Florida seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861. A skirmish at Trout Creek occurred on July 15. The Union army utilized slave labor south of the Mason Dixon line. Every car leaving the Keys was checked thoroughly by the Border Patrol, including unlikely hiding places such as glove compartments and under seats. The Brigade then fought at the Siege of Petersburg. Yulee was imprisoned for helping Jefferson Davis escape, and Lesley hid Judah Benjamin in a swamp before he fled to the Gamble Mansion. [73] On August 17, 1864, Dickison was told that members of the Union Army had arrived at Starke and that they had burned Confederate train cars. The convention had further meetings in 1861 and into 1862. [8] Just seven of the delegates were born in Florida. The Union would raid Florida's cattle. These acts, respectively, levied a small tariff and direct tax on real and personal property; required civilians to contribute part of their livelihood, property (including slaves), supplies, money, and/or crops to the Confederacy; and allowed the Confederate government to impress crops from farmers at a negotiated rate. In January 1861, Florida became the third Southern state to secede from the Union after the November 1860 presidential election victory of Abraham Lincoln. In early May 1865, Edward M. McCook's Union division was assigned to re-establish Federal control and authority in Florida. At least 17,000 Floridians fought in the conflict (the great . [21], A formal Ordinance of Secession was introduced for debate on January 8. The Confederates retreated after failing to take the fort. Confederates abandoned defenses at Fernandina in February 1862, and Union troops occupied the town in March. Floridas military age population, willingly or due to conscription, filled the Confederate ranks. The federal government enticed settlers near the end of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) with the promise of land to settle near Fort Brooke using the Armed Occupation Act of 1842, which offered 160 acres to any white head of family, or single man over 18, who was able to bear arms and provide militia service, farm at least five acres, and live on the plot for five consecutive years. After Lincolns assassination, President Andrew Johnson appointed Judge William Marvin, a Unionist who had served as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and, upon his resignation on July 1, 1863, as mayor of Union-controlled Key West, as provisional Governor of Florida (July 13, 1865-December 20, 1865). [4] By 1861, Florida's population had increased to about 140,000, of which about 63,000 were enslaved persons. The Breckinridge and Lane (Southern Democratic) ticket carried the state with 8,543 votes, while the Bell land Everett (Constitutional Unionist) platform received 5,437 votes. Its motions were brought to the attention of the Florida House of Representatives by Rep. Daniel A. The flotilla arrived at the mouth of the St. John' s River on October 1, where Cdr. He participated in the Yorktown siege, and died after being shot at the Battle of Williamsburg, the first battle of the Peninsula Campaign. On May 19, there was a skirmish with the 17th Connecticut in Welaka, and a skirmish in Saunders. Florida's Secession FlagHelen Broward, of Broward's Neck in Duval County, and other southern women who supported the secessionist cause made and presented this flag to Florida Governor Madison S. Perry. Although the military forces in Florida were to leave on July 4, 1868 (following the restoration to the Union), Governor Reed requested the continuation of Union forces. A brief but sharp skirmish erupted as the raiding party attempted to board their boats and row back to the Tahoma, with the ship supporting the troops in the water by firing shells over their heads at the Confederates on shore. On March 9, 1863, 80 Confederates were driven off by 120 men of the 7th New Hampshire Volunteers near St. Augustine. Order of Secession During the American Civil War. As such, Florida sent around 15,000 troops to the Confederate army, the vast majority of which were deployed elsewhere during the war. The electronic edition ofThe Florida Historical Quarterly, our award winning journal. Confederate blockade runners succeeded in ferrying supplies into areas like Tampa Bay, but Floridas lack of ground transportation made it difficult for materials to reach Confederate troops. The defenders prepared for another landing but none was forthcoming, and the ship steamed away at nightfall. Convention delegate James O. Devall owned General Sumpter, the first steamboat in Palatka, which was captured by USSColumbine in March 1864. C. J. Munnerlyn organized the 1st Florida Special Cavalry Battalion or "Cow Cavalry" in April made up of Florida crackers, including John T. Lesley, Francis A. Hendry and W. B. In a message to the state legislature on November 27,1860, Governor Perry requested $100,000 in funding for the state military as well as a new militia law. land taking B.) "[53], Delegate Andrew J. Lea was captain of the 5th's Company D. Delegates Thompson Bird Lamar and William T. Gregory served with the 5th at Antietam. We were the