:.^%.. -Mi: .^^^ > '^., ■y <: ■S-' '^^ .\^ x'^^^.. ■■^'■ix :\>'^' x^"^"* ^' V '"/ "^:^ o. ■^o 0^ < • '%^-<^' ' : .x^' ■"■f. -:>* v^^ '\, ^■' s ' <> '' . ^ A O ^ ^ V^^^ ^ ' " /; '' ■ ' '.• ■'<•■ ^ ■-N ^ X ^, ^^A >*^ -"oo^ nO^. :\ .^^ V ^ (j* s // C' =,*<*. iV' a\ .^ >•■ a^ '<=>. * K ■ x^"^ ^ A O, '^.oVx-*' ,0^ <- -?^ .-^^ * . O- H ' '^. V" aN .•^\ 'OO^ % " ' N^^^.. :^^^- .-I -':. ^/.-^^^<^.o^ "■ „,%^T?f;^^/ ,v ->. vX- .0- ■<^' ^':^'., .^% ^^ xV -P^ '^.^ ^- N ■^'• *-■ ^ " ,0 v>^ . ,-0 -^:<, ..-b^^ -; 1 o %^- ■'^. <^ ^ .0 o 0^ Oo, ^>' '^/^ ^ .^^^ .^■\ '-Ss. • 0' ■^^. ^^ ^^ ci-^ \^ O 0' ■o'^c :^. aN^"^- ,^^^ -f, vX\^ .^ '^^ V o 0' ,0 c <:^ o"^ '7', " .o- :\: X> ,^\^'' A^^-- .6^^ -i\^ -S 0- --A, ^' ■/\ ,0^ .^^^■ ■% %^^^ A /'^> 0' .A" \.^^^" o-^ -r. oo^ s " >\ V v^^' ^^ o>- ^0^ '$'. c'^ .J*'' v' .^*^ 3 •> \^ \.<> THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA /SO is BY WILLIAM WATSON DAVIS, A. M. Assistant Professor, Amfritan IJislory Unhersily of Kansas Sometime University Fellow in American History Columbia University SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE Faculty of Political Science Columbia University NEW YORK I913 Copyright, 1913 BY WILLIAM WATSON DAVIS TO MY FATHER MATTHEW LIVINGSTON DAVIS OF ALABAMA Fsilo Gilt PREFACE Before this monograph on Florida was begun Ameri- can historians had presented with admirable clearness and breadth the essential facts and principles involved in the momentous issues which conh-onted the nation for more than a decade after 1861. The field had been fairly- explored. Little that was both broadly significant and new remained unexploited. The present work is there- fore something like a small section of a long appendix. It belongs logically to that body of monographic litera- ture which usually follows the stimulating analysis of a period or of an extended institution. The crop of Civil War and Reconstruction monographs is steadily increas- ing and today at least exhibits evidences of good inten- tion and industry on the part of the monographists. Maybe from these detailed studies a wiser and juster in- terpretation of the period will be produced for some later generation, although nothing, not even mono- graphs, can save a generation from seeking what it de- sires, which in matters historical seems to be history that is proven ("authentic" is the word usually heard) and interesting ("just like a romance" is the phrase) — re- gardless of the facts in the case. People seem to want their opinions on past politics ready-made, and there is a successful effort to supply the small demand. This is evidently not a phenomenon of our utilitarian age. Montaigne referred to it more than three centuries ago. "The middle sort of historians (of which the most are)," he concluded sadly, "spoil it all; they ^vill chew our viii PREFACE meat for us . . . they pass judgment and consequently twist history to suit their fancy." The object of this particular monograph can be suc- cinctly stated because the object is simple; namely, to present the course of political events in Florida through a limited period, to show how national policies afifected local politics there, to supplement in a small way what is already well known concerning the history of the nation at large. No facts or conclusions of very broad signifi- cance are presented here for the first time. No claim is made to revolutionary, original, or particularly new explanation of what took place in Florida or out. It is probably just as well that the striking and original features of this book are left out, for it is thick enough as it is — which is a sign of literary youth, I am told. I undertook the writing of this monograph on the sug- gestion of Professor William A. Dunning, in whose semi- nar at Columbia University I was a student when the suggestion was made to me. The work has slowly reached completion under the eye of Professor Dunning. To him I am sincerely grateful for what I believe to be the best help that a student of the Civil War and Recon- struction can receive on the subject. In writing this book I have encountered the diffi- culties and disappointments incident to historical investi- gation. I have found surviving testimony very thin on some subjects. I have found many clear gaps in the surviving records. The historical material which is available is in reality scattered and scant. Hence there are gaps and thin places in this study. These short- comings can best be appreciated by reading the mono- graph. It does not become me to point them out. I have written too much already about the book. " The author who speaks about his own book," wrote Benja- PREFACE ix min Disraeli, with the insight of one who had many books but no children to his credit, "is almost as bad as the mother who talks about her own children." It has been my object to supplement as much as pos- sible scientific use of documents by conversations with some of those men and women who personally experi- enced the Civil War and Reconstruction in Florida. I am much indebted to many of them for advice and in- formation, particularly to Mr. Daniel Brent and the late Mr. Edward Anderson of Pensacola, to Mr. William Trimmer of Molino, to Judge P. W. White of Quincy, to Mrs. Chapman, and Mr. Thomas Barnes of Marianna, to ex-Governor Bloxham, Judge Hocker, Judge Taylor. Judge Bernard, Judge Raney and the late Colonel Fred. L. Robertson of Tallahassee. I have been greatly aided through advice and documentary material presented by other friends and acquaintances — younger men and women than the foregoing. My uncle, Philip Keyes Yonge of Pensacola, put his valuable library at my dis- posal. My cousin, Julien C. Yonge of Pensacola, through his scholarly insight aided me greatly in obtaining his- torical material. For various helpful suggestions and kindnesses I am indebted to Mr. and Mrs. William Mil- ton, Judge Carter, and Mr. Thomas Walker of Marianna, Mr. F. F. Bingham of Pensacola, Mr. W. L. Cawthon of De Funiak Springs, Judge Parkhill of Tallahassee, Col- onel Choate of Tallahassee, Miss Maggie Williams of Tallahassee and Miss Gamble of Virginia. In the preparation of the manuscript for the printer I was faithfully and efficiently aided by Mr. F. W. Charles- worth, Mr. Earle Moore and Mr. R. E. L. Gunning, students in the University of Kansas, and by Mr. F. I. Carter of Lawrence, Kansas. The proof was read by Professor Dunning, whose sug- X PREFACE gestions and corrections proved invaluable to me. I am indebted to Professor Edwin R. A. Seligman for his kindly interest in getting the work into press. In the revision of the proof my sister, Sarah Caroline Davis, helped me greatly by her careful, patient work. For sound criticism and never-failing encouragement I am deeply indebted to two very dear kinswomen : Mrs. Malcolm C. Anderson and Miss M. Louise Sullivan of New York. Finally I wish to acknowledge the substantial help and steady encouragement rendered by my father, to whom this volume is dedicated. He has shown deep interest in the work in spite of his many pressing business cares. He has sympathized intelligently with me in those inevitable difficulties that are apt to come, I am told, to young writers. He has backed me up consistently from first to last. His aid made the publication of this history possible. William Watson Davis. The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, December \, 1912. TABLE OF CONTENTS BOOK 1 IHE PARTING OF THE WAYS CHAPTER I The Evolution of a Slave-Holding Commonwealth PAGE Historical background. Colonial Florida 3 The civilized population of Spanish Florida 9 The coming of the Americans 1 1 The sale of the public land 13 The beginning of Territorial politics 15 The rise of the planter class 17 The poor whites 20 The bank question in Territorial Florida 22 The Union Bank 23 " Flush Times " — boom towns 24 The panic of 1837 25 The defeat in politics of the large planters. Revolt against capi- talism 26 CHAPTER H The Last Years of the Ante-Bellum Regime The Seminole war and the panic. Depression 30 Economic development during the fifties 32 Growing hostility to the North. The political crisis of 1850 .... 35 Southern-rights Democrats of Florida 36 Sectional animosity 37 The rise of the Constitutional Union party 38 Florida and the Charleston Convention. The divided Democracy. 39 The campaign of i860 in Florida 41 Lawlessness. Evidences of physical coercion 42 The portentous signs of the times 44 The election of i860 in Florida 45 xi xii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER III Secession Protest against the election of Lincoln. The call to arms 47 Efforts to stem the tide of secession 49 Why the people of the South opposed the North 50 The views of Senator Mallory and President Buchanan 51 The number and location of farms and slave-holders in Florida . . 52 Popular opinion throughout Florida. Impending revolution 53 The convening of the Secession Convention, January 3d, 1861 .... 56 Two ways of seceding. The Convention chooses the quicker .... 58 Radical advice from other states. A commissioner from the Re- public of South CaroHna 59 Efforts of conservatives to delay action 61 Passage of the Ordinance of Secession, January loth, 1861 63 Florida "a Nation." Enthusiasm. The question of Northern debts. 65 Completing the process of secession 67 The spirit of the revolution 68 CHAPTER IV The Seizure of Federal Property and the Raising of Troops Secession leaders plan to seize Federal fortifications in Florida. . 69 The Federal War Department is informed of the danger 70 The seizure of forts and arsenals by state troops 71 The situation on Pensacola bay : peaceable surrender or hazardous defense ? 74 Discord and indecision among Federal officers in West Florida. . 76 Slemmer's move across the channel. Barrancas and McRee aban- doned 77 State militia prepares to seize the navy-yard and forts 79 The surrender of the |Pensacola navy-yard 81 The conservative course of Wm. Chase. No effort to take Pickens. 83 Executive radicalism in accord with the times 85 The severing of actual administrative and political relations with the Union 86 Florida's ante-bellum militia. Militia elections. Reorganization.. 87 The first troops. The origin of Florida's war militia 88 The organization of the Confederate Army. First requisitions . . 90 The arming, mobilizing and maintenance of troops 91 Popular response to the alarm. Troops raised in Florida during the first year of war 94 The Confederate military system absorbs that of the states 95 TALLE OF CONTENTS xiii TAGE CHAPTER V The Fort Pickens Truce The policy of President Buchanan : constitutional conservatism . . 97 The forts in Florida and South Carolina. Impending war 99 The origin of the Fort Pickens Truce. Buchanan consistent 100 Fort Pickens at the mercy of state troops 102 Lincoln and the Fort Pickens Truce. A change of policy 104 The Pickens relief expedition 105 The mobilization of a Confederate army on Pensacola bay. The Truce utilized 107 The misdirected orders to break the Truce. Pickens not rein- forced 108 Special despatches through Confederate lines. Pickens rein- forced 108 Lincoln's policy of reinforcement known in the Confederate war department m Efforts to bribe members of the Pickens garrison 112 The Southern volunteers on Pensacola bay 114 Confederate fortifications and troops. Russell's testimony 117 The interior of Fort Pickens 120 Continuation of the armed truce in the "Sebastopol of America".. 121 The significance of mobilizing the Army of Pensacola 122 BOOK II THE CIVIL WAR CHAPTER VI The Beginning of Hostilities in Florida The burning of the dry dock and the attack on the Judah 125 Confederate preparations for reprisal 127 The engagement before dawn on Santa Rosa island 129 The results of the engagement 132 The first duel of the forts I33 Results of the bombardment 13S The development of the conflict. A far-flung frontier 138 The aggressive movement in the West and the depletion of sea- board armies i39 Military weakness in Florida. Causes 140 The " One Year Men " and the disbanding of the state militia .... 143 xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE The Confederate war department's defensive policy on the Flor- ida coast 144 The transmission of the pressure to Florida. Troops ordered to Tennessee 146 Preparations to abandon the seaboard. Public opinion 148 CHAPTER VII Federal Invasion The origin of the Federal invasion of East Florida 150 The raid upon Cedar Keys, Gulf railway terminus 151 The sailing of the Florida expedition of invasion from Port Royal. 153 The arrival of the Federal squadron. Flight from Fernandina . . 155 The Federal descent upon Jacksonville and the burnings by Con- federate irregulars 156 The occupation of Jacksonville by Federal troops. Public senti- ment there 157 The peaceful conquest of St. Augustine 159 The military situation in East Florida. The promising outlook of Unionists 160 The Gulf coast. Garrison duty 161 The Federal visit at Apalachicola. Awful destitution 162 Pensacola after a year of war. Weeds and desolation 164 Preparations to abandon Pensacola. Destruction of property by Confederate military 165 Evacuation. The destruction of the navy-yard by Confederate orders 166 The occupation of Pensacola by Federal troops 168 The abandonment of Jacksonville by Federal troops and its reoc- cupation 169 The second abandonment of Jacksonville and its reoccupation a second time 171 The third abandonment. The burning of Jacksonville. Vandalism. 173 CHAPTER VIII Economic Adjustment to the War The effect of secession on the state constitution 175 Secession measures and war measures 176 State financial measures to meet the crisis. Bonds and notes .... 177 The depreciation of securities. Efforts to uphold values 179 War-time currency. Recapitulation of conditions in Florida 181 TABLE OF CONTENTS XV PAGE Speculation in currency and supplies. Legislative efforts to con- trol speculation 183 Increased public expenditure: state troops, war supplies, Confed- erate tax, indigent 185 The operation and incidence of the Confederate Impressment Act and Direct Tax Act 186 State aid to the indigent and starving families of soldiers 188 Conflict in the enforcement of Confederate and state laws 190 The Yulee sugar case. Conflict between private owner and Con- federate agent 192 The Florida railroad-iron case. Serious controversy over impress- ment 193 Public opinion in the railroad-iron case. Conflict between civil and military authorities I94 War-time business. Blockade-running in Florida 196 The evil effects of blockade trade 198 Did the blockade trade pay ? 201 War-time industry : salt-making in Florida. Confederate and private works 203 The destruction of salt works by the Federal navy 205 Agriculture, industry and state law. Speculation 210 The overseer and substitute question. Policy of the unwarlike .. 211 Exemptions from military service. Bonded agriculturists 213 A synthetic view of war-time economy in Florida 215 CHAPTER IX The Negro and the War Black faithfulness and the commendation of one-time slaveholders. 218 The patrol laws of i860. Stricter control of the blacks. Fear 220 The negro as a vital economic factor. Overseers 221 The impressment of slaves for the Confederate Army 223 Negro recruits from Florida in the Federal Army. The " Corps d'Af rique " 224 The question of black troops for the Confederate service 225 The Confederate congress provides for negro recruitment. Flor- ida's quota 226 Black invaders. Fear of servile insurrection 228 The invasion of East Florida by Higginson's negro brigade 230 Raiding by negro troops 232 The negro's efficiency as a soldier in Florida 234 Social experimentation. Negro schools within Federal lines 235 xvi TABLE OF CONTENTS PACK Political experimentation. Negro political meetings and patriotic parades 236 The legal status of the negro in Florida within Federal lines .... 238 Early efforts to emancipate by military order. Hunter, Morgan and Terry 240 Emancipation by military order at Key West 241 CHAPTER X Internal Opposition to the Confederacy : Unionists and Deserters The term " Union Man." Northern traditions 243 Native Southern Unionists. Approximate number of Union sym- pathizers in Florida 245 Union sentiment in Key West. Military coercion 247 Sequestration and confiscation 249 The rise of the Unionist politicians. Protest against the Confed- eracy 250 Co-operation of the military with East Florida reorganizers .... 251 The abandonment of Jacksonville and the flight of Union men .... 252 The National Administration takes a hand in East Florida poli- tics. Disaster 254 The plan of Eli Thayer : economic reconstruction in Florida .... 255 Efforts to suppress Union sentiment. Confederate irregulars. A reign of terror 257 The deserter and conscript question. Organization among those disloyal to the Confederacy 258 The serious aggression of deserters and bandits. Efforts to sup- press them 259 The epistle of Strickland and the "Florida Royals" in the "United States of Taylor " 262 The policy of the Confederate Government toward Deserters in Florida 263 The causes of desertion. Gov. Milton's opinion. Conscription and poverty 264 Recapitulation. The problem for the state created by Union men and deserters 266 CHAPTER XI The Olustee Campaign The failure of the Confederates' food supply. The importance of Florida 268 Maj. White's circular encourages Federal invasion for plunder .. 270 TABLE OF CONTENTS xvii PAGE Political motives. Lincoln's reconstruction policy. Stickney's in- trigues 272 The invasion of Florida suggested. Political demonstrations .... 274 Military and naval preparation for the invasion of Florida 276 The arrival of the Federal army. Florida open to invasion 277 The Henry raid. The interior penetrated for fifty miles. Desti- tution and destruction 277 The cautious movement of the main Federal army. Confederate outlook 280 Confederate preparations at Olustee. Federal forward movement. 282 The morning march to the fatal battlefield 286 The opening of the battle of Olustee. Confederate troops advance. 287 Deployment under fire. The Federal column crushed 288 The defeat. (Rapid retreat of the Federal army toward Jackson- ville 290 The battle of Olustee checks political plans. Northern press opinion 293 The result of the Olustee campaign. Cabinet opinion 294 CHAPTER Xn The Last Year's Fighting The Confederate defenses in Northwest Florida 296 The closing phase of the war 297 The war in East Florida. Skirmishers and torpedoes on the St. Johns 298 Raids into South Florida. Smyrna and Tampa , . 300 Fighting on the St. Johns. The " Columbine " and Dickison 301 Federal raiding expeditions from Jacksonville. Burning and plun- dering 303 Central and West Florida. Asboth at Barrancas. Neighborhood skirmishing 307 Efforts to penetrate the interior. Cedar Keys raids. The Mari- anna tragedy 309 Raiding and skirmishing in West Florida. Dickison at Station No. 4 312 The struggle at Natural Bridge, 1865. Defeat of the invaders .... 314 xviii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE BOOK III POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION CHAPTER XIII The End of the War The end of the South's struggle for independence. The cost .... 319 Florida's part in the struggle 322 The official surrender of General Jones (C. S. A.) to General McCook 325 The restraints of law removed. Demoralization 329 The Federal military supplants the civil authority 331 The state government abolished by military orders 332 Federal policy toward political leaders 334 Arbitrary restraints on free speech. Obstreperous pastors 336 Federal garrisons. Negro soldiers take the place of white soldiers. 337 The Federal military attempts to protect the negro's interests .... 339 The negroes test their freedom 341 The Tribune's summary of conditions in Florida . . .' 34-\ CHAPTER XIV Political Reorganization The new period. Retrospect and prejudice 346 The central theme of Reconstruction 349 Judge Chase and Federal patronage in Florida 350 Reed's letter to Blair , 351 The provisional governorship 353 The appointment of Judge Marvin provisional governor of Florida. 354 The policy of Marvin, provisional governor 357 The governor calls a convention 359 The election of delegates to a convention. Ex-iConfederates control. 360 Critical questions : The war-debt and the civil status of the negro. 361 The extent and character of the convention's work 364 The further progress of civil reorganization. Opposition to Con- gress 365 Conservative opinions on the temper of Florida 367 Tranquility in Florida. The press and Confederate veterans .... 368 Disturbing factors, social and political 370 Evidences of economic recuperation. Business picks up 372 The appearance of secret organization among the negroes 374 The conservative Southern white and negro secret societies .... 375 TABLE OF CONTENTS xix PAGE CHAPTER XV , The Freedmen's Bureau and Public Opinion The object of the Bureau and its establishment in Florida 377 The local organization of the Bureau 37^ The restoration of abandoned and confiscated property 380 The scope of the Bureau 382 Charitable assistance. Food and medical attention 383 The establishment of free schools for negroes 385 State and Federal negro schools 387 Northern and Southern opinion on negro education 389 The Freedman's Savings-Bank in Florida 390 The supervision of written labor contracts by the Bureau 393 The working out of the contract system 395 The judgment of the native whites : Conservative opinion 39'^ The Southern planter's judgment 399 The professed policy of the Bureau and its political tendency 400 Conflict of prejudices 402 Evidences of graft in Bureau administration 403 The clash of authority between the Freedmen's Bureau and local government 405 The fundamental reasons for condemnation of the Bureau by Con- servatives 407 CHAPTER XVI The Problem of Conservative Rule The task before the Conservative state government 408 The looming up of negro suffrage as an issue 409 The origin and necessity of the Black Codes 41 1 The " Free Negro " in Florida under the old regime 413 The proposal of different laws for different races 415 The enactment of the Black Code 41/ The object of the Black Code 421 The effect of the Black Code 422 The spirit of Conservative legislation on the race question, 1865-6. 424 Evidences of social disorder 426 Congressional condemnation of the Florida government 428 The supremacy of military authority 430 The Federal Civil Rights Act and its effect in Florida 432 Preliminary organization of Radical and Conservative 433 The unanimous repudiation of the proposed 14th Amendment .... 433 XX TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER XVII The Beginning of Radical Reconstruction The political object of Radicals in reconstructing Southern gov- ernments 438 The Reconstruction Committee in Washington. Floridians tes- tify before it 440 Radicals in Florida condemn Southern whites 441 Adverse reports from army officers on Southern loyalty 443 In^pending Reconstruction. Would the Supreme Court intervene? 444 Passage of the Reconstruction Laws; public opinion in Florida .. 445 Ready submission to Congress advised by Southern leaders 448 Did conditions in Florida necessitate such drastic laws? 450 The application of the Reconstruction laws; military rule begin. 454 The Blacks experiment in politics 455 A Negro political picnic. Parading and speaking 456 Conservative whites essay to lead the negroes. Results 459 CHAPTER XVIII Registration and the Organiz.xtion of Local Parties Military rule. Little public disturbance or injustice 463 Preparation for registration. Registers and their duty 465 The process of registration 466 Preparation for the election. Districting Florida. The gerrymander. 468 The result of registration. 30 per cent of the whites not registered. 469 The evolution of Republican factions, 1867 470 The first Radical state convention — negroes, carpet-baggers, and scalawags 474 Carpet-baggers vs. scalawags 475 " The birds of passage " 476 The attitude of Conservative white toward carpet-bagger and scal- awag 479 |Prospective strength of Radical and Conservative parties in Florida. 482 The Union-Conservative movement 483 The Conservative Southerner's advice to the negro 484 Apathy among the whites in organizing and registering 487 The aggressive Radical campaign. Religion and politics 489 TABLE OF content: x:cI PAGE CHAPTER XIX The Constitutional Convention of 1868 The election of delegates. Overwhelming iRadical victory 491 The character of the body chosen to make a new constitution .... 493 Conservative charges of fraud. Attempted obstruction 497 Radical and Conservative opinions on election results 499 Radical white leaders organize negro delegates before the conven- tion opens 499 The assembling — "Education, Equal Rights and the Ballot Box".. 500 Radical legislation: stay laws and release of prisoners 501 Discord among Radicals S02 Threatened expulsion of Radical leaders — dead-lock 503 The Radical faction in the convention 504 The secession of moderate Republicans 506 The work of the Radical " Rump Convention " in Tallahassee .... 507 The midnight return of seceders to Tallahassee. Threatened riot. 509 The moderate constitution. The question of white control 510 The relations of moderate Republicans and Southern Conservatives. 512 The intervention of the Federal military. Moderates triumph .... 513 BOOK IV REPUBLICAN RULE CHAPTER XX The Inauguration of a Republican State Government The revival of the Democratic party South 519 The Conservative state convention. Opposition to the Constitution. 522 Radicals divided. Two Republican state tickets 522 The question of further proscribing Conservatives 525 The election. The Constitution ratified. Republican victory .... 526. The inauguration. Governor Harrison Reed 528 The character of the new legislature 529 The Federal military st'll retains control of the state government. 530 Florida again represented in the Federal congress, 1868 531 The end of military rule, July 4th, 1868 532 The establishment of local Republican government by executive appointment 533 The difficulty of obtaining good men for local office 535 xxii TABLE OP CONTENTS PAcr, Florida and the national nominations 536 The Presidential campaign of 1868. Aggressive tactics of Demo- crats 537 Arbitrary tactics. A Republican legislature chooses Presidential electors 540 CHAPTER XXI Conflict among iRadicals — Two Governors of Florida The origin of discord : Government jobs and contracts 542 Federal and state patronage 543 Governor Reed offends both Radical and Conservative 544. Graft proposals. The Governor further antagonizes Radical leaders. 546 The impeachment of Governor Reed 546 The Governor's position 548 The treachery of the Secretary of State, late of Massachusetts... 551 The conspiracy. Gleason's government in " McGuffin's Hotel" .. 551 Threatened violence. The picket line. Planned assassination . . 553 Judicial interposition. The Supreme Court supports Reed 553 Lieutenant-Governor Gleason driven from office through quo war- ranto 555 CHAPTER XXH The Outbreak of Lawlessness Toleration of violence 557 Rumors and reports concerning the Ku Klux Klan 558 The Young Men's Democratic club — secret political organization. . 561 The origin of the Democratic club. Was it similar to the Ku Klux Klan ? 562 Increase in violence. The Republican government seeks Federal aid 564 Conservative vs. Radical. The beginning of the "Reign of Terror" in Jackson County 565 The " Regulators " — night-riders. Whippings and killings 566 The death of Finlayson. The threatened sack of Marianna 568 The course of lawlessness. Conservative violence and Radical tyranny 569 Tragedy in Jackson County. Death of Miss McClellan at the hands of negroes 571 Fear of general conflict between races in Jackson County 573 Retaliation and revenge. The case of Fleishman. The authorities helpless 575 TABLE OF CONTENTS xxiii PAGE Republicans urge martial law and troops in Jackson County. Reed's position 577 Shootings, murders, and whippings throughout the state 579 The actual extent of violence in Florida 581 The end of the Jackson County trouble. Dickinson's death 583 The decline of lawlessness. Federal interference. Weakening of Radicals 584 CHAPTER XXIII An Inquiry into the Causes of Lawlessness The basis of the conflict 587 The prejudice of the Southerner on the race question 588 Neighborhood quarrels the heritage of the war 590 Negroes seek farms. Disputes over land titles 592 The slaughtering of stock, the stealing of cotton, and methods of punishment 594 Labor contracts as a source of social irritation. Dishonesty and ignorance 595 The expensiveness of radical rule 597 Dissatisfaction among property-owners 599 Lawlessness by the vicious in times of revolution 601 Conservative contempt of local officials 602 Terrorism, secrecy, and the breakdown of the jury system 603 Did the negro obtain justice in the courts ? 604 Criminal suggestion and bad advice from the Radical leaders .... 606 Rule or ruin — contemporary opinions 607 CHAPTER XXIV Party [Politics to the Beginning of the Republican Decline and After Dissension among Radicals. The secession of Saunders 610 The second attempt to impeach the Governor. The lobbyists .... 612 The ratification of the 15th Amendment to the Federal Constitu- tion 615 Charges and counter-charges of conspiracy and bribery 615 Evidences of conflict among Radicals 617 The opening of the campaign of 1870. Negroes oppose carpet- baggers 618 " The Reform Conservative party of Florida," 1870. The nomi- nations 619 xxiv TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE "The Swing Round the Circle" with shot-guns and reasonable arguments 620 The election of 1870. Lawlessness 621 The result at the polls. Republican defeat. The Board of State Canvassers 623 The episode of restraining the Board by injunction 623 Republicans resort to the Federal Enforcement Act to dissolve the injunction 626 Bloxham applies for a writ of mandamus. Delay. Sharp prac- tice of the Radical legislature 628 The beginning of Republican decline, 1870 629 Governor Reed in conflict with local bosses 630 Desperate efiforts to remove the executive. The House presents articles of impeachment 631 The Senate adjourns sine die. Was Reed suspended from office? 632 The discharge of Reed "from arrest" and the end of impeachment. 635 The campaign of 1872. The Liberal Republican movement 637 The boisterous Republican state convention. Hart and the negroes prevail 638 The Radical victory of 1872 639 Election tactics. Federal troops and Federal deputy marshals police the state 640 The development of Conservative strength. The " Tidal Wave of '74" 643 The Democrats win a place in the United States Senate. Jones . . 644 CHAPTER XXV The Record of Republican Rule The basis of Republican administration. Centralized rule 647 The expansion of government 648 Proposed reform of 1868. The government must increase its income 650 Railroad reorganization by state aid. Proposed land grants 652 Initial financial difficulties. The increase of state indebtedness... 653 Soliciting financial support in the North. Disagreement among Re- publicans 655 The beginning of the J. P. and M. scandal. Sale of bankrupt roads. 