Touring Florida - The Civil War in the Sunshine State

Thanks, everyone! I had been a bit nervous what reaction my outfit would garner, whether people would think it not period correct and stuff. I'm glad and relieved it's well received. :smile:

And here's the proper place to put it!
Once I get the picture mailed, I'll make a proper copy and post it. Thanks for the link!
 
Not much to report other that I had a wonderful time yesterday. It was a splendid day, sunny and warm enough to eventually discard the scarf. I actually found me a proper wrap at a blanket sale and wore that in the evening at the Ball.

I missed Colors in the morning (but hope to make it in time today) and spend some time with @captaindrew 's company. When the soldiers then went off to drill, @Equestriangirl93 and I walked to the sutlers for some shopping. I normally hate shopping, but I really enjoyed it yesterday.

After lunch, @captaindrew 's other half took me to the Ladies Tea where we learned about Clara Barton. And in the raffle afterward I even won one of the many great prizes! I've never before won anything at raffles.
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After the tea we headed to the battlefield. It was a bit difficult to see at first at the boys were skirmishing all the way back in the woods before they eventually made it to the front where people could see. @captaindrew later explained the tactics to me. :laugh:

After the battle, there was a medical demonstration. Guys, you should've seen the boys putting it on. I couldn't stop laughing it was that hilarious. I actually had to remind myself time and time again how chaotic it would have been at a field hospital once the wounded came in.

After that, I reparked my car closer to the entrance and ball tent so that I wouldn't have to walk all the way to the Day Reenactors parking again. I was a little too quick though; the visitors still hadn't cleared out and I had to wait ages until I could finally pull in through the front entrance.

I then spent some time with @Equestriangirl93 at the camp before it was time for the dance. My Union gentleman danced with me again all night and we had a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed Olustee and can't thank @captaindrew enough for recommending it. I loved Gettysburg last summer, but it pales compared to Olustee. If you ever have the chance to attend - as visitor or reenactor - please do. It really is a great place and wonderful event.

As for myself and reenacting: I want to do it again and I'm (almost) set on attending the Cedar Creek reenactment after the Antietam muster in October. I learned quite a lot about my hoop and skirt and how to improve so that I don't step on either again either when walking or dancing and how both will actually stay up. lol Now to get it adjusted in the coming months. But before that, I'll surely have a blast at the last day on the Olustee battlefield. :smile:

The Confederate camp in the morning
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Some pics from the battle...
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... and the medical demonstration.
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Oh Lu it sounds like you are having a fabulous time! Thanks for the great pictures. Those of the battlefield with all the smoke are great. And you know I love the ones of the medical demonstration. Please continue to post so we can live vicariously through your travel. :D
 
:cry: That's how I feel right now - incredibly sad that the weekend is already over. I could've gone another week and more with reenacting, it was such a great experience.

I was on time today for Colors on the Monument Grounds. And on my way there I literally ran into the rebel army marching off toward the ceremony, long lines and flags and everything you can imagine. What a start into the day!
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There ceremony was great to watch, all those commands shouted up and down the line. @Equestriangirl93 and I unfortunately stood somewhat behind some shrubbery that barred our view on the Union lines; we could mostly only see the rebels on the other side of the grounds.
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@LTG USG was there again and later at the memorial ceremony at the Union monument in the cemetery.
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I then went over to @captaindrew 's company's camp for a bit until it was time for church. The chaplain showed us a cross that was supposedly carved by a POW in Andersonville. The front felt like wood, the back not so much, but he says he has papers proving authenticity.
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We afterward went to the sutlers again; I was trying to find a medici belt but the one I wanted wasn't available in my size. By then it was nearing noon and it was getting time for the boys (and gal) to gear up. The proud and fierce 28th Georgia Company K :smile::
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With the 61st Georgia (@captaindrew , please correct me if I'm wrong) who fell in with them this weekend:
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And the rebels all lined up again, going all out with fife and drums and full parade mood. And then General Lee came riding it (unfortuantely not on Traveler), dismounted and walked the whole line, greeting everyone with his sword. You should've been there - every rebel yelled and cheered and I had goosebumps all over. What an experience!
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The Confederates then marched all through the camp and sutler's area on the long way to the battlefield. Lee was riding ahead of them.
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Ladies stood on the wayside and waved them off with white hankerchiefs. One of the surgeons hollered at them to not get shot, he only wants Yankee blood on his table afterward. :laugh: @Equestriangirl93 and I used some shortcuts to get some good views and pictures, then raced to the battlefield to find @captaindrew 's other half who had gone ahead. This time we sat in the bleachers and could see a bit better. Most of the action was right in front of the spectators though some parts was in the woods.