third state to do so, behind South Carolina and Mississippi. By 1840, the English-speaking population of Florida outnumbered those of Spanish colonial descent. [9] The public in Tallahassee celebrated the announcement of secession with fireworks and a large parade. Florida participated in the American Civil War as a member of the Confederate States of America. A special convention called in that state unanimously passed an ordinance of secession on December 20, 1860. These included the War Tax Act (August 1861), the Impressment Act (March 1863), and the General Tax Act (April 1863). On January 1, there was an artillery duel in Pensacola. The one is the society of one race, the other of two races. Floridas salt-making industry, at its peak, employed upwards of 5,000 men who received an unofficial exemption from Confederate military service. Deserter bands attacked Confederate patrols, launched raids on plantations, confiscated slaves, stole cattle, and provided intelligence to Union army units and naval blockaders. The state's small population (140,000 residents, the fewest in the Confederacy), relatively remote location, and meager industry limited its overall strategic importance. Austin, Texas, rejoined the next month. The electronic edition ofThe Florida Historical Quarterly, our award winning journal If you would like to receive the print edition (or both!) One prominent regiment of United States Colored Troops that formed in Florida was the 2nd Florida Cavalry Union. In 1862, Federal forces seized Fernandina and Jacksonville on the northeast coast, Cedar Key on the northwest Gulf Coast, and Apalachicola on the panhandle, and took control of Tampa in 1864. In 1860, Floridas biggest towns were Pensacola (population 2,876), followed by Key West (population 2,832), and Jacksonville (population 2,118), underscoring the importance of seafaring commerce during the 19, Men from Florida, particularly Blacks, also joined the Union Army. After one minute of rebellion, Prime Minister Wardlow surrendered to Union forces at the Navy Base in Key West. The court ruled that the roadblock could continue. Skirmish of the Brick Church He was elected President on November 6, 1860. Seceded from the Union: 1861 Readmitted to the Union: 1868. These men would go on to help disrupt the Confederate cattle supply and help free enslaved people in the area. 2019-04-24. For more information on the history and culture of Key West read the books Key West on the Edge: Inventing the Conch Republic by Robert Kerstein, and Key West: History of an Island of Dreams by Maureen Ogle. The Confederacy comprised eleven U.S. states that declared secession and warred against the United States during the American Civil War. The three large stars represent the first three states to leave the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, and Florida. When did Florida secede from the Union? - Brainly.com Convention delegate Daniel D. McLean was a 2nd lieutenant in the 4th's Company H, and died in service. "[78] Confederate Maj. William Footman led 275 men of the "Cow Cavalry" to the fort under a flag of truce to demand surrender. The state played an essential role during the secession crisis by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with South Carolina and Mississippi, which seceded earlier. Planter fears of uprisings by enslaved people increased as the war went on. 15 that set aside a portion of Florida as designated territory for runaway and freed former enslaved people who had accompanied his command during its March to the Sea. On October 9, Confederates, including the 1st Florida Infantry, commanded by convention delegate James Patton Anderson, tried to take the fort at the Battle of Santa Rosa Island. The Digital Florida Historical Quarterly [36], After the U.S. Navy captured St. Augustine in mid-March of 1862, its harbor was closed to all except Northern ships. In March 1864, James McKay wrote the state to say he was unable to secure cattle as his blockade runners had been destroyed during the Battle of Fort Brooke. Subscribe to the American Battlefield Trust's quarterly email series of curated stories for the curious-minded sort! Perry was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness. On October 18 at Pierce's Point south of Milton, Union troops were attacked by Confederates. The force remaining in Florida were reinforced in 1864 by troops from neighboring Georgia. The Union gunboat USSSagamore sailed up Tampa Bay to bombard Fort Brooke under the command of John William Pearson on June 30, 1861. Why did people think differently about the war after the Battle of Bull Run? In 1860, Floridas biggest towns were Pensacola (population 2,876), followed by Key West (population 2,832), and Jacksonville (population 2,118), underscoring the importance of seafaring commerce during the 19th century. The Confederate strategy was to hold the states interior since its farmland and cattle ranches could supply Confederate troops. [37], The majority of enslaved people, much like the majority of the white population, resided in North Florida during the war, while Southern Florida, aside from Key West, remained a largely "undeveloped