The Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee Jonathan C
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2008 "By the Noble Daring of Her Sons": The Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee Jonathan C. Sheppard Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES “BY THE NOBLE DARING OF HER SONS”: THE FLORIDA BRIGADE OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE By JONATHAN C. SHEPPARD A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2008 Copyright © 2008 Jonathan C. Sheppard All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Jonathan C. Sheppard defended on July 1, 2008. ________________________________ James P. Jones Professor Directing Dissertation ________________________________ J. Anthony Stallins Outside Committee Member ________________________________ Joe M. Richardson Committee Member ________________________________ Peter Garretson Committee Member ________________________________ Michael Creswell Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii “Why did they come? Because their State called them.” Robert H. M. Davidson, June 16, 1898 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Without mentors, family, and friends, this dissertation could not have been attempted, much less completed. Therefore I will attempt to render my gratitude and appreciation to those who accompanied me on this journey. First, I owe Dr. Jim Jones thanks for being not only a major professor, but a friend. Dr. Jones’ guidance and suggestions helped mold this dissertation, and his dispensing of advice regarding academia has always been helpful. His door was always open to discuss a variety of subjects, from sports to music; mercifully, politics were generally avoided. I also would like to thank the members of my committee: Dr. Michael Creswell, Dr. Peter Garretson, Dr. Joe M. Richardson, and Dr. Tony Stallins. Excellent instructors and scholars, each, in his own way helped to forge my academic career, and I will be eternally grateful. In addition, I need to name Ms. Debbie Perry and Ms. Chris Pignatiello. Ms. Perry, though now retired, went above and beyond in advising me on my course of study. Ms. Chris Pignatiello’s humorous remarks always succeeded in making me laugh. My research for this topic led me to many archives and libraries in several states; at each the archivists and their staffs were extremely accommodating and provided an excellent environment for research. I have to begin with Dr. Boyd Murphree and the archivists at the Florida State Archives in Tallahassee. The Florida State Library staff were also extremely helpful in locating various microfilmed newspapers and made available the Washington M. Ives, Jr., Papers. My gratitude is extended to the Interlibrary Loan staff at Strozier Library at FSU, as well as to Special Collections; Mr. Norwood Kerr at the Alabama Division of Archives and History; Ms. Joan D. Linn at the Keystone Genealogical Library at Monticello, Florida; Ms. Melissa Smith of the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library at Tulane University; Mr. Eric Milenkiewicz of the Special Collections Library at the University of California, Riverside; Mr. John Coski at the Museum of the Confederacy; Mr. James Cusick, Curator at the PK Yonge Library of Florida History, and the knowledgeable and helpful archivists at both the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and the Duggan Library at Hanover College. iv A large thanks is also given to Mr. Zack Waters of Rome, Georgia. A proficient and knowledgeable Florida Civil War historian and fellow, suffering-Braves fan, Zack generously invited me to Rome and provided me with a stack of his own, carefully collected research. Without these letters and unpublished manuscripts, the Florida Brigade’s story could not have been adequately told. I also take this time to thank him for his suggestions and encouragement throughout the writing process. A graduate student could not ask for a better department than Florida State’s and I wish to thank my fellow graduate students for their encouragement and levity during my years at that institution. Thanks go first to the “Old Breed:” Major Mike Bonura, Dan Blumlo, Amy Carney, Tim Fitzpatrick, Jon Grandage, Chris Griffin, Dr. Vinny Mikkelsen, Dr. Jon Mikolashek, Liz Bryant Morgenstern, Dr. David Nelson, Stephanie Laffer, Vikki Penziner, Travis Ritt, Dr. Pam Robbins, Jonathan Weber, and Dr. Seth Weitz. Special thanks go to the Boat Doc, Ed Wiser, for taking time from his own research to request copies for me at the Museum of the Confederacy. I remain indebted to Matt Harrington who, many years ago, gave me his Official Records volumes. Thanks go to Chris Day, whose sense of humor makes even a bad day on the golf course enjoyable, and who shared in a research trip to Washington that either of us will ever forget; thanks also go to the entire Black Sox softball organization for many enjoyable seasons, and for allowing