And what a battle! It's scripted after the historic Battle of Olustee. We saw rebel skirmishers getting hit by Yankee cavalry, then more Yankee cavalry whooping in and sending the skirmishers to fall back. (If I learned one thing this weekend: Rebels never retreat, they only fall back. I wondered why they had their backs on the enemy then; doesn't that mean retreating, while falling back is walking backwards? @captaindrew 's other half resolutely said "they always only fall back, the enemy's not worthy of their front." :laugh: Wonderful answer!) Next came the rebel infantry and when the Yankee cavalry wanted to charge again, the rebels formed a square.
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At that point the Union artillery came into play. Most of the time when one of the artillery is fired, something on the field explodes; it has been rigged beforehand. So while the rebs stood in that square, something exploded right in their middle and we had some casualties (not real ones of course).

After that the infantry fell back and the Yankees came forward, believing they had forced the rebs to retreat. But more rebs were coming and lining up and the battle was on. There was almost constant musket firing going on, or the artillery was booming away. There was sometimes so much smoke on the field you couldn't see the rebels in the smoke from where we sat in the Union-sided bleachers. You could smell the gunpowder in the air. Twice the rebels shot a volley almost the entire length of the line. That was just WOW!

Towards the end the rebels get reeinforcements coming in, yelling at the top of their lungs to let their comrades know they're coming. The rest of the line picked that up and it was spectacular to hear that over the musketry. Well, the Yankees were taking heavy casulties and had to retreat eventually. The rebels picked up speed and chased after them. And that concluded the battle. They then had a moment of silence where one of the buglers played taps.
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After that, both armies marched down the line in front of the spectators to great cheer. The lined up in front and fired a final salute. Before and after that you heard the commands being shouted up and down the line - just like during the Civil War. It gave me chills, the good ones. With fife and drums the armies then returned to their camps.
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And that sadly concludes this awesome weekend. :cry::cry: I helped with packing up and then hit the road. On the way to Jacksonville it started pouring buckets. We really can count ourselves lucky that the rain held off until everyone had more or less packed up and left although towards the end of the battle it drizzled a little.

If you think that's too much rebs and not enough Yankees, well, I was affiliated with the Gray this weekend and naturally spent most of my time with them, so we were of course looking for them on the battlefield all the time, wanting to make sure they're fine. :wink: I had actually tailored my impression's backstory to go Union, but since I (so far) only know Confederates, I might just count myself a rebel for now. :laugh:

Back to a "normal" tour now, with mixed feelings - looking forward to explore more and sad the Olustee reenactment is over. On tomorrow's program: Jacksonville.
 
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Glad you had a nice weekend @luinrina and it was wonderful seeing you again and hopefully will again soon. There's a good chance I'll be at Cedar Creek. Oh the general really wasn't playing General Lee, he actually was the CS overall commander General Jesse. But he did play Lee at the 150th anniversary of Appomattox, he does look like him but he wasn't playing him this weekend.
 