frontier. This was a risky occupation completed largely on foot through swamps, creeks, and dense forests. Other states soon followed suit and America would never be the same Perry then returned to command of the Florida Brigade, leading it in the Bristoe and Mine Run campaigns. The Civil War Timeline , Digital History ID 2934 [20] Florida's Senator Mallory was selected to be Secretary of the Navy in the first Confederate cabinet under president Jefferson Davis. Early Florida's Society and Foundation In the same way that Southern slaveholders would eventually look towards Cuba in the mid-1800s, territorial Florida was seen as a Promised Land. War Declared: States Secede from the Union! - Kennesaw Mountain During the wars early years, McKay contracted with the Confederate government to ship 2,400 steers per month to the Confederate army. For years, differences between North and South over slavery and . Ron DeSantis, GovernorCord Byrd, Secretary of State. A special convention of delegates from around the state met in Tallahassee earlier in the week to consider the decision. As President of Floridas secession convention, he believed remaining in the Union meant allowing rule by those who were "sectional, irresponsible to us, and driven on by an infuriated fanatical madness that defies all opposition" and who would "destroy every vestige of right growing out of property in slaves.". Lang was again leading the Florida Brigade with Lee's army when it formally surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. During 1861 and 1862, the Department of War's payroll showed that Fort Zachary Taylor averaged forty-five slave laborers per month. The Sagamore began bombarding the town that evening and the fort's defenders returned fire, opening the Battle of Tampa. December 20, 1860. Marianna A 66 percent majority of Republicans in 13 Southern states including Texas and Florida are in favor of seceding from the union, according to a poll released Wednesday by Bright Line Watch. "Each complaint related to slavery: the North's disregard for the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act; John Browns 1859 failed slave uprising; and William Lloyd Garrisons The Liberator and Frederick Douglass The North Star tried to 'excite insurrection and servile war.'" Douglas Ideological support for the Confederacy, however, was not universal. The controversy over slavery was not new to the United States. The state's chief importance was as a source of cattle and other food supplies for the Confederacy, and as an entry and exit location for blockade-runners who used its many bays and small inlets to evade the Union Navy. In January 1863, there was a skirmish at Township Landing with the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry. Passed 10 Jan 1861 ________________________________________ ALABAMA An Ordinance to dissolve the union between the State of Alabama and the other States united under the compact styled "The Constitution of the United States of America" The party held its convention in June 1860 and had nominated the editor of the Sentinel, Benjamin F. Allen, for Congress. All FHS Members receive our newsletter, The Society Report, a 10% discount at our Florida Books & Gifts Bookstore located in Cocoa Village, and early notice of all events, including our Public History Forum in May and our Annual Meeting and Symposium in October! Jackson Morton and George Taliaferro Ward attempted to have the ordinance amended so that Florida would not secede before Georgia and Alabama, but their proposal was voted down. [72] On August 15, 1864, Col. Andrew L. Harris of the 75th Ohio Mounted infantry left Baldwin with 173 officers and men from the Seventy-Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Jacksonville was occupied after the Battle of St. Johns Bluff, a bluff designed to stop the movement of Federal ships up the St. Johns River,[61] was won by John Milton Brannan and about 1,500 infantry. Confederate troops ultimately withdrew from Pensacola in May 1862. Ordinance of Secession In 1861 and 1862, Floridians focused on driving cattle from northern counties to transportation lines in Georgia since they were closest in proximity, but the two largest cattle regions were Hillsborough and Manatee counties, which surrounded Tampa Bay. The legislature approved the funding but did not enact any new militia laws. President James Buchanan was still in office. Memberships, On November 22, all Union guns at Fort Pickens and two ships, the Niagara and Richmond, targeted Fort McRee. "[9] Florida was the third state to secede, following South Carolina and Mississippi. New York's 14th cavalry lost in a skirmish at Cow Ford Creek on April 2. Florida's Secession from the Union and What That Teaches Us About the On January 10th, 1861, the state of Florida seceded from the United States. Sign up for our quarterly email series highlighting the environmental benefits of battlefield preservation. James Doyle, refused, and the battle began. Although the Compromise of 1850 was unpopular in Florida, the secession movement in 1851 and 1852 did not gain much traction. In June 1861, the Confederate government split Florida