I thought I'd post this small Civil War story because it has a local tie to me and from what I found out just last Friday a personal tie as well. Forgive me, it's kinda of lengthy for a small Civil War story but I thought I'd share it with the forum. Unless you live near NW Florida, most of you probably only know Baghdad, Iraq and not Bagdad, Florida. It's a small community close to Milton, Florida about 15-20 minutes from Pensacola. If you keep up with any golf at all you have probably heard of their most famous former citizen golfer Bubba Watson. I lived in Milton until I was 10 but the school district zone where I lived was for Bagdad Elementary, so I actually went to school there and was in the same class as Bubba until we moved 30 minutes away after my 4th grade year.
Before and after the Civil War, Bagdad was known for its lumber mills. During the Civil War many were burned down by retreating Confederate soldiers or occupied by Union troops when they took over the area. After the war the business boomed again and the town even rivaled Pensacola in terms of business and commerce. Times changed though and by 1939 the last lumber mill closed and many people from that area moved to Alabama or into Pensacola. My great-grandfather was one of those that was affected. He moved to Pensacola after the lumber mills closed down and many in the area lost their jobs.
Ok getting back to the Civil War aspect of this tale! There is a house in Bagdad known as the Thompson House.
It was built in 1847 by Benjamin Woodson Thompson. The house is close to Bagdad Elementary School so when I was probably 8 or 9 we walked to it on a field trip. In the 1970's the new owner's of the home were scrubbing the old paint across the walls when they stumbled across graffiti left by Civil War soldiers in 1864. There caricatures scribbled on the walls, some legible and some not legible writing. The most famous legible writing is what appears to be a caricature and then "Bagdad Mr Tompson Spur's First Fla Cavalry camped in your house on the 26 of Oct 1864."
As a kid I thought it was really neat, and it is one of my first Civil War memories along with visiting the Cyclorama in Atlanta. What I didn't realize at the time was that I had a personal connection to it. For some reason last Friday I remembered the old house and taking a field trip there and decided to Google it to remind myself the story behind it because it had been so long since I had been. When I saw the message I was immediately struck by the "First Fla Cavalry" part of the message. Probably a year ago or so I tracked down a relative that was in the Union 1st FL Cavalry. I remember it well because I was in complete shock to have run across a relative from my paternal Grandmother's family since all of them were from southern Alabama and fought for the Confederacy. My GGG-grandfather William Thomas and my GGG-uncle Harvey Gatewood (his brother-in-law) were in the 1st FL Cavalry.
When I started doing my Civil War family research in 2011 my Dad had told me that his grandmother once told him that her grandmother remembered walking to Fort Barrancas in Pensacola from Wing, Alabama to visit her husband and bring him food while he was stationed there. I sort of chalked it up to hearsay or maybe wrong info passed over the years because the Confederates abandoned Barrancas and Pensacola in 1862. I had found no evidence of a Confederate ancestor that would have been there. My Dad also told me of speaking with a distant relative in the early 90's that told him that some of our ancestors fought for the Union and it caused a stir in the community. Again, I had found no evidence of that until I was looking through Findagrave.com and found my uncle Harvey Gatewood. He had a Civil War Soldier's tombstone and it said 1st Fl Cavalry. When I looked him up on the NPS site I couldn't find him. The problem was I was looking under Confederates. It wasn't until I found the document where his Civil War Veteran's tombstone said US 1st FL Cavalry that I realized he fought for the Union. I found that my GGG-grandfather was in the same unit shortly thereafter.
I didn't understand it. Why would I have two relatives that fought for the Union when I had so many others fighting for the Confederacy. I remember when I asked the Ancestry forum on this site for more information, East Tennessee Roots explained to me how some people, even from the deep south, were put off with the Confederacy or more specifically Confederate soldiers for their burning, looting etc. I guess I never realized that the looting could go both ways. Interestingly in an article I found about the house in 2003 it states "Florida was a Confederate state, but many Panhandle residents had opposed secession and were alienated by retreating Confederates who burned homes, mills and businesses to keep them out of Yankee hands." So I don't know if that happened to my grandfather and relatives or if by early 1864 he decided the Union side was going to win and joined up with them.