an average hitter and abysmal fielder to remain on the team. Matt Brackett and Steve Lauer listened to me expound on the Florida Brigade’s woes over dinner and breakfast respectively, and never complained; and to Dr. Lee Willis who provided advice and encouragement during our many campus coffee runs. Of the newer graduate students I need to mention Sarah Burns, Westin Nunn, and Andy Zwilling, whose office always reverberated with laughter and good conversation. Tim Corradino, my grader during the writing process performed his job well, making my life easier. I thank him for waiting until after the semester was over to break his finger and play with fire. Lastly, I need to thank the Ramsey Bend crew for putting up with me; my grandparents and other family members for all their support, and for Momma and Daddy, whose sustaining encouragement and love I can only hope to somehow repay in full. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract xii Introduction 1 Chapter I - “Therefore let us unite”: Antebellum Florida’s State of Disunion 4 Chapter II - “Like Achilles he has girded on his armour”: 26 April - September 1861 Chapter III - “The war trumpet is sounding its blasts in every direction around us”: 49 October - December 1861 Chapter IV - “Its Flag Will Show Where The Fight Was Hottest”: 67 January - April, 1862: West Florida and Shiloh Chapter V - “To Maintain Inviolate the Sacred Honor of Florida”: 83 January - May 1862: East Florida Chapter VI - “Our cause is just and we need not fear defeat”: 101 The Floridians’ Rationales For Fighting the Civil War Chapter VII - “I Am Now As You Know in the Enemys Country”: 110 June - August, 1862 Chapter VIII - “Another Luminous Page to the History of Florida”: 129 September -October 8, 1862 Chapter IX - “Our Company and Regiments Mourns The Loss of Their Very Best”: 159 October 9, 1862 - January 10, 1863 Chapter X- “I expect we will stay here all winter:” 187 Tennessee, Winter-Spring 1863 Chapter XI - “This seems to be our darkest times”: 209 May 26-July 15, 1863 Chapter XII - “Napoleon’s ‘Old Guard’ never fought harder”: 229 July 16 - September 21, 1863 vi Chapter XIII - “ I have never known them to fail in the hour of trial”: 253 September 21 - December 2, 1863 Chapter XIV - “The old soldiers are much better satisfied. .”: 277 December 1863 - May 5, 1864 Chapter XV - “The . entire brigade suffered immensely & accomplished nothing:” 295 May 7 - September 3, 1864 Chapter XVI - “This is a kind of curious management to me”: 330 September 4, 1864 - January 1, 1865 EPILOGUE 365 BIBLIOGRAPHY 377 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 394 vii ABSTRACT Between 1861 and 1862, Floridians flocked to join the six regiments that eventually constituted the Florida Brigade of the West. As the fragile remains of the 1st and 3rd Florida’s Battle Flag attests, portions of the brigade saw action in every major campaign of the Western Theater, save Iuka and Corinth. Until November 1863, the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th Infantry Regiments and the dismounted 1st Cavalry Regiment, served in separate brigades in different areas of the west. While the 1st, 3rd, and 4th soldiered with the Army of Tennessee in major campaigns, the others protected the important Virginia-Tennessee railine against East Tennessee Unionists. Following the Florida Brigade’s organization in November 1863, it became the epitome of the hardluck Army of Tennessee. Below strength, poorly armed, and shoddily equipped, the soldiers of the brigade followed their commanders through some of the hardest fighting of the war. From Missionary Ridge to Nashville, attrition whittled away at the small units. While many fell in battle, wounds incapacitated others, and still more wasted away in Northern prison camps. At the time of the surrender at Bennett Place, just over four hundred veterans remained with the brigade. Through “By The Noble Daring Of Her Sons,” the story of these regiments, from their inceptions to their surrenders, will be told. While this dissertation seeks to describe the Florida Brigade’s military campaign, that is not its sole purpose. Rather, “By The Noble Daring Of Her Sons” uses the context of the Florida Brigade to allow the reader to experience various aspects of the war, including important but little-known facets. Furthermore, this dissertation proposes that Florida, before the war was a fractured state, with citizens maintaining regional allegiances. The overarching theme of this study is to establish that the Floridians’ service during the Civil War helped to create a state identity. viii INTRODUCTION Unlike some writers who undertake a unit history, none of my direct ancestors served with General Jesse Johnson Finley’s Florida Brigade. George Hartsfield, an uncle several generations removed, enlisted in one of the regiments of the Florida Brigade. George, a North Carolina-born farmer, was both illiterate and from a non-slaveholding family.