up into military districts led by Confederate commanders who were given the power to requisition soldiers from the governor, more specifically from the state's militia. The steamship moved out of range of the fort's guns the next morning and resumed fire for several hours before withdrawing. FHS Press Books, Secession Acts of the Thirteen Confederate States Confederate States of America On April 18, 1982, the United States Border Patrol established a roadblock on U.S. Highway 1, just south of Florida City. Dr. Ben Brotemarkle is executive director of the Florida Historical Society and host of the radio program Florida Frontiers. The show can be heard online at myfloridahistory.org. On the other hand, Spain resisted selling arms and ammunition to the Confederacy in order to remain as neutral as possible. The state's long coastline made it ideal for salt production. The trade that did continue, the majority of which went through Cuba and Florida, included the exportation of cotton and importation of food, cigars, medical supplies and Spanish army surplus shoes. The 1860 census estimated that Florida possessed 388,060 head of cattle, and the state comptroller reported 658,609 head of cattle in 1862. The Civil War Timeline, Digital History ID 2934. On January 10, 1861, Florida delegates who were meeting in the state capital, Tallahassee, voted to secede from the U.S. Florida became one of the six original Southern states to form the Confederate States of America; eventually, 11 states would leave the Union In Florida, 44% of the population were not citizens but property. Every purchase supports the mission. A new law in Florida puts the fate of the state's public-sector - NPR Convention delegate Green H. Hunter was captain of the 9th's Company E. There was a skirmish at McGirt's Creek on March 1, 1864. Museum of Florida History U.S. troops required elite former Confederates to take the oath of allegiance, paroled Confederate soldiers, and ensured that slaves in Florida were free after Congress passed the. Pro-unionists in Florida not only faced public ridicule, some could be attacked and even killed. U.S. troops required elite former Confederates to take the oath of allegiance, paroled Confederate soldiers, and ensured that slaves in Florida were free after Congress passed the 13th Amendment on January 31, 1865 (ratified by the stated December 6, 1865). Civilians received payment in increasingly worthless Confederate States of America notes, given soaring inflation, for complying with the General Tax Act. [8] A series of events in subsequent years exacerbated divisions. By the following month, six states had seceded;[25] These six had the largest population of enslaved people among the Southern states. Why did Florida secede from the Union today in 1861? On January 10, 1861, Florida seceded from the Union to protect the foundation of its wealth and power, and so it joined the South in its bid to form a slave republic. It sent them to the Western Theater for the remainder of the war. Love was a leader in restoring the Democratic Party in Florida. The following month, Florida was one of six Deep South states to form the Confederate States of America. Wartime conditions made it easier for enslaved people to escape, and many became useful informants to Union commanders. In 1864, Union troops suffered defeats at the Battle of Olustee (February 20, 1864) at the railroad junction of Gainesville (August 17, 1864) and at Natural Bridge (March 6, 1865) on the St. Marks River south of Tallahassee. The 8,436-mile coastline and 11,000 miles of rivers, streams, and waterways proved a haven for blockade runners and a daunting task for patrols by Federal warships. [81], Lewis Thornton Powell, a member of the Booth Conspiracy from Live Oak, was hanged in Washington and later buried in Geneva, Florida. In January 1861, Florida became the third Southern state to secede from the Union after the November 1860 presidential election victory of Abraham Lincoln. Ward served from May 1861 until February 1862, when he resigned and was replaced by John Pease Sanderson. Robert E. Lee. The 2nd Florida Infantry was first commanded by convention delegate G. T. Ward. [12] Fifty-one of the 69 convention members held slaves in 1860. Florida seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861. Despite their names being identified and homes burned to the ground, few members of the Royal Rangers surrendered. In January 1865, Union General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Orders No. Having changed his title from Mayor of Key West to Prime Minister of the Conch Republic, Dennis Wardlow followed his mock secession with a declaration of war on the United States. [11][9] Virginia planter and firebrand Edmund Ruffin came to the convention to advocate for secession. Near Crescent City, there was the Battle of Braddock's Farm. Why Did Florida Secede from the Union? USSHatteras had blockade duty in Apalachicola, and, in January 1862, was part of a Union naval force which landed in Cedar Key and burned several ships, a pier, and flatcars. When Dickison asked Wilcoxson why he charged, he responded, "Don't blame yourself, you are only