657 The purchase of railroads from the state. " Embezzled cash " ^nd a " worthless check " 658 The new corporation. Bribery. State aid 659 The issuing of $4,000,000 in state bonds for the railroad. The dis- sipation of the proceeds 661 TABLE OF CONTENTS xxv PAGE The outcome of the railroad deal. Increased indebtedness 663 Legislative corruption. Bribery 663 Selling offices. Campaign contributions 666 The courts under Republican rule. The judiciary opposes Re- trenchment. Partisan tactics 667 The trustees of the public domain. iReckless and unfair transfers of trust land -. 669 The rise in state indebtedness and government expenditure 672 The tax rate increases enormously. Measures to enforce collections. 673 The Tax- Payers Convention. Shrinkage of personal property 676 Evidences of peculation in handling the public income 678 The funded debt. The bond issues 679 The miserable character of public works. Dilapidation 680 Public education. Creditable development of the school system . . 682 The cause of Republican maladministration 684 CHAPTER XXVI The Election of 1876 The campaign opens. The Conservative groundsvirell 687 The Republican machine crushes Republican reformers 689 The Conservative convention. The formal arraignment of Radi- cal rule 691 Republican declarations of principles 693 Campaign methods. Rough tactics 694 Conservative whites threaten blacks with economic coercion 696 Republican policy: organization of negroes and preparation to commit fraud 698 Impending disorder. The distribution of Federal troops 699 The spirit and object of the Conservative campaign 703 At the polls, November 7th 705 Evidences of discord in the election 706 Was the election fair and peaceful ? 709 The legal plan for canvassing the state vote 710 The announcement of the precinct vote 711 CHAPTER XXVII The Result of the Election of 1876 A crisis. Call for money, lawyers, and Federal troops 713 The electoral situation in Florida 715 Democrats and Republicans prepare to contest returns 715 The state board that must decide the count 716 xxvi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE The case of Archer Precinct in Alachua County 717 Republican assault on the Jackson County returns 721 Republican assault on the returns from Hamilton, Monroe, and Manatee Counties 722 The three returns from Baker County 723 The decision of the Board of State Canvassers 726 Partisanship and political rewards to partisans 729 The later admission of one member of the Board 732 Democrats resort to the courts and win the governorship 733 The inauguration of Drew. Impending violence 735 The new canvassing board and the Democratic electors 736 The close of the Reconstruction period 737 BOOK I THE PARTING OF THE WAYS " Florida came into the Union fifteen years ago upon an equality with the original States, and their rights in the Confederacy are equally her rights. . . . From the Union, governed by the Constitution as our fathers made it, there breathes not a secessionist upon her soil; but a deep sense of injustice, inequality and insecurity produced by the causes to which I have adverted, is brought home to the reason and patriotism of her people; and to secure and maintain these rights which the Constitution no longer accords them, they have placed the State of Florida out of the Confederacy." — Stephen R. Mallory before the United States Senate, Jan. 21, 1861, Cong. Globe, 36th C, 2nd S., P- 485. CHAPTER I The Evolution of a Slave-Holding Commonwealth Florida was the last Federal territory to become a slave state. At the outbreak of the Civil War it had fewer fac- tories, fewer towns, less wealth, and less population than any other slave state. Every other commonwealth created during the Middle Period quickly surpassed Florida in population and wealth, although along its coasts had been established the first permanent European colonies within the present bounds of the Union. Mr. Rhodes points out, with great truth, that at the outbreak of the Civil War the Southern states were " but a farm, dependent on Europe and the North for everything but bread and meat, and before the war for much of these ". This characteristic of the South was probably most accentuated in Florida. The history of the Civil War and Reconstruction there is essentially a history of pro- found revolution in a sparsely settled and distinctly rural region. Therefore, at the outset, the obvious facts con- cerning the comparative retardation of Florida in material development are worthy of some notice. They indicate the fundamental characteristic of the state under the old regime. The land rests serenely amid opalescent Southern seas. No other state has so much seacoast. For more than a thousand miles stretch its gleaming seaward confines — a well-marked dividing line between the expanse of the ocean and the mysteries of the woods. Long ago Spanish voy- agers in search of what Sir Walter Raleigh termed " a mi- 3 4 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA raculous fountain of youth " ^ reached this coast. " In the same year, 1512 'V records Samuel Purchas, John Ponce of Leon, which had been governor of the He of Saint John, armed two ships and went to seek the He of Ba- yuca, where the naturals of the country reported to be a wel which maketh olde men young. Whereupon he laboured to find it out, and was in searching of it the space of sixe moneths, but could finde no such thing. Hee entered into the He of Bimini, and discovered a point of firm land, standing 29. degrees toward the North upon Easter-day, and therefore he named it Florida.^ Mr. Lowery has conceived the country that Ponce and his crew saw. " Beyond the shallowing green waters," he writes, the waves rolled their white crests of foam up the long, hard, shell-paved beaches, which formed a silver bar between the sea and the dense verdure of the islands along which he was coasting. A thick forest of gray cypress, tulip, ash, and mag- nolia, with knarled live oaks that reminded the strangers of their native land, clad the low sand dunes and marshes of the islands and cut the horizon with its dark canopy, above which floated the plumes of towering palm groves and the light tufts of the broom-pine. Between the islands the eye rested upon the glistening surface of lagoons with brilliant borders of rush and sedge extending up to the very edge of the mysterious forest on the mainland. It was the season of flowers. The perfumed breath of the white lily was wafted out to them from its humid haunts in the shady nooks of the islands. . . . Upon the dark foliage like flights of gaudy butterflies lay spread the masses of blue, crimson, and white, the blue flowers ^ English Voyages in Hakluyt (Maclehose Edit.), v. 12, p. 12. ' Mr. Shea and Mr. Lowery conclude that the year should be 1513, not 1512. * Purchas, His Pilgrim, v. 10, p. 2>2>- A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 5 and coral berries of the liciuin salsium, the andromeda, and the azalea ; along the inner shore, between the water's edge and the forest, the royal palmetto, crested with pyramids of silver white blossom, thrust forth its sword-shaped leaves. Loons and Spanish curlew whirled overhead; in the woods strutted the wild turkey, saluting the dawn with noisy call from his perch on the lofty cypress or the magnolia, and many hued humming-birds fluttered from flower to flower.^ The virgin splendor of this most Southern state has not entirely faded. It possesses still a haunting melancholy beauty, all its own and not easily forgotten by those who have felt its spell. " I recall in this case," once wrote Thomas Wentworth Higginson, " the faintest sensation of our voyage, as Ponce de Leon may have recalled those of his wandering search in the same soft zone for the secret of the mysterious fountain." - Placid expanse; sinuous, graceful curves; and gentle un- dulation characterize the lay of the land — they are in fact the essential qualities in Florida's peculiar beauty. The highest point in the state is less than 300 feet above the sea. Its streams move slumberously to the ocean. Its low sand coast is beaten by tropical hurricane and ocean wave into contour of elusive grace. Its innumerable lakes give to the interior often the suggested spaciousness of the sea. No, other state of the Union has within its borders so much lake surface or so many lakes without visible outlet. Sidney Lanier once wrote from Tampa of " Pale inshore greens and distant blue delights, White visionary sails, long reaches fair By moon-horn'd strands that film the far-off air." He saw the glory of the Southern sea, which is, in part, the glory of Florida. ^ Lowery, Spanish Settlements, v. i, p. 138. " Army Life in a Black Regiment, p. 139. 6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA As you journey across the peninsula the charm created by the coast and the ocean is not necessarily dissolved. You see many blue lakes as clear and limpid as woodland springs, which most of them are. You cross winding streams overhung by trees festooned in gray Spanish moss that vibrates faintly in the occasional breeze. You skirt far-flung green savannahs dense with red and yellow alli- gator bonnets. You penetrate deep, cool hammocks where strange brilliant flowers flash in the day and where the chuck-will-the- widow calls at night amid the jessamine, the magnolia, the sweet bay tree, the pine, the oak, and the hickory. You pass out upon desolate pine barrens some- times as silent as the grave and sometimes filled with the sighing and moaning of the wind from the distant sea. You look over broad, rich fields that are green or snow- white, and from them rise countless lark, whose whistle is a merry contrast to the sound of the wind in the pines. You pass often between tangles of wild roses, honeysuckle, and scuppernong, and you hear a remarkable variety of sweet calls from a remarkably fine lot of little birds, — wood thrush, swamp sparrow, joe reet, wren, mocking bird, red bird, blue bird, chick-a-dee, chee-chee, pop-eyed-molly, and eyen blue jay. You find yourself now and then in the midst of woodpeckers. About you among the pines, if the day be sunny, scramble and chirrup the speckled " sap-sucker ", the " yaller-hammer ", the white and black red head, and the little mottled gray " worm-chaser ". All are drumming away as they push themselves up the trees with their tails. You catch occasionally the strident whooping of the swoop- ing, red-headed " Lawd Gawd " — the biggest woodpecker that flies in America. You frighten fragile blue heron, gray crane, brown die-dappers, and tufted kingfishers from slumberous creek side and stagnant pool. In the sky above no longer sail the gull and cormorant of the sea. Their place is taken by the broad-winged turkey buzzard — that A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 7 denizen of the upper air in the far South. He sometimes drops from more than a thousand feet, and his passage through the air makes a sucking, whistHng sound — his only note, some say. You pass on through the shadows of evening. The " varmints " begin to creep from their holes. You will probably not see them, but they are a host yet in Florida, these timid creatures of the shadows, — 'possum, coon, catamount, mink, fox, weasel. In the deeper wood small Virginia deer timidly emerge from the titi thickets when evening falls. In the more remote and desolate swamps panther still cry plaintively beneath the moon. Along the banks of the more remote streams otter still slide in the night. In the denser huckleberry patches and pal- metto jungles small black bear still amble about. Along the bayous and lakes of Florida thousands of turtles sun themselves in the day and alligators roar at night. And, as you pass beneath the moss-draped trees, you will occasion- ally catch the beat of unseen wings as the great hoot owl passes. His insane though melodious calling suggested once to some negro necromancer the following: '' Red, top, shoe-boot ; chicken, foot, so good ! ha ! ha'a ! " Lanier's poetic conception of some aspects of the land is a fairly descriptive one. He saw there " Robins and mocking birds that all day long Athwart straight sunshine weave cross-threads of song, Shuttles of music — clouds of mosses gray That rain me rains of pleasant thoughts alway From a low sky of leaves — faint yearning psalms Of endless metre breathing through the palms That crowd and lean and gaze from off the shore Ever for one that cometh nevermore — Palmettos ranked, with childish spearpoints set Against no enemy — rich cones that fret High roofs of temples shafted tall with pines — Green, grateful mangroves where the sand-beach shines- Long lissome coast that in and outward swerves, The grace of God made manifest in curves." 8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA About four hundred years ago European explorers first sailed along this coast. More than 350 years ago settlers from Spain gained a permanent foothold on the mainland in the building of St. Augustine. Spanish occupation, with slight interruption, endured almost two and a half centuries without developing extended or very prosperous settlement. Civilized population was restricted to the neighborhood of three or four little towns : Pensacola and St. Marks on the Gulf, and St. Augustine and Fernandina on the Atlantic. The eastern and the western settlements faced different seas and were without connection by land. Each consisted of a fringe of farms, trading posts, and forts lying between the sea and that tremendous wilderness which Ponce de Leon and Hernando de Soto had penetrated in vain search of a better land. " The Indians are exceedingly ready with their weapons," wrote a gentlemen of Elvas who accom- panied De Soto into Florida. " In many places are high and dense forests and extensive bogs. . . . Toward the west was a place called Cale, the inhabitants of which were at war with those of territories where the greater part of the year was summer, and where there was so much gold that when the people came to make war upon those of Cale they wore golden hats like casques." ^ No one has ever discovered the rich neighbors of the people of Cale. The chronicler of " much gold " in the neighborhood of Florida was either the victim or the perpetrator of the first re- corded lie on that subject. Florida passed into the hands of the British in 1763.^ For twenty years England held it, and the change brought a short-lived prosperity. Trade thrived as never before 1 True Relation of ... A Fidalgo of Elvas, Buckingham. Smith's translation. * Fairbanks, G. R., History of Florida, pp. 149, 162. Treaty of Paris, Art. 20, MacDonald, Select Documents, v. i. A SLAVE-HOLDIXG COMMONWEALTH g with Indian and half-breed trappers. Loyalists, driven out of the Southern English colonies by the Whig revolution- ists, poured into Florida/ Along the St. Johns and St. Mar>-s rivers, new plantations were cleared; more negro slaves were brought in to labor ; fields were better tilled ; new roads were cut through swamp, glade, and barren ; and the English colonist, here as elsewhere, demonstrated his abilit}^ to win and transform and hold, after a certain homely fashion, a wild region. Spanish control was resumed in 1783." Most of the British settlers left the colony. Some went to Great Britain ; some, to the Bahamas; and some, probably, to the United States.^ Plantations were deserted, trade decreased, and in a few years Florida had lapsed back into its condition before British occupation. Therefore the permanent and lasting results of Anglo-Saxon control in colonial Florida were very meagre. Spanish government in Florida from earliest times was mild and paternal and restricted to the narrow limits of civilized settlement. The Indians were not tractable and made poor slaves. Taxation seems to have been light and for local purposes only. When in 1821 the territory Vx-as transferred to the United States, the civilized population of the region now embracing Florida was not more than 8,000. More than half of this population was in East Florida. St. Augustine contained maybe 2,000 souls — one- half whites and the other half negro slaves or free negroes. Fernandina had a population of less than 500. The plan- tation settlements along the St. ^larys and St. Johns rivers contained probably 2.000 more — including slaves. In Vv/est 1 Fuller in his Purchase of Florida, p. 18, states that during the year 1778 nearly 7,000 loyalists emigrated to Florida. ■ Fairbanks, G. R., op. cit., p. 162. ' Fuller, op. cit., p. 19. lO RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Florida (or Gulf Coast Florida) population amounting to two or three thousand was confined to Pensacola and St. Marks and the immediate vicinities of these two hamlets. Economically the country was not self-supporting. Im- ports usually far exceeded exports in value and variety. Most of the citizens were Spanish officials, farmers, and fur traders. Salaries paid by the Spanish government consti- tuted the main source of wealth. The white population was preponderantly Spanish. In East Florida a consider- able element of Minorcans and Italians had drifted in,^ and a few English, Irish, and Greeks. In the West population was more purely Spanish. Life was simple because the people were too poor to make it complex. Customs were those of the Spanish Creole, who never lost touch with the home country and managed some- how to transfuse the crudities of colonial America with some of the native grace and urbanity of Spain. The " patgo ", the " masquerade ", the " carnival ", the " chi- veree ", the " bazoo ", the " fandango ", cock-fighting, card-playing, and going to mass were the more usual social distractions. This primitive Latin, Catholic, Creole, slave- holding society, more than two centuries old in 1821 — and therefore ancient for civilized America — was soon swal- lowed up by the influx of newcomers from the North, — the unwelcome and grasping Americans. - ^ Fairbanks, op. cit., chap. 25, for account of Dr. Turnbull's colony (1763-70) of Greeks and Minorcans. The descendants of these people live in East Florida to-day. Also Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. i, pp. 86-87; Dewkurst, St. Augustine. ^ The foregoing references to colonial Florida are based upon the following works: Garcillasso de la Vega, Histoire de la Floride, Rich- elet, French translation, 1735; Lowery, Spanish Settlements, 2 vols.; the accounts of De Soto's expedition by De Beidma, Ranjel, and Elvas ; Irving, Conquest of Florida; Averette, Unxvritten History of Old St. Augustine, Copied from the Spanish Archives in Seville, covering A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH n As settlers moved into southwestern Georgia and Ala- bama Territory, Florida became more and more the place of retreat for runaway negro slaves, hostile Indians, and lawless white men. Its forests were dense and its swamps, almost trackless; and for those fleeing from Americans it afforded protection as foreign territory. The failure of Spain adequately to govern this region which became an asylum for the lawless was the occasion for the American invasion under Andrew Jackson.^ Florida was in truth not an important part of Spain's colonial empire. Acqui- sition by the United States was the resultant of Spanish ad- ministrative feebleness, the geographical situation of the peninsula, and the expansion to natural boundaries of the robust and aggressive Northern power. The purchase of Florida from Spain was consummated during the first great sectional controversy over slavery in the territories." The location of the new territory made it logically future slave soil. Historically it was slave soil at period from 1565 to 1786, Libr. Fla. Hist. Soc. ; Bartram, Travels in Florida, London, 1792; Dewhurst, St. Augustine, 1881, a brief secondary work; Fairbanks, Hist, of St. Augustine, 1881, a valuable monograph by an authority; Fairbanks, Hist, of Florida; Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, V. i ; Brinton, Notes on the Florida Peninsula, a valuable work, 1859 ; Campbell, Hist. Sketches of Colonial Fla., 1892; Darby, Memoir on Geog., etc. . . . of Fla., 1821 ; Libr. Fla. Hist. Soc; Forbes, Sketches of the Floridas, 1821, Libr. Fla. Hist. Soc; Brevard and Bennett, Hist, and Govt, of Fla., a valuable little book; V/illiams, Hist, of Fla., 1821. ^ Fuller, op. cit., chaps. 6-8. " Corresp. between Gen. A. Jackson and Jno. C. Calhoun" on Seminole War; a pamphlet (Washington, 1831) in Libr. Fla. Hist. Soc, Jacksonville. Sen. Docs., iSth C, 2 S., No. 100, No. 102, for the official history of Jackson's invasion. H. Docs., 15th C, 2nd S., No. 119, for Jackson's destruction of Negro Fort. Also Ex. Docs., 15th C, 2nd S., No. 82. * Fuller, op. cit., passim, is the best study of the Florida Treaty. For important sources, see Ex. Papers, i6th C, ist S., No. 96 (1819) ; Ex. Docs., i6th C, 1st S., No. 120 (Mess, and papers of Pres. Monroe, 12 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA that time. Into Florida came ultimately a part of that vast host of planters and speculators which, till late in the Middle Period, was steadily moving southwestward. The splendid " Kingdom of Cotton " was then in the making. However, the first Americans to settle in Florida were not cotton planters, but poor squatters — " kasions ", " crack- ers ", etc. — an ignorant, shiftless, hardy lot of people who began to drift over the borders of Florida before the region passed into the hands of the United States. These poor whites were little interested in slavery or cotton or even government. In 1822 the military rule of General Jackson was super- seded by the civil rule of the territorial council and gov- ernor. Florida was divided into counties, laws were adopted to regulate civil and criminal practice, and inferior courts were established. A Federal commission was ap- pointed to examine all land claims originating prior to American occupation. It took several years to adjust this matter, and in the meantime no public land was sold.^ The territorial council met for the first time in Pensa- cola — on the western edge of the territory. Its second meeting was in St. Augustine — on the eastern edge of the territory.- Distances were great and wilderness trails bad. Therefore the council sought a site for a capital midway between the two inhabited sections.^ 1819) ; Ex. Papers, i8th C, ist S., No. 55 (Mess, of Monroe). See, also, J. L. M. Currjr's "Acquisition of Florida," Am. Hist. Mag., v. xix, p. 286. * The adjustment of claims proved perplexing. The more important documents bearing on the subject are: Ex. Papers, 18th C, ist S., No. 156 (1824 — Report of Land Commissioners) ; No. 158; Ex. Papers, i8th C, 2nd S., No. in; 19th C, ist S., No. 115; Ex. Docs., i8th C, 2nd S., No. 47. * Rerick, op. cit., v. i. * " History of the Location of Tallahassee," from House Journal, pamphlet, Libr. Fla. Hist. Soc, Jacksonville. A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 13 In North Central Florida clear lakes and broad savan- nahs divide many ranges of low loam hills. These uplands, rich in humus, were then lying fallow, covered with hick- ory and oak and pine and myriads of flowers. People in search of new homes and good lands had already " pros- pected ", by 1823, this fair, virgin region. Here in an old Indian field the Territorial Council chose a site for a capital which became known as Tallahassee.^ The governor and council met there in 1824. The building in which they met was humble and roughly constructed. The wilderness stretched away on all sides. " The assembling and adjournment of the council are the events of the year in this territory from which citizens date," wrote Mrs. Long. " The interval does not count." ^ The second wave of immigration into Florida from the United States was more speculative and transitory than permanent. Prospectors were seeking good lands at a low price, many expecting to sell out when the increase of popu- lation should inevitably send up the values of cotton land. They were a vigorous, hard-headed, adventurous lot of men. " The country was filled with strangers," one man writes who experienced this beginning, who spread themselves over the country with compass in hand, * " Hist, of Location of Tallahassee," H. Journal. Rerick, op. cit., V. i, p. 152. Gulf States Hist. Mag., v. i, p. 199, " Selection of Talla- hassee." ' Florida Breezes, Mrs. Ellen Call Long. Mrs. Long was the grand- daughter of Rich. Keith Call who became Governor of Florida in 1835. Her book is rambling and occasionally confused but replete with interesting observations and discussions of society in ante-bellum Florida. Beyond her own experiences her sources were evidently the recollections and miscellaneous memoirs of her grandfather and her many friends. The work is out of print and now very difficult to find. The author consulted the copy in the British Museum, London, published after the Civil War. 14 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA according to the marked lines, examining the lands, taking notes, keeping profound silence, and avoiding one another. Perhaps some of them have bought from a surveyor the sup- posed secret of an excellent and unknown section. Little portable plans, mysteriously figured, circulate privately. Noth- ing is talked of but lands, their qualities, probable prices, etc. Intrigue and knavery the most unblushing display themselves in all their lustre.^ The newcomers came from all parts of the Union. Most of them can, with safety, be denominated slave-holders. Radical free-soilism did not touch Florida. The territory was spared that conflict of ethical ideas and material inter- ests which was then surely dividing the nation and which produced bloody Kansas and the great war a generation later. The Federal land office was opened at Tallahassee in 1825. This land sale was an event of significance for this unformed commonwealth whose wealth was based pros- pectively upon extensive agriculture. " Land speculators anticipating the influx of immigration ' had flocked ' to the territory and bought land of the Indian for a trifle, sup- posing the title good ; and those who came to make perma- nent homes were disappointed to find locations occupied and held by large grants." ^ The Federal authorities prob- ably put an end to such hastily acquired titles. When the day arrived for the first sale of public lands, a ^ Murat, America and the Americans, p. 59. Chas. Louis Napoleon Achille Murat, son of Napoleon's sister Caroline and Marshal Murat who became King of Naples, came to Florida early in the 20's, made the territory his home, married a Floridian (Miss Willis), and lived many years near Tallahassee. His book on America devotes some space to society in an American " territory ". Obviously, he wrote about Florida, which was the part of the Union best known to him. See Rerick, op. cit., v. i, p. 153. ^ Long, op. cit., p. 45. A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 15 heterogeneous crowd of speculating land sharks, planters, small farmers, squatters, " kasions ", country lawyers and confidence men had come together in Tallahassee. Prince Achille Murat, recalling this incident probably — for he was in Florida at the time — wrote from Italy as follows : The hour approaches. The poor squatter runs about town. He has been laboring all the year that he may buy the land on which his house is situated. Perhaps for want of a dollar or two it will be taken from him by the greedy speculators. Anxiety and trouble are depicted on his honest and wild coun- tenance. A jobber accosts him, pities him, and offers to with- draw his pretentions for the sum of $3.00. The poor simpleton gives it to him not doubting that the jobber cannot now bid against him. This is what is called " hush money ". The cryer puts up the land by eights, beginning by a section and township in regular order. The prices are different but the sale always opens at $1.25 per acre. . . . An old Indian vil- lage, a situation for a mill, the plantation of a squatter, a place to which a road or river leads, or which seems likely to become the seat of a city or entrepot, — are so many circumstances which augment the value of land tenfold or more.^ The sale of the choicer public land meant the advent of more settled economic and social conditions. Immigrants continued to come into the territory. Most of them pushed on past the old towns of entry — Pensacola, St. Augustine, Fernandina — and sought the richer uplands of the interior. The census of 1834 showed a total population of 34,739, of whom full 20,000 lived in those new counties between the Chipola and Suwanee rivers — North Central Florida. The settlers came from practically every section of the Union. The majority hailed from Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The town of Jacksonville on the St. Johns river was laid out in 1822. It was destined within * Murat, op. cit., p. 60. l6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA a few years to become the chief town of East Florida. Pen- sacola, the old town in the extreme west, was gaining popu- lation and trade. More than 2,000 bales of cotton and a quarter of a million feet of sawed lumber were exported from there in 1824. Between the Chipola and Suwanee, settlements expanded into towns which some of the opti- mistic inhabitants would have told you were the finest in the Union. Quincy, Monticello, Marianna, and Tallahassee were hamlets in size, but each was the metropolis for its section. They were situated along the St. Augustine road, a rough wilderness way cleared through the forest from Pensacola on the Gulf to St. Augustine on the Atlantic. The first general election was held in 1825 to choose a delegate to the Federal Congress. It was hotly contested and definitely marks the beginning of election politics in Florida. The methods employed then were essentially the same as those of later generations. " For some months previous the candidates and their friends have been in mo- tion, making calls from habitation to habitation, trying to persuade, excuse, explain," writes Achille Murat. In general the friends take more trouble than the candidates themselves. The Governor by proclamation fixes the day and divides the country into precincts, in each of which he chooses a central house and appoints three election judges. These dignitaries meet in the morning and swear, kissing the Bible, to conduct themselves with integrity. They seat themselves around a table at a window. An old cigar box patched up with a hole in the lid, a sheet of paper and a writing desk form the materials of the establishment. Everyone presents himself outside the window, gives his name, which is registered upon a paper, deposits his ballot in a box presented to him and with- draws ; if the judges doubt his qualifications as to residence or age they administer the' oath to him. Within the room every- thing passes in an orderly manner, but it is not the same out- side. The roads are soon filled with horses and carts. The A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 17 electors arrive in troops, laughing and singing, often half- tipsy since the morning and exciting one another to support their favorite candidate. They or their friends present them- selves to the electors as they arrive with ballots ready pre- pared, often printed, and expose themselves to their jokes and coarseness. Every newcomer is questioned about his vote and is received with applause or hisses. An influential man pre- sents himself to vote, declares his opinions and reasons in a short speech; the tumult ceases for a moment and he draws away many people after him. Nobody offers to molest him. Meanwhile whiskey circulates. Toward evening everybody is more or less tipsy, and it is not often that the sovereign peo- ple abdicate their power without general battle in which nobody knows what he is about, and in which all those who have managed to retain their carriage take good care not to embroil themselves. Everybody goes home to sleep. The judges scrutinize the suffrage and send the result to the capital. The next day beaten and beat are as good friends as if nothing had happened.