Nice guys finish last!

[leftyhunter]

It just does not pay to be Mr.Niceguy. Take the case of private Strickland 2nd Fl Cavalry US. Extracted from the book "Blockaders,Refugees,&Contrabands Civil War on Florida's Gulf Coast, 1861-1865 " by George Buker Professor Emeritus of of History at Jacksonville University University of Alabama Press pages 166 to 169.
With the fall of Ft.Fisher the Confederates where desperate to use the port of St.Marks, Fl has an alternative main port to Wilmington. St.Marks may not of been a great choice but after the fall of Wilmington their are not a whole lot of choices left.
Has part of the plan to attack St.Marks Private Strickland was in charge of a squad that was supposed to tear up the RR tracks of a bridge crossing the Aucilla River so that any CSA reinforcements would be catapulted into the river. Strickland decides to make an executive decision and just burn the tracks so that trains bearing CSA troops can't cross the bridge and thus save their lives. Unfortunately for Strickland by the time the tracks are on fire a train engineer rushing CSA troops to defend St,Marks saw the bridge on fire but decided the best course of action is to just barrel over the bridge and get through the other side.
In turns out that was the right decision because the CSA troops where unhurt and now they could with dogs still manage to cross the burned bridge and kill some of Stricklands squad and capture Strickland and a few others and then they end up getting executed since they where also deserters from the CSA themselves.
The lesson is nice guys finish last and its often better to stick with the script. The battle for St.Marks was in early March 1865 and the Confederacy only had a month left to use it before it surrendered.
Leftyhunter

 

[Union_Buff]

A very interesting story Lefty - thank you for posting it

 

[MajGenl.Meade]

Thanks for introducing this fascinating subject. There's an interesting in-depth article to be found on jStore: W. T. Cash The Florida Historical Quarterly Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jul., 1948), pp. 49-58. It includes a very touching 1864 letter from Strickland to the Confederate officer who was burning the homes and removing the families of deserters in Taylor County. He does appear to be a bit of a "nice guy".

Here's some other (lengthy - sorry) detail from another writer:

William Strickland married Mary Ann Johnson and owned his own farm and also tended his father-in-laws's many cattle on lands bordering the swamps of Taylor County. In April of 1862 the Confederate Congress passed the Conscription Act, the first draft law in the history of America. Strickland and a number of his neighbors, enlisted at Camp Tolo as a private in Company I, 2nd Florida Cavalry, CSA.

Strickland learned in December of 1862 that his wife was seriously ill. He asked Lieutenant S. A. Parramore for cleave to care for his wife. His farm was only 15 or so miles across the Aucilla River. His request was denied and Strickland departed camp December 20. When he returned March 16, he was promptly arrested. Parramore said he was a deserter and his punishment would be to grub a stump while wearing a placard bearing the word "coward." Strickland left camp again on June 15, 1863 and was though serving the Confederacy and declared a deserter.
Strickland was but one of many Floridians who deserted. He took refuge in the swamps along the Gulf coast and was joined by others and they banded together for mutual protection. Strickland former a group called the Independent Union Rangers. The members of this group had to take a loyalty oath to obey all orders given by elected officers and to bear true allegiance to the United States of America. James Coker's band was located on the Fenholloway River and was probably made cup of men from Madison County. William White's group on the Steinhatchee probably contained more deserters from Georgia than Strickland or Coker.
Strickland put his base camp at the mouth of the Econfina River in tidal flats in an area known as Snyder's Island. The Island was surrounded by thick marsh which overflowed at high tide and swamps and hammock lands that were almost impassable. Strickland and his men lived there and began raising crops and tending cattle to feed themselves and their families who were nearby. . . [CSA forces conducted search operations to locate deserters]
. . . At the home of William W. Strickland were found 2,000 rounds of ammunition and several barrels of flour from the US Subsistence Department. Also captured was a document, subscribed to be Strickland and thirty-four other men calling themselves "the Independent Union Rangers of Taylor County Florida," in which they declared their allegiance to the United States and set forth for their own conduct in guerrilla warfare. . .
Strickland apparently took part in the various raids launched by the 2nd Florida (US) Cavalry.

As the year drew to a close it was obvious that the Confederacy was beginning to lose. The Union commanders in Florida still wanted Tallahassee, the state capital, taken. It was decided to capture St. Marks on the coast, and cut the railroad linking the capital with vthe northeast portion of the state. In February 1865, Major Weeks, along with Companies C, D, and E, Second Florida Cavalry (Dismounted) and Companies E, G, and H boarded the USS Magnolia and sailed north along the coast from Cedar Key. Strickland was member of this force. They combined with a naval force of 14 other vessels to land in various locations with the intent of taking possession of the East River Bridge, capturing the pickets there, landing and marching on to Newport and destroying establishments there, then crossing the St. Marks River and taking St. Marks and breaking up the railroad between St. Marks and Tallahassee.
On March 2, six men under William Strickland landed at the mouth of the Aucilla River with orders to destroy the railroad bridge at the head of the stream to prevent confederate reinforcements from reaching the area under attack. Strickland's orders were to remove the track on the bridge, causing the trainload of Confederate reinforcements from Madison to be dumped into the river. Strickland decided to burn the trestle and give the train time to stop. This would keep the Confederate troops out of action without killing them. As the train rounded the curve, the trestle was seen to be burning and the engineer tried to apply the brakes, but realized he could not stop in time so he crammed on full power to speed across the burning trestle. The last car made it across as the bridge collapsed. At the next stop, ten men and a pack of hounds were sent to the Aucilla River trestle. The hounds picked up the scent and Strickland and his men were trapped in a stand of cypress. In the ensuring fire fight three were killed and Strickland and John R. Brannon were captured on March 5, 1865. They were in blue uniforms and the Federal forces were defeated at the Battle of Natural Bridge, and St. Marks remained in confederate hands.
In Tallahassee Strickland and Brannon were convicted and sentenced to death as deserters. They were buried in unmarked graves. In Taylor County the graves, burned-out homes, and shattered dreams remained as witness to the Civil War.

Taylor County History by June Parker McLeod https://sites.google.com/site/taylorcountyhistory/home/1-facts

 

[rhettbutler1865]

Thanks for this lefty--a unique story! (And one I had only vaguely remembered)...

 

[donna]

Interesting story and learned a lot didn't know.

 

[leftyhunter]

Thanks guys and gals,
The 2nd Fl has detailed in the above book was perhaps the only white Union regiment that was partnered with a USCT regiment. They didn't always get along but they did preform their mission which was to curtail cattle exports from Fl that where needed to replace the cattle lost from Tx after the fall of Vicksburg.
Leftyhunter