem Company, organized in 1907, produced what is regarded as the first dramatic film in Florida.  The picture was entitled, “A Florida Feud.”

 

 

1837      The Seminole Indian leader Osuche and his son were killed by U.S. Army troops near Lake Apopka.

 

1851      The State of Florida today appropriated $1,000 to build a wagon road from Miami to Indian River in St. Lucie County.

 

1851      Florida’s first Board of Agriculture was established today.

 

1861      Confederate garrisons at St. Augustine removes lenses from the St. Augustine and Jupiter Inlet lighthouses forcing them to shut down. 

 

1865      The British blockade runner Fannie McRae was captured today by the Federal tender Fox between St. Marks and Deadman’s Bay in the Warrior River.

 

1873      Jonathan C. Gibbs was sworn into office today as the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

 

1880      Aftershocks from the earthquake on Cuba were felt again by Key West residents.

 

1923      Hugo Award-winning science-fiction writer Walter M. Miller, Jr., was born today in New Smyrna Beach.

 

1935      One inch of snow was reported today in Panama City, while Apalachicola reported two-tenths of an inch of the “white rain.”

 

 

1834      The City of Chattahoochee was incorporated today.

 

1838      More than forty Seminole Indians were captured during a battle with the United States Army at Indian Crossing on the Lookahatchie (Loxahatchee?) River.  Two soldiers were killed and five wounded.  Forty Seminoles were captured.

 

1840      Captain J. R. Vinton and Company B, 3rd U. S. Artillery, engaged a force of Seminole Indians at Fort New Smyrna Beach today.  Four soldiers were wounded.  Indian casualties were unknown.

 

1840      Captain E. D. Bullock and a detachment from Company E, 2nd U. S. Dragoons were attacked today by a band of Seminole Indians near Fort Preston.  One soldier was wounded.

 

1846      William H. Brockenbrough was seated in the United States House of Representatives as Florida’s first member of the Lower House.  Brockenbough was seated after successfully contesting the election of Edward C. Cabell.  Both Cabell and Brockenbough were from Tallahassee.

 

1853      Charles H. Austin was worn into office today as the Treasurer of Florida.

 

1854      Theodore W. Brevard was sworn into office today as Florida’s Comptroller.

 

1862      Confederate President Jefferson Davis has recommended Joseph J. Finegan of Fernandina beach be given a commission as Lieutenant Colonel in the Confederate Army.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Paul Jones was assigned to deliver ammunition and other stores to ships on patrol duty in the St. John’s River.  The Paul Jones was also instructed to proceed up the river “as far as you may deem necessary” on a reconnaissance mission.  After that mission was completed, the ship was to join the federal blockade off Florida’s east Coast.

 

1884      The first train arrived in Tampa today on the Plant System. 

 

1985      The space shuttle (STS 51-C) was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

 

1927      Former United States Senator from Florida, Paula Fickes Hawkins, was born today in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Senator Hawkins was elected in 1980 and defeated for re-election in 1986.

 

1989      Convicted serial killer Theodore Bundy was executed today in Starke’s Raiford Prison.  Bundy died from electrocution in “Old Smokey.”  On July 23, 1979, Bundy was convicted of the murder of two co-eds at Florida State University.  During a period of 15  years, it was suspected that Bundy killed more than thirty young women in Washington, Utah, Colorado, and Florida.

 

 

1814      Petitioners representing the “Republic of East Florida” asked Congress to admit their republic, with its capital at Fernandina, into the Union.  They were unsuccessful in their quest.

 

1834      Hillsborough County, the state’s eighteenth county, was created today by the Florida Legislature.  It was named for Wills Hills, the Earl of Hillsborough.  Hillsborough, who owned a large land grant in Florida, dispatched the surveyor Bernard Romans explored the east and west coast of Florida.  He described Tampa Bay as a body of water well suited for large ships and which could supply them from the surrounding countryside.  County Seat:  Tampa

 

1842      Companies B, K, and part of Company G of the 2nd U. S. Infantry, commanded by Major Joseph Plympton, were attacked today at Haw Creek, a branch of the Wahoo Swamp.  One enlisted man was killed and two others wounded.  Two Seminole warriors were captured.

 

1849      The City of Tampa was incorporated today.

 

1851      John Beard was sworn into office as Florida’s Comptroller today.

 

1895      James J. Corbett knocked out Charley Mitchell to retain his heavyweight boxing title in a bout fought in Jacksonville today.  The fight lasted three rounds.

 

1963      Flagler College, located in the old Ponce de Leon Hotel built by Henry Flagler, was chartered today in St. Augustine.

 

1984      NASA scientists and engineers were delighted with President Ronald Reagan’s announcement today that he fully endorsed the development of a permanently manned U.S. space station.  The development of such a space station would mean hundreds of new jobs at the Cape Canaveral launch facility in Brevard County.

 

 

1767      Rollestown, a Utopian community for the poor of London, was settled today near San Mateo by Denys Rolle and forty English immigrants.

 

1827      Steamboat travel on the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle. 

 

1828      The steamboat Fannie arrived in Columbus, Georgia, today on a journey that began at the mouth of the Apalachicola.

 

1836      Calhoun County, named for John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, was established today.  County Seat:  Blountstown

 

1861      The Marion Artillery of St. Augustine announced today that it had fortified Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos) with several 32 pounders and 8 inch howitzers.

 

1862      The U.S.S. Sagamore left its moorings at St. Vincent’s Island and moved further up the channel of Apalachicola Bay.

 

1943      The formal commissioning of the Amphibious Training Base at Fort Pierce took place today at 10:00 a.m. when Captain C. Gulbranson, USN, read the orders from the U.S. Department of the Navy.

 

1962      The U.S. rocket, Ranger 3, launched from Cape Canaveral  strayed from its project path today and missed its target, the moon, by 20,000 miles.

 

1965      The body of State Treasurer J. Edwin Larson, how died in office, was on public display in the Capitol rotunda in Tallahassee in order to give his many friends and supporters and opportunity to bid him farewell. 

 

 

1862      Brigadier General Samuel Jones has been assigned to command the Army of Pensacola relieving General Braxton E. Bragg.

 

1864      Union General Alexander Asboth, in command of Federal forces at Pensacola, reported that 1,200 Confederates were encamped at nearby Pollard.  He also reported that two companies of Confederate cavalry were camped at the head of Choctawhatchee Bay.

 

1865      Lieutenant Charles A. French of the U.S.S. Ino captured an unknown ship with a cargo of cotton and sugar today on the Manatee River.

 

1939      In order to help Florida citrus growers avert a complete financial collapse, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nathan Mayo urges the universal adoption of a standard minimum selling price of thirty-two cents a box.

 

1949      WTVJ in Miami began operations today as Florida’s first broadcast television station with special authorization granted by the Federal Communications Commission.

 

1967      Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire during a test firing of the first version of the Apollo spacecraft.  NASA officials said an electrical spark must have ignited the pure oxygen inside the cabin of the Apollo spacecraft as the three astronauts were seated in the cabin.  The fire broke out at 6:31 p.m. as the Saturn rocket, which carried the spacecraft, sat on launching pad 34.  Because the entire procedure was a test firing, the gantry remained in place and blocked the emergency escape system.  Unable to escape, the astronauts perished.

 

1992      Aileen Wournos, one of the rare female serial killers, was convicted of killing three male motorists along Florida highways in 1990.

 

 

1831      Today the name of the West Point community was changed to Apalachicola.

 

1861      Former U. S. Senator David Levy Yulee informed Stephen Mallory that the Federal warship, U.S.S. Brooklyn, was bound for Fort Pickens with two companies of soldier aboard.  Mallory immediately informed friends in the Union capital that Confederate forces would not attack as long as conditions did not change.  When this information was passed along to outgoing President James Buchanan, he ordered the troops be kept aboard the ship and not landed.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Sagamore captured and destroyed the British blockade runner, Elizabeth, today at the mouth of Jupiter Inlet.

 

1864      The U. S. schooner, Beauregard, captured the British blockade-runner Racer about ten miles north of Cape Canaveral.  The English vessel had left New Smyrna bound for Nassau with a cargo of cotton. 

 

1864      The British steamer Rosita was captured today by the U.S. Army transport steamer Western  Metropolis about eighty miles out of Key West.  The Rosita was carrying a cargo of liquor, cigars, and assorted merchandise.

 

1878      The reading room of the Jacksonville Young Christian Association was opened today.

 

1885      The Florida legislature approved the incorporation of the City of Ocala today.

 

1902      H. Clay Crawford took the oath of office today for the position of Florida Secretary of State. 

 

1927      WMBR Radio, originally chartered in Tampa, began broadcasting today in Jacksonville.

 

1958      The United States Air Force successfully tested its Thor missile today at Cape Canaveral.

 

1965      Broward Williams took the oath of office today as the Treasurer of Florida.

 

1986      The Space shuttle Challenger exploded after launch from Cape Canaveral today killing all seven astronauts aboard. 

      The Challenger, which was scheduled to liftoff at 9:38 a.m., was kept on the launch pad for two hours because unusually low temperatures at Cape Canaveral caused ice to form on the shuttle and ground support system.  At 11:38 a.m., the shuttle lifted off flawlessly from the pad.  When the space vehicle had achieved an altitude of ten miles and immediately prior to the full ignition of the main engines, the shuttle exploded in a ball of fire that was visible throughout the State of Florida. 

      Killed in the explosion were:

         Francis R. Scobee

         Michael J. Smith

         Judith A. Resnick

         Ronald E. McNair

         Ellison S. Onizuka

         Gregory B. Jarvis

         Christa McAulliffe

 

 

 

1862      The U.S. Storeship Supply captured the Confederate schooner Stephen Hart south of Sarasota with a cargo of arms and ammunition. 

 

1864      Governor John Milton informs General Pierre Beauregard, commanding the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, that Confederate army deserters were organizing themselves into bands in the state.  The areas of the strongest groups were in LaFayette, Washington, Walton, Taylor and Levy counties in West Florida.  They deserters were also operating in strong bands from Tampa to Fort Myers in Southwest Florida. 

 

1865      The 34th U. S. Colored Troops have been transferred to Florida.

 

1885      Frederick Delius, later a world-renowned composer, celebrated his 23rd birthday at Solano Grover (St. Johns County), during a short stay in Florida.

 

1995      Super Bowl XXIX  held in Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami.

 

SOME FLORIDA FACTS:

   Cyrus Teed, founder of the Koreshan Unity Movement, taught his followers that humans resided on the inside of the earth.  Teed, who assumed the name, “Koresh,” [Persian for “Lion”] organized his followers into a utopian commune, which was located at present day Estero in Lee County.  Teed, who espoused equal rights for women, envisioned his commune at Estero as the future center of the world’s commercial, political, and religious activities.  In his writings, he prophesied the rise of a “New Jerusalem” which would be home to 10 million residents, and which would be built in a minimum of 10 stories.  Each story would be segregated by the type and weight of transportation used.

   Teed died in 1908 as a result of wound incurred during a fight with political opponents on the streets of Fort Myers.  His followers, confident that he would come back from the dead, refused to bury him until forced to do so by a health inspector for Lee County.  Teed’s body was placed in a mausoleum on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and guarded 24 hours a day.  In 1921, a hurricane destroyed the mausoleum and Teed’s body was lost.  Because the community practiced celibacy, the number of member gradually diminished.  In 1961, the few remaining adherents gave the State of Florida 305 acres of land for use as a state park.

 

 

1561      Governor of Pensacola Tristan de Luna was relieved of his command by Spanish authorities following his unsuccessful administration of the newly created colony.

