"...The Honor of Georgia Rests With You!"
64th Georgia at Olustee Station, February 16-18, 2024
"...to reconstruct a loyal State government in Florida."
A. Lincoln
Most historians have ignored the importance of Florida throughout the War Between the States. Although one of the first acts of war occurred at Fort Pickens, in Pensacola, the state as a whole is not covered as widely as the great battles in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Georgia. While it is true that Florida saw relatively little action in its heartland, it was still an important supply depot to the major theaters.[1][2]
Destruction of a Rebel Salt Factory on the Florida Coast, September 15, 1862
In 1862 the Federal Army occupied Apalachicola, Cedar Key, Fernandina, and Jacksonville, the latter being occupied and reoccupied four times throughout the War. While these cities made good bases for Federal cavalry to raid into Confederate-held territory, up until the winter of 1864, no one had made a successful invasion of Florida's heartland.[2][3] On January 13, President Lincoln instructed Gilmore to "reconstruct a loyal State government in Florida."[4]
Gilmore sent Brigadier General Truman Seymour, a veteran of the Seminole and Mexican-American Wars. Seymour was already a seasoned commander with combat experience. He proceeded to march 5,000 soldiers from Jacksonville on February 7. Their objectives were outlined by Gilmore to General-in-Chief Henry Halleck on January 31:
"First. To procure an outlet for cotton, lumber, timber, turpentine, and the other products of that State. Second. To cut off one of the enemy's sources of commissary supplies... Third. To obtain recruits for my colored regiments. Fourth. To inaugurate measures for the speedy restoration of Florida to her allegiance..."[5]
General Seymour
General Finegan
Knowing Gilmore had caused the Confederacy much headache with his success capturing the coastal regions, Major General P. G. T. Beauregard ordered Brigadier General Joseph Finegan to intercept. The command responsibility fell to Brigadier General Alfred Colquitt. Among the brigades of Colquitt's men were the still green 64th Regiment of Georgia Volunteer Infantry.
Organized at Camp Randolph, Florida, in May of 1863, the 64th was made up 800 soldiers; young men, draftees that reached the ripe old age of 45 (as per draft age changes that year), and veterans from other regiments. Captain John W. Evans of Company G, 24th South Carolina Infantry was elected colonel, James Barrow as lieutenant colonel, and Captain Walter Weems of the 6th Alabama Infantry as major.[6] The regiment moved around North Florida, drawing supplies, drilling, garrison duty, and the like. The regiment was in Savannah, Georgia, when the call to arms came in February, 1864.
Ammunition receipt from Colonel Evans before departing Savannah. An abundance of smoothbore ammunition, as well as Enfield and Lorenz.
We had to leave all of hour clothing in Madderson as we come through thare so we carry nothing only what we have on and hour blankets.
Pvt. Edmund Hardy Jones, 64th GA Inf.
The men departed from Savannah on February 10, arriving in Valdosta on February 14. From there they marched twenty-eight miles cross country to Madison, Florida, where the men dropped all non-essential items. They marched east to Lake City, arriving on the 17th, wearing only their uniforms and blanket rolls. Rations were better than Savannah's, and the Florida people were more than welcoming to them. The soldiers were there, afterall, to drive away a merciless invader from their state.
Harper's Weekly Editorial on the Occupation of Sanderson, East of Lake City.
"In this world it is always best to be sure that you are right---then go ahead. I am sure that we are in the right, and that God is on our side. Follow me today, my men, and I will lead you to the enemy. Remember that the honor of Georgia rests with you!"
Lt. Col. James Barrow
On the morning of February 20th, the Battle of Olustee Station opened up. Olustee was an important rail junction, and it was a natural location for Fenigan and his 5,000 men to defend. The 64th was at the heart of this line. At the days end, 17 men of the 64th lay dead, 88 were wounded, and two were missing. Of the dead was Lt. Col. Barrow, shot through the heart while proudly waving the colors and remarking his final words, which you read above.[7]
From The Southern Banner, March 2, 1864.
The victory at Olustee was resounding for the South. Seymore retreated, and North Florida was effectively secure throughout its interior. Several battles, notably Gainesville that August and Natural Bridge the following January, showed that the Federals were not through trying, but were ultimately unsuccessful until the War ended and Florida returned to the Union.
Battle of Olustee, Fla. by Kurz and Allison, 1894. Courtesy of Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection, Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
The 64th Georgia was transferred in May to General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. There they fought many pitched battles throughout the Siege of Petersburg and the Appomattox Campaign. They surrendered with Lee on April 9, 1865 with only nine officers and ninety-three men present.[8]
1. Zombek, Angela M. "The Role of Florida in the Civil War," American Battlefield Trust, September 1, 2021, updated September 24, 2021
2. Brown, Canter. “Tampa’s James McKay and the Frustration of Confederate Cattle-Supply Operations in South Florida.” The Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 70, no. 4, 1992, pp. 409–33.
3. New York Times, April 2, 1862; Tallahassee Florida Sentinel, November 11, 1862; Gainesville Cotton States, March 19, June 18, 1864; Alexander
4. The War of the Rebellion: A Compiliation of the Official Records of the Uniona dn Confederate Armies, 69 cols. (Washington, 1880-1901), Series I, Vol. XXXV, Part 1, 278
5. Ibid, 278-281.
6: Hawks, S. A. (2017, August 9). 64th Georgia Infantry Regiment. The Civil War in the East. https://civilwarintheeast.com/confederate-regiments/georgia/64th-georgia-infantry-regiment/
7: William J. Stier Collection. Used with permission.
8: NPS Unit Details, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CGA0064RI
Map Plate: United States War Department, et al. Atlas of the war of the Rebellion giving Union and Confederate armies by actual surveys by the Union and Confederate engineers, and approved by the officers in command, of all the maps herein published. New York: Atlas Pub. Co, 1892.