doing your duty as a soldier. Each complaint related to slaverythe North's disregard for the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, John Browns 1859 failed slave uprising, William Lloyd Garrisons The Liberator and Frederick Douglass The North Star tried to "excite insurrection and servile war," delegates wrote bitterly. An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions [1] drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United States of America. With their highly publicized mock secession and fake war against the United States, the residents of Key West successfully used humor to bring attention to a serious issue affecting the local economy. [16][17] Leonidas W. Spratt of South Carolina gave an impassioned speech[18] for secession. [68] Palatka was occupied, and there were two picket attacks in late March. These raids disrupted the organization that the Confederate government hoped to impose in August 1863 by appointing James McKay as regional commissary officer for South Florida. A.) One example was the case of William Hollingsworth who was shot at and seriously wounded by a group of secessionists who called themselves regulators. states by date of admission to the Confederacy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florida_in_the_American_Civil_War&oldid=1164753617, This page was last edited on 10 July 2023, at 22:12. The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States, the Confederacy, or the South, was an unrecognized breakaway confederate republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. Between 1820-1859, several key turning points in the struggle over slavery brought the issue to a boiling point. Lang took command of the Florida Brigade. Before the war, McKay operated a profitable cattle-driving business, first driving cows from Tampa to Savannah and Charleston and then shipping them to Cuba. Florida sent a three-man delegation to the 1861-62 Provisional Confederate Congress, which first met in Montgomery, Alabama, and then in the new capital of Richmond, Virginia. Florida was also crucial to the Union war effort. Additionally, FHS Supportersalso receive: 1. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana followed in January, and Texas voted to secede on February 1, 1861still more than a month before Lincoln was actually inaugurated. It was one of the initial seven slave states which formed the Confederacy on February 8, 1861, in advance of the American Civil War. The Confederate States of America was a collection of 11 states that seceded from the United States in 1860 following the election of President Abraham Lincoln. On May 20, Confederates ambushed a Union landing party in Crooked River. At Starke, the Union troops were joined by the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry and some Florida Unionists. Federal Identification Number (EIN): 54-1426643. [54], After Antietam, the 2nd, 5th, and 8th were grouped together under Brig. Following widespread reports of the establishment of the Conch Republic, the U.S. Border Patrol roadblock was quickly and unceremoniously removed. Representatives from both sides met under a flag of truce on a launch in the bay, where Pearson refused a Union demand that he unconditionally surrender. There was a Unionist minority in the state, an element that grew as the war progressed. [13], Florida gave its reasons for leaving the Union in its Declaration of Causes for Seceding. In early 1862, the Confederate government pulled General Bragg's small army from Pensacola following successive Confederate defeats in Tennessee at Fort Donelson and Fort Henry and the fall of New Orleans. By Dr. Angela M. Zombek, American Battlefield Trust. [15] John C. McGehee, who was involved in drafting Florida's original constitution and became a judge, was elected the convention president. Farther down the peninsula, Floridas population was even more scarce: Miamis population scattered due to the Second and Third Seminole Wars (1835-1842 and 1855-1858), Fort Pierce (established in 1838 during the Second Seminole War) saw permanent settlement beginning in the 1860s, and Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast was established during the Seminole Wars, abandoned in 1858, and later became a Union garrison from 1863-1865. We are told that the Civil War settled the matter. Convention delegate W. G. M. Davis raised the 1st Florida Cavalry and joined General Joseph E. Johnston in Tennessee. McGehee owned 100 enslaved people. This riverine blockade force not only prevented Confederate troop and supply movements, it also became a pick-up point for rebel deserters and pro-Union Floridians. Over 2,000 Floridians deserted from the Confederate ranks during the war. The 7th United States Colored Infantry fought in a skirmish at Camp Finnegan on May 25, and on the same day there was a skirmish at Jackson's Bridge near Pensacola. After Florida seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, Florida state troops seized the federal arsenal at Chattahoochee, Fort Clinch (Amelia Island), Fort Marion (St. Augustine, which later surrendered to Union troops in early 1862), and the Pensacola Navy Yard.