 

1838      Chief Osceola. a leader of the Seminole Indians, died at Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina.

 

1862      The U.S.S. Kingfisher captured the blockade runner Teresita today in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. 

 

1862      General J. H. Trapier, in command of Confederate forces in Florida, reported that he had the following number of men under his command:

 

      Infantry:  133 officers, 1,994 enlisted men

      Cavalry:  46 officers, 1,080 enlisted men

      Artillery:  6 officer, 89 enlisted men

 

1943      Baseball player and manager Davey Johnson was born in Orlando today.

 

1964      A Ranger spacecraft was launched today from Cape Canaveral.  The Ranger, carrying six television cameras, was aimed at the moon.  It was hoped that the spacecraft would transmit valuable pictures back to Earth to help with the planning of the American manned moon-landing attempt later in the decade.

 

 

1831      The Bank of Pensacola was formed today.

 

1863      Confederate authorities reported that in the District of East Florida, there were 810 men and officers on duty, while the District of Middle Florida had a total of 751 men and officers.

 

1881      Eleazer K. Foster assumed the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction today in Tallahassee. 

 

1891      The grand Tampa Bay Hotel opened for guests today.  A grand ball would be held on February 5.

 

1897      The citizens of the  community of Lakemont considered changing its name today to “Frostproof” after being spared serious damage to citrus crops during two consecutive hard freezes.  The formal incorporation of the community as “Frostproof” occurred on August 8, 1914.

 

1951      Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band was born in Hialeah.

 

1958      The first American satellite, Explorer I, was placed into orbit today by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency from Cape Canaveral aboard a Jupiter C rocket.

 

1961      Ham, America’s first astrochimp, was shot into space today in an 18 minute flight that reached an altitude of 150 miles.  Ham’s flight in the Mercury capsule was a preliminary test before the launching of a human into orbit.

 

1971                 Apollo 14 was successfully launched today at Cape Canaveral. 

02, February in Florida History

 

1840                        Members of the 7th U.S. Infantry, under the command of Captain H. H. Holmes, were attacked by Seminole warriors near Fort Number 5 [?].  One enlisted man was killed and two wounded.

 

1861      Two companies of Confederate volunteers have been assigned to guard the Chattahoochee Arsenal, while some 1,500 Confederate troops from Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama were encamped at Pensacola Bay.  Several batteries have been set up facing Forts Pickens, Barrancas and McRee.

 

1862      A Union gunboat anchored near the St. marks Lighthouse today and began to shell the salt works near there.  The Confederate gunboat Spray moved into the area and exchanged shots with the Federal boat.  Elsewhere, the schooner Isabel  was captured today in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast by the U.S.S. Montgomery.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Tahoma captured the British schooner Margaret near St. Petersburg.  A second Union ship, the U.S.S. Hendrick Hudson assisted in the capture.  In other action, the U.S.S. Stars and Stripes bombarded a Confederate encampment at Long Bar near St. Marks today.  A Confederate steamer was also fired on by the Union ship.

 

1881      Henry A. L’Engle was sworn into office today as Florida’s Treasurer. 

 

1882      The Jewish Reform Synagogue, Congregation Ahavath Chesed was founded today in Jacksonville.  Mayor Morris A. Dzialinski was the first president.

 

1920      The North Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America was chartered today in Jacksonville.  The first Scout troop was chartered in Jacksonville in 1910.

 

1929      The Edward W. Bok Singing Tower and Bird Sanctuary in Lake Wales was dedicated today by President and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge.  Governor Doyle E. Carlton also participated.

 

1939      The Gulfstream Park race Track at Hallandale opened for its first thoroughbred racing meeting.

 

1946      Guitarist Howard Bellamy was born in Darby, Florida, today.

 

1958      The United States launched its first space satellite into orbit around the Earth today.  The 30.8 pound Explorer satellite was put into orbit by a Jupiter-C rocket that lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 10:48 a.m.

 

1959      Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 motor race today.

 

1961      The Strategic Air Command launched the first solid-fuel rocket, Minuteman, today from the Eastern Test range facilities (Cape Canaveral).  The rocket was a multi-stage rocket that successfully fired all stages.

 

 

1831      The Bank of St. Augustine was chartered today.

 

1841      Madison Court House, the name originally given to present day Madison, was incorporated today.

 

1861      Governor Madison Starke Perry addressed a request to the Florida Legislature to reorganize and strengthen the Florida militia in order to protect the state against a possible Union attack.

 

1862      The Confederate War Department in Richmond today requisitioned two-and-one-half war regiments from the State of Florida for service in the Confederate Army.

 

1863      A Federal naval officer on a reconnaissance mission on the Indian River reported the discovery of several packages and 41 sacks of salt in a cache near Jupiter Inlet.  He destroyed them all.

 

1864      Federal Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, commander of the Department of the South, requests the support of two or three gunboats for a planned occupation on the west bank of the St. Johns River. 

 

1865      Confederate Major General Sam Jones assumed command of the District of Florida today.  At sea, the U.S.S. Pinola captured the British blockade runner, Ben Willis, in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast,  The Willis carried a cargo of cotton for British textile mills.

 

1892      Citizens in St. Petersburg voted 15-11 today to seek incorporation of that city.

 

1901      Fort Pierce, named for General Benjamin K. Pierce, brother of President Franklin Pierce, was incorporated today. 

 

1914      Lieutenant J. H. Towers and Ensign G. Chevalier made the first flight from the Pensacola Aeronautical Station today.  The twenty minute flight covered the military reservation and Bayou Grande.

 

1951      Snow began to fall in north and central Florida today.  Crescent City and St. Augustine were receiving the heaviest amounts.

 

1986      NASA, continuing its investigation of the January 28 explosion of the Shuttle Challenger, today revealed that the shuttle’s solid fuel rocket boosters were not equipped with an adequate warning system.

 

 

1768      Dr. Andrew Turnbull arrived in Minorca today to begin the recruitment of 1,400 Greek, Minorcan, Italian, French and Corsican settlers for his planned colony at New Smyrna.

 

1862      The Confederate steamer Florida had reportedly successfully eluded Federal ships blockading the coast of Florida and was safely at sea. 

 

1862      The annual meeting of the stockholders of the Union Bank of Florida was held today in the bank’s offices in Tallahassee.

 

1864      Governor John Milton, planning to leave Tallahassee, received a telegram today warning him that about 100 deserters have organized to capture him and turn him over to the Federal ships blockading the Gulf Coast. 

 

1865      The British schooner John Hale , flying the English colors, was captured today near St. marks by the Union schooner Matthew Vassar.  The Hale’s cargo consisted of lead, rope, blankets, and shelter covers.  Union officers suspect that the Hale’s crew had thrown arms and ammunition overboard prior to capture.

 

1926      The first broadcast of Pensacola’s WCOA Radio was piped to the assembled crowd in Plaza Ferdinand.

 

1951      Snow continued to fall today in north and central Florida.  Trace amounts were found as far south as Lakeland.  Crescent City and St. Augustine have received two inches of the “white rain.”

 

1984      The Space Shuttle Challenger (STS 41-b) was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral today.  The Challenger carried five astronauts.

 

1994      Mission STS-60  (the space shuttle) was launched today from Cape Canaveral.

 

 

1832      Columbia County, the state’s 16th county,  was created by the Florida Legislature today.  The county was named for the poetic name of the United States.  County Seat:  Lake City

 

1836      Dade County, Florida’s 19th county, was created by the Legislature today.  The county was named in honor of Major Francis Langhorne Dade, United States Army, who, along with 106 men, perished today in an Seminole Indian ambush near present-day Bushnell.  Dade County was the most populous county in the state.  County Seat:  Miami

 

1861      Delegates from Florida join with delegates from Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana today in Montgomery, Alabama, to organize the provisional government of the Confederate States of America.

 

1863      A crew for the U.S.S. Sagamore today captured the Confederate schooner Pride near the Indian River Narrows.  The Pride’s cargo of 188 bushels of salt and its crew were captured.

 

1864      A boat from the Federal schooner, Beauregard, sent to Jupiter Inlet to look for blockade runners today captured the Confederate boat Lydia, which was on her way to the Inlet from Sand Point.  The Lydia was carrying two bales of cotton and five barrels of turpentine.

 

1864      Union General Quincy A. Gillmore continued preparations for his attack on the west bank of the St. Johns River.  Federal Brigadier General Truman Seymour was ordered to load his troops on ships in preparation for a rendezvous with other Union units at the mouth of the St. Johns.

 

1897      Duncan U. Fletcher was elected the president of the Jacksonville Bar Association today.

 

1931      Sir Malcolm Campbell set a ground speed record of 245 mph today at Daytona Beach. 

 

1945      The18th Engineering Battalion, United States Army, arrives at the United States Naval Amphibious Training Base in Fort Pierce.  The unit, which has been reassigned to Fort Pierce, has just completed 32 months of duty in the Yukon.

 

 

1861      The Florida Senate approves a bill to incorporate the town of Monticello in Jefferson County. 

 

1862      The U.S.S. Keystone State captured the British blockade runner, Mars, off the coast at Fernandina.  The Mars was carrying a cargo of salt. 

 

1864      The U.S.S. DeSoto today captured the Confederate blockade runner Cumberland  in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Cumberland, a 700-ton steamer, was carrying a cargo of guns and ammunition, including 100 barrels of gunpowder.

 

1912      J. C. Luning was installed as Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture today.  He would hold this post for a mere 14 days.

 

1926      The City of Miami Shores was incorporated today.  Originally settled in 1905 as Arch Creek Farms, the town later became known as the City of North Miami.

 

1940      The first papers of incorporation of Barry College were filed today.  Barry College is located in Miami. 

 

 

1845      The first session of the Florida Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church met in Tallahassee today.

 

1870      Governor Harrison Reed  received the news that his impeachment and removal for office had been recommended by a state legislative committee.  This was the third of four unsuccessful attempts to remove the Republican chief executive.

 

1875       Four thousand acres were purchased today from the state Internal Improvement Department today.  This acreage became the site of the City of orange City, which was started in 1876 with the sale of housing lots to prospective residents.

 

1897      Millard Fillmore Caldwell, 29th governor of Florida (1945-1949), was born today in his parent’s home near Knoxville, Tennessee.  He attended Carson-Newman College, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Virginia.  Caldwell came to Florida in 1924.  In 1929, he was elected to represent Santa Rosa County in the Florida House of Representatives.  In 1933, he was elected to the U.S. House of representatives from Florida’s 3rd District.  In 1941, he retired to private law practice.  In 1944, he was elected governor.  His administration was considered very progressive.  In 1962, Caldwell was appointed a Justice, Supreme Court of Florida.  He was elected for a full term that same year.  In 1967, he was elected Chief Justice.  Caldwell retired in 1969.  He died in Tallahassee on October 23, 1984.

 

1900      Eugene V. Debs, the leader of the Socialist Party of the United States, gave a lecture to some 55,000 persons today at Tampa’s Court House Plaza.

 

1907      Maas Brothers department Stores were incorporated today.  originally founded by Abe Maas on Franklin Street in Tampa in October 1886, Maas Brother’s became a statewide chain of stores by the 1960s. 

 

1956      Florida’s first Jordan-Marsh department Store opened at 1501 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami today.

 

 

1806      The United States Senate approved a secret appropriations of $2 million to be used for the possible purchase of Florida.

 

1863      Federal naval authorities report the destruction of two casks of sperm oil, 47 sacks of salt, and one boat sail near Jupiter Inlet.  These materials were presumed to be Confederate stores.

 

1864      Union troops under General Truman A. Seymour landed at Jacksonville.  This was the fourth occupation of the city by a Union army.  The troops were to be used in a major Federal push into the center of the Sunshine State, a push that would culminate with the Battle of Olustee on February 20.  Many of the African-American troops in the Union force were former free blacks and runaway slaves from the north Florida area.

 

1864      The Confederate steamer St. Mary’s, trapped in McGirt’s Creek above Jacksonville, was sunk by  the U.S.S. Norwich.  The steamer’s cargo of cotton was destroyed to prevent capture by Union forces.

 

1893      The first edition of the Tampa Evening Times published.

 

1969      Diane Crump became the first female jockey in thoroughbred racing when she raced at Hialeah.

 

1979      Gwen Sawyer Cherry, the first African-American woman to serve in the Florida Legislature, was killed today in a one-car accident in Tallahassee.  Born in 1923, Ms. Cherry received her law degree from FAMU, where she taught classes.  She was first elected in 1970 to represent Dade County in the House of Representatives.

 

 

1571      Father John Baptist Segura, Vice-Provincial of Catholic [Jesuit] missions in Florida, and eleven companions were killed today at their mission on the Rappahannock River near the Chesapeake Bay.  This was part of the plan of Pedro Menendez de Aviles to explore the land north of present-day Florida to find the northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean and the Far East.  As a result of this episode, the Jesuits abandoned their attempts to convert Florida Native Americans to Catholicism in 1572.

 

1832      The Territorial Legislature of Florida repealed an anti-dueling law, which again made it legal for gentlemen to settle their differences through personal combat.

 

1832      The Merchants and Planters Bank of Magnolia was incorporated today.

 

1832      Franklin County, Florida’s 17th county, was established today.  The county was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.  County Seat:  Apalachicola

 

1837      Lieutenant Colonel William T. Harney and his small force were attacked today at Camp Monroe by some 200 Seminole Indians led by King Philip and Coacoochee.  The U.S. Army lost 1 officer killed and eleven enlisted men wounded before the attack was beaten off.  Captain Charles Mellon of the 2nd United States Artillery was the officer killed.  The name of the encampment was changed from Camp Monroe to Fort Mellon to honor this fallen hero.

 

1861      LaVilla Institute and the College of St. Augustine were incorporated today.

 

1861      Baker County, the state’s 38th county, was established today.  The county was named in honor of James McNair Baker (1822-1892, Confederate States Senator and Judge of the 4th Judicial District in Florida.  County Seat:  MacClenny  

 

1861      Polk County, Florida’s 39th county, was established today.  Named in honor of James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States (1845-1849).  County Seat:  Bartow

 

1861      The Confederate Constitution has been approved by the delegates to the Convention in Montgomery, Alabama, and has been submitted to the Southern states for their approval.

 

1913      The Colonial Dames Club of Tampa was organized today.

 

1957      Vanna White, whose fame rests on her ability to turn selected letters on the game-show “Wheel of Fortune,” was born today in Miami.

 

1958      The Daytona Beach International Speedway Corporation was organized today.

 

 

1837      Captain George W. Allen and Company K of the 4th United States Infantry were attacked today near Clear River by Seminole Indians.  One U. S. officer was killed in the skirmish.

 

1838      General Thomas S. Jesup, the commander of United States troops in Florida, reported that in his opinion “...the prospect of terminating this [Seminole] war in any reasonable time is anything but flattering.  My decided opinion is that unless immediate emigration be abandoned, this war will continue for years to come, and at constantly accumulating expense.”  Jesup proposed that the area west of the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee, and Panai-Okee and east of Pease Creek and south to the extreme end of Florida be set aside for the Seminoles.  The Secretary of War did not approve this plan, and some 500 Seminoles, who had entered Jesup’s camp on the strength of this recommendation, were seized and transported to Tampa for the purpose of removal to the West.

 

1861      The steamer Everglade today unloaded its cargo of 1,500 muskets at Fernandina.  The muskets were from the Charleston Arsenal.

 

1861      The U.S.S. Brooklyn arrived off Pensacola today with troops to support the Union occupation force at Fort Pickens.  The troops were not off loaded as both Union and Florida forces maintain an uneasy peace in the area.

 

1861      Jefferson Davis of Mississippi has been elected Provisional President of the Confederate States of America.  Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, an opponent of secession, has been elected Vice-President.

 

1863      The Quincy extension of the Pensacola and Georgia Railroad began operations today.  The train trip from Quincy to Tallahassee took only two hours.  The train continued to its terminus at Lake City.

 

1864      The Union gunboat Para sailed thirty miles up the Nassau River today, shelling the woods along both sides of the river and taking an inventory of several lumbering plants.

 

1864      The 97th Pennsylvania, a Federal force encamped at Fernandina, today raided the surrounding area and captured a small force of Confederates in a nearby swamp.

 

1864      Union forces today occupied Baldwin (about 19 miles west of Jacksonville) and captured cotton, artillery pieces, a train of cars, and enough forage for 1,000 men in the field for four days.

 

1864      A small skirmish occurred between Confederate cavalry units and Federal forces at the south fork of the St. Marys River.  The Union forces successfully forded the river and captured the village of Sanderson, some thirty miles west of Jacksonville.  Retreating Confederate forces set fire to supplies of cotton, corn, and turpentine.

 

1915      The Subtropical Mid-Winter Fair, which was inaugurated by a parade of 150 horse and automobile-drawn floats, opened today in Orlando.

 

1942      The first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded in World War II was presented posthumously to Sandy Nittinger of Fort Lauderdale.

 

1967      Today marked the beginning of what would eventually become a record 768 consecutive days of sunshine in the Sunshine State.

 

1973      The first measurable snow since 1958 cover a portion of the Sunshine State.  Pensacola reported two inches. DeFuniak Springs and Quincy reported similar amounts.  Trace amounts were reported as far south as Clermont.  Unofficial reported put the accumulated total of 6 to 8 inches at Jay.

 

 

1831      The City of Monticello was incorporated today.

 

1834        The Tallahassee Railroad Company was incorporated today.  This railroad, utilizing “mule power,” stretched from Tallahassee to Port Leon (near St. Marks), a total of 22 miles.

 

1836      General Edmund P. Gaines, whose command of the U. S. Western Military Department included part of Florida, arrived today at Fort Brooke with six companies of the 4th  U.S. Infantry and a regiment of Louisiana Volunteers.

 

1864      Union forces today encountered Confederate outposts a few miles east of Lake City.  The Federal troops captured about 20 Confederates and destroyed almost $1 million in property.  Federal forces lost 5 men killed and 10 wounded.

 

1899      Electric street lights brought daylight to nighttime as Avenue B and 12th Street in Miami were illuminated by artificial means. 

 

 

1832      The City of Jacksonville was incorporated today by the Territorial Legislature.

 

1863      Colonel J. S. Morgan of the 90th Regiment of New York Volunteers, headquartered at Key West,  today issued an order that “All white persons residing within the limits of this command having husbands, sons or brothers in Rebel employment, or who have at any time declined taking the oath of allegiance to the U.S. Government were hereby required to transport in person at these headquarters on or before Tuesday, the 17th instant, and register their names.”

 

1883      The Leesburg Methodist Church was dedicated today.

 

1894      Henry Flagler opened his “Royal Ponciana Hotel” today in Palm Beach.  The “Ponciana” was the world’s largest wooden resort hotel.  [Some argue that the “Belleview,” built by Henry Plant on the West Coast, deserved this distinction.  The “Belleview” is still in operation and certainly holds undisputed claim to the title today.”]

 

1920      Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr., the first African-American to achieve four-star rank in the armed forces of the United States, was born in Pensacola.

 

1984      The first landing of a space shuttle at Kennedy Space Center [Cape Canaveral] occurred today.

 

1984      Responding to pressure from South Florida’s conservative Cuban population, the Reagan Administration announced today that Cuban aliens will be granted residency status in the United States.  Haitian refugees were denied the same treatment.

 

1993      Janet Reno, Chief State Prosecutor of Dade County, was nominated to become the first female U.S. Attorney General by President Bill Clinton.

 

 

1842      One American officer and one enlisted man were killed today in a confrontation between Seminole Indians and Company H of the 8th U.S. Infantry at Wahoo Swamp.

 

1861      The reverend A. D. Pellicer, formerly a resident of Sr. Augustine, rendered the opening prayer for the opening of the Confederate Congress.

 

1864      Federal forces commanded by Brigadier General Truman Seymour have concentrated at Baldwin in preparation for a major push westward into the heart of Florida.

 

1887      The City of Tarpon Springs was incorporated today.

 

1894      The oldest Florida chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded today in Jacksonville. 

 

1899      Tallahassee recorded a temperature of -2 degrees F today.  This is thought to be the lowest temperature ever reached in Florida.  This was also the date of the greatest snowfall on record for the Sunshine State, as well as the greatest southern extension of snow.  Four inches were reported at Lake Butler, 3.5 inches at Marianna, 3 inches at Lake City, and trace amounts as far south as Fort Myers, Avon Park, and Titusville.

 

1903      Edward Waters College, one of Florida’s oldest colleges for African-Americans, was re-chartered in Jacksonville today.

 

1963      A Northwest Orient Airlines plane crashed in stormy weather north of Miami today.  Forty-three persons were killed.

 

 

 

1778      The American Continental Congress received a proposal from the State of Georgia to launch an invasion of British East Florida with American forces led by Major general Howe.

 

1831      The City of Fernandina [Beach] was re-incorporated today.  The city had first been incorporated on January 1, 1825.

 

1864      Confederate forces under the command of General Joseph Finegan have concentrated at Camp Beauregard near Olustee on ocean Pond.  General Finegan selected the position because of the protection offered by two small lakes.  It was also the location of the major road and railroad into the interior of the state.  Confederate soldiers have started the task of building entrenchments and fortifications.  It appears a major battle will be fought on or near this spot.

 

1912      The first meeting of a Rotary Club in Florida was held today in Jacksonville.

 

1958      Tallahassee residents awakened to discover that the city had received a record 2.8 inches of snow today.  Snow extended south to the 30-degree latitude.

 

 

1839      Fort Lauderdale was occupied as a military outpost by Company K, U.S. Artillery, today.

 

1850      Fort Harvie on the Caloosahatchee River was ordered re-activated today.  The fort was re-named in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Abraham C. Myers.

 

1861      The Florida Legislature today incorporated the Alachua County railroad Company and authorized it to raised $200,000 in capital to construct a railroad from Waldo to Newnansville.

 

1892      Three inches of snow was reported today at Pensacola, while Tallahassee reported two inches.  Lake City reported an accumulation of one inch, while Leesburg reported a trace.

 

1940      Attractions operators, tourists, and marine scientists were delighted when the first porpoise to be born in captivity was born at Marineland, south of St. Augustine.

 

1962      Former Governor Millard Fillmore Caldwell appointed to service as a Justice, Florida Supreme Court.

 

 

1883      The first issue of the Halifax Journal , Daytona’s first newspaper, was printed today.

 

1898      The U.S.S. Maine exploded today in Havana Harbor and set into motion the events leading up to the Spanish-American War.  More than 250 men were killed and some 50 wounded.  The wounded were transferred to hospital facilities in Key West.

 

1904      W.H. Ellis assumed the office of Attorney General of Florida today.

 

1933      President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt narrowly escaped an assassination attempt tonight following a speech in Miami’s Bay Front Park.  As he sat in his car, five shots rang out, wounding Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, who was standing on the running board of the car.  Four other persons were also wounded.  Mayor Cermak was, it was feared, fatally wounded.