But anyway, that's my long story on an extremely small slice Civil War history. Little did I know when I went on a field trip in elementary school to an old house, that two of my relatives camped there possibly and someone from that regiment left their mark that was still be there 150 years later.
Before and after the Civil War, Bagdad was known for its lumber mills. During the Civil War many were burned down by retreating Confederate soldiers or occupied by Union troops when they took over the area. After the war the business boomed again and the town even rivaled Pensacola in terms of business and commerce. Times changed though and by 1939 the last lumber mill closed and many people from that area moved to Alabama or into Pensacola. My great-grandfather was one of those that was affected. He moved to Pensacola after the lumber mills closed down and many in the area lost their jobs.
Ok getting back to the Civil War aspect of this tale! There is a house in Bagdad known as the Thompson House.
It was built in 1847 by Benjamin Woodson Thompson. The house is close to Bagdad Elementary School so when I was probably 8 or 9 we walked to it on a field trip. In the 1970's the new owner's of the home were scrubbing the old paint across the walls when they stumbled across graffiti left by Civil War soldiers in 1864. There caricatures scribbled on the walls, some legible and some not legible writing. The most famous legible writing is what appears to be a caricature and then "Bagdad Mr Tompson Spur's First Fla Cavalry camped in your house on the 26 of Oct 1864."
As a kid I thought it was really neat, and it is one of my first Civil War memories along with visiting the Cyclorama in Atlanta. What I didn't realize at the time was that I had a personal connection to it. For some reason last Friday I remembered the old house and taking a field trip there and decided to Google it to remind myself the story behind it because it had been so long since I had been. When I saw the message I was immediately struck by the "First Fla Cavalry" part of the message. Probably a year ago or so I tracked down a relative that was in the Union 1st FL Cavalry. I remember it well because I was in complete shock to have run across a relative from my paternal Grandmother's family since all of them were from southern Alabama and fought for the Confederacy. My GGG-grandfather William Thomas and my GGG-uncle Harvey Gatewood (his brother-in-law) were in the 1st FL Cavalry.
When I started doing my Civil War family research in 2011 my Dad had told me that his grandmother once told him that her grandmother remembered walking to Fort Barrancas in Pensacola from Wing, Alabama to visit her husband and bring him food while he was stationed there. I sort of chalked it up to hearsay or maybe wrong info passed over the years because the Confederates abandoned Barrancas and Pensacola in 1862. I had found no evidence of a Confederate ancestor that would have been there. My Dad also told me of speaking with a distant relative in the early 90's that told him that some of our ancestors fought for the Union and it caused a stir in the community. Again, I had found no evidence of that until I was looking through Findagrave.com and found my uncle Harvey Gatewood. He had a Civil War Soldier's tombstone and it said 1st Fl Cavalry. When I looked him up on the NPS site I couldn't find him. The problem was I was looking under Confederates. It wasn't until I found the document where his Civil War Veteran's tombstone said US 1st FL Cavalry that I realized he fought for the Union. I found that my GGG-grandfather was in the same unit shortly thereafter.
I didn't understand it. Why would I have two relatives that fought for the Union when I had so many others fighting for the Confederacy. I remember when I asked the Ancestry forum on this site for more information, East Tennessee Roots explained to me how some people, even from the deep south, were put off with the Confederacy or more specifically Confederate soldiers for their burning, looting etc. I guess I never realized that the looting could go both ways. Interestingly in an article I found about the house in 2003 it states "Florida was a Confederate state, but many Panhandle residents had opposed secession and were alienated by retreating Confederates who burned homes, mills and businesses to keep them out of Yankee hands." So I don't know if that happened to my grandfather and relatives or if by early 1864 he decided the Union side was going to win and joined up with them.
But anyway, that's my long story on an extremely small slice Civil War history. Little did I know when I went on a field trip in elementary school to an old house, that two of my relatives camped there possibly and someone from that regiment left their mark that was still be there 150 years later.
Last edited: