Civil War

Florida During the Civil War

 

The American Civil War erupted out of a national struggle over slavery and the rights of states to protect that institution. Florida was one of the first states to leave the Union and join the Confederacy. This video looks at the causes and impacts of America’s Civil War in Florida.

 

Florida's Civil War: Explorations into Conflict, Interpretations and Memory

Title:
Florida's Civil War: Explorations into Conflict, Interpretations and Memory

Welcome to Florida Historical Society Press’ initial volume in its newly created Gold Seal series. This is the first of what will eventually be a multi-volume series of specialized books that deal with narrowly focused issues in Florida history.

Author: 

Dr. Irvin D. S. Winsboro
Price:$14.95

Calling Yankees to Florida: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Forgotten Tourist Articles - Second Edition

Title:
Calling Yankees to Florida: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Forgotten Tourist Articles - Second Edition

With the publication of her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe became the most famous writer in America. Often overlooked is the fact that Harriet Beecher Stowe was also one of the first and greatest proponents of Florida as a popular tourist destination. In 1873, some of Stowe's descriptive and colorful "tourist articles" were published in the book Palmetto-Leaves. The book contains fascinating vignettes of Florida life not included in Palmetto-L eaves, with insightful commentary by John Foster Jr. and Sarah Whitmer Foster. This new edition features Stowe's meeting with Mary Richards, a famous African American spy, and an introduction by the nationally known novelist Lois Leveen.

Author: 

John T. Foster Jr.
Sarah Whitmer Foster
Price:$19.95

Florida Frontiers “Civil War Living History Day at the Rossetter House Museum”

The American Civil War divided the country between the industrialized northern states and the agricultural southern states that depended upon slave labor to support their economy.

Disagreement over the issue of whether or not individual states had the right to decide if slavery should be legal within their borders led to the War Between the States.

Florida was the third state to secede from the Union, in January 1861, behind only South Carolina and Mississippi. As the largest supplier of beef and salt to the Confederate army, Florida played a vital role in the Civil War.

Florida Frontiers “The Maple Leaf”

At 4:00 a.m. on April 1, 1864, an explosion disrupted the still waters of the St. Johns River as a Confederate mine ripped through the hull of the steamship Maple Leaf. The ship was transporting Union supplies during the Civil War.

“It was participating in the Southeast Atlantic Blockade as a troop transport,” says Keith Holland, founder of St. Johns Archaeological Expeditions, Inc.

Florida Frontiers “The Battle of Olustee”

The loud booming of cannon fire ripped through the north Florida pine forest fifteen miles east of Lake City as startled cavalry horses whinnied. Repeated rifle fire rang through the trees as more than 10,000 soldiers confronted each other on February 20, 1864, near Ocean Pond.

The Battle of Olustee was the largest conflict of the American Civil War fought on Florida soil.

Each side began with about 5,000 troops. When the three hour battle was over, 1,861 Union soldiers and 946 Confederate soldiers were dead.

Florida Frontiers “The Barber-Mizell Family Feud”

Moses Barber had simply had enough of his cattle going missing. He believed that David Mizell and his friends were periodically stealing from his herd. His rage reached a point where Barber publically declared that if David Mizell set foot on his property again, he would be shot.

On February 21, 1870, David Mizell became the first casualty of the Barber-Mizell Family Feud. He was shot and killed on Barber property near Holopaw, Florida, in Osceola County.

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