      The would-be assassin, Guiseppe Zangara of Hackensack, New Jersey, was wrestled to the ground by a policeman and hustled off to jail.  His only statement was “I’d kill every president.”  Hidden in his clothing was a newspaper clipping describing the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901.  Zangara was eventually put to death by the electric chair in Raiford Prison.

 

1936      The State of Florida acquired its first parcel of land for the Gold Head Branch State Park near Keystone Heights.

 

1981      Richard Petty wins the Daytona 500 for the seventh time.

 

 

1861      The British consul at Pensacola throws down the gauntlet to challenge the possible blockade of the Confederate States of America when he issues clearance papers for a ship carrying a cargo of cotton for British textile mills.

 

1864      Federal forces withdraw from Gainesville following a skirmish with Confederate cavalry under the command of Captain J.J. Dickison.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Para escorted Federal troops up the St. Mary’s River to Woodstock Mills, Florida, to obtain lumber.  The Para engaged Confederate troops along the river bank.  Union transports successfully loaded a large amount of lumber and began to withdraw down the river. 

 

1911      St. Cloud, originally established as a community for veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic [Union] was incorporated today.

 

1919      The State of Florida Board of health reported that 3,007 Floridians had perished in the first three months of great influenza outbreak that swept the world immediately following World War I.  Other killers were Tuberculosis (288); Malaria (50); Dysentery (41); Typhoid (37); Pellagra (36); and Diphtheria (32).

 

1965      The first Pegasus satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral today.  The purpose of the Pegasus was to study meteoroids and other potential hazards that might be encountered by the Apollo missions. 

 

 

 

1845      The “Preacher’s Aid Society of the Florida Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church” was chartered by the Territorial Legislature.

 

1862      Federal naval forces on duty in the Gulf of Mexico today attacked the home of Abel Miranda on the Pinellas Peninsula (Tampa Bay), destroying citrus trees and livestock.  Sailors then confiscated supplies of bacon, corn, syrup and potatoes and carried them off to their base on Egmont Key.

 

1864      A boat expedition from the U.S.S. Tahoma destroyed a large salt works near St. Marks.  A large quantity of salt was also destroyed.

 

1865      The U.S.S. Mahaska captured the schooner Delia off the coast of Bayport, Florida, and seized its cargo of pig lead and sabers.

 

1884      The First Presbyterian Church of Eustis was chartered today.

 

1912      W. V. Knott assumed the office of Comptroller of the State of Florida today.

 

1959      The first boy was enrolled at Florida Sheriffs’ Ranch near Live Oak.  The ranch, founded in 1957, was created to serve as a home for non-delinquent dependent, homeless and/or neglected boys between the ages of eight and seventeen years of age.

 

1959      Olympic Gold Medal freestyle winner Ambrose “Rowdy” Gaines was born today in Winter Haven. 

 

 

1842      Colonel William J. Worth reported that only 300 Seminoles were left in Florida and that it was impossible for the U.S. Army to capture or kill them all.  He recommended to his superiors in the War Department that a peace treaty be made with them.  They agree and Worth, on August 14, declares the Seminole War at an end.

 

1842      Santa Rosa County, Florida’s twenty-first county, was established today.  Named for Santa Rosa Island, which in turn was named for St. Rosa de Viterbo, a Catholic saint.  During Emperor Frederick II’s war against Pope Gregory IX, Rose, then 12 years old, preached against submission and obedience to the emperor.  As a result her family was banished.  County Seat:  Milton

 

1861      Jefferson Davis of Mississippi took the oath of office as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.  Among the military companies firing cannon salutes for President Davis were troops bound for Pensacola.

 

1862      The Federal gunboat, Ethan Allen, entered Clearwater harbor today and captured the schooner Spitfire and the sloops Atlanta and Caroline.

 

1879      The City of Orange Park was incorporated today.

 

1967      Governor Claude Kirk, Jr., wed Miss Erika Mattefeld today in West Palm Beach.  It was the second marriage for Governor Kirk.

 

1973      Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 today.

 

1979      Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 today as the race leaders were involved in a major crash on the last lap of the race. 

 

 

1821       The United States Senate gave its approval to the Adams-Onis Treaty today.  Under the terms of this transcontinental treaty, Spain ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for the elimination of approximately $5 million in outstanding financial obligations. 

 

1825      The Florida Intelligencer, Tallahassee’s first newspaper, began operations today.

 

1885      E. S. Crill assumed the office of Treasurer of Florida today.

 

1889      Dade County voters approved the relocation of the county seat from Miami to Juno.

 

1912      J.C. Luning, who had assumed the office of Florida Commissioner of Agriculture on February 5, left office today, having served a total of 14 days.

 

 

1839      A “Memorial of the People of the Territory of Florida” asking for the admission of the Territory as a state of the Union was introduced in the U.S. House of representatives today.

 

1839      Two soldiers of Detachment K, 3rd United States Artillery, were killed by Seminoles today while chopping wood near Fort Lauderdale. 

 

1862      A company of volunteers from Leon County were mustered into Confederate service today with Richmond N. Gardner as captain.

 

1864      The largest Civil War battle to take place in the State of Florida occurred today at Ocean Pond/Olustee.  Union and Confederate forces were about evenly matched with 5,500 soldiers each.  The Confederates, under the command of general Joseph J. Finegan, had prepared defenses in the area (see citation for February 13).  The failure of the Union commander, General Truman Seymour,  to commit his forces in concert and as a whole gave the Confederates a strategic advantage.  At the end of the day, the Confederates controlled the battlefield and Federal forces were in a hasty retreat toward Jacksonville and the safety of the guns of the Union navy.

 

Union Casualties:  203 killed, 152 wounded, 506 missing.  Confederate casualties:  93 killed, 847 wounded, 6 missing.  Union losses of material:  400 accouterment sets, 130,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, 1,600 small arms, five cannons.

 

1865      The Battle of Fort Myers, the southernmost land battle of the Civil War, took place today.  With no clear winner, both Union and Confederate commanders claimed victory.

 

1877      The Titusville Star-Advocate began publication in New Smyrna Beach today as The Florida Star.

 

1883      The Village Improvement Association, Florida’s first Woman’s Club, was organized today at Green Cove Springs.

 

1889      The Florida State Board of Health was created by the Florida Legislature today following the Yellow Fever epidemic that swept through Jacksonville.

 

1900      The Miami Board of Trade, the forerunner of the Miami Chamber of Commerce, was organized today.

 

1927      Sidney Pottier, the Oscar-winning actor, was born today in Miami.

 

1962      Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr., became the first American to orbit the Earth in his Mercury spaceship, Friendship 7.  Glenn, enclosed in the Friendship 7 high atop an Atlas rocket, was hurled into space at 9:47 a.m.  The rocket placed the Mercury capsule in orbit 99 miles above the surface of the Earth.  The launch came after ten separate delays caused by bad weather conditions and technical glitches to equipment.  The Mercury made three full orbits of the Earth and landed in the Atlantic at 2:43 p.m.  Hundreds of thousands of Floridians lined the beaches of the East Coast to catch a glimpse of this historic event.

 

 

1861      Stephen R. Mallory of Florida was appointed Secretary of the Confederate States Navy today by President Jefferson Davis.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Para today captured the small Confederate steamer Hard Times on the St. Marys River.

 

1865      Confederate forces launched an unsuccessful attack against Union forces at Fort Myers.  Nine Federal prisoners were seized, one Union soldier killed, and some livestock was seized.

 

1884      Albert J. Russell assumed the office of Florida Superintendent of Public Instruction today.

 

1895      The Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs was organized at Green Cove Springs today.

 

1949      Mary McLeod Bethune was granted the first honorary degree given by a Southern white college to an African-American woman by Rollins College (Winter Park) today.

 

 

1819      The Adams-Onis Treaty was formally signed today.  Spain ceded Florida to the United States. 

 

1836      General Edmund P. Gaines arrived at Ft. King with six companies of the 4th U.S. Infantry and a regiment of Louisiana Volunteers. 

 

1862      Jefferson Davis was inaugurated today as the first regular, non-provisional president of the Confederacy.

 

1862      Command of the Federal Department of Florida was assumed by Brigadier General Lewis G. Arnold.

 

1863      Boat crews from the U.S.S. Gem of the Sea moved up the Indian River narrows today, discovering several places where cotton had been stored and a shipyard.

 

1885      The incorporation of the City of Chipley ratified by the Florida legislature.

 

1958      John Wellborn Martin, the 24th governor of Florida (1925-1929), died today in Jacksonville.  Martin was born in Plainfield in Marion County on June 21, 1884.  Admitted to the bar in 1914, he practiced in Jacksonville.  He was a three-time mayor of that city (1917-1924).  As governor during the Florida “Boom,” Martin embraced a number of progressive reforms, including the construction of major highways, the direct financing of public schools through legislative appropriations, and the furnishing of free textbooks for students above the 6th grade.  He was subsequently defeated for the Democratic nomination for U. S. Senator (1928) and for the party’s nomination for governor (1932).  In the 1940s, Martin was a co-receiver and subsequently the trustee for the Florida East Coast Railroad.

 

1959      The first “Daytona 500” race, with a purse of $19,000, was won today by Lee Petty of Randleman, N.C.  Petty averaged 135.42 mph in his 1959 Oldsmobile.  Johnny Beauchamp of Harlan, Iowa, finished second in a 1959 Ford Thunderbird.  Petty’s win was disputed as the two men finished neck-and-neck in a photo finish.

 

 

1839      The Episcopal Congregation of St. Johns in Jacksonville was incorporated today.

 

1844      The City of Milton was incorporated today.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Gem of the Sea today captured the Confederate steamer Charm about five miles up the St. Sebastian River.

 

1864      The 4th Florida Infantry regiment was consolidated today with the 1st Florida Cavalry, Dismounted, in winter quarters at Dalton, Georgia.  The consolidation was needed after both units suffered tremendous losses in fighting at Missionary Ridge, Tennessee.

 

1865      A Federal expedition under the command of General John Newton sailed from Key West today for the west coast of Florida.  St. Marks was believed to be the destination of this amphibious force.

 

1958      The last race on the old Daytona Beach race track was held today.

 

1971      Fight fans were surprised when Mohammed Ali sparred ten rounds today in Miami without saying a single word.

 

1840      John Warren of Duval County submitted his resignation today as the first president of the Territorial Legislative Council.  That body has a membership of eleven men.

 

1862      The U.S.S. Harriet Lane captured the Confederate schooner Joanna Ward off the coast of Florida today.  The Harriett Lane was commanded by Lieutenant Jonathan M. Wainwright, the grandfather of General Jonathan M. Wainwright who was forced to surrender Bataan to the Japanese in World War II.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Tahoma today captured the Confederate schooner Stonewall near Key West.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Nita pursued a Confederate steamer, the Nan-Nan, in the Suwanee River today.  When it appeared that capture was inevitable, the Confederate crew set fire to the vessel.  The Nan-Nan was carrying a cargo of about sixty bales of cotton and was armed with a six-pounder cannon and plenty of ammunition.

 

1865      The Federal expedition under the command of General John Newton reached Punta Rassa today.  It immediately departed for Cedar Key late in the afternoon.

 

 

1862      The U.S.S. Mohican and the U.S.S. Bienville captured the British blockade runner Arrow off the coast of Fernandina today.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Roebuck seized the blockade running British sloop Two Brothers in Indian River, Florida.  The British ship was carrying a cargo of salt, liquor and nails.

 

1885       The Immanuel Lutheran Church of Pensacola was organized today.

 

1953      Daniel Thomas McCarty, the 31st governor of Florida (1953), suffered a disabling heart attack today in Tallahassee.  McCarty died on September 28, 1953.  Charley Eugene Johns of Starke became Acting Governor and served from September 28, 1953 until January 4, 1955, when LeRoy Collins of Tallahassee, who had been elected to serve the remainder of McCarty’s term, took the oath of office.

