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Mort Kunstler
Florida in the War Between the States
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Many people are not aware of the fact that Florida is a true Southern state with a rich Southern heritage. Florida was the third state to secede from the Union, and within a month it joined with other Southern states to form the Confederate States of America prior to the War for Southern Independence. (1861-1865)
By mid-1862 most of Florida's soldiers had been sent outside the state. In the Army of Northern Virginia, Florida units were organized into a Florida Brigade. Later, a second Florida Brigade was formed from units serving in the other major Confederate army, the Army of Tennessee. Floridians fought in most of the major battles of the war, including the Battle of Gettysburg, where they suffered heavy casualties.
Yankee troops in the winter of 1864 decided to invade Tallahassee and Florida's prosperous cotton kingdom. Florida's capital was but twenty miles from the sea and vulnerable to attack as Florida units were fighting elsewhere. The arrival of a large Federal force at St. Marks caused panic in Tallahassee. In an effort to defend the Capitol, every man and boy who could bear arms volunteered to join the thin ranks of the Confederate Army. The forces were made up of wounded confederate soldiers home to recuperate, men as old as 70 and cadets as young as 14 from West Florida Seminary (now Florida State University).
In the "Battle of Natural Bridge" as it was named, this ragtag defensive force halted Union advancement and drove them back to the Gulf. Tallahassee, Florida, thus, became the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi that didn't fall to Union attack. This last battle in Florida really meant little in the actual outcome of the war as Northern armies penetrated the South, separating Florida's resources from the Confederate armies. However, it was considered quite an accomplishment by historians, the five-day battle concluded when a motley militia of old men and young boys defeated seasoned Union troops.
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A minister in Florida lamented that it was difficult to get his message across to his congregation.
He said, "It's so beautiful here in the winter that heaven doesn't interest them.
And it's so hot here in the summer that hell doesn't scare them."