As for myself and reenacting: I want to do it again and I'm (almost) set on attending the Cedar Creek reenactment after the Antietam muster in October. I learned quite a lot about my hoop and skirt and how to improve so that I don't step on either again either when walking or dancing and how both will actually stay up. lol Now to get it adjusted in the coming months. But before that, I'll surely have a blast at the last day on the Olustee battlefield. :smile:

Maybe you should just move here to the States, permanently. Might as well, since you spend most of your time here anyway.😁
 
Maybe you should just move here to the States, permanently. Might as well, since you spend most of your time here anyway.😁
After that weekend I seriously wished that so that I can attend more reenactments. But I know how terribly I would miss my family back home. I'm already living six and eight hours away from them, and often wish I were closer to visit more often. Putting the Pond between us would not make that any easier.

Glad you had a nice weekend @luinrina and it was wonderful seeing you again and hopefully will again soon. There's a good chance I'll be at Cedar Creek. Oh the general really wasn't playing General Lee, he actually was the CS overall commander General Jesse. But he did play Lee at the 150th anniversary of Appomattox, he does look like him but he wasn't playing him this weekend.
Thanks for the correction about General Lee / Jesse. @Equestriangirl93 saw him come riding in and told me "Look, there's General Lee!" He truly does look like him and by the cheering you guys had going it was hard to think otherwise. :D

It would be so awesome to see you again at Cedar Creek. Thank you for inviting me to fall in with your unit, and many thanks to everyone for the warm hospitality I received. It was a pleasure sharing the campfire with all of them.
 
I first hit the Monument to the Women of the Confederacy which can be found in Confederate Park. The idea for a monument to the women came up during a veteran reunion in 1900. The formal dedication was in October 1915. The year before, in the same park (Dignan Park), a veteran reunion was held which attracted approx. 70,000 guests, among them around 8,000 veterans, many of them camping in Dignan Park. To commemorate that the city changed the park's name to Confederate Park.
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(Sorry for the darkish pictures; it was quite foggy this morning.)

I then headed to the Old City Cemetery and took lots of pictures of graves. I posted a separate thread on it: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/old-city-cemetery-jacksonville-florida.169089/

Next stop was the Confederate Monument at Hemming Plaza. It was erected in 1898 and paid by veteran Charles C. Hemming who had fought in the western theater and got captured in 1863 at Missionary Ridge. He could flee to Canada and was involved in spying on US installations in the midwest. He eventually returned to the 3rd Florida Infantry and fought for the rest of the war.

When Jacksonville was devastated by a fire in May 1901, with 146 city blocks destroyed and almost 10,000 people without homes, the Confederate monument was the only thing that surived. The monument's base glowed red from the heat.
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After that I drove over to the Camp Captain Mooney Cemetery. It was established after a skirmish in 1864 that left seven Confederates dead and 12 captured. The dead were buried where they fell.
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Next stop was Camp Milton Historic Preserve. Camp Milton was established after the Battle of Olustee and designed by P.G.T. Beauregard to prevent the Union soldiers from venturing inland again. The Confederates temporarily abandoned the camp when many units were transported to other theaters of war. The Union occupied and destroyed much of the camp. They than fell back to Jacksonville and the Confederates took Camp Milton back.

I walked all the available paths and took pictures of dozens of plaques but I couldn't get into the education center as it was closed due to President's Day. The park has a collection of historic trees which were grown from seeds from witness trees or trees that stood in places of significant history, like this one:
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At the park you can see a section of remaining earthworks that protected Camp Milton. Unfortunately, they're in the middle of an overgrown wood and you can hardly see anything. You need a lot of imagination. Thankfully, at the very end of the path, there's a marker showing the preserve and earthworks.
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They also had constructed some breastworks near the parking lot but the marker was empty. On my way back to the car, after having seen the layout of the earthworks, I realized that they reconstructed what the (remaining) earthworks might have looked like back in 1864.
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I then followed the "tour" @22ndGa suggested in my planning thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/planning-florida-trip-suggestions.162123/#post-2135361 Thank you, Mike! Without your tips I would never have found the marker at Cedar Creek.
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At that point my cell ran out of battery so I couldn't take any more pictures at Cedar Creek. :frown: I got it recharged sufficiently enough for Gravely Hill Cemetery which is just around the corner, so to speak, where there are a couple of veterans buried. Just two of the dozen or so I took:
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I then drove over to Evergreen Cemetery. Here's my extra thread on it: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/evergreen-cemetery-jacksonville-florida.169090/