 

1958      St. Johns River Community College opened at Palatka today.

 

1964      Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) defeated Heavyweight Boxing Champion Sonny Liston today at Miami beach.  This was Clay/Ali’s first heavyweight title.

 

 

1862      The U.S.S. Bienville captured the schooner Alert off St. John’s, Florida, today.

 

1864      A boat expedition from the U.S.S. Tahoma destroyed a large salt works on Goose Creek, near St. Marks. 

 

1865      The U.S.S. Marigold captured a British blockade runner with an assorted cargo in the Straights of Florida between Havana and Key West.

 

1946      More than 17,000 persons watched as Winston Churchill received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Miami in Orange Bowl ceremonies today.

 

1956      Following the end of the NASCAR Grand National, a private car race was held on the main street of Daytona Beach.  When police intervened and stopped the race, the onlookers, mostly teenagers, began a five-hour riot that ultimately involved about 3,000 teenagers.  Numerous stores were looted and many cars overturned.

 

1980      The Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant was shut down following a spill of radioactive water.

 

 

1827      Webbville Academy, the first academy established under the auspices of the Methodist Church in Florida, was incorporated today near Marianna.

 

1840      The City of Jasper was incorporated today.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Roebuck seized the British blockade-running schooner Nina with a cargo of liquors and coffee at Indian River Inlet.  The Roebuck also captured the schooner Rebel with a cargo of salt, liquor and cotton at Indian River Inlet.

 

1964      The Cross-Florida Barge Canal, envisioned as a short-cut across the Florida Peninsula since the late 1800s and approved by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was re-started by President Lyndon Baines Johnson near Palatka.  This 185-mile canal was never finished.

 

 

1823      Joshua N. Glenn, the first Methodist preacher assigned to serve exclusively in Florida, was appointed minister to St. Augustine.

 

1839      Seminole Indians attacked Detachment I of the 2nd U.S. Infantry near Fort Miami today.  Captain S. L. Russell was killed. 

 

1862      Confederate General Samuel Jones assumed command of the Department of Alabama and West Florida from General Braxton E. Bragg.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Sagamore arrived at Mosquito Inlet today to investigate reported of a Confederate schooner being loaded with cotton for England.  The commander of the Sagamore, fearing hidden Confederate gun emplacement, lobbed shells into the inlet in the hope that the Confederates would burn the ship to prevent its capture.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Clyde arrived at Cedar Key to take on coal.

 

1865      Armed boats for the U.S.S. Honeysuckle forced the blockade running British schooner Sort aground on a reef near the mouth of Crystal River, Florida, where she was abandoned.  Sort was the same schooner captured in December 1864 by the U.S.S. O. H. Lee.

 

1865      The Federal amphibious force under the command of General John Newton arrived off Ocklockonee Buoy (near St. Marks Bar) today.  Confederate scout report that 13 Federal steam ships and three sailing vessels have rendezvoused there in preparation for a land invasion.

 

1884      The first issue of the Palatka “Daily News” was published today.

 

1909      Panama City was incorporated as a town today.

 

1988      Daredevil Todd Seeley jumped his motorcycle 246 feet from ramp to ramp in a World of Wheels show at Tampa.

 

LEAP YEAR SPECIALS!

FEBRUARY 29

 

1836      General Edmund P. Gaines and his troops were pinned down by more than 1,000 Seminole warriors during a ten-day siege at Camp Izard on the Withlacoochee River, near present-day Dunnellon.  The siege would eventually become so critical that the U.S. troops were forced to kill their horses for food.

 

1848      The Florida legislature petitioned the U.S. Congress for a grant of land to erect a courthouse in Tampa.

 

1892      Sculptor Augusta Christine Savage was born in Green Cove Springs today.

03, March in Florida History

 

1861      Construction of the first cross-peninsula railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key was completed today.  David Levy Yulee, United States Senator from Florida, was the driving force behind this railroad.  Although used very little because of the outbreak of the War between the States in April, the railroad made Cedar Key a major urban site in the immediate postwar years.  (See Charles Fishburne, History of Cedar Key)

 

1864      The U.S.S. Roebuck  seized the blockade-running British steamer Lauretta off the Indian River Inlet today.  The Lauretta was carrying a cargo of salt.

 

1901      W. V. Knott assumed the office of Treasurer of the State of Florida today.

 

1920      The Independent Life and Accident Insurance Company was chartered today.  The home offices of the firm were located in Jacksonville.

 

1934      Primo Canera beat Tommy Loughran in a heavyweight title bout in Miami.

 

 

1840      The Presbyterian Congregation of Jacksonville was established today.

 

1841      Company K of the 2nd United States Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant William Alburtis, today fought two engagements with the Seminoles at Orange Creek bridge, near Fort Brooke.  The American causalities were 3 enlisted men killed, 1 enlisted man missing and presumed killed, and 6 enlisted men wounded.  The Seminole force number between 70 and 100, while the American force consisted of only about 20 men.

 

1861      John B. Galbraith assumed the office of Florida Attorney General today. 

 

1863      Forces from the Federal gunboat Sagamore attempted to capture the Confederate blockade-runner Florence Nightingale as it was loading a cargo of cotton in Mosquito Inlet near New Smyrna.  The Sagamore shelled the area from its position at sea and then sent men on barges to capture the ship.  The captain of the Nightingale set fire to the ship to prevent its capture.  Confederate forces on land repelled the Federal boarding crews.  The fire on the blockade runner were then extinguished, and the Nightingale successfully put to sea despite having lost its main mast and most of its provisions.

 

1864      Confederate General Pierre Beauregard arrived at Camp Milton on McGirt’s Creek.  He was seeking to organize three infantry brigades under General J. J. Finegan and Alfred H. Colquitt, a cavalry brigade under Colonel Robert H. Anderson, and an artillery brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Charles Colquitt Jones. 

 

1865      In an effort to avoid capture by the U.S.S. Fox, the crew of the blockade runner Rob Rey ran her ashore and set fire to her in Deadman’s Bay.  The cargo removed from the blazing ship by the crew of the Fox consisted of cavalry sabers and farm implements.

 

1900      The first organizational meeting of the Florida Audubon Society was held today in Maitland.  The Society’s immediate purpose was to stop the slaughter of the hundreds of thousands of Florida’s plume birds for the sole purpose of providing decorations to the latest hats worn by women. 

 

1936      Halsted L. Ritter of Miami, Judge of the U. S. Court for the Southern District of Florida, was impeached  today.  He was accused of a variety of judicial improprieties.  He was convicted by a vote of 56-28 in the United States Senate on the charge of bringing the court into disrepute.  He was found innocent of six additional charges.

 

1959      Today was the final day Florida orange growers were allowed to used a coal-tar-based orange dye to enhance the appearance of Florida oranges.  Traditionally, citrus growers had immersed oranges in vats of this dye to make them  uniformly bright orange.

 

1972      The United States today launched the Pioneer 10 spacecraft on its voyage to the planet Jupiter.  The Pioneer 10 will come with 100,000 miles of the planet for four days before traveling to the edge of the solar system.  The Pioneer 10 carries a record containing greetings from Earth and information about our planet directed toward any extraterrestrial beings that might intercept it in space.

 

1991      Disney World unveiled the world’s largest cylindrical sundial today in ceremonies in Orlando.

 

 

1783      British refugees from the newly established United States of America and British military officers in St. Augustine were treated to benefit performances of “The Beau Stratagem” and “Miss in Her Teens” by the local theatrical groups.  British officers were awaiting the final transfer of military and civil authority to the Spanish.

 

1821      East and West Florida were unified under the control of General Andrew Jackson today.

 

1836      Surrounded by Seminole warriors at camp Izard and unable to be re-supplied, General Edmund P. Gaines ordered his men to kill their horses and mules for food.

 

1841      The United States Congress appropriated $1,061,816 for the prosecution of the Second Seminole War and ordered a vigorous prosecution of hostilities. 

 

1845      Florida was admitted into the United States as the twenty-seventh state today.  President John Tyler signed the act of admission.

 

1862      United States naval forces, under the command of Flag Officer Samuel DuPont, today reported that they had control of Cumberland Island and Sound, Fernandina and Amelia Island, and the river and town of St. Mary’s.”  Fort Clinch on Amelia Island was occupied by forces from the U.S.S. Ottawa and became the first Confederate fort to be re-taken by Union forces.  The Federal navy also captured the Confederate steamer Darlington with a cargo of military supplies.  Confederate forces retreated inland, carrying their heavy guns. 

 

1865      The U.S.S. Honeysuckle captured the blockade runner Phantom as she attempted to enter the Suwannee River.  The Phantom was carrying a cargo of liquors and bar iron.

 

1865      A Federal naval squadron of twelve steamers and four sloops, commanded by Commander R. W. Shufeldt, today joined Federal army troops commanded by Brigadier General John Newton in an  assault on St. Marks Fort below Tallahassee.  Although the attack on the fort was unsuccessful, Federal ship succeeded in blockading the mouth of the St. Mark’s River.  Confederate officials anticipate that this was the opening gambit in a campaign to capture Tallahassee.

 

1905      The Tallahassee “Democrat” was founded today.

 

1926      The International Greyhound Racing Association was formed today in Miami.  The purpose of the Association was to establish standards for the sport.

 

1969      At Cape Canaveral, NASA launched Apollo 9 in its first test of the lunar module.

 

 

1823      Richard Keith Call assumed the position of Florida Territorial Representative in the United States House of Representatives today.

 

1824      On this date, Tallahassee officially became the capital of Florida.  Governor William Pope Duval, the first Territorial Governor, issued the proclamation.

 

1841      Company D of the 2nd United States Infantry, under the command of Captain E. K. Barnum, engaged in battle with a group of Seminoles today on the Ocklawaha River.  Two American enlisted men were wounded.  Seminole casualties were unknown.

 

1857      Units of the United State 4th Artillery and 5th Infantry were attacked today by Seminoles near Big Cypress Swamp.  The American casualties were 12 enlisted men killed, six enlisted men wounded, and one officer, a Lieutenant Freeman, wounded.  Seminole casualties were not determined. 

 

1861      Floridian Stephen R. Mallory was confirmed by the Confederate Congress as the Secretary of the Navy.  Tow of Florida’s Representatives, Jackson Morton and James B. Owens, vehemently oppose his confirmation.

 

1862      The Federal ship, U.S.S. Santiago de Cuba captured the sloop, O.K., of the coast near Cedar Keys today.  While being taken to St. Mark’s, the O.K. floundered.

 

1863      The U.S.S. James S. Chambers seized the blockade-running Spanish sloop Relampago and schooner Ida today.  The Ida, beached at Sanibel Island, could not escape and was destroyed by a crew from the Chambers.

 

1865      The Federal flotilla recently assembled and which assaulted St. Mark’s yesterday landed 1,000 Union troops near St. Mark’s lighthouse.  The troops prepared to move inland.  In Tallahassee, Confederate authorities were hastily assembling whatever forces they can muster to stave off the anticipated attack on the capital city. 

 

1871      Josiah T. Walls, a Virginia-born African-American, was sworn into office today to begin his five-year tenure as a member of the United States House of representatives from Florida.

 

1886      S. W. Prichard of Haines City was elected the first president of the Florida State Teachers’s Association at its meeting in DeFuniak Springs.  The FSTA was later re-named the Florida Education Association.

 

1929      Ruth Bryan Owen began the first of her two terms in the United States House of Representatives from Florida’s Fourth Congressional District.

 

1972      Although the Florida House of Representatives approved the Equal Rights Amendment by a vote of 84-3, it was not considered in the Florida Senate.

 

 

1823      Four companies of United States troops from Pensacola landed in Tampa Bay today to establish Fort Brooke.  The City of Tampa grew up around this fort.

 

1856      Collection and exchange operations at Florida’s oldest bank--the Lewis State Bank--were started today in Tallahassee.  The bank was formed by Tallahassee resident B. C. Lewis.

 

1862      The U.S.S. Water Witch today captured the schooner William Malley off St. Andrew’s Bay.

 

1864      Confederate cavalry hero Captain J. J. Dickinson was today ordered to proceed with his men to Palatka and to place himself under the command of the commanding officer of the 4th Florida Cavalry Regiment. 

 

1865      Federal forces have occupied the left bank of the St. Mark’s River as far inland as Newport.  Federal commander General John Newton was expected to move his forces toward Natural Bridge.  Federal success here will mean that Tallahassee will fall.  Confederate forces were moving to prevent the successful passage of the Union force.

 

1889      The Pensacola “News,” the forerunner of the Pensacola “News-Journal,” was founded today.

 

1966      The Dallas Cowboys’ receiver Michael Irvin was born today in Fort Lauderdale.

 

 

1836      As Osceola and a band of his followers were negotiating with General Edmund P. Gaines at Fort Izard, General Duncan Clinch approached with troops and, unaware that a parley was going on, fired on the Seminoles, dispersing their numbers.

 

1837      Peace treaty signed by Jumper, Holalatoochee (Davy), Yaholoochee (Cloud), Hoeth-lee-mat-tee and John Ca-wy-ya, Seminole chieftains, at Fort Drane.  Terms specified that all hostilities would cease immediately and that the followers of these individuals would be send to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma).  Within a few days, some 700 Seminoles were gathered near Fort Brooke (Tampa) in preparation for departure.

 

1861      The Palatka Guards, a volunteer detachment of about 300 men, leaves for Fernandina as ordered by Governor Madison Starke Perry.

 

1861      Braxton E. Bragg, a Mississippi planter, West Point graduate, and Mexican War Veteran, was named to command the Confederate forces in Pensacola.  He was a Brigadier general.

 

1862      The U.S.S. Pursuit today captured the schooner Anna Belle off Apalachicola.

 

1865      The Federal attempt to capture Tallahassee was thwarted today by a motley collection of Confederate troops, soldiers on leave or recuperating from medical problems, and cadets from the West Florida Seminary (now Florida State University), at Natural Bridge, about twenty miles south of the city.  Despite a considerable numerical advantage, the Federal troops could not overcome the Confederates’ use of natural defenses to reach the city.  Following the failure of this Union attempt, Federal troops withdrew to St. Marks.  Tallahassee remained the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi to escape capture and occupation by Union forces during the Civil War. 

      Two Federal efforts to cross natural Bridge were repelled this morning.  When Confederate reinforcement arrived, Union commander ordered their troops to retreat to the safety of the naval vessels at anchor near St. Mark’s lighthouse.  Federal losses in the Battle of natural Bridge were put at 21 killed, 89 wounded, and 38 missing.  Confederate authorities reported 3 killed, 22 wounded, and none missing.

      (For more information on the Battle of Natural Bridge, see the Winter 1999 issue of  “The Florida Historical Quarterly.” 

 

1933      Chicago mayor Anton Cermak died of wounds inflicted when an assassin attempted to kill President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on February 15 in Miami. 

 

1947      Dick Pope, Jr., became the first known person to water ski barefoot on Lake Eloise at Cypress Gardens.

 

 

1935      Sir Malcolm Campbell set a world speed record of 276 mph today on the sand at Daytona Beach.  Campbell’s car, the “Bluebird,” produced 2,500 horsepower and cost an estimated $200,000.  More than 50,000 spectators watched as Campbell established the record.

 

1862      The mayor of Jacksonville today issued a proclamation urging citizens of that city to stay in their homes and to pursue their normal vocations in the face of an anticipated Federal assault on the city.  Confederate authorities have informed the mayor that they will make no effort to defend Jacksonville. 

 

1865      The Federal flotilla at anchor off St. Mark’s lighthouse today weighed anchor and sailed away.  The Union attempt to seize Tallahassee was an abject failure.  The expedition lost a total of 148 men killed, wounded or missing.

 

1982      The Salvador Dali Museum opened in St. Petersburg today.

 

 

1861      The “Charleston Mercury” reported that Confederate Representatives in Congress James B. Owens and Jackson Morton continued their attack on Florida’s Stephen Mallory, the new Confederate Secretary of the Navy, for being a self-seeker and of having shown “bad faith toward Florida, his native state.”  Mallory was still officially a member of the United States Senate, a position that he would continue to occupy until the Senate officially accepted his resignation, which it did on March 11.

 

1862      This afternoon a Federal force of several ships and a transport with the 4th New Hampshire Infantry aboard left Fernandina for the St. Johns River.  They were joined by forces from Port Royal, South Carolina, under the command of Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson.

 

1862      The U.S.S. Sagamore today captured the sloop Enterprise, which had left the Mosquito Inlet for Nassau with a cargo of cotton. 

 

1864      Union General Truman Seymour asks for artillery reinforcements for Jacksonville to ensure that the city will not be taken.  He reported that Confederate forces have moved to King’s Road and were also in the Six-Mile/cedar Creek area.

 

1865      Union forces left Jacksonville yesterday for an expedition into Marion County.  Their progress westward continued today and has largely been unimpeded by Florida Confederate troops.

 

1894      First annual camp meeting held in Tampa by the Seventh Day Adventists.

 

 

1836      General Duncan Clinch took command of U.S. troops in Florida from General Edmund P. Gaines.  Gaines then proceeds to Tallahassee and to the western frontier from that city. 

 

1844      Miami was designated by the Florida Legislature as the seat of Dade County.

 

1861      Governor Madison Starke Perry received the first Confederate requisition of Florida troops from Secretary of the Army L. Pope Walker.

 

1922      Florida State Board of Health concludes a rat “proofing” campaign in Pensacola that confined an outbreak of bubonic plague to that city. 

 

1936      Sidney Johnston Catts, 22nd governor of Florida (1917-1921) died today at his home in DeFuniak Springs.  [For more information, see entries for July 31 and January 2]

 

1955      Ballet dancer and choreographer Bujones Fernando was born today in Miami.

 

1966      The Florida Legislature approved a plan for reapportionment of the Legislature with a 117-member House of representatives and a 48-member Senate.  The plan was rejected by the United States Supreme Court after the November 1966 state elections.

 

1986      U.S. Navy divers find the crew compartment of the ill-fated Challenger space shuttle, which exploded immediately after take-off on January 28, 1986.  The compartment contains the remains of the dead astronauts.

 

1999      Joe DiMaggio, the famous “Yankee Clipper,” died today at his home in Hollywood, Florida.  DiMaggio, whose 56 game hitting streak in 1941 was a major league record, played thirteen years for the New York Yankees.  He was a three-time MVP of the American League and played in 9 World Series.  Of these, the Yankees won seven.  DiMaggio’s career was cut short somewhat by a three-year stint in the military during World War II.  He was “the most complete baseball player that ever played the game,” according to former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodger Tommy LaSorda.

 

 

1836      As General Duncan Clinch leads U. S. Troops to Fort Drane, his column comes under sustained attacks by Seminole warriors today and tomorrow.

 

1845      Levy County, Florida’s 26th county, was created today by the Florida legislature.  The county was named in honor of David Levy Yulee, prominent politician, statesman, and railroad entrepreneur.  Levy owned a 5,000 acre plantation on the Homosassa River, where he grew sugar cane and produced sugar.  Levy was the first United States Senator to represent the new state of Florida.  County Seat:  Bronson

 

1862      Federal naval forces under Lieutenant T. H. Stevens temporarily occupied Jacksonville today. 

 

1862       St. Augustine has been evacuated by two companies of Confederate troops that had been stationed there.  A Federal invasion was considered likely to happen within the next twenty-four hours.

 

1863      A Federal force, made up primarily of African-American troops, reoccupied Jacksonville today.  It was opposed unsuccessfully by the Florida 2nd Cavalry and the Florida 2nd Infantry Battalion, which retreated in the face of a bombardment from Federal gunboats.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Gem of the Sea today captured the sloop Petee, which was attempting to run the blockade at Indian River Inlet with a cargo of salt.

 

1864      Union forces occupied Palatka this morning without opposition.  Although they did not oppose the occupation of the city, Confederate forces were reported on the outskirts of the town.  Federal forces were concerned about the location of small river steamers used to transport troops and supplies along the St. Johns River.

 

1909      LeRoy Collins, the 33rd governor of Florida (1955-1961), was born today in Tallahassee.  [For more information, see entry for January 4.]

 

1984      The streets of Miami erupted in riots today when the news came that a Hispanic policeman had been acquitted in the slaying of an African-American.

 

 

1843      Wakulla County, Florida’s 23rd county, was created today by the Florida Territorial Legislature. The county took its name from the famous Wakulla Springs, which are nearby.  The exact meaning of the word “Wakulla” was unknown, although it was thought to be of Timucuan origin and probably refers to “springs of water.”  County Seat:  Crawfordville

 

1861      General Braxton E. Bragg arrives in Pensacola and relieves Major General William H. Chase of his command of all Confederate troops in or near the city. 

 

1862      The U.S.S. Wabash landed today in St. Augustine.  The ship’s commander, C. R. P. Rodgers, negotiates with city leaders and occupies Fort Marion and the city.  There was no opposition.

 

1862      Two Confederate gunboats under construction in Pensacola Bay have been burned to prevent their capture by Federal naval forces.

 

1863      Confederate forces attacked Union positions in Jacksonville today and forced the Federal soldiers to retreat to their gunboats.  Confederate forces penetrated the city as far as the Judson House Square before retreating.  Confederate losses were placed at one man, lost or killed.

 

1864      Federal naval forces report a great deal of activity today and the capture of several blockade runner.  The U.S.S. San Jacinto reported the capture of a schooner with a cargo of turpentine and 132 bales of cotton in the Gulf of Mexico, while the U.S.S. Beauregard reported the capture of the British sloop Hannah off the coast of Mosquito Inlet.  The commander of the Beauregard, acting in concert with the Federal schooner, Norfolk Packet, pursued the British schooner, Linda, up the Indian River Inlet.  Although Union forces were forced to take to the shore when they boat was grounded, the Linda, lowered its sails and surrendered after shots were fired.  The British vessel was destined for new Smyrna with a cargo of salt, liquors, coffee, and dry goods.

 

1869      Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was imprisoned in Fort Jefferson in Florida’s Dry Tortuguas, was released today after being pardoned by President Andrew Johnson.  Mudd had been convicted of being part of the conspiracy to kill Federal President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.  Mudd set the broken leg of actor John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Lincoln.  There were serious doubts about his participation in the conspiracy in 1865 and practically no one today believes that Mudd was in any way connected to the conspiracy.  Dr. Mudd was a distant relative of noted television correspondent, Roger Mudd.

 

1870      The Catholic diocese of St. Augustine was formally established today.  The Very Reverend Jean-Pierre Augustin Marcellin Verot was installed as the first bishop.

 

1873      St. Luke’s Hospital, the oldest continuously operating hospital in Florida, opened today in Jacksonville with two rooms and four beds.

 

1882      The City of DeLand was incorporated today.

 

1921      The Florida Branch of the national Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Association met today in Jacksonville.  Mrs. Arthur G. Cummer was elected president.

 

1929      Major Seagraves established a new automobile speed record today at Daytona Beach.  He reached an average speed of 223.2 miles-per-hour in a 450 horse powered Golden Arrow.

 

 

1812      The Territory of East Florida was declared to be in existence today on Amelia Island.

 

1849      Colonel Robert E. Lee completed and filed the “Report of the Board of Engineers Upon Their Examination of the West and East Coast of Florida, from Pensacola Harbor to Amelia Island” with the Chief of Engineers, United States Army.  The “Report” made recommendations for the establishment of military reservations along the coast.  Lee, who was the Recorder for the Board, filed his final report on March 14, 1849.

 

1863      According to Confederate pickets outside Jacksonville, Federal forces occupying the city were reinforced by the arrival of two Union gunboats today.

 

1968      In Miami, gunmen hijack a National Airlines DC-8 and force the crew to fly it to Havana.

 

 

1863      The U.S.S. Huntsville today seized the British blockade runner Surprise off the mouth of Charlotte Harbor.  The Surprise was bound for Havana with a cargo of cotton.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Columbine, operating in support of Union troops moving up the St. Johns River, today captured the Confederate steamer General Sumter on Lake George.  The Sumter was carrying passengers to the Ocklawaha.

 

1864      Union forces reported a combined Confederate force of cavalry, infantry, and artillery was moving about six miles inland from the town of Palatka.

 

1974      Death penalty advocates in Florida joined other advocates around the United States as the U.S. Senate prepared to vote today on the restoration of the death penalty.  When the vote came, it was 54-33 in favor of restoration.

 

1992      Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker were divorced in Tallahassee today following Jim’s conviction and imprisonment for defrauding contributors to his “Praise the Lord” television ministry.

 

1993      Twenty-six persons were killed today in a storm that covered the whole East Coast of Florida.

 

 

1844      Marion County, Florida’s 24th county, was created today by the Florida Territorial Legislature.   The name of the county honors Revolutionary War hero, General Francis Marion, known as the “Swamp Fox.”  Many of the county’s earliest settlers came from South Carolina. County Seat:  Ocala

 

1844      Brevard County, Florida’s 25th county,  was created today by the Florida Territorial Legislature. The county was most probably named for Theodore Washington Brevard, a Florida politician who served from 1853-1861 as the State Comptroller.  The county was originally named St. Lucie County, but the name was changed to Brevard County on January 6, 1855.  St. Lucie County was restored to the map in 1905, when another county was created and given that name.   County Seat:  Titusville

 

1903      Pelican Island National Wildlife refuge, located in the Indian River Lagoon, became the first national refuge today.  President Theodore Roosevelt authorized the creation of the refuge following a visit to the area.  Rodney Kreigel became the first game warden for the refuge.

 

1950      Disk jockey and talk-show host Rick Dees was born today in Jacksonville. 

 

1961      Floyd Patterson knocked out Ingemar Johansson in the sixth round of a heavyweight championship match in Miami Beach.

 

 

1831      Edward Aylsworth Perry, the 14th governor of Florida (1885-1889), was born today in Richmond, Massachusetts.  Perry attended Yale, taught school briefly in Alabama, and took up residence in Pensacola, where he practiced law.  Joining the Confederate Army as a private, he rose to the rank of Brigadier General.  His administration as governor was marked by the adoption of a new State Constitution and by the creation of the State Board of Education to advance public schools.  After his tenure as governor, Perry returned to Pensacola where he died on October 15, 1889.

 

1840      Seminole warriors attacked a unit of the 7th United States Infantry near Fort Drane today.  The unit, commanded by Lieutenant W. K. Hanson, suffered one enlisted man wounded.  No record exists of Seminole casualties. 

 

1863      Confederate intelligence reported indicated the presence of three Federal regiments in Jacksonville, two made up of white soldiers and one of Negroes.  These reported also indicate the presence of four to five gunboats with 25-30 heavy guns.  These guns were capable of providing artillery fire for the Federal land forces throughout the city.

 

1864      Confederate Major General Patton Anderson, the Confederate commander in Florida, today issued Special Order 8, which calls for the impressment of 700 slaves for the purpose of constructing defenses against the Federal forces now occupying Jacksonville.

 

1911      William Dunnington Bloxham, the 13th (1881-1885) and 17th (1897-1901) governor of Florida (1881-1885), died today in Tallahassee.  Bloxham was born in Leon County in 1835.  Although he graduated with a law degree from William and Mary College, he was a planter.  During the Civil War, he commanded an infantry company.  [For more information see the entry for January 5]

 

1960      The Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve was established today.

 

 

1836      General Richard Keith Call was nominated as the Third Territorial Governor of Florida by President Andrew Jackson.

 

1862      The U.S.S. Oswasco captured two Confederate schooners in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.  The Eugenia and the President were carrying cargoes of cotton.  In Richmond, the Confederate Congress passed a resolution urging that no cotton be planted in the Confederacy this year.  The purpose of this resolution was to put pressure of British textile manufacturers to force the British government to officially recognize the Confederacy.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Octorara today reported the capture of two blockade runners, the Rosalie and the Five Brothers off the east coast of Florida.

 

1864      The 48th New York Volunteer Infantry, part of the Federal force occupying Palatka, was attacked today by a small force of Confederate cavalry.  Two federal soldiers were captured.

 

1865      The U.S.S. Pursuit captured the British schooner Mary today as the British ship attempted to run the blockade at Indian River.

 

1910      Barney Oldfield established a new land speed record of 131.7 miles-per-hour at Daytona Beach today.

 

1952      The first 12-hour endurance race at Sebring was won today at 1:00 a.m. by Larry Kulok and Harry Gray.  The two men won by piloting a Frazier-Nash built and owned by Duke Donaldson for 145 laps.

 

1981      The American public was informed by news media sources that the United State government had established training facilities for members of the Nicaraguan “Contra” organization in the Everglades near Miami.

 

*****TODAY IS ST. PATRICK’S DAY!*****

 

1812      Fernandina was surrendered today by Spanish soldiers to General John H. McIntosh’s “patriots” of the Republic of Florida, who were accompanied by an American naval squadron and United States Army troops.

 

1828      Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat was admitted to the practice of law today in Tallahassee.  Murat, the Crown Prince of Naples, was a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, the deposed Emperor of France.

 

1864      Federal forces occupying Palatka continue to experience probes by Confederate cavalry units as they anxiously await the arrival of the Union gunboat, Ottawa, whose weapons will provide protection for the land forces.

 

1946      Jackie Robinson, newly acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers, played his first exhibition game with the major league team today in Daytona Beach.

 

1958      Vanguard I, the first rocket in the Vanguard series, achieved orbit today with a 3.5 pound satellite aboard.  The rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral.

 

1969      Today marked the end of a streak of 768 consecutive days of sunshine in Florida.

 

 

1854      William Pope DuVal, the first Territorial governor of Florida (1822-1834), died today in Washington, D.C.  DuVal was born in Virginia in 1784.  His father was an associate of Patrick Henry and was active in the Revolutionary War.  William Pope DuVal migrated to Bardstown, Kentucky, when he was only 14 years of age.  There he studied law and was admitted to the bar when he was 19. He served as a captain of the mounted rangers in the War of 1812.  He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1813 until 1815.  In 1815, President James Monroe appointed him to the position of Territorial Judge.  In 1822, President Monroe appointed him Territorial governor.  Presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson reappointed him.  Duval County was named in his honor.

 

1874      Marcellus Lovejoy Stearns, who was only 34 years of age, assumed the office of Governor of Florida (acting) today following the death of Governor Ossian Bingley Hart.  Stearns became the 11th governor (1874-1877) of the state.  He was born in Lovell, Maine, and came to Florida as a member of the Freedman’s Bureau after having lost an arm while on duty with the Union Army.  Stationed in Quincy (the Panhandle), Stearns remained in Gadsden County following his release from military service.  He served in the 1868 Constitutional Convention as  Gadsden County’s representative in Florida’s lower house from 1868 until 1872.  From 1869 until 1872, he was Speaker.  In 1869, he was appointed by President U. S. Grant to the position of United States Surveyor-General of Florida, a position he held until 1873.  Elected Lieutenant Governor in 1872, he succeeded to the chief executive’s chair on the death of Hat.  Stearns was defeated when he sought a regular term as governor in 1876.  In 1877, he was appointed a United States Commissioner at Hot Springs, Arkansas.  He held that position until 1880.  Stearns died on December 8, 1891, and was buried at Lovell, Maine.

 

1874      Ossian Bingley Hart, the 10th governor of Florida (1873-1874), died of pneumonia today in Jacksonville.  Hart, a Republican, was an attorney who had opposed secession.  [For more information, see the entry for January 7]

 

1925      Fire destroyed the famous Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach today.  At the time of the fire, the Breakers was thought to be the largest wooden structure in the world.

 

1963      The United States Supreme Court significantly altered American jurisprudence today when it ruled on the case of Clarence Earl Gideon, a resident of Panama City, who was imprisoned at the Florida State Prison.  Gideon sued for release on the grounds that he had not been provided with the services of an attorney.  The Supreme Court agreed with his contention that such legal representation should be furnished any indigent defendant.  Gideon was released and retried.  With the help of a court-appointed lawyer, he was acquitted in the second trial.

 

 

1823      United States Secretary of War John C. Calhoun ordered the creation of a road between St. Augustine and St. Mary’s.  Calhoun also ordered a survey for a road between St. Augustine and Pensacola.

 

1843      Tallahassee residents participated in a Presbyterian-led revival that lasted for tow weeks.  Many older church members pledged themselves to renew their memberships while scores of new members were recruited.  This was part of the nationwide revival movement.

 

1862      General J. H. Trapier was relieved of command of the Confederate Department of Florida today.  He was replaced temporarily  by Colonel W. S. Dilworth.  Trapier was ordered to report for duty on the staff of General Albert Sydney Johnston.

 

1865      Florida troops were fighting under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston at Bentonville, North Carolina, in an effort to prevent Federal General William T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant from linking their armies together.  Florida units include the 3rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Regiment, and the 7th Infantry Regiment.

 

1883      United States Army General Joseph Warren “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell was born today in Palatka.

 

1981      One technician was killed and two were injured on tests on the space shuttle Columbia at cape Canaveral today.

 

1982      Guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed in an airplane crash at Orlando today.

 

 

1565      Pedro Menendez de Aviles was named Adelantado, Governor and Captain-General of Florida, today by the King of Spain.

 

1839      Captain McKay of Company E, 2nd United States Infantry, was wounded in a clash with Seminole warrior today near Etonia Scrub.  McKay eventually died of his wound.

 

1863      Confederate and Federal forces clashed today in a minor skirmish at St. Andrew’s Bay.

 

1864      The U.S.S. Tioga captured the Confederate sloop Swallow off Florida’s east coast today.  The sloop had a cargo of cotton, rosin, and tobacco and was bound for Nassau.  Twelve Confederates were captured.

 

1872      The section of railroad between Quincy and River Junction (Chattahoochee) was completed today as part of the Jacksonville, Pensacola, and Mobile Railroad.

 

1895      The City of Newberry was incorporated today.

 

1914      The Jacksonville chapter of the American Red Cross, the first such chapter in the state, was organized today.

 

1933      Guiseppe Zangara, the assassin of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, was executed today. [For more information, see entry for February 15]

 

1964      Two Cuban hi-jackers land at commandeered Cuban military helicopter at Key West today and ask for political asylum.

 

 

1949      WTVJ-TV, Miami’s first television station, aired its first broadcast today.

 

1953      Robert Johnson, the drummer with “KC and the Sunshine Band,” was born today in Miami.

 

1953      Governor David Scholtz, the 26th governor of Florida (1933-1937) died today in the Florida Keys.  [See entry for October 6 for more information.]

 

1965      NASA launched Ranger 9 today from Cape “Kennedy.”  This was the last of the ranger series of lunar exploration space probes.

 

1972      An USAF B-52, with seven crew people on board, crashed into a residential section of Orlando today.

 

 

1851      The Constitution of the Southern Rights Association of Centreville District, and outgrowth of the secessionist movement inherent in the Crisis of 1850-51, was published in Tallahassee today.

 

1862      Two Federal gunboats, the Penquin and the Henry Andrew, operating in the area around New Smyrna, today attacked Confederate salt works near Mosquito Inlet.

 

1865      Theodore W. Brevard, in command of the 11th Florida Infantry and Bonaud’s Battalion, was commissioned a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army.  Brevard was a prominent Florida politician who had served as the Comptroller of the State from 1855-1860.  He also served from April 3, 1854 until November 27, 1854 in the same position.

 

1889      Dr. Joseph Y. Porter of Key West was worn in today as the first Florida State Health Officer.

 

1931      A fire destroyed some nineteen houses and the St. Andrews Bay Lumber Company today.  The damage was estimated a nearly $100,000.

 

1941      Pan American Airways and the University of Miami began teaching a navigation course today.  The course, sponsored by the United States Army, included ten British pilots.  This course would eventually be taught to more than 1200 British students during World War II.  Civilian instructors allowed the United States to assist its ally Great Britain while maintaining the facade of neutrality. 

 

1982      The space shuttle Columbia was launched on its third flight today from Cape Canaveral. 

 

1993      Cleveland Indians pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews were killed when their boat crashed into a pier on Little Lake Nellie near Clermont.  Crews, who was driving the boat, was legally drunk.

 

 

1862      The federal gunboats Penquin and Henry Andrews attempted to land forces at New Smyrna today.  Units of the 3rd Florida Infantry refused to allow them to land.  The commanders of the two ships were killed, along with three enlisted men.  The Confederate forces suffered no losses.

 

1862      A landing party from the Federal ship, the U.S.S. Mercedita, went ashore at Apalachicola today.  They discovered that the town had been abandoned by Confederate forces.

 

1863      The Federal ship U.S.S. Arizona captured the Confederate sloop Aurelia off Mosquito Inlet today.  The Confederate ship had a cargo of 60 bales of cotton and was bound for Nassau.

 

1927      Miami's Eaton Greene of Monticello was appointed to the Florida Railroad Commission today by Governor John W. Martin.  Mrs. Greene replaced her husband, R. L. “Bob” Eaton, who had died.  Mrs. Eaton subsequently remarried. 

 

1964      More than 200 persons were arrested in Jacksonville today as race riots swept through the city.  One African-American woman was killed and one white reporter severely beaten.  Mayor Haydon Burns refused to call in the National Guard or to instruct his police force to take drastic action to curtail the rioting.

 

1986      Trevor Berbick defeated Pinkton Thomas for the WBC heavyweight boxing title in Miami.

 

1991      The town of Manatee held the greatest egg hunt ever staged in the United States today.  Forty thousand children hunted more than 120,000 plastic and candy eggs.

 

 

1840      Two enlisted men of the 7th United States Infantry were killed today when that unit engaged in battle with Seminole warriors near Fort King.  The unit was commanded by Captain G. J. Rains.

 

1863      William Sherman Jennings, the 18th governor of Florida (1901-1905), was born today near Walnut Hill, Illinois.  [For more information, see entry for January 8.]

 

1883      T.A. Bass was elected the first mayor of Kissimmee today at that city’s initial incorporation meeting.

 

1899      Citizens of Tallahassee rolled out the red carpet for President and Mrs. William McKinley.  It was the first presidential visit to Florida’s capital city.

 

1967      More than 30,000 young people began a three-day riot in Fort Lauderdale today.  More than 500 would eventually be arrested.

 

 

 

1781      Twenty-three Spanish horses and two scalps were brought to the English fortification in Pensacola by Indian allies of the British during the two-month long Spanish siege of the city.

 

1822      Naval Officer Matthew C. Perry today raised the American flag over Key West, officially declaring American sovereignty over the Keys. 

 

1861      The Federal ship, U.S.S. General Rusk, arrived in Key West today with a complement of 300 men for service at Fort Jefferson (Dry Tortugas) and in the city.

 

1862      A party of Confederate guerillas attacked a Federal picket station near Jacksonville this morning.  One Union soldier was killed, one severely wounded, three captured, and the remaining two men in the seven man detail managed to escape.

 

1863      John M. Martin of Florida took his seat today in the Confederate House of Representatives.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Fort Henry captured the blockade runner Ranger off the coast of Cedar Key today.

 

1863      Federal soldiers from the Jacksonville garrison advanced to Three Mile Branch today.  After destroying a few miles of railroad track and burning several houses, they were forced to retreat to the city when Confederate artillery positions opened fire.

 

1864      In the face of his disastrous defeat at Olustee, Federal General Truman Seymour received orders to turn his Florida command over to Union Brigadier General J. P. Hatch.

 

1864      The United States schooner, Stonewall, send a landing party ashore near Sarasota today.  Finding nothing suspicious, the men returned to the ship,  in the afternoon, the Stonewall anchored near fish houses on the shore by soon withdrew when nothing suspicious was sighted.

 

1901      Plans were announced for the integration of two new Clyde Line passenger ships to operate between Jacksonville and New York today.  The ships, nearing completion in a Delaware shipyard, were the Apache and the Arapahoe.

 

1910      The town of Mount Dora, originally settled as Royal View, was incorporated today.

 

1929      Gar Wood, a renowned motorboat builder, established a new world’s water speed record of 93.123 miles-per-hour today in the Miami Beach regatta.  Wood was driving his boat, Miss America VII. 

 

 

1863      Floridians, like most Southerners, reacted angrily today when the Confederate Congress approved the Impressment Act, which allowed Confederate tax collectors to impress food and other articles useful to the Confederacy.

 

1915      The City of Miami Beach was incorporated today.  J. N. Lummus was elected the first mayor.

 

1958      The United States Army launched its third satellite, the Explorer III, from Cape Canaveral today. 

 

INTERESTING FLORIDA FACTS:

 

·         There are 882 islands or “keys” in the Florida Keys which are large enough to be recorded on the maps of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

·         The Indian River Lagoon is the longest lagoon in Florida.  It stretches nearly 140 miles. The Indian River Lagoon has no tidal action and is brackish.

·         The total recorded length of all streams in the Sunshine State is 10,550 miles. 

·         The St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida.  Its length is recorded variously as 273 miles long (U.S. Geological Survey) to 318 miles long (State Board of Conservation).  The reason for this confusion is that the river’s headwaters are so ill-defined that it is impossible to determine with any certainty the river’s point of origin.

·         Florida has 4,510 islands ten acres or larger in size, which is the second highest total in the United States.  Only Alaska has more islands.

 

 

1513      Juan Ponce de Leon sighted the Florida peninsula today, although he would not go ashore until April 2.

 

1863      The U.S.S. Hendrick Hudson today seized the British schooner Pacifique at St. mark’s.

 

1901      The Florida State Federation of Labor was organized today in Jacksonville.  M. A. Ham of Tampa was elected president.  The major topic of the Federation was to press for enactment of legislation limiting working days to eight hours.

 

1911      The City of Fort Lauderdale was incorporated today.

 

1960      The United States Navy test-fired its revolutionary Polaris submarine-launched missile off the coast of Cocoa beach today.

 

 

INTERESTING FLORIDA FACTS:

 

·         Florida has over 10,000 bridges throughout the state.

·         The Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys is the longest precast and prestressed segmental concrete bridge in the world.

·         Forty-four bridges connect the Florida Keys to each other and to the mainland.

·         Florida has only one vehicular tunnel.  It is in Fort Lauderdale and goes under the New River.  It is 826 feet long and cost $6,473,000 to construct in 1963.  Boats passing over the tunnel have a clearance of 14 feet at mean low water.

 

 

1833      The Treaty of Payne’s Prairie was confirmed today.  Seminoles agreed to the removal of the Seminole people from Florida in the Treaty of Fort Gibson, Arkansas, after their investigation of the new western lands.  Removal would take place within three years.

      Chief Charley-E-Mather agreed to the removal.  Not all Seminole leaders agreed with this, and on their return to Florida announced that they had only agreed that the lands in Arkansas were satisfactory.  Arpeika (Sam Jones), Jumper, Black Dirt, and Halpatter-Tustenuggee (Alligator) were opposed.

 

1893      Edmund Kirby Smith, the last surviving full General of the Confederate Army, died today.  Smith, who was born in St. Augustine on May 16, 1824, was an 1845 graduate of West Point, a veteran of the Mexican-American War, a wounded veteran of Indian fighting, and an instructor of mathematics at West Point.

      His first task as a Confederate general was to organize the Army of the Shenandoah.  He was severely wounded at the first Battle of Bull Run, but went on to serve in Tennessee and Kentucky.  He was appointed commander of the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi West.  When Vicksburg fell on July 4, 1863, Smith operated independently west of the Mississippi. 

      He taught mathematics at the University of the South for eighteen years following the Confederate surrender.  A statue of Edmund Kirby Smith is one of two representing the Sunshine State in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

 

1955      Marianna (in the Panhandle) reported one inch of snow today.  Tallahassee reported 0.4”, while traces were reported as far south as Palatka.

 

1967      Dennis J. Patrick O’Grady of Inverness, who entered the Florida Senate at age 23 years and 3 months, was elected today.  O’Grady is generally regarded as the youngest person ever to serve in that body.

 

 

1856      Companies E and G of the 2nd United States Artillery fought an engagement with Seminole warrior today near Chocoliska.  The U.S. Army contingent was led by Captain Arnold Elzey.  Two enlisted men were killed and one wounded.  Seminole casualties were not known.

 

1862      Federal officers in Jacksonville sent five companies of soldiers to investigate a report that a large force of Confederates was in the vicinity of Three Mile Creek.  The Union soldiers determined that a force of nearly 100 Confederates had been the area earlier today, but had since left.

 

1863      Federal army and naval forces evacuated Jacksonville today.  As they evacuated, Union soldiers set fire to much of the town.

 

1891      The Florida State Board of Health published its first report today.  The Board listed the establishment of quarantine stations at Tampa and Pensacola as its primary activities.

 

1927      H. O. Seagrave became the first person to drive a car faster than 200 miles-per-hour today at Daytona Beach.

 

1953      Tragedy struck Largo today when the Littlefield Nursing Home burned and some thirty-three persons were burned.

 

 

1822      The United States Congress established Territorial Superior Courts for Florida.  The courts were to be convened at St. Augustine and Pensacola.

 

1831      The court order requiring windows in each cell of the Leon County jail was rescinded today.

 

1862      Units of the 97th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment were dispatched to make contact with Confederate forces operating in the vicinity of Jacksonville.

 

 

 

1832      The St. Augustine City Council passed an ordinance today authorizing the creation of tax-supported free schools in the city.  This was one of the earliest such ordinances in the American South and in the nation.

 

1856      Seminole warriors attacked the residence and plantation of Dr. Joseph A. Braden on the Manatee River today.  Some of the plantation’s buildings were burned, several slaves were spirited away, and a supply of blankets was taken. 

 

1862      Federal officers in Jacksonville report the presence of about 2,700 Confederate troops in East Florida.

 

1959      Busch Gardens, a six acre amusement park, was dedicated today in Tampa.  The park has since expanded to more than 300 acres.