Next was Yellow Bluff Historic State Park. It was part of the coastal defense system Lee planned in 1862. Yellow Bluff changed hands seven times. Unfortunately, apart from a couple of melted cannons and a commemorate monument the park has no markers. It would've made understanding the layout and significance of the earthworks easier.
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I then headed on to Fort Caroline where St. John's Bluff was located. I didn't have much time left though to explore the premises before they closed the gates. I only managed to sneak a peak at the river, rush through the small visitor center and buy a book (Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz). And that was it for today.

Tomorrow's program: Fernandina Beach and Fort Clinch
 
When they say, 'They had to fall back 2 or 3 miles in a running fight', I can visualize the remoteness, the flatness of the land, and the vegetation that marked their paths. These are the obstacles that were in their way while fighting. Luckily it was not the hottest season of the year, but it still may have been insufferable. Photos are excellent.
Lubliner.
 
This morning I walked to the Fernandina Beach Lighthouse which was built in 1839. At the start of the Civil War, the Confederates removed the light and hit it and other equipment in Waldo before moving them to Madison in 1864. After the Union took possession of Amelia Island, they relit the lighthouse. Unfortunately, the lighthouse is accessible only by tour so I could only take pictures from afar.
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On my way back to the hotel I walked by some houses that have been in Fernandina during the Civil War and were partly even used by the Union. This building for instance was built ca. 1860 and used as a hospital.
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Or this lovely house built in 1859 and which was occupied by Union troops.
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I next checked out the Bosque Bello cemetery. It was bigger than I had thought and therefore no clue where exactly to look for the veterans that are buried in the cemetery. I walked through part of the older section and found a few headstones:
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Afterward I headed to Fort Clinch and spent a good three hours exploring the fort and pestered the "Union soldier on duty" with questions. :whistling: :rolleyes: :D He eventually took flight and wasn't seen again after 12 a.m. :giggle:
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After finishing with the fort, I headed back into the historic town for my cruise. At the visitor center (train depot) I met this gentleman waiting for his train to Cedar Key:
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Any guesses who he is? :D I give you some hints: When in 1862 most Florida units were sent north to battlefields in Virginia and the western theater, the remaining forces gave up Fernandina; they were too few to hold it against a possible Union attack. The day the last train left Fernandina, the Union navy came into town. They saw the train leave for the mainland and bombarded it. The last car was hit, killing two boys. The train stopped and the frightened passengers hid in bushes. Someone got the train to work again and it continued on inland. Since then Fernandina was under Union control until the close of the war. The gentleman next to me sat in that last train off Amelia Island.

My cruise led along the coast of Amelia Island to Fort Clinch...
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... over to Cumberland Island. On the way through the Cumberland Sound we saw dolphins 🐬, on Cumberland Island some wild horses 🐎. We followed a water inlet into Cumberland Island to the ruins of the Dungeness Mansion where Robert E. Lee's father, Lighthorse Harry Lee, died and was buried.
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On that cruise I had the pleasure of meeting a lady with the family name Meigs - a relation to the Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs. He's not her direct ancestor, but they both share a common ancestor, Josiah Meigs, the first president of the University of Georgia. As I didn't want to be too nosey I left it at that. We talked a bit about the Civil War in Florida; most of what I told her she had never heard before.

And that alread concluded my visit to Fernandina. After the cruise I headed straight for St. Augustine which is on tomorrow's agenda.
 
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