^ This is a rather lurid account of a territorial election, but it probably reflects well enough the rough-and-tumble spirit and the inebriety of the frontier. Conduct was more dis- graceful a generation after Florida had ceased to be fron- tier country. Politics kept pace with material development in Florida. The middle counties, containing most of the prosperous planter class, had become by 1830 the dominant section of the territory. The counties of Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, and Madison — all organized between 1822 and 1827 — contained about two-thirds of the population in 1830. Spreading over the gently rolling uplands, planta- tions flanked lake and savannah with a misty expanse of white when the cotton opened. Fields of cotton and corn * Murat, op. cit., p. 68; also account in Long, op. cit., passim. l8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA replaced immense areas of forest. Splendid homes were being built by the more prosperous — built sometimes of brick and stone where ten years before an unbroken wil- derness had stood. Such development indicates tre- mendous optimism and the extravagance VN^hich goes with it. But such evidences of prosperity were not entirely vul- gar. The severe and simple lintels; the tall white col- umns; the spacious and simple interiors; the general ab- sence of cheap attempts at ornate architecture ; the substan- tial beauty and quaint harmony of tables, chairs, beds, and cupboards, — reflect an aspiration at least after the best of the past. The Latin and Greek works upon the book- shelves of many homes indicate the same thing. The few hundred aristocracy of Central Florida were a moder- ately cultured and eminently forceful lot of people. By the advent of the thirties weekly newspapers were published in the various towns of this section, setting forth the opinions and doings of the planter class. Local, na- tional, and foreign questions were discussed with a gravity and dryness which suggest the conservative English jour- nals. " Reviews and magazines, literary journals and novelties of every sort came to us from New York, Phila- delphia, and England at a moderate price and a month or two after their publication over the Atlantic," writes a citi- zen. " I had read, I have no doubt, the last romance of Sir Walter Scott before it had reached Vienna." Some of the works offered for sale in a Tallahassee book-store in 183 1 were as follows : Blake's Botany, Good's Study of Medi- cine, Murphy's Tacitus, Benson's Sermons, Homer's Iliad, Robertson's America, Scotland, Charles V, Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, Herodotus' History, Rollin's Ancient History, Moore's Poems, Scott's Prose Works, Fielding's Tom Jones, Byron's Works, Irving's Columbus, Memoirs of Napoleon, The Arabian Nights, and a host of other A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 19 books of as varied a quality/ All this is indicative of a certain urbanity and culture, though not of a demand for the latest and liveliest books. Life was not over refined with the upper class. There was considerable gambling, drinking, horse-racing, and bet- ting. Each town soon had its own jockey club. Fatal duels were often fought in formal fashion. Fast horses and bright colors were in evidence.^ Yet the whites — rich and poor — were a religious people. Religion afforded both con- solation and amusement. Most of the planters were Metho- dists or Episcopalians. The year of the founding of Talla- hassee witnessed the organization of the Methodist Church of the District of Tallahassee with a minister in charge.* The following year Tallahassee became an Episcopal mis- sion station.* Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Baptists all established churches in Florida before the end of its first decade as American territory. The Roman Catholic church had been established in Florida for more than two centuries. " There is no church building here " (in Tallahassee), writes Mrs. Long of the early days, but there is a Tyng, which is a good name and true — synony- mous with sound teaching, present usefulness and ancestral claims. The place of worship is the arena of many purposes ; sometimes a court room in trial and pleadings ; again for politi- cal discussions ; at night, a dance hall ; and sometimes there players lived their mimic life. The congregation was well ' Floridian and Advocate, Jan. 20, 1831. ^ See Jockey Club notices in Florida papers in Congressional Library, Washington. For examples, Floridian, Jan. 5 and Feb. 2, 1839. Also, Long, Florida Breezes, p. 99. 3 Smith, History of Wesleyan Methodism, p. 228. * Within fifteen years Episcopal parishes were established in Key West, St. Augustine, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, St. Joseph, Marianna and Quincy. Daniels, Episcopal Church in Florida, passim. 20 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA dressed ; gentlemen in fine blue cloth, brass buttons, high black stocks and stiff sharp-cornered collars and ruffled bosoms, though a little out of date gave none the less an air of marked elegance in their appearance.^ Cotton fields were spreading out and planters were be- coming prosperous because cotton was paying. The abun- dant yield of the earth gave stability to society. Early dwelling places became old homes. Those who had come to the new land remained. The ivy crept over walls. Men and women had about them children who had known no home but Florida.^ " There are a thousand nameless ties, kindred thoughts and deep sympathies that make a chain of friendships for these country people," writes Mrs. Long. On through the town we passed, welcomed by a chorus of barking dogs accompanied or varied by the whooping or whist- ling of boys. Lights from the unshuttered or thinly-draped windows speak of home life, but the streets had no illumina- tion save a shower of moonlight that poured a wealth of beauty upon the scene, its effulgence streaming in through the dark green of centenary oaks which lined the streets.^ The nativizing of population did not produce complete homogeneity. People came into Florida with sectional idio- syncrasies developed, and these characteristics were handed down to the second and third generation. There were com- munities of Virginians, and communities of South Caro- linians, and communities of Georgians, etc. West Florida's population differed from East Florida's; and Central Flor- ida's, from both. The planter was generally enlightened and prosperous. Within his class should be included the merchants and pro- ^ Long, op. cit., p. 72. ^ See Murat, op. cit., pp. 66, 74 et seq. ' Long, op. cit., pp. 55 and 72. A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 21 fessional men. Prosperity was not enjoyed by all classes of whites. The little farmers and squatters in the sparsely settled counties led lives which in material appointments were only slightly above the savage. Corn pone, clabber, youpon tea, dried beef, venison, and occasionally wild honey constituted their fare until civilization brought nearer their habitations salt pork, razor-backs, and coffee. Their houses were rude log huts with dirt floors, unglazed windows, and mud chimneys.^ They were neighbors to the Seminole and Creek Indians, and when the final struggle came with the Seminoles the poor whites suffered most. Mild-mannered, kindly, and indolent, they were as hos- pitable as they were poor. A few of the more prosperous owned a negro slave of two. Occasionally a cracker accu- mulated property and became a planter. Mrs. Long de- scribes meeting a family of poor whites in Florida. The residence of Mr. Smith consists of two log rooms on sills connected by an open passage upon the floor of which reposed a white man who used a reversed hide-bottom chair as a pillow. Peeping from the door was a slouchy white woman who wore a dirty sun-bonnet, who upon our halting before the gate called " Alik Smith ! Alik Smith ! I keep on telling you to git up ! Git up, Alik Smith ; thar's folks a' callin' on you at the gate ! " Finally the intelligence of Mr. Smith was aroused, and yawning and stretching he came out to greet us : " An' I declar, its you. Mister Maclean, to be sure. I hearn as how you had gone down below. Light, gentlemen, hitch yer critters — that damn lazy scoundrel is nary time about when he's wanted — but thar's the rascal now. Horcules, see how you give feed to them horses ! Wal, strangers, you must know as how nig- gers is moughty high an' gittin' higher. It took my level best with five crops on this poor piney land to git done payin for ' See reference to these people in Smith, op. cit., pp. 265, 306; Murat, op. cit., passim; Dc Bow's Reviezv, etc. 22 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Horcules.' As we got under the roof of the building, for it can scarcely be called entering a house, he called aloud to the woman no longer seen, — " Ole Sweet, push up the pot for the gentlemen will be agying hungry " ; and with the diffuse man- ners of a grand chamberlain he offered us seats which he called " cheers ", adding, " make yourselves at home, gentle- men ". Then he placed part of his body on a chair while his legs were extended up and down, resting on the rough paling that partially empaled the passage. A quid of tobacco com- pleted his ease, and he was ready for the enjoyment of society. " Wal, gentlemen, what's the news? " ^ As the territory grew the usual phenomena of economic and political organization were manifest. The principal issue in territorial Florida for political controversy was but the local phase of a great national question, namely, to what extent should government aid and control banks. In Florida the controversy began ^t an early date. The governor vetoed bills of the territorial council in 1824 for the incorporation of certain banks because he believed that such banks would prove to be " unsuited to the genius and spirit of our free institutions ".^ With the advent of An- drew Jackson as President the entire nation became more or less disturbed over the national aspect of this question. The heavy cotton planters of interior Florida were the exponents and local apostles of banks. In 1828 the Bank of Florida was incorporated. Within the next five years the craze of the times for financial organization showed itself in Florida. Numerous insurance companies and banks with large capital stock and broad powers were in- corporated — such, for instance, as the Central Bank of Tallahassee, the Union Bank of Tallahassee, and the South- 1 Long, op. cit., p. 52. 2 Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. i, p. 157. A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 23 crn Life and Insurance Company of St. Augustine. The most important of all was the Union Bank of Tallahassee. Its charter was fashioned after that of the Union Bank of Louisiana.^ Its initial capital, $3,000,000, was obtained from the sale of Territorial bonds. The property of the stockholders to the amount of the shares was mortgaged to the territory as security for the bonds issued." This bank was not the only financial institution aided by the ter- ritory. The Bank of Pensacola received $500,000 in bonds in guarantee of its securities, and the Southern Life In- surance and Trust Company, $395,000. The Union Bank thrived from the first. It was a brilliant and advanced scheme. " Yes, it started with a capital of $1,000,000 and that is increased to $3,000,000 by exchang- ing the certificates of subscribers for territorial bonds which were sold in Europe. They found purchasers in London — a wonderful success, considering the resources of the territory, and could have been accomplished only by men so well known," writes Mrs. Long in discussing the bank. General Mercer represented Virginia in Congress for thirty years, besides, he was President of the Colonization Society which gave him eclat in England, and Col. Gamble is also known abroad. You want to know how it operates ? Well, ' Reply of the Board of Directors of the Union Bank, p. 4. A very- full discussion of the policy and record of the Union Bank, British Museum, London. ' Reply of Board of Directors, pp. 4, 10, 95. In 1840 the Directors stated that to secure the bonds issued (to the amount of $2,917,800) 246,419 acres of land were mortgaged to the territory, valued at $1,- 968,800; 2,680 slaves, valued at $938,000. The average value of the land mortgaged per acre was $8.00, while at the time farming land in Leon Co. sold for from $15.00 to $30.00 per acre. The slaves were mortgaged at $350 each, while their average market value was over $600.00. 24 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA you see a man can mortgage his land and negroes ; draw from the bank two-thirds (in money) of the value, which will be reinvested in more land and negroes. One or two crops of cotton will redeem all obligations — so you see it is the best thing afloat; a man can just go to sleep and wake up rich. " Go to sleep," remarked one, " is a good suggestion, but un- fortunately too many are wide awake, spending money in dis- play when their very shovel and tongs in the kitchen belong to the bank." ^ The increase of cotton fields and population in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama produced a noticeable effect on Gulf Coast shipping. Mobile absorbed most of the cotton which territorially belonged to Pensacola, and many cargoes of cotton by 1835 went annually from St. Marks.' St. Marks was the point of shipment for the planters of Leon, Jef- ferson, and Madison counties.^ The first railway of Flor- ida was built from Tallahassee to St. Marks in 1834. Near the mouth of the Apalachicola river the town of Apalachicola was incorporated in 1831. Its trade with the interior was soon flourishing. River steamers for the Chattahoochee and Flint valleys loaded and unloaded along its water front. Ocean-going ships carried its cotton and timber to Europe and the North. The channel was dredged to admit bigger ships. Brick business blocks and spacious warehouses were built. By 1836 it was the third cotton port in the Gulf. Three years later its weekly newspaper became a daily.* Within twenty-five miles of Apalachicola a land and im- provement company established the tow^n of St. Joseph on a deep and well-sheltered bay. In 1839 its backers claimed for it a population of more than 4,000 and a commerce in ' Long, op. cit., p. 84. ^ Smith, op. cit., p. 265. ' Ihid., p. 305. * Rerick, op. cit., v. i, p. 167. A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 25 cotton of more than 100,000 bales annually. A railroad, churches, newspapers, docks, banks, warehouses, shops, bar-rooms, cheap hotels, and rough gambling places gave this new town the reputation and air of a metropolis, and with some of the more Godly the notoriety of being a " wicked city ", that would come to no good end. It be- came an intense business rival of Apalachicola. The ter- ritorial constitutional convention met in St. Joseph during 1838-9. The end of the town was swift and tragic. Yellow fever of the most malignant type fairly wiped it out in 1841. The people there " died like flies ". Many fled the town. The living who remained could hardly bury the dead. "My Pa saved me because he was a horse-doctor and believed in ile and bleedin' ," one aged survivor said to me. To-day two graveyards and vine-covered ruins are all that remain of the " wicked city " of St. Joseph. About it stand the enigmatical solitudes of Florida — the haunt to-day of the owl, the alligator, and the whip-poor-will. Verily the Godly of territorial Florida have had their prophecy come true.^ But ere the end of St. Joseph, that national wave of opti- mism which had been instrumental in creating it had reached its height. Apalachicola, Jacksonville, and the whole line of interior towns along the St. Augustine Road were partly products of " flush times ". Like the sea waves that eter- nally roll in on more than a thousand miles of Florida coast, the wave of optimism and speculation broke. The dreadful panic of 1837 — the worst in our history — found Florida still a sparsely-settled territory built up mainly on future hopes and sufficiently dependent upon outside capital to share the disaster of the financial shock. The years ^ Rerick, op. cit., v. i, p. 167. 26 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA 1835-36 were " flush " over the whole South. Cotton was high. The banks seemed prosperous. People were extra- vagant. " Those pictures you see of Napoleon's battles," remarked a Florida planter before the panic, " cost me a whole crop of cotton." ^ Speculation was wild. Paper promises were abundant. Good land was cheap. "To make more cotton, to buy more negroes, to make more cotton and so on in a vicious circle was the rule of the planter." " The panic, the contraction of credit, the public distrust of banks, and the consequent business depression which followed the year 1837 hurt the reputation and prestige of the banking party in Florida. It constituted by this time a fairly well-defined political group which included some of the wealthiest planters and slave-holders — the moneyed aristocracy. Governor Call, in discussing the disastrous effects of the panic, declared that the incorporation of banking companies without capital and with the extraordinary privilege of raising millions of money on the faith and responsibility of the Territory, the expanded issues of these institutions beyond their capacity to redeem the paper thrown by them into circulation, the great facilities af- forded to individuals for procuring money and extending their credit, gave to every species of property a ficticious value and seduced even the most prudent and cautious into wild and hazardous speculation. . . . The records of our courts present a frightful picture of the indebtedness of our people, and dur- ing the past summer some instances occurred of immense sac- rifice of property sold under execution.^ In the struggle for the formation of a state constitution ' Long, op. cit., p. 139. ' Smith, op. cit., p. 321. ' Rerick, op. cit., v. i, p. 165, message of Gov. R. K. Call. A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 27 at St. Joseph in 1839 the principal points of controversy were: i, What powers should be extended to banks? 2, What aid should be given banks by the government ? ^ When the constitution was finally submitted to the people for ratification, the contest was, primarily, between those who favored the incorporation of banks with liberal char- ters and who would continue government endorsement of certain banks' securities, and those who would limit strictly the business of banks and who would discontinue the prac- tice of government endorsement." So bitter became the contest between Democrats and Whigs that riot was threat- ened in Tallahassee.^ The Democrats supported the pro- posed constitution and opposed the renewal of the bank charters.* They declared that the capital of the Union Bank, for instance, was insecure; that the stock had been unevenly distributed over the territory; that its loans had been dictated by rank favoritism; that its administration had not been honest.^ The Whigs opposed the adoption of the constitution and championed the banks. They were stigmatized by their opponents as the " Federal Whig Bankocracy who desire a division of the territory, abolition, and faith bonds." ^ The campaign of 1840 resulted in the ratification of the constitution by a narrow margin, the election of a Democratic delegate to Congress, and the sending of a heavy Democratic majority to the territorial legislature.'' The Whigs were beaten. ' See debate, Floridian, Jan. 5, 1839. ' Floridian, March 9, 1839. ' Rerick, op. cit., v. i. * Floridian, Aug. 3, 1839. ' Reply of Directors, pp. 5-6. ' Floridian, Apr. 4, 1840. ''Floridian, Oct. 3, 1840; Rerick, op. cit., v. i, pp. 168-172. Seventeen of the 27 delegates to the territorial legislature were Democrats. Es- 28 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The constitution expressly stipulated that the " general assembly shall not pledge the faith and credit of the State to raise funds in aid of any corporation whatsoever." Furthermore, the legislature was forbidden to pass an act of incorporation " unless with the assent of at least two- thirds of each house," and no " banking corporation " could exist " composed of less than twenty individuals, a majority of whom shall be residents of the State." No bank charter should be granted for a longer period than twenty years and no bank charter should " be extended or renewed." The charters of banks granted by the legislature should " restrict such banks to the business of exchange, discount, and deposit; and they shall not speculate or deal in real- estate or the stock of other corporations or associations or the merchandise or chattels or be concerned in insurance, manufacturing, exportation or importation except of bullion or specie." Finally, the constitution stipulated that the capital stock of " any bank " should be created only by the actual payment of specie, that " no dividends of profits ex- ceeding lo per cent per annum on the capital stock paid in " should be made ; that all profits above lo per cent should be set apart and " retained as a safety fund " ; and that " no president, cashier or other officer of any banking com- pany " ^ should be eligible for any state office until twelve months after he had severed his official connection with all banks. In regard to state control of banks this constitu- tion was the most drastic produced in the Union before the Civil War. The approval of this constitution by the people meant cambia, Walton, Jackson, Gadsden, and Madison counties went solidly- Whig and for banks. Three out of four delegates from Leon county, the most populous in Florida, were anti-bank or Democratic. 1 H. Docs. (U. S.), 59th C, 2nd S., No. 357, v. ii (Thorpe's Consti- tutions), Const. 1838, Arts. 6 and 13. A SLAVE-HOLDING COMMONWEALTH 29 that the political power of the larger slave-holders was seri- ously shaken. In reality, 1840 witnessed a backwoods revolution against the conditions which capitalism had im- posed. Florida was controlled by Jacksonian Democrats, although in this year, 1840, the Whigs gained the control of the national government. In Florida the poor whites and small slave-holders attacked their more successful neighbors because they believed these neighbors intended " to clothe with purple and fine linen the planters of Central Florida " ; and because they knew that the richer planters were strong enough and able enough to seek successfully capital from abroad and were already dominating the terri- torial government to pledge land and to grant franchises to the local rich class in order that this class might " shave its own bills in Wall Street." ' Florida was ready for statehood. Before it Vv^as admitted to the Union it passed through a long and terrible Indian war. * Rerick, op. cit.. v. i, p. 166. CHAPTER II The Last Years of the Ante-Bellum Regime The financial depression which followed the panic of 1837 and the seven years' war with the Seminole Indians which began in 1835, were terrible misfortunes for Florida. Half-cleared fields covered with weeds, " belted trees stripped of foliage standing like masts of ships "/ boom towns no longer booming, rail fences rotting to earth, houses abandoned in process of construction, clambering wild vines half-hiding some task given up, devastated and deserted plantations, the desolate ashes of squatters' cabins, the new graves of the massacred in the gloom of the prime- val wilderness, and the frightful traditions that went abroad of forays by savages termed " wild beasts and hell hounds " ; ^ these were some of the scars of the double blow which had stricken Florida. " It will take us twenty-five years to get over the Seminole War and the Union Bank," was the opinion expressed by some.^ "The tide of prosper- ity which once flowed over our land has receded," declared Governor Call, " and has been followed by a universal de- rangement of business, a depreciated currency, prostration of credit, and the embarrassment of the whole community . . . which can only be overcome by years of patient labor, industry, and economy." * The Seminole War involved heavy loss. 20,000 volun- * Long, Florida Breezes, p. 209. * Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. i, p. 200, Message of Gov. Reid. ' Long, ibid., p. 209. * Rerick, ibid., v. i, p. 165, Message of Gov. Call. 30 LAST YEARS GF THE ANTE-BELLUM REGIME 31 teers had been called out in Florida and neighboring states for service against the Indians. For six years about 4,000 regular troops had been on duty. The national govern- ment had expended more than $20,000,000 in maintain- ing and operating its troops. More than 1,000 lives had been lost in campaigning. Outlying settlements had been burned and the inhabitants massacred. The Seminoles had fought like tigers and the reputations of more than one American general had suffered.^ In spite of misfortunes the population of the territory increased steadily. By 1846 it was 58,000. Florida was entitled, therefore, to admission into the Union of states.^ In accordance with the principle of balanced representation in the Senate between free soil and slave soil, bills for the admission of Florida and Iowa were coupled together. The former entered the Union on the 3rd of March, 1845 ! the latter, in 1846.^ The new Southern state began its career with local politi- cal parties active and well established. Within a few years the discussion of slavery in the territories deeply colored politics in Florida. The entire nation was then moving into the thick of this controversy. The Democrats controlled ' For Seminole War see particularly: Sen. Docs., 26th C, ist S., No. 278; Ex. Docs., 2Sth C, 2nd S., No. 78. Also following documents : Ex. Docs., 25th C, 2nd S., No. 299 ; H. Docs., 26th C, 1st S., No. 136, No. 142; 28th C, ist S., No. 70; Sen. Docs., 26th C, 2nd S., No. 226, No. 227; 29th C, ist S., No. 22. The following secondary works are valuable : Fairbanks, History of Florida; Sprague, Origin, Progress and Conclusion of the Florida War, 1848; Potter, The War in Florida, by a staff officer, 1836; Cohen, Notices of Florida and the Campaigns, 1836; Coe, Red Patriots; Gid- dings, J. 'R., The Exiles of Florida, 1858; Perrine, A True Story of Some Eventful Years in Grandpa's Life, 1885 (a tremendously real- istic account of an Indian massacre, etc.). * H. Docs., 28th C, 2nd S., No. iii, resolutions of Fla. legislature. ' See Wilson, Rise and Fall of the Slave Power, v. ii, chap. i. 32 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA the government in 1846. They had successfully attacked the rich Whig planters of Central Florida in 1840. The strength of the Democrats lay in the counties east of the Suwanee river — East Florida. Their opponents, the Whigs, were strongest in the western and central counties. In 1848 the Whigs carried the state — electing the governor, controlling the legislature, and casting the state's presi- dential vote for General Taylor.^ This was the last Whig victory. The Democrats regained control of the state two years later, and held it in their grip until secession took it out of the Union and brought a revolution which before it ended overthrew and discredited the Democratic party. The most significant phenomena of these ten years pre- ceding the great war were the steady development of a mili- tant pro-slavery sentiment and the spread of cotton fields and railroads. Those who owned the cotton fields, pro- moted the railroads, and controlled the government were slave-holders. The majority of the whites were non-slave- holders. They belonged to this class not from principle but because they were too poor to belong to the other. In 1850 the population of the five cotton counties of Central Flor- ida was approximately 39,000. The population of the state was 87,445, 39,000 of whom were negro slaves. More than 22,000 of these slaves were in the five cotton counties of Central Florida (Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, and Madison). In the other counties the white population ex- ceeded the black about three to one.' Those whites in Florida who held slaves numbered at this time probably 3,000. The output of cotton fields, turpentine orchards, and lum- ber camps constituted the exportable wealth of the state. ^ ^ Floridian and Journal, Oct. 3; Oct. 4; Nov. 11, 1848. ' Census of 1850. * Floridian, Feb. 18, Sept. 25, Sept. 27, 1858. Floridian and Journal, Apr. 30, 1859. De Bozv's Review, passim. LAST YEARS OF THE ANTE-BELLUM R&GIME 33 Almost everything consumed except vegetables, forage, and corn meal was imported. The planter bought his goods from the jobber merchant in the towns. The jobber pur- chased them generally in the Northern or Western states. Even salt meat came to many plantations of Florida from the West via New Orleans. Mules and horses in large numbers came from Tennessee and Kentucky.'- Most im- ports and exports passed through Pensacola, St. Marks, and Apalachicola on the Gulf; and Jacksonville and Fer- nandina on the Atlantic. In the summer months many of the more prosperous inhabitants left the coast towns and sought a cooler portion of the country. When the autumn came the families returned; cotton began to arrive by river boats and railway ; ocean-going ships entered the harbors to take the cotton to distant ports; trade and industry revived; and usually a season of gayety followed which to this day old inhabitants look back on through the enchanted vista of the " good times before the War " when they were young. Florida's public economy was typi- cally that of the far-southern slaveholding commonwealth. Cotton fields were many and large and factories few and small. - The decade of the fifties was a period of unusual eco- nomic activity.^ " Boom " enterprises in Florida began ^ De Bow's Review. 2 According to the Federal census of i860 only $1,874,125 were in- vested in Florida manufactories, which employed 2,454 workers. $886,- 000 of this amount was invested in Santa Rosa County, mostly in saw- mills. * De Bow's Review, Apr., 1853, passim. In 1850 there were less than 50 miles of railway in Florida. The creation of the Internal Improve- ment Fund by the state in 1855 was a prime cause of the steady ex- pansion of railway lines. The directors of this fund endorsed rail- way bonds to the amount of $10,000 per mile and gave, in addition, huge grants of land to the corporations. See Minutes of Trustees of 34 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA again. Railroads were projected and built with energy. 380 miles of railway were constructed and put into opera- tion during the decade ending i860, at a cost of more than $8,000,000.^ Florida surpassed Louisiana, Texas, and Ar- kansas in added railroad mileage for this period. More saw-mills were built; more roads were blazed out; more turpentine was extracted from the trees; more fields were cleared for the cultivation of cotton and corn." Settlers poured into the central peninsular counties — Alachua and Marion, particularly. The state's population went from 87,445 in 1850 to 140,427 in 1860.^ Of the 77,747 free whites in Florida by the latter year, 42,145 were natives of other states and foreign countries. 1,725 were natives of the North. The value of the real and personal property rose from $22,862,270.00 in 1850 to $73,101,500.00 in i860.* The influence of Wall Street in the state's develop- Internal Improvement Fund, 5 vols., 1855, Florida Historical Society, Jacksonville. Also Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. i, pp. 168-180. Concerning the condition of transportation and communication by- stage line, river boat, and sea-going steamer, see Floridian and Journal, Dec. 29, 1849; May 5, 1857; Nov. 20, 1858; East Floridian, Nov. 10, Dec. IS, 1859; Florida News, Feb. 17, Apr. 14, May 5, Dec. 23, 1858; Hunt's Magazine, July, 1851; Banker's Magazine, Feb., 1859; De Bozt/s Review, Jan. and July, 1859. * Census of i860. * The Federal Census of 1830 reported 349,049 acres of improved farm land in Florida; the census of i860 reported 654,213 acres. The horses and cattle in Florida increased from 250,000 to 450,000 head ; the cotton produced from 45,000 to 65,000 bales ; corn, from 2,000,000 bushels to 3,000,000 bushels, etc. See Floridian and Journal, Feb. 8, 1851; Feb. 4, Apr. 25, July 11, 1857; Feb. 6, 1858; May 21, May 28, Sept. 17, 1859. See also Message of Gov. Perry on the condition of railways and general economic development, East Floridian, Dec. 10, 1859; Jan. 19, i860. . * Census of 1850, i860. * Census of i860. This is not the " assessed valuation " but is given as the " intrinsic ", market, or true valuation. LAST YEARS OF THE ANTE-BELLUM REGIME 35 ment then was about as obvious as it is to-day. The grow- ing cotton and lumber trade to Europe was financed through New York. Railway bonds and other securities were marketed there.'^ Yet in spite of this economic development, broadening in its very nature, public opinion became narrowed down and surely crystallized first against " free soil " and " aboli- tion " ideas ; ^ and finally against " the North " without dis- tinction. When public opinion thus crystallizes, either a very dangerous or a very safe condition has been reached by the body politic. The national political crisis of 1850 which came so near bringing on a civil war was responded to in Florida. " Southern Rights Associations " were formed throughout the state. The Fourth of July picnics and barbecues of 1 85 1 were occasions for extremely anti-national demonstra- tions.^ At Madison, for example, after a great crowd of planters and poor whites had listened to prayers, the Bible, and the Declaration of Independence, toasts were offered as follows: "A seceder in '32, the same in '51 "; "May peace be our motto till war is inevitable ".* As a factor in practical politics the " Southern Rights " movement in Florida strengthened the Democratic party there. In the Nashville Convention of 1850 the state was represented by United States Senator Mallory. He was not enthusiastic and expressed the opinion that the conven- tion was of no importance beyond possibly organizing the ^ This reliance on New York is suggested by newspapers and pamphlets, such, for instaxice, as Internal Improvement Bonds of Fla. (1858), a pamphlet printed in New York (Libr. Fla. Hist. Soc.) ; Fla. R. R. First Mort. Bonds, etc. (Libr. Fla. Hist. Soc). * See burl hen of Democratic accusation against the Whigs, Floridian and Journal, Jan. 5, 1855. ' Floridian and Journal, March 25, Apr. 19, 1851. ^Floridian and Sentinel, July 19, 1851. 36 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA South to stand united against hostile opinion in the North. " In ten years," he said, " no Northern statesman would be bold enough to break a lance in the Southern Cause." ^ The future proved the fallacy of his prophecy. The Whigs lost the election of 1852 by only 22 votes out of 9,000 cast. In the election of 1854 the Democrats won by 1,000 votes out of 10,000 cast.^ Following the defeat of the Whigs in 1852 the American party appeared. It was the incomplete successor of the Whig party and was popularly termed by its opponents '* Know Nothing ". A " Know Nothing " state convention met in Tallahassee dur- ing December, 1855.^ Seventeen counties were represented by delegates who found real difficulty in being themselves without encroaching upon Democratic ground. A delega- tion was duly chosen for the national convention and dis- tinctly pro-slavery resolutions were adopted. The Democrats were singularly aggressive in the con- gressional elections of 1854 and the general election of 1856. The issues were national issues — the Kansas ques- tion, the policy of Mr. Douglas, the Fugitive Slave law, national expansion.^ Slavery underlay in some fashion every question of public moment taken up for discussion. The Democrats carried both elections,^ and followed it by winning the congressional election of 1858 with an in- creased majority.® The " Know Nothing " strength was ^ Floridian and Journal, Feb. 8, 1851. " Florida Sentinel, Oct. 10, 24, Nov. 7, 1854. ' Floridian and Sentinel, Dec. 11, 1855. * Floridian and Journal, Jan. 5, Feb. 22, Mch. 8, 18, Apr. 12, 26, May 3, June 17, July 12, 19, Aug. 23, 26, 30, Sept. 13, 1856. ^Florida Sentinel, Nov. 7, 1854; Floridian and Journal, Oct. 11, 1856. ^Florida Nexvs, Feb. 17, May 26, June 9, Aug. 14, 1858; March 17, 1859; Floridian and Journal, Feb. 13, July 31, Aug. 14, 28, Sept. 18, 1858; East Floridian, July 14, 1859; Floridian, Nov. 26, 1859. LAST YEARS OF THE ANTE-BELLUM REGIME 37 being absorbed by the more positive Southern Democracy. The state was steadily drifting completely into the Demo- cratic column, and Southern leaders of the Democratic party were becoming with each election more pronounced and clear in their demands. Governor Perry's message of 1858 recommended the re- organization of the state's militia. "The late elections in the non-slave-holding states," he wrote, '* bode no good for us in the South." ^ The nation was inevitably moving toward the parting of the ways. Many thoughtful persons must have realized it by this time. The idea of possible secession had become old. The attempt of John Brown to bring about a slave insurrection in Virginia (1859) found an inflamed public opinion in Florida.^ The lead- ing papers published long accounts with heavy headlines of this narrowly-averted servile rising. An alarum of unfor- tunate depth was sounded. The more susceptible among the whites expressed fear that abolition fanaticism would cause the blacks to repeat the horrors of Santo Domingo. Governor Perry, in his message of December, 1859. declared that the anti-slavery sentiment in the North made that sec- tion aggressively hostile toward the South ; that the people of the North had annulled the written contract by their re- fusal to render up fugitive slaves ; that the " John Brown villainy " was part of the Republican party's policy ; that he was in favor of " eternal separation from the Union." He expressed his fear of a slave rising.^ The appearance of the incendiary Impending Crisis by Hinton Rowan Helper fed the dangerous flame of ill-will. ' Floridian and Journal, Nov. 20, 1858, Governor's Message. * Florida newspapers, 1859-60, passim; also The New Reign of Terror, etc., anti-slavery tract (p. 132). * East Floridian, Dec. 15, 1859. -^8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA In Florida notices of it appeared prominently in various papers and extracts from the most violent passages were printed on the front page of the influential Fernandina East Floridian} The year i860 in Florida was one of unrest, suppressed feeling and vague military preparation. Volunteer mili- tary companies were organized in Fernandina and Talla- hassee because of the " critical state of national affairs ".^ One journal published an article on the cost of raising and equipping a brigade for active service.^ " Vigilant com- mittees " were formed in the various towns to suppress slave risings and to send out of the state those persons sus- pected of being abolitionists.* Democrats were prominent in this agitation. Local lead- ers were vigorously at work throughout Florida during the spring and summer of i860. The state administration was Democratic and the governor used the influence of his posi- tion to arouse the state. The legislature, which was Demo- cratic, was responsive to the radical influence of the Demo- cratic governor, and he responsive to the legislature. From one end of the state to the other, county and local Demo- cratic leaders engineered ably the campaign of 1860.^ Their cry was : "Oppose the North, which seeks the control of the national government to exclude slavery from the ter- ritories and destroy it in the South." The facts in the case made their position a strong one. They were opposed by the Constitutional Union party — composed of conservative Democrats and Old-Line Whigs. 1 East Floridian, Dec. 22, 1859. ^ Floridian, Dec. 31, 1859. E. Floridian (Fernandina), Jan. 5, i860. * E. Floridian, Jan. 19, i860. * Ihid., Oct. 4, 18, Nov. 7, i860. * Floridian, Apr. 7, 14, i860, etc. LAST YEARS OF THE ANTE-BELLUM R£GIME 39 Its personnel included a large number of the Scotch Pres- byterians of West Florida and many of the most aristo- cratic and wealthy planters of the cotton counties west of the Suwanee river. The Constitutional Union convention met in Quincy early in April/ The party resolutions adopted there acknowledged the " wrongs inflicted on the South ", but advanced a pacific, rational, and judicial method for righting these wrongs — differing thereby with the Democratic policy. The policy of the Constitutional Union party was, in fact, that of a calm and wise lawyer seeking a compromise. But, unfortunately, the country was in no mood for restrained behavior. Men believed that they saw clearly where the interests of the South clashed with the intentions of the North. Compromise would en- tail sacrifice — and the South, driven to the wall, had noth- ing to sacrifice except that which involved absolutely its im- mediate prosperity. A Democratic state convention met in Tallahassee on April 9th.^ Its resolutions endorsed the action of a recent Democratic state caucus at Washington ; reviewed the his- torical foundation of state rights; declared negro slavery to be a necessary domestic institution ; declared it to be the duty of Congress to protect slavery in the territories; and insisted upon the strict enforcement of the Fugitive Slave law. Florida was well represented at the national Democratic convention in Charleston, S. C, where the fatal sectional division within the Democratic party was exposed." Its 1 Floridian, Apr. 14, i860. ^ Ibid., Apr. 14; E. Floridian, Apr. 19, i860. The Florida delegation included John Milton of Jackson County; Chas. E. Dyke of Leon County, editor of the Tallahassee Floridian; J. B. Owens of Marion County. John Milton was shortly after elected governor of Florida. Floridian, Apr. 14, i860. 40 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA delegation, as a body, seceded from the convention with the other cotton state delegations when the convention, con- trolled by the Northern Democracy, failed to endorse the extreme and uncompromising Southern view. The Florida protest, signed by the state's delegates and laid before the convention, was as follows : The undersigned Democratic delegates from the State of Florida enter this their solemn protest against the action of the Convention in voting down the platform of the majority. Florida with her Southern sisters is entitled to a clear and un- ambiguous recognition of her rights in the territories, and this being refused by the rejection of the Majority Report, we pro- test against receiving the Cincinnati Platform with the inter- pretation that it favors the Doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty in the territories, which doctrine, in the name of the people we represent we repudiate.^ The delegates from Florida — T. J. Eppes, B. F. Ward- low, John Milton, J. B. Owens, and C. E. Dyke — soon re- turned to their state. The news of what had happened at Charleston preceded them. The Democratic party had split in twain over the slavery issue. The news was of tre- mendous import to the people of Florida. Mass meetings were called together in practically all important towns and villages, and along with impassioned talk resolutions were adopted which endorsed the action of the Florida delegates in withdrawing.* John Milton, a prominent planter of Jackson county, on his return from the convention spoke to crowds of people in Fernandina and Tallahassee concern- ing what had transpired at Charleston. He emphatically stated that the failure to agree was not due to petty wrang- ling between Northern and Southern politicians. The ^ Floridian, May 5, i860. ' E. Floridian, May 12, 24, 31, June 14, i860. LAST YEARS OF THE ANTE-BELLUM R&GIME 41 cause, he said, lay in the profound difference in public opin- ion North and South/ All Florida Democrats were not in sympathy with either the act of withdrawal at Charleston or the attempt which followed to form a Southern Democratic party. United States Senator Yulee wrote from Washington to C. E. Dyke, editor of the Floridian, strongly protesting against the sending of a delegation to the Southern Democratic convention called to meet in Richmond, Va. He stated that the formation of a Southern party would weaken the South- ern cause." His views coincided with those of a conserva- tive minority in Florida. But the Democratic state convention which met in Quincy, June 4th, took the radical Southern position. Del- egates were here chosen for the Richmond convention and John Milton of Jackson county. West Florida, was nomi- nated for governor on the twenty-third ballot, after a fierce contest.^ The Constitutional Unionists were active. They chose a full delegation for the National convention to meet in Baltimore; nominated Colonel Edward Hopkins, a well- to-do planter, for governor; and prepared generally to con- test the elections vigorously.* They charged the Demo- cratic party with deliberately planning disunion. The Democrats did not seek to deny the charge. At a Democratic meeting in Jacksonville on May 15th, it was resolved that regardless who may be the nominee of the several presidential ^ E. Floridian, May 3, 10, 12, i860. J. J. Williams and T. J. Eppes also spoke in Femandina on the convention. ' E. Floridian, June 14, i860. ^ Floridian, June 16, 21, i860. * Ibid., June 23, 30, i860. 42 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA conventions or who may be elected President, if it appear from such election that a majority of the people or the states of this Union deny to the South the amplest protection and security to slave property in the territories owned by the Gen- eral Government, or if it indicate approbation of the continued refusal of the free states to surrender fugitive slaves when legally demanded . . . then we are of the opinion that the rights of the citizens of Florida are no longer safe in the Union and we think that she should raise the banner of seces- sion and invite her Southern sisters to join her. At a Democratic meeting in Gainesville, on May 21st, it was resolved that " if in consequence of Northern fanaticism the irrepressible conflict must come we are prepared to meet it ". Another meeting resolved that " we would sac- rifice our lives before we would yield to the Black Repub- lican Party "/ The campaign was fought out stubbornly and sharply, but the passing weeks showed the weak points in the posi- tion of the Constitutional Union party.^ Its rational con- servatism was not popular in this crisis. What program had it to offer in case the Republicans won? The state seemed strongly Democratic. Of the twenty-two news- papers in Florida seventeen were Democratic, which num- ber included the most influential journals.^ The methods of radical Southern politicians were often dictatorial and bulldozing — causing here and there lawless outbreaks when regulators attempted to coerce opponents. Following the John Brow^n incident at Harper's Ferry and the organization in the North of the " Wide x\ wakes " and * E. Floridian, Aug. 23, i860. ' E. Floridian. July 9, 26, Aug. 23, Sept. 6, i860 ; Floridian, Aug. 13, 25, Sept. 8, i860, passim. * The U. S. Census of i860 gave Florida only 20 papers, 17 of which were weeklies, one bi-weekly, and two tri-weekly. LAST YEARS OF, THE ANTE-BELLUM R&GIME 43 similar organizations, " vigilant committees " and com- panies of " Minute Men " were formed in several counties in Florida. The idea came probably from South Carolina. The professed object of these extra-legal bands was to keep an eye on the slaves and those suspected of being Aboli- tionists. Some did more than this. They attempted to drive out of the country those persons suspected of being not in sympathy with the extreme Southern position. In July (i860), for instance, a Dr. Wm. HoUingworth was attacked at night in his home in Bradford county by regulators because of his anti-Southern views. The as- sailants fired on him through windows and doors. He and his son fought back until the elder man was badly wounded. The end of the tragedy is not recorded. In East Florida bands of whippers and thugs operated through the country at this time. They were reported to have secret signs of recognition and pass-words and to be " bound together by horrid oaths and penalties ". Men were dragged from their beds at night, stripped, blind-folded, taken into the woods and whipped. In East Florida near Santa Fe a local vigi- lant committee found one James Douglas guilty of tamper- ing with the slaves. They shaved his head and sent him out of the state. In Escambia County, West Florida, a man who was rather loud in his condemnation of the Southern viewpoint was taken from his house into the back yard and there, in the presence of a sick wife, brutally whipped. She died from the ordeal of witnessing the beating and he be- came a bitter Unionist during the war. In Calhoun County (West Florida) a party of men call- ing themselves " regulators " visited the house of one Jesse Durden, late in October, i860. They murdered Durden and then, proceeding down the county road, overtook two of the dead man's friends whom they likewise killed. The friends and relatives of the three dead rose to avenge the 44 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA killings. The conflict soon reached such proportions in Calhoun County that Judge J. J. Finley of the state circuit court declared the county to be in a condition of " insur- rectionary war," and Adj. -Gen. Anderson promptly or- dered there a brigade of state militia. At the same time the Federal judge for the northern district of Florida, Mc- Queen Mcintosh — later a radical in the secession conven- tion — directed his United States deputy marshal, H. K. Simmons, to summon a posse and execute such processes in Calhoun County as he should order. A company of mil- itia from Jackson County marched into the affected district, the so-called insurrection was suppressed, and twenty-seven arrests made — besides the binding under peace bonds of some thirty individuals.^ The real character of these lawless conflicts immediatel)r preceding the war has never been historically established. Did the Democrats in these localities resort to such means in order to crush the obstruction of minorities? or were the Democratic majorities made and held by systematic terror- ism and coercion ? or was there no connection at all between Democratic politics and violence? Certainly in those sec- tions of the state where most trouble existed in i860 were found during the War most deserters and " Union Men " or anti-Confederates — as, for instance, in Calhoun and Es- cambia Counties. The two judges who were most promi- nent in suppressing the Calhoun County trouble were soon after leading figures in taking the state from the Union. Bad feeling was painfully evident in the fall of i860 and wild expressions were running loose, such, for instance, as the following: These associations [vigilant committees] should be composed of firm, respectable, and prudent men. The election of Lin- ' E. Floridian, Oct. 18, 31, i860. LAST YEARS OF THE ANTE-BELLUM R&GIME 45 coin now so imminent will doubtless embolden many of his followers to visit the South for the purpose of spreading his damn doctrine. Let Florida be prepared to give all such a meet and proper reception. If any individual is convicted of tampering with our slaves let him die the death of a felon. If they furnish necks, hemp is cheap and oak limbs handy. Before the autumn elections the press began to discuss the method of seceding in case the Republican party elected the President.^ The people of Florida did not believe that secession would be a peaceful, constitutional process. The dreadful note of preparation for war was in the air. "From every portion of the South exchanges bring accounts of formation, arming, and drilling of military corps." In Florida, following the advice of Governor Perry, the legis- lature, by statute, provided for the reorganization of the state militia. Elections were held during the spring of i860 putting into operation the law.^ Companies of " Min- ute Men " were forming in hamlet after hamlet and coal- escing into larger military bodies. The magazine was pre- pared for the explosion when the spark should be dropped. The people awaited with suppressed agitation the result of the national election. The Democratic party was desperately active. Vitupera- tion and invective were poured out upon the heads of Lin- coln and his followers. The Democratic speakers and edi- tors with force and reason appealed to men's passions in their discussion of Southern rights. Their positive pro- gram of no compromise with Republicanism won votes. Yet the Constitutional Unionists fought hard and skil- fully and with the prestige of aristocratic leadership. The Breckinridge and Lane (Southern Democratic) * Floridian, Nov. 3, i860. * E. Floridian, May 24, i860; Floridian, July 14, i860. 46 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA ticket carried the state, on the 7th of November, by a sub- stantial majority. The votes cast were as foUov^s : Breckinridge and Lane 8,543 Bell and Everett (Constitutional Unionist) 5,437 Douglas and Johnson (Northern Democratic) 367 Lincoln and Hamlin (Republican) o 14,347 Breckinridge and Lane majority 1,369 ^ " Are you ready? " asked the Floridian of its readers on the day that the fatal votes were cast. They were. A few days later that journal struck well the common sentiment in Florida when it declared : " Lincoln is elected. There is a beginning of the end. Sectionalism has triumphed. What is to be done? We say resist." ^ ' Stanwood, E., History of the Presidency, p. 297; Greeley, American- ConHict, V. i ; Greeley's and Stanwood's figures do not exactly agree. " Floridian, Nov. 10, i860. CHAPTER III Secession From another quarter of the state came the expression of similar opinion. " Secession of the state of Florida. Dissolution of the Union. Formation of a Southern Con- federacy," ran the headlines of a leading newspaper. The account continued: The time has come — Lincoln is elected — The curtain has risen and the fir^t act of the dark drama of Black Republicanism has been represented — The issue has been boldly made — Throw doubt and indecision to the winds — the requisite steps should be taken at once for the arming and equipment of every able- bodied man — The irrepressible conflict has commenced — We must meet it manfully and bravely — Florida will secede.^ In many towns of the state mass meetings protested against the election of Lincoln.^ They were Demo- cratic meetings, but as the Southern Democratic party was in power and borne up by a rising wave of popu- larity, their proceedings probably reflect with fair accur- acy the temper of more than the party majority. Florida became perceptibly more radical after the election. In Gainesville, Alachua County, a meeting called upon the legislature by resolution to order a convention of " the peo- ple ". Secession, it thought, was the proper course for the state. It advised that all citizens arm and that the state be i£. Floridian, Nov. 14. i860. ^ Floridian, Nov. 24, i860; E. Floridian, Nov. 28, i860. 47 48 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA put immediately in a condition for defense.^ Radical Gov- ernor Perry was from Alachua County. Late in November the governor submitted his message to the legislature. He was a vigorous and direct man as well as an active politician. His position in this crisis was never in doubt. His message on the situation was as clear and strong as it was narrow and bitter. " The crisis ex- pected by men of observation and reflection has at last come," he said : The only hope that the Southern states have for domestic peace or for future respect or prosperity is dependent on their action now, and that action is, secession from faithless, per- jured confederates. But some Southern men object to seces- sion until some overt act of unconstitutional power shall have been committed. If we wait for such an overt act our fate will be that of the whites in Santo Domingo. I recommend that a convention of the people be called at an early date to take such action as necessary. I further recommend that the militia laws be revised and that $100,000 be appropriated as a military fund for the ensuing year, to be expended as the public necessity may require. - These very pronounced views met with wide endorsement. One political enemy of the governor stated that the senti- ments expressed would " coincide with the views of a vast majority of the citizens of Florida." ^ The legislature acted promptly. In the senate were now thirteen Democrats and eight termed " Opposition " ; in the house, thirty-seven Democrats and ten " Opposition ".* The opposition was affected by the radical spirit of the ma- jority. When on November 28th, a bill was presented in ' E. Floridian, Nov. 28, i860. - Gov.'s Mess., Floridian, Dec. i, i860. ^ E. Floridian,- I>ec. 5, i860. * Ibid., Nov. 17, i860. SECESSION 49 the legislature for the calling of a convention to consider the question of Florida's position in the Union, it passed both houses with but one dissenting vote. On November 30th the bill became a law. It provided for a special elec- tion on December 22nd of delegates to a " convention of the people ". This convention, according to the statute, was to assemble in Tallahassee on January 3rd. Its pros- pective business was to take the state out of the Union. ^ On the day that the convention bill became a law, Novem- ber 30th, Governor Perry issued a proclamation setting forth the conditions of the coming election. Judges of pro- bate were directed to appoint inspectors and to make all other necessary arrangements. The object of the conven- tion was declared to be to " consider the dangers incident to the position of the state in the Federal Union and to amend the constitution in any way necessary." ^ Florida was rapidly and surely making toward seces- sion. Some men tried desperately at this late date to change the course of public opinion. Their efforts proved pathetically futile. The 5.804 Constitutional Unionists and Douglas Democrats were now a negligible force in controlling the destinies of the state. Ex-Governor Rich- ard Call of Tallahassee, who had come into Florida with Andrew Jackson, who had stood by his chief in the Nulli- fication controversy with South Carolina, and who clung to earlier ideals of positive nationalism, strove to assemble the people, " here and there. But faction leaders would not let the people hear him. Counter-meetings and closed doors excluded him. Pleadingly he argued and wrote and published, and in the name of God and his country he de- clared the contemplated act treason. Few would listen and some noisy, brainless fellows called him a submissionist." ^ ' Floridiaii, Dec. 5, i860. ' Procl., E. Floridian, Dec. 5, i860. ' Long, F!a. Breezes, p. 283. 50 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA On December ist, he issued a pamphlet containing his ap- peal. " My fellow citizens," he wrote, on Monday last your legislature met. Secession was the watchword, and reply, and on Thursday before the hour of 12 was consummated an act amid rapt applause which may pro- duce the most fatal consequences. This act provides for a convention of the people to be chosen with the same rushing haste to assemble in your capital on January 3rd, next. And for what purpose? Secession of the State of Florida from the Union. I proclaim that when that deed shall be done it will be treason, high treason against our constitutional govern- ment. Is the election of a sectional president by a sectional party consisting of less than one-third of the political strengtli of the Nation sufficient cause for justifying rebellion and revo- lution against your government ? Is it not a fact that the pres- ent disunion movement in Florida is not because of the elec- tion of Mr. Lincoln but from a long-cherished hatred of the Union by the leading politicians of the State? Wait then, I pray you, wait ! ^ But the legislature and the governor did not wait. Within two weeks $100,000 were appropriated for military pur- poses and Governor Perry had left the state ostensibly for the purchase of irms and ammunition.' The legislature and governor evidently believed that they were acting in har- mony with the will of the " people at home ". The fact is, Southern slavery was threatened as never before. The Southern planter opposed the destruction of a system on which his worldly prosperity depended. And the poor white, with no slaves to lose or rich lands to decrease in value if the social system should be so radically changed, was opposed to the idea of the free negro. To the slave, the poor white was merely " low-down white trash ". The ^ Pamphlet containing appeal of Call, Libr. P. K. Yonge, Pensacola. * E. Floridian, Dec. 12, i860. SECESSION 51 " white trash " reciprocated by having no particular liking for " a damn nigger ". Tlie possibility of a proletariat of blacks and whites was distasteful to those poverty-stricken Caucasians who foresaw, by instinct if not by intelligence, what might come to pass. All intelligent men of the South, regardless of riches or enlightenment, knew that the party which won the national elections of i860 received its support in the North and was hostile to slavery. Most men of conservative opinion be- lieved that the activity of the Republican party in the im- mediate future would be directed only toward making the territories free soil, restricting the spread of slavery. Men of this opinion did not counsel secession because conditions, they thought, warranted no such radical, dangerous move. The majority of those persons in Florida who swayed and formulated public opinion during i860 seemed con- vinced in all sincerity that the victorious political party North meant, somehow, to cripple and ultimately to de- stroy slavery. In any legislative war on slavery other in- terests of the South would suffer. A hostile national ad- ministration, a hostile national legislature, and a hostile public opinion in the North sustaining such a government — these were the conditions which the Southerner believed that he observed in 1860-1861.^ " When the political success of the Republican party cul- minated in the election of Mr. Lincoln," stated Senator Mallory, of Florida, at a later date, " the conviction of the Southern mind that it would pursue a course of unjust, un- equal and class legislation, toward the South, as well with regard to other vital interests as to those of slavery, and ' See letters of S. R. Mallory and D. L. Yulee, Senators, for a dis- cussion of the Southern position. Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 8, pp. 637, 662-70. Also, letters, proclamations and messages of Gov. Milton, Mil- ton Papers, MSS. 52 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA that submission would equally disgrace, demoralize and impoverish her people, kindled and sustained the fires of revolution." ^ The leaders in the attempted revolution were slave-holders — trusted and respected and, in some cases, beloved by the millions of whites too poor to hold slaves. And there was another reason for opposing the North which did not proceed directly from fear of Congressional interference with slavery in the territories or from dis- satisfaction with the poor execution of the Fugitive Slave Law. The President of the United States presented in apt phrases this other Southern nightmare when he declared that in the slave-holding states a sense of security no longer exists around the family altar. This feeling of peace at home has given place to apprehensions of servile insurrection. Many a matron throughout the South retires at night in dread of what may befall herself and her children before the morning. Should this apprehension of domestic danger, whether real or imaginary, extend and in- tensify itself, until it shall pervade the masses of the Southern people, then disunion will be inevitable. Self-preservation is the first law of nature and has been implanted in the heart of man, by his Creator, for the wisest purposes, and no political Union, however fraught with blessings and benefits in all other respects, can long continue if the necessary consequence be to render the homes and the firesides of nearly half the parties to it habitually and hopelessly insecure.- Of the 78,000 whites in Florida at the time about 25,000 (men, women and children) constituted the slave-holding class, namely, families whose members actually owned one or more negroes. The census denominated 1,175 whites in Florida " planters ". There were then within the state * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. ii, v. 8, pp. 662-3. ' Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, pp. 7-8, Mess. Dec. 3, i860. SECESSION 53 1,123 fa-rms of 100 acres or more, and 1,157 slave-holders who owned 15 or more slaves. These figures suggest a certain correlation of farms, slave-holders, and " planters". 250 of the slave-holders owned 50 or more slaves and 288 farms or " plantations " consisted of 500 or more acres each. Forty-seven planters owned from 100 to 300 slaves and yy plantations exceeded 1,000 acres in extent. 3,995 slaveholders, of a total of 5,152, owned less than 15 negroes each. 4,676 farms contained less than 100 acres each. The segregation of slaves, slave-holders, and estimated wealth is worthy of some notice. In the seven great planting coun- ties of Alachua, Marion, Madison, Jefferson, Leon, Gads- den and Jackson the valuation of property — real and per- sonal — was $48,000,000. The total valuation of all prop- erty in the state was but $73,101,500. In these seven plant- ing counties were about 40,000 of the 61,000 slave popula- tion and about 26,000 of the 78,000 whites.^ These coun- ties contained the majority of Florida's wealthier and more enlightened citizens, hence a majority of those who led in the crisis of 1861. The last two months of the year i860 witnessed an ominous development in public opinion. The organization of those volunteer companies called " Minute Men " con- tinued. On November 19th such a company tendered its services to the governor. Governor Perry accepted it "as the first company in defense of the State." " In Pensacola, a company of " Minute Men " reported among its members United States Senator Mallory and Colonel William Chase, a retired army officer, both active in furthering secession. The inhabitants of the towns were agitated and excited. In Pensacola, for instance, frequent meetings were held by the town council to discuss the situation. Radical speeches ' Census, i860. ' E. Floridian, Dec. 12, i860. 54 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA were made before mass meetings on the street. " Men, women and children seem to have gone mad," stated a naval officer, stationed in Pensacola harbor at this time. "Every- body was talking secession — officers at the mess table and at home, where the women always take a strong hand ; and the workmen during their mid-day meal." ^ United States sailors and marines, ashore from the Federal warships lying in the harbor, were drawn into street fights by the more violent advocates of state rights. To express in public pronounced Union sentiments meant probably a fight unless you quickly ate your words. The excitement grew day by day.^ " I traveled by way of Montgomery to Pensacola," wrote Captain Meigs, an army engineer. There I took the mail steamer and touching off Apalachicola, St. Marks, Cedar Keys, and Tampa, I reached Key West on the 7th [November] and this place on the next day. I found on some parts of the route a feeling of strong hostility to the Union. I heard from men reputed to be sober, careful, con- scientious citizens, expressions of regret for the danger of the Union, but of belief that its preservation for many years was impossible, and a feeling that if a struggle was to come, they would prefer it coming now.^ The Marianna Patriot of Jackson County expressed pro- nounced secession sentiments in November. Another Florida journal reported " Secession flags everywhere." In Marion County a meeting was held at the county court- house, where an assemblage of citizens voted for secession, while in the public square of the village floated a flag with * Erben, Persotial Recollections of the War of the Rebellion, p. 215. * See testimony of witnesses in the Armstrong investigation, H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87. ^ Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 52, pt. i, p. 4. SECESSION 55 a single blue star and the inscription, " Let Us Alone." The Quincy Republican of Gadsden County reported a seces- sion flag flying in the town of Quincy with the inscription, " Secession, Florida, Sovereignty, Independence ". All of this was evident in November/ In some places Lincoln was burned in effigy.^ Colonel Chase of Pensacola, originally from Massachusetts, in an open letter advocated " immediate secession " by the com- ing convention of the people.^ United States Senator Yulee in Washington, on hearing that a convention of the people had been called, wrote to the legislature that " he would promptly and joyfully return home if Florida seceded." In St. Augustine the " secession flag " was raised and "blue cockades " were worn by many of the citizens.* In Fer- nandina two military companies were organized, equipping themselves and announcing that their uniforms were of " Southern manufacture ".^ At Mayport Mills, below Jack- sonville, several Northern fishermen were forced to leave the locality, because they had expressed opinions which con- flicted too much with the pro-slavery sentiments of the natives. "^ On December 12th, affected by the crisis, the Bank of St. Johns in St. Augustine suspended specie pay- ment "in compliance with the wishes of the people".^ " At Tallahassee," wrote Mrs. Long, " I find the atmosphere redolent with secession. Gallants wear the palmetto cock- ade. Matrons are ready to buckle the sword for their hus- bands, and I wonder if they will do it so readily for their sons. Everything is promised everybody — the merchant ' E. Floridian, Dec. 5, i860. ' Ibid., Dec. 5, 19, i860. • Letter in A''. Y. Times, Dec. 15, i860. * E. Floridian, Dec. 19, i860. » Ibid. « Ibid., Dec. 19, i860. ' Ibid., Dec. 12, i860. ^6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to be rid of paying his Northern debts ; the slave-trade, re- vived for the planters ; ^ the ambitious, a new and nearer field of promotion; and those who have nothing are to get something in the general scramble." ^ '' I believe the temper of the South is excited — danger- ous," Captain Meigs had written General Scott, from Key West, a few weeks before." Such incidents and expres- sions as the foregoing indicate a public consciousness out of which obviously a political revolution might come. The definite beginning of such a revolution was made by the convention which assembled on January 3rd in Tallahassee at the call of the legislature. On the day named sixty dele- gates presented their credentials. Among them were some of the best known, most respected and wealthiest men of the state.* Little record remains of the manner in which they were elected — whether fair or foul. Their good char- acters support the assumption that fairness preponderated. They composed a body which was to take unto itself sov- ereign powers, repudiate the Union, and change in theory at least, the very nature of the state represented. The temporary chairman, Mr. Pelot, in his opening ad- dress, declared that Northern fanaticism had endangered Southern liberties and institutions ; that the election of Abraham Lincoln, "a wily abolitionist", destroyed all hope for the future. " We must stand shoulder to shoulder in the great work before us." he concluded, " and may the ^ It is worth while noticing the revival of interest in Florida at this time, in the reopening of the African slave trade. In Aug., i860, 2,020 Africans captured from " Slavers " were in the hands of Federal authorities at Key West. See E. Floridian for June 7, 21, Aug. 9, i860. * Long, Florida Breezes, p. 282. 3 Oif. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 52, pt. i, p. 4, written Nov. 10, i860. * See Comments ty A^. Y. Herald, Jan. 7, 1861 ; also Proceedings of Convert., pp. i, 2. SECESSION 57 God of Mercy and Goodness direct us in our deliberations that we may arrive at the best means to accomplish the de- sired end." ^ Amid the suppressed hum of comment which followed the applause McQueen Mcintosh, the Federal judge who had recently figured in suppressing the " regulator " dis- turbances in West Florida, arose. " Mr. Chaimian," he said, " it is but seldom that men are called upon to discharge the grave and solemn duties about to devolve upon us. And with nations as with men, there is a Providence which fashions their destinies. I therefore move, Sir, that the Right Reverend Bishop Rut- ledge be invited to a seat by your side and that this con- vention be opened with prayer." Bishop Rutledge, whose ancestors had helped take South Carolina out of the British colonial system, prayed that " the Lord would enlighten, direct, and strengthen them " in deciding whether Florida should be taken out of the Federal system.- Thus with bitterness toward those whom they had considered their enemies in the North and a solemn appeal for the help of Almighty God in dealing with the situation, the members of the Florida secession convention began their work in true Puritanic spirit. All delegates elected had not arrived by January 3rd. Four western counties (Escambia, Santa Rjosa, Franklin and Liberty) and one eastern county (Clay) were not represented, as well as some of the senatorial districts. Representation was by county and senatorial district. The convention therefore adjourned for two days, until Satur- day, January 5th. On that day the body definitely organ- ized itself for its destructive and constructive constitutional work. John C. McGehee, a planter, was chosen president. ^Proceedings of Conven., p. 3. ^ Ibid., p. 4. 58 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The president of the convention promptly system- atized the work of the body by appointing committees of five members each on judiciary, ordinance, Federal rela- tions, foreign relations, taxes and revenue, militia and in- ternal police, sea-coast defenses, public lands, etc. Each committee was to occupy itself with some phase of the con- templated constitutional change/ The appointment of these committees before the convention had acted on the question of Federal relations was an obvious index of what the body expected to do. If Florida was to remain in the Union, there was little reason for thus preparing to revise at that time her fundamental law. The convention had met to take Florida out of the Union. Two ways of accomplishing this were proposed on the sec- ond day of meeting. Mr. Parkhill, a prominent planter of Leon County, submitted the first proposition. He would have the convention take immediate action on secession and then submit its decision to the votes of the people. He would have the people cast their votes for or against the convention's decision after Georgia and Alabama had taken action definitely on secession. His was the conservative plan, whose keynote was delay. It was promptly laid on the table and remained there. Judge McQueen Mcintosh of Franklin County, proposed the second plan. He would have secession proclaimed as a state right, Florida proclaimed justified in exercising that right, and the convention proclaimed competent to act for the state. This proclamation method was simpler, swifter, more direct, more radical, more popular, and more danger- ous than the other. Mcintosh's resolutions were ordered printed and further consideration was postponed until Monday.^ * Proceedings of Conven., p. 12. ^Ihid., pp. 12-13. SECESSION 59 On Monday, January 7th, the question of secession, the raison d'etre of the convention, was again taken up. "Flor- ida is very impatient to be the second State in the banner of the South," recorded a critic of the convention. The Convention which was called merely to ratify the fore- gone conclusions of the politicians of the State is now in ses- sion, and the town LTallahassee] is full of bewildered and ex- cited people. The timid are silent or are with the popular voice in the noise they make, and would change with them to- morrow for the same reason. The Convention is formed of the most ultra element who have not come to investigate, rea- son or determine, but with a fixed purpose to vote Florida out of the Union. . . . The halls of the capital are crowded day and night. Citizens— even ladies— attend the councils while the wildest excitement prevails.^ Ere the vote was taken in Florida on secession the dele- o-ates were addressed by commissioners from Alabama, South Carolina, and Virginia. These gentlemen— E. C. Bullock of Alabama, S. C. Spratt of South Carolina, and Edmund Ruffin of Virginia— had been introduced to the convention by Governor Perry,' who had recently returned from a trip into South Carolina and probably into Georgia. The words of the commissioners — advance agents of the Confederacy — constituted a part of the radical appeal from abroad. They came on the wings of revolution. They counselled radical action. They found in Tallahassee a radical body to counsel. Advice is attended with interest when we are like-minded with the counsellors and are dubious of the future. Mr. Spratt, of South Carolina, read the secession ordi- * Long, Florida Breezes, p. 303. 2 Proceedings of Conven., p. 14. Spratt and Bullock did most of the talking. Virginia's position then was very uncertain. 6o RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA nance of his state. He then read the eloquent address of South Carolina on the " Relations of the Slave-holding- States ". He concluded with a speech on his own state's recent action/ South Carolina had left the Union on De- cember 20th. Commissioners of the Republic of Soutli Carolina to the United States had been appointed two days after her secession. Major Anderson had withdrawn to Fort Sumter the Federal troops under his command. South Carolina had prepared to resist with force if necessary the landing of supplies or reinforcements in Sumter. While Spratt spoke in Florida, the Federal steamer " Star of the West " was at sea bound for Fort Sumter with supplies, and South-Carolinians were preparing to open fire on her when she should come within range. ^ The South Carolina commissioner was discussing, there- fore, not vague generalities concerning what might come to pass. He spoke of changes and conditions which indi- cated abnormal times. The entire body politic was af- fected. The spirit of revolution was in fact already un- chained. The words of the commissioners vitalized the events of the hour to the advantage of radicalism, and thereby has- tened, maybe, the separation of Florida from the Union. The state would have seceded regardless of inter-state com- missioners. On the day that Spratt spoke, Senator Yulee wrote from Washington that he and his colleague, Mallor}', had unequivocally joined with other Southern Senators in declaring that " the Southern States should, as soon as may be, secede." ' On January 6th, Mr. Mallory informed the ^ Proceedings of Conven., p. 15. * See accounts in Rhodes, U. S., v. iii, pp. 245-6 ; Chadwick, Causes of Civil War, pp. 225-6. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, pp. 442-3. The letter was addressed by Yulee to " Finegan or Call." SECESSION 6 1 Florida convention by telegraph of this secret conclave by Southern senators in which he and Yulee had taken part/ Governor Perry of Florida had already appealed to the gov- ernor of Alabama for assistance in seizing Federal prop- erty ; ^ and Yulee in Washington had conspired with Robert Toombs of Georgia to the same end.^ Dissolution of politi- cal bonds had advanced perceptibly by January the 7th. The convention voted on that day, January 7th, that the " people of the State " possess the " right " to sever politi- cal connections when in their opinion just and proper cause exist; it concluded that " just and proper cause " did exist and that Florida should exercise the right.* In taking this step the convention committed itself to a view of the Union consistent with the contemplated separation. Both dele- gates from Walton County in West Florida voted against the resolution. The other three votes in opposition came from East Florida — all five votes coming from white or almost non-cotton-planting counties. Immediately after the passage of the resolution a " select committee " of thirteen was appointed by the chair to pre- pare an ordinance of secession. The committee was repre- sentative of the various sections of the state. Two days later, January 9th, it reported an ordinance.^ The conven- tion went into session as committee of the whole for a con- sideration of the report. The proposed measure was sub- mitted to the judiciary committee with instructions to re- port in an hour. The judiciary committee promptly brought in the revised ordinance.*' In the desperate efforts to amend 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. ii, v. 8, p. 833; s. i, v. i, p. 443. ' Ibid., s. i, V. i, p. 444. This seems a reasonable assumption from the letter of Gov. Moore to the Alabama Convention, Jan. 8. • Ibid., s. i, V. i., p. 442. Letter of Yulee, Jan. 5. * Proceedings of Conven., p. 18. » Ihid., p. 25. « Ibid., p. 28. 62 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA it the conservative element in the convention showed its strength and poHcy/ Delay by Florida until more powerful states had acted underlay the various projects to amend. Mr. Ward, of Leon County, would have the proposed or- dinance of secession not take effect till the convention had been advised of the actions of Georgia and Alabama on Federal relations. This was lost by a vote of 30 to 39. Mr. Allison, of Gadsden, would have the ordinance not take effect till the governor was informed that Georgia and Ala- bama had gone out of the Union ; and in case these states did not go out, he would have the question of secession submitted to the votes of the people. Lost by a vote of 27 to 32. Mr. Ward then proposed that the ordinance be sub- mitted to the votes of the people. Lost by a vote of 26 to 41. Mr. Morton, of Santa Rosa County, proposed that the convention postpone action till Alabama had signified defi- nitely her intention of quitting the Union. Lost by a vote of 28 to 40. Mr. Ward then proposed that further action on the question of secession be postponed till January i8th. Lost by a vote of 28 to 40. This ended opposition to the passage of an unqualified and immediate ordinance of secession. The votes for de- lay had been cast mainly by representatives of the white counties — particularly the western counties which had been strongly Whig. Escambia, Walton and Jackson Counties, for instance, supported solidly a qualified ordinance. But opposition was not confined to a section. Gadsden and Wakulla Counties voted for delay. Four out of five dele- gates from Leon County did likewise, as well as several members from East and Southern Florida; while in West Florida, Washington, Holmes, and Franklin Counties, abutting Escambia, Walton and Jackson, and containing ^ Proceedings of Conven., pp. 28-31. SECESSION 63 almost the same kind of population, went solidly for im- mediate secession. The vote therefore in the secession convention failed to disclose sectionalism within the state or division between planter and poorer white. It merely divided radical Demo- crat from conservative Democrat and Constitutional Union- ist. It tended to show that Florida East of the Suwanee river was more radical than Florida west of that stream. Seventy of the seventy-seven " thousand-acre or more " plantations were zvest of the river, as well as 165 of the 21 1 planters operating 500 to 1,000 acres. ^ The larger prop- erty-holders were conservative when on their actions hung the probability of contest with the Federal government. With every member present and the visitors' galleries of the senate chamber crowded, the convention proceeded to business on Thursday, January loth. Excitement was high. The " Star of the West " had drawn fire in Charles- ton harbor at dawn the day before, and this morning Gov- ernor Perry electrified the assembly with a telegram from Florida's representatives in Washington. " Federal troops are said to be moving or about to move on Pensacola forts," it read. " Every hour is important." ^ For two hours committees submitted reports on constitu- tional revision, and desultory debate went on. Most of the discussion was by those who sought to delay the secession of the state. They obtained a respectful and unenthusiastic hearing. At last, almost at mid-day, the question of the hour was laid before the convention. The secretary ner- vously raised his papers from the table and the people bent Ce'rtsus, i860. ' Off. Reds. RehelL, s. i, v. i, p. 444. Message of Gov. Perry to Mr. McGehee, president of convention Jan. 10. The message had been sent the day before from Washington and was signed by Mallory, Yulee and Hawkins (congressmen). 54 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA forward in silent and strained attention as the proposed se- cession ordinance was read. It ran as follows : We, the people of the State of Florida in convention assem- bled, do solemnly ordain, publish, and declare that the State of Florida hereby withdraws herself from the Confederacy of States existing under the name of the United States of America, and from the existing government of the said States ; and that all political connection between her and the govern- ment of said states ought to be and the same is hereby totally annulled, and the said Union of States dissolved, and the State of Florida hereby declared a sovereign and independent nation ; and that all ordinances heretofore adopted, in so far as they create or recognize the said Union, are rescinded, and all laws and parts of laws in force in this State, in so far as they recognize or consent to said Union, be and they are hereby repealed.^ The vote was taken and stood 62 to 7 for secession. Four of the seven votes in opposition came from West Florida.^ Both Walton County delegates voted with the minority. At twenty-two minutes past twelve o'clock P. M., January loth, the president declared the ordinance adopted.^ Applause broke forth and the shouting was taken up by those outside the hall. The die had been cast. " As the vote was taken," declared Mrs. Long, " the ap- plause was deafening. Men whooped and women clapped their hands. Madame M gave way to tears. " 4 ^ Proceedings of Conven., p. 31. ' Ibid., p. 31. Those who voted against it were Baker of Jackson Co., McCaskill and Morrison of Walton Co., Rutland of 19th Sena- torial District, Gregory of Liberty Co., Hendricks of Clay Co., and Woodrufif of Orange Co. ' Proceedings of Conven., p. 31. * Long, Florida Breezes, p. 306. SECESSION ' 65 Three delegates were appointed to represent Florida in the proposed convention of representatives from those Southern states which would withdraw from the Union/ Senator Yulee, in a recent communication to a member of the Florida convention, had urged the immediate import- ance of a Southern confederacy." The great ordinance passed, the assembly chamber was cleared of its occupants and the doors closed for the day. Groups formed before hotels, bars and the hospitable general stores to discuss the momentous political develop- ments of the hour. The few bar-rooms did a flowing holi- day business — for optimism was running high and the weather was cool. When night came, the many lights which flashed in public buildings and along the usually quiet streets indicated the continuation of celebration. More than 500 lights shone in the " Capital Hotel ". Soon scores of rockets and roman candles blazed and ricocheted above the shadows of the live-oaks. Some said Florida was al- ready " a nation ". Certainly there was evidence of the political self-assurance necessary to separate national life. The state's rural citizenry swung out in the flood tide of a new national existence with no cities, no factory system, few railroads, sparse population, and less than 1,000 skilled laborers within the length and breadth of the land.^ The New York Times declared that the secession of Florida meant the wiping-out of old debts, that the South ^ Proceedings of Conven.; R^rick, Memoirs of Fla., v. i, p. 236. The commissioners were Gen. Morton, Col. Patton Anderson and Col. Jas. B. Owens. The convention also created a special council of four to assist the Governor. Perry appointed J. C. McGehee (president of convention), Gen. Morton, Maj. Jno. Beard and Col. Jos. Fincgan, members of this Council. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 442. * Census, i860. 66 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA was ill control of " the railroad class who want secession for financial ends "/ This was an accusation frequently brought at that time and later against the seceding states.^ It is true that at this time the Florida Railroad owed one firm in New York three quarters of a million dollars.^ Heavy stockholders in the road were Floridians active in furthering secession. David L. Yulee, United States Sen- ator, was president of the road, and a prominent figure in the secession movement. Florida railways were then built mostly from the proceeds of the sale of bonds guaranteed by the Internal Improvement Fund of the state.* Since 1850 more than $8,000,000 had been expended for the con- struction of railways in Florida.^ Part of this sum was contributed by capitalists in the North. Did secession mean necessarily the wiping-out of honest bonded indebtedness? In this tragic and complex crisis in the South's history did the selfish and sinister designs of a few Southern and Northern capitalists arouse the passionate and generally honest prejudices of the more than 5,000,000 Americans who promptly answered the long roll? A torch-light procession headed by a band of local musicians paraded the streets of Tallahassee. Before the 1 N. Y. Times, Jan. 23, 1861. * Lincoln referred .to this aspect of the situation in his first annual message to Congress, Dec. 13, 1861. " There are no courts nor officers to whom the citizens of other states may apply for the enforcement of their lawful claims against citizens of the insurgent states. Some of fthem have estimated it as high as $200,000,000, due in large part from insurgents, in open rebellion, to lawful citizens." — Complete Works (Nicolay & Hay), v. i, p. 99. 3 H. Ex. Docs., 38th C, 2d S., no. 18, p. 83. M. O. Roberts of N. Y. * Minutes Trustees Internal Improvement Fund, Internal Improve- ment Bonds of Fla. — a pamphlet (1858) ; Fla. R. R. ist Mort. Bonds — a pamphlet ; Fla. Hist. Soc, etc. ^ Census, i860. SECESSION 07 Capital Hotel Governor-elect Milton, Editor C. E. Dyke of the Floridian, and Mr. Hilton, who by Florida's seces- sion had lost his place in Congress, addressed the crowd, which roared approval to the leaders speaking there be- neath the flickering light of fat pine torch and astral oil lamp/ On the following afternoon, January nth, at a few minutes past one o'clock, the members of the convention proceeded in a body to the east portico of the capital build- ing. There in the presence of the legislature, the supreme court, Governor-elect Milton, cabinet members, and a throng of spectators, they signed the ordinance of seces- sion. The signing was by counties. Sixty-four of the sixty-nine delegates signed.^ The secretary of state, Mr. Villepigue, affixed the great seal of the state to the document, and, turning, faced the crowd assembled. In a " clear and distinct voice " he pro- claimed Florida " an independent nation ". A second later fifteen cannon were fired in salute of the new state and shouting broke forth. ^ Governor-elect Milton then stepped forward and pre- sented to the members of the convention a white silk flag bearing three blue stars. It was the handiwork of some pa- triotic women of East Florida. The three stars were for Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina, the states which had quit the Union. A speech by Mr. Butler King, commis- sioner of Georgia to the Florida legislature, concluded the process of ratification. " Thus terminates," stated a Florida journal, " the most ^ N. Y. Herald, Jan. 25, 1861. Tallahassee letter. ' Proceedings of Conven., p. 40. ^ N. Y. Herald, Jan. 13, 1861 ; Rerick, Memoirs of Fla., v. i, pp. 235-6; Brevard and Bennett, Hist, of Fla., p. 157. 68 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA glorious event in the history of Florida — her secession (we trust forever) from Yankeedom and Yankees ".^ The people of Florida were moving with the Southern current. They had reached the brink of a gulf whose depths they had no means of sounding. As votaries of some ancient creed once with emotion greeted the first glow of a new day, so over the South thousands, swept by en- thusiasm, sang beneath the morning star of a new national life. And like men borne upon the bosom of some vast flood, majestically they moved on their way impelled by political currents which like the streams of the sea came somewhere from the depths. Hozannahs and hoarse shout- ing for the future — not a requiem for the stricken Re- public — give to him who cares to examine our recent past the spirit which ushered in the cataclysm. The strength of Southern nationalism was to be tested in the fearful crucible of war. For the mass of Southerners — whether constitutional secessionists or revolutionists — there was no turning back after secession. " The moving finger writes and having writ, moves on." They heard the enthusiastic shouting — in which they joined, or were gravely silent, as the case might be — and then they followed to the last bloody whirlpool of defeat, destruction, and death with a fortitude strong and admirable, the fortunes of the Con- federacy, that new state which like some creation of the mists arose from out the maelstrom of secession. *N. Y. Herald, Jan. 13, 1861, quotation. CHAPTER IV The Seizure of Federal Property and the Raising of Troops The seizure of Federal fortifications and supplies by order of Florida's governor began before the formal con- summation of secession by the convention at Tallahassee. In December, i860, Senator Yulee wrote from Washing- ton to Joseph Finegan in Florida suggesting that the state should prepare to seize the Pensacola forts and navy-yard. Possession of the yard " would give a good supply of ord- nance and make the occupation of the forts easier ", stated Yulee. He and Senator Mallory jointly requested of the war department on January 2nd a statement of munitions and equipment in the Federal forts and arsenals of Flor- ida.^ Secretary Holt refused them the information,^ but Mallory a short time later transmitted to secession leaders in Pensacola information concerning the value of supplies in the Pensacola navy-yard.^ It is not unreasonble to assume that both Florida sen- ators were in intimate communication with Governor Perry, Joseph Finegan, Wilkinson Call, William Chase, and other state leaders who favored and expected a speedy secession.* ^ Oif. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. i, p. 349; letter of Jan. 2, 1861. Yulee requested, on Dec. 21, i860, of the War Dept. a "statement of the officers of the U. S. who were appt. from Fla., their rank and pay." He obtained his information, see p. 348. ' Ibid., s. i, V. I, p. 351 ; letter of Jan. g. ^ Ibid., s. i, V. 52, pt. 2, p. 8. * Ibid., s. i, V. I, pp. 349, 444-S, etc. 69 70 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA " I did not advise or stimulate secession of the State," wrote Mr. Yulee four years later ; ^ yet he declared in a letter to Finegan, January 5th, 1861, that the immediately important thing to be done is the occupation of the forts and arsenals in Florida. The naval station and forts at Pensacola are first in consequence. For this a force is necessary. I have conversed with Mr. Toombs upon the subject. He will start this week for Georgia and says if the convention of sovereignty will ask Governor Brown of Georgia for a force he will immediately send a sufficient force.- Early in January Governor Perry appealed to Governor Moore of Alabama for aid in seizing and holding Federal fortifications in West Florida ^ — at that time almost with- out garrisons.* Before the end of December, i860, radical state leaders at home and in Washington were undoubtedly deeply involved in plans to paralyze and despoil the Fed- eral government if Florida should leave the Union.^ In November, i860, Captain Meigs of the United States army concluded that the government's control of its Florida forts was destined soon to be disputed. He expressed his views very plainly to General Scott. " There is danger," he wrote, " that a few ardent, desperate men, seeing the great fortifications of Pensacola, of Key West, and of this harbor [Tortugas] — the Key of the Gulf — unoccupied by troops, may emulate the fame of Ethan Allen and by a much less dangerous blow secure for themselves distinction with their party by seizing some of these undefended posts. The en- 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. ii, v. 8, pp. 668-670. 2 Ibid., s. i, V. I, p. 442. * Ibid., s. i, V. I, p. 444. * H. Rpts., 36th C, 2d S., no. 85, pp. 26-27. ''In this connection see the telegrams of Yulee and Soutter, Jan. 12, Off. Reds. Rebel}., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 6. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 71 terprise is so safe and easy that leaders and men are to be found." ' Captain Brannan, commanding the Federal garrison at Key West, infonned the war department on December nth that the present condition of affairs in this State indicates very clearly that Florida by the act of her people will secede from the Federal Government. I have reliable information that as soon as the act is committed an attempt will be made to seize upon Fort Taylor. I therefore request instructions what I am to do — endeavor at all hazards to prevent Fort Taylor being taken, or allow the state authorities to have possession without any resistance on the part of my command? These instructions are absolutely necessary noiv as it may be too late after the State secedes. - He received no instructions. The national administration, though warned of danger, took no steps to better protect Federal property in Florida until too late.'' Without waiting for aid from abroad the governor pro- ceeded quietly and swiftly to execute his designs of usur- pation. " I hereby authorize you," he informed a Colonel Duryea early in January, " to raise a company of picked men and proceed to the Apalachicola river and seize and possess the arsenals, arms, ammunition, etc." The order 1 Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 52, pt. i, p. 4. 2 Ibid., s. i, V. I, pp. 342-343- ' It is an interesting fact that on Jan. 2, i860, a year before the secession crisis, President Buchanan had requested of the war dept. a " statement " of the troops on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts " available for the defense of the public property." — See Works of Buchanan, V. X, p. 372. Mr. Buchanan declares in his "Administration on the Eve of Rebellion" (pp. 88-91), that there were not enough troops available to adequately garrison the forts : " Five companies only, 400 men, to garrison nine fortifications scattered over six highly excited Southern States." He lays the blame for this condition of affairs on Gen. Scott and Congress. 72 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA continued : " You are requested to act with great secrecy and discretion." ^ Another order of similar purport was issued to an aide regarding the occupation of Fort Marion at St. Augustine.^ On the morning of January 5th Ordnance Sergeant Powell of the Federal arsenal at Chattahoochee notified the war department that soon after daybreak the arsenal had been taken possession of by state troops.^ The Quincy Guards — a company of local militia — led by Colonel Duryea risked this revolutionary step,* for Florida was still nomi- nally in the Union. The sergeant in charge at Chattahoochee had been ordered to surrender. "I refused giving up the keys," stated Powell, " but the Governor telegraphed to the commanding officer to insist on the delivery of the same and I was com- pelled to give them up." " The work thus passed without violence into the hands of the state. It contained 500,000 rounds of musket cartridges, 300,000 rounds of rifle cart- ridges, and 50,000 pounds of gunpowder.^ " If I had had a force equal or even one-half the strength of yours," Powell is reported to have said to Duryea, " I'll be damned if you would have ever entered that gate. You see I have but three men." '' 1 H. Rpis., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 91, p. 93. ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 333 ; H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 91, p. 88. * H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 91, p. 88. There is a conflict of state- ment about the name of the militia commander at Apalachicola. One account gives it as Dunn ; see Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 332. *N. Y. Herald, Jan. 14, 1861 ; Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. i, pp. 332-3. 5 H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 91, p. 92. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, pp. 332-333. ' Quoted in A''. Y. World from So. Confed., Jan. 25, 1861. Ex. Docs., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 85, states that the arsenal's garrison was then only 4. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 73 At St. Augustine a company of volunteers marched to Fort Marion on January 7th and demanded possession. An aide-de-camp of Governor Perry showed written instruc- tions from his chief to seize the work.^ Without delay or controversy the dilapidated and almost empty fortification was surrendered by the single man constituting its garrison. " Upon reflection I decided that the only alternative for me was to deliver the keys under protest," ^ stated the gar- rison. " One thing is certain," he added with evident re- lief, " with the exception of the guns composing the water battery the property seized is of no great value " ^ — which was partly true. Unfinished and deserted Fort Clinch, protecting (on paper) Fernandina harbor, was quietly occupied by state troops a day or two after the Fort Marion episode.* Captain Brannan at Key West, on hearing of the passage of the secession ordinance at Tallahassee, transferred his entire force of forty-four men from the barracks to the interior of Fort Taylor.^ The Southern sympathizers on the island were turbulent and threatened to be aggressive,'' although they never made a determined attempt to expel the Federal garrison. In moving to Fort Taylor, Captain Brannan acted without instructions from Washington.^ 1 H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 91, p. 88. * Ibid., no. 91, p. 94. ' Off, Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. i, p. 333; N. Y. Herald, Jan. 25, 1861. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, pp. 367-68. 5 Ibid., s. i, V. I, pp. 343-345- * Ibid., s. i, V. I, pp. 343-345, 360, 374-7, 411, 426. A''. Y. Herald, May 24, 1861 ; June 6, 1861 — Key West Letters. A^. Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1862 — Key West Letters. '' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, pp. 342, 344. The war dept, on Jan. 4, issued an order to Brannan to transfer his company to Ft. Taylor. The order did not reach its destination till Jan. 26th, after Brannan had shifted his force. 74 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA On Pensacola bay the course of events indicating the dis- integration of Federal authority proved more involved. Lieutenant Adam Slemmer of the First Artillery v^as in command at Fort Barrancas — one of the three works flank- ing the mouth of the bay and at the time the only one v^ith a garrison. Slemmer's position in Florida during the first three months of 1861 w^as not unlike that of Major Ander- son in South Carolina. Anderson withdrev^ to Fort Sumter on December 26th; Slemmer, to Fort Pickens, January loth.^ Both men were confronted by much the same prob- lems. Both went through the strain of awaiting instruc- tions, supplies, and reinforcements which came not at all or slowly. Both were forced to prepare for extensive armed strife with fellow Americans of high position representing hostile governments. And therefore upon both was thrust by accident part of the responsibility of inaugurating a pro- gram of coercion which might vitally affect the fortunes of the Union. Slemmer was a man of nerve and coolness. In appear- ance he has been described as " small and insignificant "." He proved to have the courage to act boldly and decisively and the mental balance (or good fortune) to follow a suc- cessful course during a period of frightful confusion and uncertainty. Captain Armstrong of the navy-yard, with whom Slemmer had failed to agree, referred to him after- wards as " a gallant and trusty officer ".^ Rumors were abroad early in January that citizens of Florida and Alabama intended seizing Federal property on Pensacola bay.* Judged in the light of what had hap- pened in Florida and elsewhere these rumors seemed se- '^Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. i, p. 335; Rhodes, v. 3, pp. 216-17. 2 N. Y. Herald, Apr. 23, 1861. ^H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 66. * Off. Reds. Rebcll., s. i. v. i, p. 333. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 75 rious. When on the morning of January 7th news came that the forts on Mobile bay had been occupied by Alabama troops, and the Chattahoochee arsenal by Florida troops/ Lieutenant Slemmer at once conferred with Captain Arm- strong, commanding at the Pensacola navy-yard, about the necessity of immediate defensive measures." The captain, in absence of orders from Washington, refused to co-operate with Slemmer. Neither the characters nor the policies of the two men were alike — and in addition, they belonged to different branches of the public service. Slemmer was posi- tive, self-assured, and fully decided to prevent at all hazards the seizure of United States property in his care. Arm- strong was temporizing, cautious, and in this crisis unde- cided, fearful of provoking bloodshed, and inclined to take no risks by personal initiative.^ Slemmer wished to destroy the navy-yard and Fort Bar- rancas and to concentrate all force, naval and military, at Fort Pickens. Such would have been a very radical and politically portentous move in January, 1861. Some of the officers on board the Federal men-of-war lying in the har- bor agreed with Slemmer. Others, on the ships and ashore, held totally different views — particularly the aides of Cap- tain Armstrong.* The national government failed to keep up with and control the situation in West Florida. No harmonious or consistent policy for the Union was fol- lowed on Pensacola bay. * Fort Morgan was seized by Alabama militia on Jan. 4th ; Chatta- hoochee Arsenal (Fla.), Jan. 5th. See Fleming, Civil War and Recon- struction in Alabama, for reference to the situation in that state. * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. i, p. 334 ; Erben, Hy., Personal Recollec- tions of the Rebellion, pp. 213-222. ' See Scharf, Confed. States Navy, pp. 602-603, for a letter of Lieut. Renshaw of Pensacola navy-yard, pub. in A''. Y. Herald, Jan. 29, 1861, discussing the situation in Florida. * H. Rpts., 36th C, and S., no. 87, passim. 76 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Orders from Washington were " asked for but most likely they never got out of the state "/ At all events, no replies were received until the navy-yard commandant got the ridiculous order to keep the " Department " advised of what was going on and to be vigilant in protecting public property. The crisis had stunned Armstrong. He seemed unable to grasp the obvious character of the situation before him. The younger officers about him with whom he was accustomed to confer were bitterly divided in sentiment and gave dia- metrically conflicting advice.^ His most intimate advisors and friends among his subordinates were Southern sym- pathizers, and at that time some of them were playing double parts in their efforts to have the yard pass without bloodshed into the possession of the state. " There were enemies in his own household," affirmed a friend — " none that he could rely upon but the 25 or 30 muskets that he had in his marine guard." ^ Lieutenant Erben of the store-ship Supply visited the cap- tain's quarters late in the night of the 9th and strongly ad- vised the destruction at once of all property in the navy- yard to prevent its seizure by state militia. Armstrong seemed " completely dazed ". He read to Erben his last orders from Washington, — " to be vigilant in protecting government property ". " Now you ask me to destroy it," ' Erben, Hy., Personal Recollections of the Rebellion. See letter of Senator Yulee (in Washington) to Chase (in Pensacola), which stated that it was " charged that the correspondence of the Government through the mail has been interfered with on the part of State authori- ties. Let the post-master send a dispatch." — Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, pp. 8, 14. Also H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 55- ' Erben, op. cit., passim. Oilman, J. H., in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. i, p. 27. ' H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, pp. 54-55. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 77 he said hopelessly and blankly. " I did all I could to get his permission," stated Erben, but failed. He went to the parlor door, called his orderly and sent him for Commander Farrand. Then I knew it was all up. There was some violent talk after Farrand came. He asked the Commodore to put me under arrest and send me back to the ship ; said that I was crazy and had been disrespectful to him. The Commodore refused to do this. Then Farrand rose, seized a chair, threw it at my head and left the room. I remained with the old Commodore a while. His face was buried in his hands and he was crying like a child.^ On the night of January 8th the sentries at Fort Bar- rancas saw dimly a body of men moving about along the outskirts of the fortifications.^ The corporal of the guard gave the alarm and the midnight visitors disappeared in the dense shadows of the scrub and brush which almost sur- rounded the work at a short distance.^ A few hours before this the telegraph office at Pensacola had been seized by state troops and a sentry placed on guard.* Soldiers from Alabama and Mississippi were already on their way to West Florida or preparing to leave for that region.^ It was probably knowledge of such incidents as these which finally decided Slemmer to abandon Forts McRee and Bar- rancas on the mainland and to occupy the extremely im- portant and more easily defended work, Fort Pickens, situ- ated on the western extremity of Santa Rosa Island and completely commanding the entrance to the bay. Had the ' Erben, Hy., op. cit., p. 217. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 334. 3 Gilman, J. H., op. cit., v. i, p. 27. Gilman was of Slemmer's force. * H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 55. * Pub. Miss. Hist. Soc, v. ix, p. 17 ; H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 55 ; Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 444. 78 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA secessionists come into possession of Pickens they would have controlled the best protected and deepest harbor on the Gulf coast. Pensacola bay would have been of great value to the Confederacy. Slemmer prepared to act on his own responsibility, for no orders had come from the war department. Prepara- tions for the removal of his troops across the channel were begun on January 9th. The night mail brought an order from the war department telling him " to do his utmost to prevent the seizure of either of the forts in Pensacola harbor ".^ This order came through the mail " in a small pink envelope addressed in a woman's hand ".^ After some controversy with Captain Armstrong of the navy-yard, Lieutenant Slemmer obtained from him an addi- tion of thirty unarmed seamen to his little command.^ On the morning of January loth this force of eighty-one men quit Barrancas and moved across the channel in barges to Pickens, arriving about 10 A. M.* The ammunition and supplies at Barrancas were carried to Pickens or destroyed. The guns there bearing upon the latter fort were spiked.^ ' Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. i, p. 334 — from Gen. Scott; Gilman, J. H., op. cit., V. I, p. 27. * Erben, Hy., op. cit., p. 214 ; Gilman, op. cit., p. 27. The following explanation was given a few weeks later by L. Q. Washington, a Con- federate secret service man, to Secretary of War Walker : " When the first step of occupying Fort Pickens was taken by the U. S., the orders were sent down by a special messenger and also by a telegram in cipher. The telegram left here in the night [and] was stopped at Mobile or Montgomery by our friends. I gave the fact early next day to the Florida delegation, but the special messenger went through, delivered his message to Lieut. Slemmer, and thus we lost Ft. Pickens." — Wash- ington to Walker, Mar. 20, 1861. Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 27. 2 H. Rpts., 36th C., 2nd S., no. 87. * Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. i, p. 335. * Ibid., p. 335. More than 20,000 lbs. of powder were in Barrancas at the time and ig,ooo in McRee, p. 349-50. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 79 No steps were taken by Slemmer to remove or destroy the munitions of war or spike the guns at Fort McRee. Lieutenant Erben of the store-ship Supply undertook this work. With a boat's crew he pulled down to McRee. The sergeant in charge was away and his wife, the sole occu- pant of a fort built for 650/ refused to give up the keys. The doors were promptly battered in; the guns bearing on Pickens, spiked ; and several thousand pounds of powder in barrels, rolled to the beach and thrown into the sea.^ By the nth of January the transfer to Pickens had been completed and the big fort, built for a garrison of 1,260, was manned by 81 men.^ It was in delapidation. Few guns were mounted. The gun-carriages were rickety and antiquated. Windows and port-holes lacked shutters. Weeds were growing riotously in the central court. The gloomy chambers were musty and mouldy from long dis- use.* Preparations meanwhile were being made in Pensacola for the occupation of the navy-yard by force if necessary. Col- onel William Chase, a retired army officer resident in Pen- sacola, assumed general command or direction of not only the local militia, but of the Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia state troops that began to pour into Pensa- cola after January ioth.° On that day Senator Mallory in Washington telegraphed Chase : " All here look to you ^ Ex. Docs., 36th C, 2nd S., no. y2, pp. 26-27. * Erben, Hy., op. cit., pp. 215-16; Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. i, p. 341. * See Scharf, Confed. States Navy, p. 600, for description of Pickens. Scharf from practical experience was well prepared to discuss such sub- jects. Off. Reds. Rehell., s. i, v. i, p. 2>2>7- " 81 men, including officers," says Slemmer. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, pp. 337, 379-80; Gilman, J. H., op. cit., V. I, p. 29. ^ H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 66 ; Off. Reds, Rebell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. II. 8o RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA for Pickens and McRee "/ At the navy-yard — seven miles distant — Captain Armstrong had pretty clearly determined to offer no resistance to aggression. " There was of course some excitement there," stated the chief engineer, a Union man. " Some would say the troops are coming. Some would say no troops are coming. The naval storekeeper, Gonzalez, knew all about it." ^ Armstrong, the com- mander, evidently did not know. A last request was sent him on January 12th by Slemmer praying that the few marines be ordered across the channel into Pickens if the yard was to be surrendered.^ No reply came, for as Slem- mer awaited the return of the messenger the navy -yard was passing out of the Federal government's control. The first Alabama militia to arrive in Pensacola reached there late on the evening of January nth.* The com- panies were led by Colonel Lomax. They were sent by the governor of Alabama at the request of the governor of Florida. The following day, January 12th, a detachment of Florida and Alabama troops, about 500 strong, marched to the navy-yard accompanied by two " commissioners " of Florida appointed by Governor Perry. ^ Following the de- ' Off. Reds. Retell. , s. i, v. i, p. 444. ^ H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, pp. 32-33. * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, pp. 4, 7; //. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 65. "He [Slemmer] wanted the marines," said Arm- strong, " but the marines were my only protection." * H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 55 ; Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. i, P- 337." V. 52, pt. 2, p. 5; s. iv, v. i, p. 704. The troops were part of the 2nd Alabama Infantry. f' * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, pp. 4, 7 ; H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, pp. 32, 57-60, ete. Records are not conclusive on the number of men who marched to the yard. Estimates vary from 350 to more than 500. Scharf (p. 601) says "nearly 500 men." The "commission- ers " of Florida, according to Capt. Armstrong, were Rich. Campbell of Pensacola and Capt. Randolph. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 8 1 tachment came a crowd of " citizens of Pensacola. Those who had a musket and owned a horse jumped on and took their guns and came down to see the fun."^ The militia, commissioners and spectators found the gates of the yard closed and sentries walking the walls. " The thick and lofty walls made them feel rather ticklish," wrote an officer who experienced the sensation.^ A com- pany was sent immediately to take possession of the maga- zines and the abandoned forts. ^ Colonel Lomax, Colonel Chase, and the commissioners were admitted to the yard under flag of truce and proceeded to the headquarters of Captain Armstrong.* " We are commissioners appointed by Florida to de- mand the surrender of this yard," announced the affable Captain Randolph of Alabama, one of the commissioners. The dazed Armstrong looked helplessly at the speaker. The yard's garrison was less than fifty effective men. Col- onel Lomax was sent for. He quickly entered the room. "Commodore, I will read you my instructions," said Lomax. " He read his instructions to me and was almost as much distressed and embarrassed as I was," stated Armstrong later. He had to stop very frequently. I concluded that he felt my position, for which I felt very grateful to him ; . . . I stated to him that I had not the force to resist him; that my whole force consisted of a couple of dozen marines; that the place was not fortified ; and that I had no alternative but surrender. ... To my great surprise the first lieutenant of the yard, ^ H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 32. ^Randolph (a "commissioner" at the time) in Phila. Weekly Times, May 20, 1882. »//. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 15. < H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, pp. 8, 57, etc. Scharf, op. cit., pp. 602-3, acct. by Lieut. Renshaw in letter to N. Y. Herald, Jan. 29, 1861. 82 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA who was sitting back of me spoke out in a very audible voice, " CommoCiOre, shall I haul down the flag?" 1 looked at the man astonished. It appeared to rouse me from a dream. I bowed and turned my head away.^ A few minutes later a man rushed up to the chief engi- neer and asked if the yard was given up. " I told him," said the officer, " that judging from the looks of the flag staff I should think it was." ' At half-past twelve the flag of the Union had been replaced by " a flag of 13 alternate stripes of red, white and blue with a large white star an- nouncing " the change which had come to pass in the politi- cal condition of the state. ^ Comparative tranquillity ac- companied the transfer of authority. " The bell rang for the workmen at the yard about the usual hour that it had done under the Government of the United States," affirmed Armstrong. I saw the smoke going up from the tall chimneys of the ma- chine shop and blacksmith shop, just as usual — as though noth- ing had transpired ; the mechanics and those employed by the Government had just transferred their allegiance to Florida and were going on with their work.* As the anxious watchers at Fort Pickens saw the national flag lowered they knew well what it meant. It was the cul- minating incident in the episode of dispossessing the Fed- eral government on Pensacola bay. That power had lost its most important naval base on the Gulf, a "million-dollar" dry-dock, extensive and valuable marine work-shops, ware- houses, barracks, a well-equipped " marine hospital ", two ' H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, pp. 57-59; testimony of Capt. Arm- strong before the Select Committee of the House on Naval Affairs, 1861. * Ibid., p. 29. * Scharf, op. cit., p. 602. * H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 61. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 83 powerful forts, 175 cannon, more than 12,000 projectiles,^ and ordnance stores at the navy-yard variously estimated in value from $117,000 to $500,000. The command of the Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida militia which after January loth rap- idly concentrated at Pensacola devolved upon Colonel Chase of Florida. He held his commission as military commander from the governor of Florida. Cautious by nature and probably more astute as a politician than bold as a military man, he was fearful of provoking armed conflict. His policy was consistently conservative — and wisely so — in spite of pressure toward radicalism brought to bear upon him by those at Pensacola and leaders in Washington. Col- onel Lomax, commander of the Alabama troops, was eager to attack Fort Pickens." Senator Mallory and Senator Yulee advised Chase by telegraph to move on Pickens.^ But the colonel hesitated. The night of January 12th came dark and rainy. Across the channel from Pickens Alabama and Florida militia were now encamped about the abandoned Forts McRee and Bar- rancas and the captured navy-yard. Sometime near mid- night four men presented themselves to the guard before the main entrance to Pickens. They demanded admittance 1 Oif. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. i, pp. 349-3S0. The ordnance at Ft. Bar- rancas consisted of 44 "sea-coast and garrison cannon," which included 13 8-in. columbiads and howitzers, 2 lo-in. mortars, 11 32-pounders, 10 24's, 5 i8's, 3 ig's. The ordnance at Barrancas barracks : 4 6's field guns and 2 12's howitzers. The ordnance at Ft. McRee : 125 " sea-coast and garrison cannon," including 3 lo-in. and 12 8-in. columbiads, 20 42's, 24 32's, 64 24's, etc. See Rpt. Capt. Maynadier, Jan. 3, 1861. * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 11; Randolph in Philadelphia Weekly Times, May 20, 1882. ' Off. Reds. Retell. , s. i, v. i, p. 444. 84 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA as commissioners of Florida and Alabama. This was re- fused. Thereupon Captain Randolph, the leader, demanded the surrender of the fort to the governors of Florida and Alabama.^ Lieutenant Slemmer, who had been summoned by the guard, replied that the fort was held under orders from the President of the United States; that he recognized no rights of any governors to demand the surrender of United States property; and that he would defend the place against attack. After this explicit and positive reply the representatives of the states withdrew. During the weeks of cold and rainy weather which fol- lowed, the few men at Pickens were kept hard at work putting the dilapidated fortification in shape for defense. Twice during the period Chase demanded that Slemmer surrender. " I have full power," he informed Slemmer, January i8th, from the Governor of Florida to take possession of the forts and the Navy Yard in the harbor. I desire to perform this duty without the effusion of blood. ... I would not counsel you to do aught that is dishonorable. . . . Listen to me, then, I beg of you, and act with me in preventing the shedding of the blood of brethren. Surrender the fort.^ Slemmer replied : We deprecate as much as you or any individual can the pres- ent state of affairs, or the shedding of the blood of our breth- ren. In regard to this matter, however, we must consider you the aggressors and if blood is shed, you are responsible there- for.3 ^ Off. Reds. RehelL, p. 2Z7\ Gilman, J. H., in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. i, pp. 29-30. ' Off. Reds. Rebeli, s. i, v. i, pp. 337-338. » Ibid., p. 338. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 85 The position of the Federal force at Fort Pickens was perilous. Colonel Lomax and his Alabama troops wished to storm the work/ Mississippians and Floridians would have eagerly gone with such a storming party. The Fed- eral warship Wyandotte was ordered to Cuba and the Supply sailed for Vera Cruz, Mexico, soon after Slem- mer's transfer.^ The administration in Washington failed to support the little group of men doggedly facing odds in Florida. Until the firing on Sumter, fairly amicable rela- tions existed between Slemmer's force in Pickens and the Southern troops across the channel. Intercourse between the merchants of Pensacola and the Federal garrison con- tinued unrestricted for several weeks. Meat and vegetables came to the island almost daily. The garrison mail was al- lowed to go through after undergoing examination.^ United States officers from Pickens with militia officers from the opposing forces were entertained occasionally at the same banquet tables on the Federal warships anchored off the harbor.* The seizure of Federal property in Florida was the logical concomitant of secession. It threw in high relief the real situation. Directed by executive order solely and accomplished by force, it clearly indicated the arrival of the crisis in Florida. Governor Perry's designs had been exe- cuted, not gently by civil agents with the conventional respect for diplomatic usage, but abruptly by armed militia ^ Randolph in Phila. Weekly Times, May 20, 1882. Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, V. 52, pt. 2, p. II ; indirect reference to the intention of Lomax to occupy Pickens. " H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., no. 87, p. 15; Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. i, P- 336. ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 340. * Scharf, op. cit., p. 607. Gen. Bragg, of the Confed. army on Pensa- cola bay, dined several times with Capt. Adams of the U. S. ship Sabine. 86 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA with the usual reliance upon physical force. It is doubtful if the state could have acquired Federal property by any other means. The governor acted with powerful backing. Senators Mallory and Yulee very probably expressed to him approval of his policy before it was put into execution. The secession leaders in the convention were his political friends and advisors. The governors of Alabama and Mississippi were with him — gave him assurances of aid in December and followed the assurances with troops in Janu- ary. Finally, what is of fundamental importance, Perry had acted in substantial accord with public opinion in Flor- ida. The desire there to quit the Union was strong. The average citizen South had little patience with " kid-glove ", doctrinaire, or conservative methods of opposing the North. The governor had guessed correctly the temper of his people. As one man put it : " He would have been a damn fool if he had guessed anything else." Yet the breakdown of Federal administration in Florida was not as immediate as might be inferred from the exist- ence of such sentiment. Within the state many of the post- masters, several Federal internal revenue officials, public- land officials, marshals, deputy marshals, light-house keep- ers, customs officials, naval and army officers as well as a Federal district judge, all resigned formally or informally gave up their positions either a few days before or a few days after Florida seceded.^ Some continued nominally at their posts until Sumter was fired on. Remittances from some Florida post-offices reached the postal department in Washington until April, i86i.^ Of the 174 postmasters in the state at the beginning of the year only 35 had for- ' U. S. OfUc. Directory, 1861, pp. 67, 78, 79, 191, 198, 204-206; Sen. Doc^., 37th C, 2nd S., no. i, pp. 386, 479, 646; no. 2, pp. 183, 204. H. Repts., 36th C, 2nd S., pp. 7, 8, 9, 24, 25. * Sen. Ex. Docs., 37th C., 2nd S., no. i, p. 646. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 87 mally resigned by June.^ Federal customs officials made no remittances to Washington after January, 1861.^ They turned over their receipts to the state treasury — most of them continuing for some time at their posts as state cus- toms officials. This situation — viz., the general resignation or desertion of Federal employees in compliance with state law and public opinion — quickly paralyzed the operation of Federal law in Florida. Yulee and Mallory publicly gave up their seats in the United States Senate on January 21st ^ — eleven days after their state had seceded. " I trust, Sir, that when we next confront each other," said Mallory on taking leave of his fellow senators, " whether at this bar or that of the just God, who knows the hearts of all, our lips shall not have uttered a word, our hands shall not have committed an act against the blood of our people." He concluded: " One by one we have seen the representatives of the true and fear- less friends of the Constitution fall at our sides until hardly a forlorn hope remains; and whatever be our destiny the future with all of life's darker memories will be brightened by their devotion to the true principles of our govern- ment." * As already pointed out, the people of Florida since the autumn of i860 had been in process of forming many minor military organizations hostile to the Union. These companies within a few months became part of the state militia or part of the Confederate army. The popular ris- ing in the South and the rapid organization of Confederate ^ Sen. Ex. Docs., 37th C, 2nd S., no. i, p. 286. ^ Ibid., no. 2, p. 183. ' Cong. Globe, 36th C, 2nd S., pp. 484, 4S6. On January 15th Yulee and Mallory informed Gov. Perry that they had " ceased participating in the proceedings of the Senate and only await receipt of authoritative ordinance to retire formally." — Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 8. * Cong. Globe, 36th C, 2nd S., p. 486. 88 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA armies constitute proof that radical Southern governors had judged well the times. In i860 the condition of the Florida militia was ineffi- cient. Population was spread thinly over the land/ and citizens for one reason or another had failed to show much interest in local military affairs. They would have seemed to the casual observer a most unmilitary folk, interested in their farms, plantations, and homes, to the exclusion of other things. The militia existed principally on the statute books. But when the slave-holding states, " obeying the same swell of public sentiment ", began to move toward dis- union and possible war, then men began to group themselves into military companies. The crisis brought to pass what previous militia laws had failed to accomplish. In 1858, '59, '60 Governor Perry had referred in his mes- sages to the inefficiency of the state military organization and the necessity of a military capable of meeting the diffi- culties which he believed impending.^ The legislature fol- lowed his advice in 1859 by passing a law which provided for the reorganization of the militia.^ State-wide elections by county for commissions in the militia were held during the spring of i860. Slight interest was manifested. The voting was light. From seven counties no returns at all were received.* The election was probably not devoid of im- portance. It turned people's attention at a critical time to the local military question and thus helped prepare the state for the unusual stress and strain and confusion of 1861. During the latter half of i860 vigilant committees ' Census, i860. White population was 77,747 ; black, 62,677. This meant less than 2 persons to the square mile. Massachusetts at the time had more than 75 per square mile and New York more than 50. * Governor's Messages, Floiidian. ' Laivs of Florida, 1859. * Floridian, June 16, i860. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 89 and companies of " Minute Men " — semi-military in char- acter — had been organized in Florida. During the late autumn some of these companies began to proffer their ser- vices to the state. When the governor accepted them (and he did so with alacrity) they became part of the militia. It was after the formation of a Southern confederacy in Feb- ruary that the increasing multitude of independent military bodies springing into existence throughout Florida began to coalesce under the governor's direction into regiments for the Confederate service. The first troops were mobilized, organized, and equipped principally from private means directly.^ Local leaders and their friends bore most of the expense which was shifted to the state or the Confederacy later by reimbursements.^ The governor, co-operating with his adjutant-general, re- ceived the companies and regiments into service.^ Perry, in a message to the legislature on February 2nd, 1861, ad- vised that practical steps be taken at once to increase and more effectively organize the state militia. On February 14th a law was enacted which really created Florida's Civil War militia.* The adjutant-general was by the statute di- rected to distribute blank lists of enrollment to every cap- tain and lieutenant then holding a commission from the state. These officers were to canvass for the signatures of volunteers. The must*"r-roll of each company formed in this manner was to be published in the newspapers of the geographical district from which the company hailed. The governor was authorized to raise at once two regiments of ^ Off. Reds. Rehell, s. iv, v. i, p. 2?>?i- Conversation with those who lived in Florida at the time. ' Treasurer's Report to Convention, Jan., 1862, Proceedings of Coiu- ven., p. 71. ' Proceedings of Conven., 1862, passim. * Laws of Florida, 1861, loth Sess., chap. 1095. go RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA infantry and one of cavalry. Elaborate rules were formu- lated for the government of the state's army, which during the first year of war existed as an organization distinct from the Confederate army. The formal organization of the Confederate army was begun on March ist, 1861. On that day the secretary of war notified the governors of the states in the Confederacy that by the act of February 28th the president of the Con- federate States was authorized to receive volunteers for twelve months and was directed to assume command of all military in matters " concerning outside powers "/ Rap- idly from this date (March ist) the Confederate war de- partment shaped the course of military organization in the states. On March 6th the " Confederate States Army " was created by act of Congress.^ The president was au- thorized therein to employ the militia of the states to repel invasion and to call out as national troops 100,000 volun- teers for twelve months. Volunteers were to furnish their own clothes and if mounted their own horses. When the volunteer entered " active service " he was to be reim- bursed by the Confederate government for the clothing fur- nished by himself. On March 9th the first requisitions for troops were ad- dressed to the governors by the Confederate war depart- ment. " If you can supply this requisition immediately without publication of your order," wrote Secretary Walker to the governors, " it would be better to do so, as it is ad- visable as far as practicable to keep our movements con- cealed from the Government of the United States." 5,000 troops were requisitioned for " duty at Pensacola ". Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana were asked to furnish * Off. Reds. Retell., s. iv, v. i, pp. 117-119. * Ibid., p. 126. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 91 1,000 soldiers each to this army; Mississippi, 1,500; and Florida, 500/ By the middle of March the mobilization of Florida troops — both militia and Confederate — was well under way. Companies were assembling with clatter and con- fusion at Tallahassee, Chattahoochee, Jacksonville, Fernan- dina, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Apalachicola, Quincy, Marianna, Monticello, Pensacola, etc.' Regiments soon began to take shape and the state government rapidly as- sumed the expense of equipment, travel and maintenance for all troops raised in Florida. The Confederate govern- ment from time to time paid to the state sums in liquida- tion of this debt incurred for Confederate troops.^ During the year 1861, $478,253 were expended by the state govern- ment for the Confederacy, according to the state adjutant- general. Of this amount $267,755 went for arms, ammu- nition, and general equipment.* The direction and super- vision of expenditure were divided between the governor and the state quartermaster-general. The state accounts are so badly muddled that it is probably impossible to esti- mate with accuracy how much was really expended and for what. Arms, ammunition, accoutrements, tents, and even cloth- ing for Florida troops were purchased in Charleston, Sa- vannah, Columbus (Georgia), Mobile, and New Orleans.^ ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. iv, v. i, p. 135. * Robertson, Soldiers of Florida, with regimental histories and com- pany rolls with date of mustering into service, passim. ' For the question of reimbursing Florida, see Confederate Congress Journal, H. Docs., 58th C, 2nd S., v. i, pp. 377, 427, 448, 449, 463. The first act to reimburse Florida was passed Aug. 31, 1861. * Adj.-Gen.'s Report, Proceedings of Conven., 1862, pp. 25, 31. * Bezenet to Long, Apr. 11, 1865; Milton to Seddon, Aug. 26, 1864; Secretary of Gov. to Puleston, Apr. 22, 1865. Milton Papers. g2 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Such supplies began to come into the state as early as Janu- ary, 1 86 1. The New York Herald stated in February that since December, i860, the Florida government had received from outside its limits 1,000 Manard rifles, 4,000 percus- sion muskets, 50,000 ball cartridges, and 180,000 primers/ The muskets came probably from South Carolina — for early in January, L. W. Spratt, the one-time commissioner to Florida, shipped from Charleston to Governor Perry 4,000 " United States percussion muskets ".^ Supplies from Mobile for Florida were brought by boat into Perdido bay, landed west of Pensacola, and carted about fifteen miles to the troops encamped at the navy-yard and Fort Barrancas. Supplies from eastern Alabama and cen- tral Georgia came by boat down the Chattahoochee river or overland by wagon into Central Florida.^ Supplies from Charleston and Savannah came into the state by water and rail to Fernandina and Jacksonville, and from these points were distributed.* Rifles, muskets, pistols, sabres, field- guns, saddles, accoutrements, ammunition, and tents came from other states. Wagons, horses, forage, food, and some clothing came from within the state. Before the end of the war many counties, towns, villages, and families were contributing directly to the support of soldiers in the field. The women at first embroidered flags and banners for the companies and regiments. Grim real- ities soon put them desperately to work on socks, mufflers, bandages, coats, sand sacks, etc. They wove or purchased cloth which they made into clothing for the soldiers.^ The ^ Neiv York Herald, Feb. — , 1861. (Townsend Library, Columbia University.) ^ Off. Reds. RehelL, s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, pp. 12, 29. ' Ibid., s. iv, V. I, p. 779. * Ibid., s. i, V. I, p. 408. ^Governor's Messages, Nov. 17, 1862; Nov. 21. 1864, Milton Papers. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 93 State purchased cloth and delivered it to patriotic organiza- tions of women to be fashioned into soldiers' garments.'^ The companies composing the first few regiments were possessed of considerable esprit-de-corps and local pride. War was new to the rank and file. Traditions of glory and prowess in combat are handed down from one generation to the other, and each generation secretly yearns to tread the paths of glory. Traditions of misery and unburied dead whose festering blood-clotted bodies pathetically attest the reality of the combat seem to each new generation unnatural and hideous facts to be recollected in a crisis with a dimmed memory and labeled by the practical man as bugaboos. In Florida, company colors were presented by enthusiastic friends amid cheering, speech-making, tears, singing, stately oaths, and martial music. The war was glorious then — clothed in a sort of tinsel glory. It became hideous later, and from the stench and gloom of the grave a new and different glory sprang — more lasting, sadder, more beautiful perhaps. " I well remember the presentation of our company colors by the sister of our captain," remarked a member of the First Florida Infantry many years later. " I have seen many flags since, but that was the most beau- tiful to me." The First Infantry was mustered regularly into Confed- erate service on April 5th, 1861, for twelve months' ser- vice, and it embarked at once on river boats at Chattahoo- chee, Florida, en route via Columbus, Georgia, for Pensa- cola ^ — a round-about way. " Along the way we were told ^ Laws of Florida, chap. 1288, nth Sess., and resolutions 4 and 5; chap. 1427, I2th Sess. ; chap. 1454, 13th Sess. Finley to Milton, Dec. 16, 1863 ; Apr. 16, 1864. Milton Papers. Rpt. Q.-M. Gen., Oct. 21, 1864, Sen. Journal (Fla.). « Off. Reds. RebelL, s. iv, v. i, p. 188. 94 RECONSTRUCTION JN FLORIDA that Sumter had been fired on," said a veteran. " There was cheering." ^ Before the First Regiment reached Pensacola the Con- federate government made a new call (April 8th) for vol- unteers. The requisition to Florida this time was for 1,500 men.^ On April i6th, 2,000 more troops from Florida were called for. " If you cannot raise the amount I will revoke the order," telegraphed the secretary to Governor Perry. " Will raise the 2,000 as soon as possible," replied Perry.^ By June the governor was prepared to fill the requisition,* but the regiments then organized were not mustered in till July and August.^ The requisitions for the Confederate " Reserve Corps " were sent out on June 30th. Florida was asked for 1,000 men.® The reserves were maintained by the state in camps of instruction until absorbed in the active army of the Confederacy. During 1861 the Confederate war department called on Florida for 5,000 troops. The muster rolls of those mili- tary organizations entering state and Confederate service during this first year of hostilities present a sum total of 6,772 — of whom 5,491 were infantry, 1,150 cavalry, and 331 artillery. They were grouped in four infantry regi- ments ; one cavalry regiment ; nine unattached companies of infantry; four of artillery, and three of cavalry.^ Most ^ Mr. Wm. Trimmer, Molino, Fla., who was mustered in at Apala- chicola, Company B. " Off. Reds. Rehell., s. iv, v. i, pp. 211, 213. ' Ibid., * Ibid., p. 2,5Z- ^ Robertson, Soldiers of Florida, pp. 77, 99, 118, 247. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. iv, v. i, p. 412. Robertson, op. cit., pp. 35-135, 246-260, 296-304. I am much indebted to the industry and scholarship of the late Col. Fred L. Robertson, of Tallahassee. His short regimental and company histories and extended compilation of muster rolls with notes are of sound value to the stu- dent of the Civil War in Florida. THE SEIZURE OF FEDERAL PROPERTY 95 of the unattached companies were in the state militia, which numbered less than 1,000 men/ Men sought enrollment in the Confederate army in preference to the militia, and cav- alry was the popular branch of the service. " There is much derangement of military affairs in this State owing chiefly to the desire to enter Confederate service for short periods and certain pay," stated the governor of Florida in October, 1861. " Almost every man that has a pony wishes to mount him at the expense of the Confederate govern- ment." ' A committee of the legislature estimated the current rate of military expenditures by the state at the close of 1861 to be $750,000 per annum — an exaggerated estimate com- puted upon a depreciating currency.^ Yet the militia was a heavy drain upon the credit of the state, and therefore many people (including the committee) wished to have the Confederate Government take over entirely the maintenance of all troops. The question of recruitment, mobilization, and regi- mental organization became in a few months a matter for Confederate officials primarily. After June 30th, 1861, no more requisitions were sent by the war department directly to the governor of Florida. The state was divided into military districts, and the officers in charge presented requi- sitions to the governor and were aided by him in raising troops. The Conscript Act was passed in April, 1862. The Confederate congress therein declared all able-bodied men of specified age liable for duty in the Confederate army.* ''Rpt. Adj.-Gen., Proceedings of Conven., 1862, p. 28. In Jan., 1862, the number of state troops was 762. ' Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 6, p. 290. * Proceedings of Conven., 1862. * The Convention of 1862 at Tallahassee abolished the state militia. In Dec, 1864, the state legislature passed a law for the reorganiza- o5 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA This practically abolished the state militia. The single, homogeneous military system of the new central govern- ment thus superseded the eleven systems of the common- wealths. tion of the militia to include males under i6 and over 55 years of age. See Laws of Florida, 13th S., chap. 1433. CHAPTER V The Fort Pickens Truce President Buchanan's policy in the secession crisis was not aggressive. " Defense and not aggression has been the policy of the administration from the beginning," ^ he stated late in January, 1861. With this principle he was consistent to the end, and for this course he has been bitterly criticised. If Mr. Buchanan had been more combative, less regardful of the constitution, and less logical in law he might have acquired a reputation for executive efficiency equal to that of Andrew Jackson and not to be surpassed by the later fame of Abraham Lincoln. The President realized that a serious breach existed be- tween North and South,- but he blindly hoped that a pro- gram of laissez faire would bring about somehow a peaceful adjustment of sectional difficulties. " I still hope the storm will blow over," he wrote George Wharton in December, 1860.^ " Time is a great conservative power," he declared three weeks later as secession conventions were assembling in the far South, already aflame in revolution. " Let us pause at this momentous point and afford the people both North and South an opportunity for reflection." * There is something almost ludicrous in this, probably, ^ Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, p. 118 (Jan. 28, Mess, on Va. Peace Resolutions). ^ Ibid., pp. 7-43 (4th An. Mess.), 66, v. xii, pp. 45-116, etc. • Ibid., p. 66, Dec. i6th. * Ibid., p. 97, Sp. Mess, to Cong., Jan. 8, 1861. 97 ^8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to the headstrong man of action. Buchanan was in truth not a headstrong man of action, but a passive lover of peace, who sought for and respected constitutional rights and au- thority/ " The worst feature in the aspect of affairs," he stated in commenting on the Southern states, " is that they are rapidly losing their respect and attachment for the Consti- tution." ' In the national situation party politics and legal sub- tleties confused at that time the thinking of men whose mental processes were usually clear. The problem of pre- serving the Union was difficult; and of preserving it with- out bloodshed and lawlessness, well-nigh impossible. Bu- chanan sought consistently to perform the latter task. He believed that the coercion of a state by the Federal gov- ernment would be not only bad politics but a procedure totally unsupported by the public law of the nation.^ He believed with equal firmness that constitutionally it was his duty to enforce the laws of the Union and to resist by force if necessary any efforts to seize Federal property;* but he realized that the performance in seceded states of such a duty then would be politically inexpedient and prob- ably disastrous to the cause of peace. ° The President ex- ^ Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, pp. 7-43 (4th Annual Message) ; pp. 44-48 (G. T. Curtis's letter) ; pp. 116-117 (Message on Va. Peace Resolutions, Jan. 28) ; pp. 152-154 (Message on Troops in Washing- ton) ; V. xii. " Mr. Buchanan's Administration," by Mr. Buchanan, pp. 1-210. ^ Ibid., p. (^, to Geo. Wharton, Dec. i6th, marked " private and con- fidential ". * Ibid., pp. 18-19, 60 (to Gen. Cass, Dec. 15th). * Ibid., p. 'J2 (letter to Gov. Pickens, Dec. 20) ; p. 96 (Sp. Mess., Jan. 8) ; pp. 109-111 (Memorandum of a Conversation, Jan. 16) ; p. 118 (Mess., Jan. 18). ^ Ibid., pp. 96-99, III, 118. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE 99 pressed the opinion early in January that the situation had assumed " such vast and alarming proportions " as to be " above and beyond executive control. . . . " The fact cannot be disguised," he said, " that we are in the midst of a great revolution." ^ The theories of the ad- ministration were put to immediate test in the retention of Federal property south. The peculiar situation in Pensacola and Charleston har- bors during December and January, 1860-61, attracted public attention sharply and persistently to these two hitherto inconspicuous points. Any determined attempt by the Federal government to reinforce its garrison at either place threatened to precipitate civil war. In even the reten- tion of the forts by the Union some leaders professed to see the certainty of a popular civil war; yet to give them up supinely would involve the recognition of demands made by the secessionists. President Buchanan was confronted with the problem of curbing a vast revolution with a few thousand scattered regulars, or of certainly exciting a vaster revolution by calling for volunteers.^ Honest man, experi- enced diplomat, and old statesman that he was, the Presi- dent was not equal to the task of preserving both peace and the Union. He sought to shift the responsibility to Congress.^ " It is for Congress to decide the question," he said,* and Congress in session at the time took a less posi- tive position than the President — although some of its 1 Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, p. 96. * H. Ex. Docs., 36th C, 2nd S., No. 26, pp. 8-12. See also Works of Buchanan, v. xi, pp. 51-52, 279-293 (Reply to Scott) ; v. xii, pp. 84-91 (Buchanan's defense). ^ Ibid., pp. 17, 18 (Mess., Dec. 3) ; 79 (Dec. 31) ; 117-118 (Jan. 28), etc. * Ibid., p. 72 (letter to Gov. Pickens, Dec. 20). lOO RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA members at a later date bitterly condemned him/ In re- gard to Florida, Buchanan decided to reinforce Pickens and then changed his mind. He awaited peace by compromise and while such a peace was pending a truce existed on Pen- sacola bay. The senators from Florida, Mississippi and Alabama withdrew from Congress on January 21st." Mr. Mallory left two days later for his home in Pensacola.^ Mr. Yulee remained for the moment in Washington.* Before this withdrawal a sharp change had taken place in the opinions of Southern leaders at Washington concerning the situa- tion in West Florida. Both Mallory and Yulee while in the United States Senate had urged Colonel Chase to take pos- session of Pickens regardless of resistance.^ On January 1 6th, telegrams from both senators went from Washington into Florida and Alabama urging that nothing radical be done. " No blood must be shed before a Southern Confed- eracy is organized," wired Mallory to Governor Perry. " Jefferson Davis tells me to say that in the present state of affairs the Pensacola forts are not worth one drop of blood." ® Similar messages were sent to the governor of Alabama and prominent citizens of Pensacola. " Jefferson Davis says Fort Pickens is not worth one drop of blood," stated each message.^ Reluctantly Florida, Alabama, and ^ Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, pp. 48-51 (letter of G. T. Cur- tis) ; V. xii, pp. 116-141 (Buchanan's Defense); 276-278 (Paper of W. U. Hensel). * Cong. Globe, 36th C, 2nd S., pp. 480-490. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 13. * Ibid., pp. 14, 15. ^ Ibid., V. I, p. 444. *> Ibid., s. i, V. 52. pt. 2, p. 8. '' Ibid., pp. 9-10. Messages were sent by Mallory to the following citizens of Pensacola : Col. Chase, A. E. Maxwell, R. C. Campbell and C. C. Yonge. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE lOl Mississippi militia put aside plans for attacking Pickens/ Such an attack then would have meant that more than i ,000 secessionists assault 81 Federal soldiers in an unrepaired fort. Thus the formation of the Confederacy involving political questions of unusual moment for the South de- layed the attack on Fort Pickens, began a long truce in West Florida and ultimately saved Pensacola harbor for the Union. When Mr. Mallory reached Pensacola he continued his efforts to delay any attack on Fort Pickens, and he found in Colonel Chase a willing fellow advocate of peace. The ex-senator assumed charge of the state's interests in West Florida. On January 28th, Mr. Yulee, still in Washington, telegraphed Mallory and Chase in Pensacola that the war- ship Brooklyn was " bound for Pensacola with two com- panies aboard ".^ President Buchanan was preparing to prevent by force the threatened occupation of the fort by state militia.^ Mr. Mallory. upon receipt of this startling information, telegraphed three fellow Democrats in Wash- ington that no attack would be made on Pickens as long as existing conditions were maintained.^ He requested that his dispatch be laid before President Buchanan — which was done.° * Col. Lomax was disappointed that he and his men were not given an opportunity to occupy Pickens. He considered his expedition a failure. See Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 11. Oilman in Battles and Leaders, v. i, pp. 29-30, gives impression that attack was planned by state forces. * Oir. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 15. The troops were two com- panies of 1st Artill. led by Capt. Vogdes. ' Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, pp. 13 (Buchanan to Tyler, Jan. 25) ; 256 (Buchanan to Stanton). * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 354. Senators Slidell and Hunter and Gov. Bigler. ' Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, pp. 285-286. Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 16. I02 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The President the day before had formally refused to give any pledge to the representatives of the seceded states;^ yet, induced by the hope of avoiding bloodshed, he did in the case of Florida substantially what he had done for South Carolina ^ — he receded somewhat from his position. On January 29th, he directed the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy to issue jointly the following order to the commander of the Federal forces on shipboard ofT Pensacola bay:^ "Upon receiving satisfactory assur- ances from Mr. Mallory and Colonel Chase that Fort Pickens will not be attacked, you are instructed not to land the company on board the Brooklyn unless said fort shall be attacked or preparations made for the attack." * This was the beginning of what has been aptly termed by Nicolay and Hay the " Fort Pickens Truce ".^ The garrison at Fort Pickens was at the mercy of politi- cal circumstances and the opposing state forces across the channel. The Federal troops were out-numbered twenty to one by the end of January.® The aid to be rendered by the Federal warships lying outside in the Gulf could not be counted on as very effective. In rough weather the ships might be. as much as fifty miles off shore, and even in calm weather it was no easy task to land troops through the surf while under fire from superior numbers.'^ Lieutenant ^ Moore, Works of Buchanan, v. xi, p. 118, Mess, on Va. Peace reso- lutions, Jan. 28. * Ibid., pp. 70-71 (Letter to Gov. Pickens, memorandum of conversa- tion). ^Ibid., V. xii, pp. 195-197. Gen. Scott approved of this order, al- though he afterwards sought to deny it. * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. i, p. 355. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v.' iii, p. 168. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, pp. 354, 358, 455. 'Reports by Mallory and Vogdes. '' See discussion of question in Gen. Scott's Autobiography, v. ii, p. 625. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE IO3 Slemmer's men were hard-worked. " On my arrival I found that there was not a single embrasure shutter in the Fort," he reported. I caused some to be constructed and others to be taken from Fort McRee to supply the deficiency. At 12 o'clock at night the men were paraded and told off to the different batteries in anticipation of an attack. Slow-match lighted and lanyard and port fires in hand ready to fire. No signs of an attack — night very dark and rainy. We still labored on the 13th strength- ening our position, and at night threw out sentinels beyond the glacis. Men stood at the guns as on the night previous. Night very dark and rainy. On the night of 13th a body of some ten men were discovered evidently reconnoitering. A shot was fired by them which was returned by the sergeant. They then retreated. Nothing more could be seen of the party that night. On the 14th nothing of interest transpired. Men by this time worn out with labor. ^ By the ist of February, 1,500 troops from Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama were encamped on Pensacola bay. Batteries were being perfected by the state forces. Their guns converged on Fort Pickens. Forts McRee and Barrancas were undergoing repairs. Their guns converged on Pickens less than two miles away. On March 7th, Gen- eral Braxton Bragg was placed in command of the " Pro- visional Army of the Confederate States," on Pensacola bay." General Bragg was a West-Pointer. He had served with distinction in the Mexican War, and after his service in Mexico had retired from the regular army. In 1861 he left his plantation and business in Louisiana to head the provisional army of the Confederacy at Pensacola. " I know every inch of Pickens." he said to W. H. Russell, an * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 337. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 448; v. 52, pt. 2, p. 24 I04 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA English war correspondent, " for I happened to be stationed there as soon as I left West Point, and I don't think there is a stone in it that I am not as well acquainted with as Harvey Brown." ^ Colonel Brown was the Federal com- mander at Fort Pickens who succeeded Lieutenant Slemmer in April." Colonel Chase, who commanded the secessionist forces till Bragg arrived, had aided in planning and building Pickens many years before.^ When Mr. Lincoln came into office, March 4th, he soon turned his attention officially to Florida. The new Presi- dent considered himself not bound by the pledges of the former administration. He intended that Fort Pickens should be reinforced at once. On March 5th, and again on March nth, he directed the war department to dispatch troops to Pickens.* On March ith, the man-of-war Mo- hawk steamed out of New York harbor with orders from General Scott to Captain Vogdes, ist United States Artil- ler}^ directing him to transfer immediately his two com- panies from the ship Brooklyn to Pickens.^ The Brooklyn was lying off Pensacola harbor. And now General Scott, who, up to this time, had coun- seled that Fort Pickens be held, began to see things in an- other light. The first state dinner given by Lincoln oc- curred on the evening of March 28th. The members of the cabinet were present, and after dinner, Mr. Lincoln called them into an adjoining room for consultation on matters of state. There the President informed them with evident emotion that General Scott had on that day advised * Russell, W. H., My Diary North and South, p. 208. » Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. i, p. 365. ' Gilman in Battles and Leaders, v. i. p. 30. Scharf, J. T., Confed. States Navy, p. 603. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. iii, p. 393. * Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. i, p. 360. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE 105 the evacuation of both Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens. The general believed that the evacuation of Sumter alone, then under consideration, would not have a decisive effect on the border states then wavering between the Union and seces- sion. The evacuation of both forts, he thought, would soothe and give confidence to the eight slave-holding states still in the Union, and would make them loyal to the Fed- eral government in the crisis.^ The holding of Forts Jef- ferson and Taylor on the islands off the Florida coast de- pended, he thought, on an entirely different principle and these fortifications, therefore, should not be given up." " A long pause of blank amazement followed the presi- dent's recital, broken at length by Blair in strong denuncia- tion not only of this advice, but of Scott's general course regarding Sumter." With his characteristic fervor Mr. Blair charged General Scott with transcending his profes- sional duties and " playing politician ". Blair's gestures and remarks " were understood by those present as being aimed specially at Seward, whose peace policy he had with his usual impulsiveness freely criticised." ' Mr. Lincoln trusted General Scott and no doubt had large confidence in his judgment. Scott was an old and tried politician, although never a very canny one. He had been a national figure when Lincoln was still splitting rails in the backwoods of Illionis. Seward had served in high public office long and faithfully. He was fully convinced of his ability to run the administration, and convinced that a policy of non-resistance would serve the Union by allay- ing excitement South. The question before the cabinet was one which would affect fundamentally the administra- ' Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. iii, p. 344. ' See Scott's memorandum to Seddon. Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. i, p. 200. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. iii, p. 345. Io6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA tion's policy and the history of the entire country. The native poHtical sagacity of the new President probably sur- passed that of any one among his advisors. At any rate Lincoln was President with a program of his own. That night, after the inharmonious conference at the White House, an important decision in the crisis rested directly and heavily upon Lincoln. " Only imagination may picture the intense and weary vigil "of this crude man called to de- cide against worthy advice so momentous a question.^ By morning he had definitely decided to hold both forts. He never deviated from his decision. Orders were issued by the President that the expedi- tions already in preparation at the Brooklyn navy-yard, for the relief of Pickens and Sumter, should sail as soon as possible. That for Pickens was ordered to set out on April 2nd; that for Sumter, April 6th.- The yard was astir with preparation. Rumors circulated abroad concerning the destination of the fleets. Some said Sumter; some, Pickens; some, the Texas coast; some, the Mississippi river; and some persistently asserted that it was Santo Domingo.^ Southern sympathizers took notes and sent messages South. " A formidalDle armament is preparing at New York," wrote one man in Washington to the Confederate secretary of war in Montgomery. They have 2,600 men ready to start and nearly every available ship in the Navy Yard has been ordered to prepare for service . . . although it is rumored that the expedition is for Santo Domingo to repel Ampudia's invasion. Key West, etc., yet the opinion of the best informed men here is that Pensacola is the point menaced} ' Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. iii, p. 394. ' Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. i, pp. 226, 441. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. iv, p. 4. * Off. Reds. Rebeli, s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 36. (Letter of L. Q. Washington, Apr. 6.) THB FORT PICKENS TRUCE 107 Meanwhile the " truce " continued on Pensacola bay. The Confederate war department on March 9th issued a call for 5,000 men to defend Pensacola/ The mobilization of troops from Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana, the concentration of supplies and munitions of war; the mounting of guns in sand fortifications and at Forts Barrancas and McRee; the drilling and instruction of the green volunteers; the manufacture of shot and shell in the navy-yard shops, — all this went steadily forward regard- less of the status quo clause of the Fort Pickens truce.^ Colonel Brown, the Federal commander, remarked, as he pointed out to a visitor the tall chimneys of the Pensacola navy-yard from which rose great columns of black smoke : " There is the whole reason for Bragg's forbearance, as it is called. Do you see? They are casting shot and shell there as fast as they can." ^ The Confederate government was wisely utilizing the time allowed in preparing for con- flict. Lieutenant Slemmer reported on March 30th that " Colonel Chase had stopped the work [the erection of bat- teries], but his successors have continued them on the plea of being for defensive purposes." * During the first fifteen days of April a rapid concentration of Confederate troops took place on Pensacola bay. By the last day of March the total number of soldiers there was 1,1 1 6.° By the end of the second week of April, Gen- eral Bragg reported 5,000 men in ranks. ^ " The arrival of ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 135. * Mobile Advertiser, Apr. 3, 1861 ; Montgomery Advertiser, Mch. 3, 1861 ; A^ Y. Herald, Apr. 3, 6, 9, 10, 24, 1861. Russell, op. cit., p. 218. Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, pp. 457, 458. (Bragg's report), v. 52, pt. 2, pp. 1-150. * Russell, op. cit., p. 218. * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. i, p. 365. ** Ibid., p. 455. ' Ibid., p. 461. Io8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA SO many troops in our midst looks squally," stated the Pensacola Gazette of April 2nd. The relief expedition for Pickens was at that hour sail- ing from New York. Ten days later Sumter was fired on and Pickens reinforced. It will be remembered that Mr. Lincoln had ordered through General Scott, the general-in-chief of the army, that Captain Vogdes's artillerymen be transferred at once from the ship Brooklyn to Fort Pickens. The order from Scott was issued March 12th, and sent by sea to the fleet off Pensacola. There it arrived on March 31st, after delay due to storms.^ The order was sent by Scott and not the President. Captain Adams, commanding the Brooklyn, was acting under orders from the Secretary of the Navy. These orders forbade him to land troops unless Fort Pick- ens was attacked. He refused to obey the orders of Scott, who as an army officer had no authority in the navy. " Such a step is too important to be taken without the clear- est orders from proper authority," stated Captain Adams in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy. " It would be viewed as a hostile act and would be resisted to the utmost. No one acquainted with the military assembled under Gen- eral Bragg can doubt that it would be considered not only a declaration, but an act of war." ^ Adams was acting in accord with the Fort Pickens truce of the Buchanan administration. Lincoln, in the meantime, was without news from Flor- ida.^ Telegraph and mail service were controlled by the secessionists. Expeditions were preparing to sail from New York harbor for Charleston and Pensacola. When 1 Scharf, J. T.. op. cit., p. 605. Letter of Capt. Vogdes. * Ihid., pp. 604-605. ' Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. Iv, p. 7. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE 109 news should reach the South that the administration in- tended suddenly to break the Fort Pickens truce to its own advantage, war would quickly follow; and Lincoln had no reason to believe that Fort Pickens could withstand a sud- den assault by more than ten times its garrison. On April 6th, the day that the Fort Pickens relief expe- dition sailed and three days before the one for Sumter was ordered to set out, a special messenger, from Pensacola, reached the navy department. " On being ushered into the Secretary's presence while yet dusty and travel-worn he unstrapped a belt from his garments and took out an official dispatch from the fleet off Pensacola, which by journeying day and night he had brought over Southern railroads from Florida to Washington." ^ Pickens was not reinforced. The relief fleet had sailed for Florida. Should the Confed- erate authorities learn that the truce was broken, the Fed- eral work on Pensacola bay would be taken by storm. The blunder of sending orders for a naval officer from the war department was apparent. The problem before the Wash- ington government was to get authoritative orders to Adams before Bragg should learn of the change in policy. " Prompt action was all-important," wrote Secretary Welles, for the rebellion was rapidly culminating and the hesitancy of Captain Adams had caused a delay which had endangered the possession of Santa Rosa Island and the safety of Fort Pickens. But in the general demoralization and suspicion which pervaded Washington, who was to be trusted with this important mission? It was then half past three o'clock in the afternoon, and the messenger must depart by the mail train which left that evening.^ * Ibid. See also account of Scharf, op. cit., pp. 604-7. The officer was Lieut. Gwatney, of Va., who afterwards resigned to serve the Con- federacy. ^ Diary of Gideon Welles, v. i, p. 30. no RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Lieutenant John L. Worden was entrusted by Welles with this delicate task which to be effective must be performed swiftly. Worden was given written instructions from the Presi- dent for the immediate landing of troops. He committed his instructions to memory, destroyed the original/ and taking the first train South (April 7th) arrived in Pensa- cola on the morning of the iith.^ There, after a personal interview with General Bragg, he obtained from him a written passport to go aboard the United States ship Sabine lying in the harbor. He stated to Bragg that he had no orders from Washington. A heavy sea was running, and therefore the Sabine rode at anchor until next day, April 12th, when she put out to sea and near midday Lieutenant Worden was aboard Captain Adams's flagship, the Wyandotte. He delivered his orders orally, put them in writing, signed them, and then returned to shore. A few hours later, about dark, a telegram came to Bragg from the Confederate war department at Mont- gomery, as follows : " Lieut. Worden of the U. S. Navy has gone to Pensacola with dispatches. Intercept them." * Bragg replied by telegraph : Mr. Worden had communicated with the fleet before your dis- patches received. Alarm guns have just been fired at Fort Pickens. I fear the news is received and it will be re-inforced before morning. It cannot be prevented. Mr. Worden got off in the cars before I knew of his landing. Major Cham- bers is in the cars. He will watch Mr. Worden's movements. If you deem it advisable, Mr. Worden can be stopped at Montgomery. ^ 1 Diary of Gideon Welles, v. i, p. 30. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. iv, p. 7; Scharf, op. cit., pp. 606-609. ' Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. i, p. 462; Scharf, op. cit., p. 607. * Ibid., p. 459. 5 ii,id_^ p. 459. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE III The following day he telegraphed : "Reinforcements thrown into Fort Pickens last night by small boats from the out- side." ^ Sumter was attacked the day on which Worden delivered his dispatch. The Fort Pickens truce was broken. The margin of time for the messenger had been narrow. The messenger himself was arrested in Montgomery on his re- turn journey from Pensacola. " He was among the first, if not the very first, prisoners of war captured by the rebels," states Welles. Worden was exchanged and became the commander of the ironclad Monitor.^ General Bragg stated with some feeling that Worden had lied to him to obtain his passport and that the re- inforcement of Pickens was a violation of the truce formally entered upon by Federal government and seceded states.^ Bragg's statements were substantially true, but the episodes to which he referred were only culminating inci- dents in the process of breaking the truce. The Confed- erate war department three weeks earlier knew that Lincoln had decided to disregard under cover the Buchanan pledges. Thereupon the Confederate administration sought to ad- just itself to the situation by also secretly disregarding the truce. A spy in Washington informed Secretary Walker in a letter of March 20th that several gentlemen connected with the Government and who are in the way of getting reliable intelligence and whom I have always found better informed than any one of my ac- quaintance, tell me to-day that they have information which satisfied them the Government here [Washington] means to '^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 460. ^ Diary of Gideon Welles, v. i, p. 31. Worden commanded the Mon- itor in her memorable battle at Hampton Roads with the Merrimac. * Off. Reds. Rebell.. s. i, v. i, pp. 461-463. 112 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA reinforce Fort Pickens. These gentlemen have not confided to me their sources of information, but I have the highest con*- fidence in their facilities of getting information and I attach great weight to what they tell me. Their belief is that the re- inforcement will take place soon. I am aware that there is an engagement to the contrary on the part of the Government, but I do not place any reliance on their promises. They will find some excuse for a violation of the stipulation. One of the possible steps of this Government may be to direct vessels at sea with troops to make the harbor of Pensacola by a given night and land men and munitions at Fort Pickens.^ General Bragg stated to Secretary Walker a few days later : Believing, myself, that the United States Government and some of its agents are acting in bad faith toward us, I do not hesitate to believe that we are entirely absolved from all ob- ligations under the agreement of the 29th of January.^ The messages throw light upon the enigmatical tele- Montgomery, on April 9th. It ran : " Captain Boggs left gram which Bragg received from Secretary Walker at this morning to join you. $40,000 are at your disposal to be used in the way he suggested to me as coming from you. Although he received no instructions on the point, as it escaped me in the hurry of departure, you will however understand." ^ The commander at Pensacola replied to this immediately as follows : " Shall try the use of money but great vigilance is exercised. They fear their own men." * A few days later Lieutenant Slemmer in Fort Pickens learned that many letters were passing between the fort and ^Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 27 (L. Q. Washington, the spy). ^ Ibid., s. i, V. I, pp. 456-457- » Ibid., p. 459. * Ibid. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE II3 the village of Warrenton across the channel. His suspi- cions were aroused, and he intercepted and opened the mail. One letter was as follows : If you will help us along to save bloodshed, I can offer any private in the company $500 and any non-commissioned officer $1,000 too, with, a guarantee of future promotion as high or higher, as he now stands. Every man who will take upon themselves to give us the fort without bloodshed and save the lives of your garrison will be well paid — all back pay, $500 for privates, $1,000 for non-commissioned officers, and a commission in the Confederate Army. This Broady I offer you from high authority — don't be a damn fool. When and where can I see you ? ^ On the morning of April 13th, a private, McGarr, of the I St Artillery, stated to Lieutenant Slemmer that during the night four men crossed the channel and engaged him in conversation. They said that they would give any man plenty of money if he would only spike the flank defense guns. " How are you off for money in the forts? " they asked. McGarr claimed that he replied : " We have not been paid for six months." Thereupon one of them thrust a roll of bills into the sentry's hands and told him : " Give that to them." ^ These facts speak for themselves and clearly indicate the policy and intentions of the Confederate war depart- ment before the Worden episode. Duplicity on the part of the Lincoln administration induced counter duplicity South. ^ Bragg should not have let Worden pass him. The delivery of Worden's message from Washington caused Captain Adams to send ashore promptly the 200 1 OfF. Reds. Rebeli, s. i, v. i, p. 388. 'Ibid., pp. 388-389. •■' Ibid., pp. 395-399- 114 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA artillerymen under Captain Vogdes. Four days later (April i6th), the relief expedition from the Brooklyn navy-yard arrived. A thousand men were soon in Fort Pickens. The crews of the Federal war-ships Sabine, Brooklyn, Powhatan, and Wyandotte, raised the total force to 2,017 men. The opportunity to take Pickens by storm had passed.^ Sumter was attacked on April 12th. The Virginia con- vention passed its ordinance of secession April 17th. Col- onel Brown, the new commander at Fort Pickens, follow- ing closely the development of national troubles, sent a message of warning to the commander at Fort Jefferson on Tortugas keys to prepare for assault* Brown feared that the seizure of the Gosport navy-yard in Virginia would involve the capture of Federal war-ships there, and that the Confederacy would promptly utilize this fleet in South- ern waters. General Scott had stated to Brown that " the fortresses on the Florida reefs are deemed of greater im- portance than even Fort Pickens." ^ Fortunately for the Union no ships ready for service were included in the Gos- port navy-yard seizure.* During these weeks of early spring, a Confederate army was in process of mobilization on Pensacola bay. Alabama had been the first state to send troops into Florida — early in January.^ Then followed militia from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia, in the order named. These state ^ Scharf (op. cit., pp. 606-607) states that " Gen. Bragg was to have made an attack upon Pickens the night following that on which the fort was reinforced." He does not give his authority for this state- ment. * Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. i, p. 392. » Ibid., p. 366. * Rhodes, U. S., v. iii, p. 364. ^H. Rpts., 36th C, 2nd S., No. 87, p. 55. Jan. nth. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE 115 troops were mustered into Confederate service soon after the creation by law of the Confederate army. They and the Florida levies constituted the " Army of Pensacola ". By May ist, this army was more than 5,000 strong/ a rather heterogeneous mass of healthy, bearded, optimistic and active volunteers from the interior, mostly. Their tents dotted the groves and open spaces between the navy-yard and Barrancas. At night, their camp fires of pine made a band of light along the western edge of the harbor's mouth. " The Mississippians are encamped in a very pretty location in the pine woods, within a quarter of a mile of the bay, and with a fine stream of fresh water flowing through the camp," stated a Southern correspond- ent. " Their encampment presents a very picturesque as- pect and is quite en regie in all its arrangements." " The regiments included French-American Creole troops, arrayed as zouaves, chasseurs, etc., with gorgeous, easy uniforms of Gallic temperament; Black-Belt planter militia with plainer clothing and company names fiercely pictures- que, as " De Soto Irrepressibles ", " Southern Avengers ", " Senatobie Invincibles " ; and lastly, riflemen from the piney woods, who were termed " kasions " and " crack- ers ", who supplied a tradition at least of sharp-shooting, and who expressed themselves as frank haters of the "damn- Yankee".' This army was being licked into shape by officers who * Oif. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. i, p. 461. By the last of April the South- ern regiments on Pensacola bay were ist and 2nd Ala. Infy. ; ist and 2nd Miss. Infy.; 1st Ga. Infy.; ist Fla. Infy., and several battalions and unattached companies from La., Miss., Ga., Ala., and Fla. New Orleans Delta (Apr. 27), put the total number of troops at 6,708 (1,826 Mississippians, 1,400 Alabamians, 1,100 Georgians, 1,134 Louis- ianians, 620 Floridians, and misc. forces, organized in three divisions). * Moore, Retell. Red., v. ii, p. 187. Apr. 27, 1861. * See letters in N. Y. Herald, Apr. 7, 9, 1861. Il6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA had seen active service in the Mexican War, or in Euro- pean wars.^ " The companies were industriously drilled upon the deep sand of the shore, almost blinding in its glit- tering whiteness, and the men feasted on fish and oysters. . . , There was regimental dress parade in the evenings, guard mountings in the mornings, and reveille became a familiar early morning call to the unwilling ears of the drowsy soldiers." ^ A portion of the supplies for this army came at first by boat into Pensacola bay, and later by wagon across coun- try, from Blakely, Alabama, or by wagon along a shorter route from Perdido bay.^ Hospital facilities were excel- lent. The well-equipped Federal marine hospital was util- ized. After the first few weeks of camp life the raw re- cruit was apt to sicken. Catholic sisters of charity did good work in nursing the sick. The death-rate was low. Eggs, vegetables, poultry, butter, and milk for the conval- escent came in sufficient quantities from the neighboring country.* Highly-colored reports of disorder, of insubordination, and of drunkenness in the Confederate camp were spread abroad by the enterprising Northern press and nearby Union soldiers in letters home.** Liquor was consumed in some quantities, and toughs might have enlivened life until ' Russell, Diary; Confed. Mil. Hist., passim. * McFarland, B., "A Forgotten Expedition," Miss. Hist. Soc, v. ix, p. 20. Judge McFarland was with his regiment from Mississippi on Pensacola bay. * Pensacola Observer, Aug. 8, 1861. Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, pp. II, 44-45. * A''. Y. Herald, Aug. 31, 1861, letter of Gen. Bragg. * For instance, N. Y. Herald, Apr. 10, May 6, May 13, Nov. 26, 1861. Moore, Rebell Red., v. iii, p. 70. Two men executed for insubordina- tion and murder. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE II7 restrained — which was soon. For a short time there seems to have been practiced an indiscriminate firing of guns by those off duty. These violators of military regulations were " practicing for the damn-Yankees ". They claimed that they were accustomed to such " target practice at home ". In October, peremptory orders forbade target- practice and patrols gathered up offenders.^ At the same time an order was issued by General Bragg restricting the number of camp servants. The slave-holding planter-sol- dier found it difficult at first to get on without his black body-servant. One man on Pensacola bay is reported by the Nezv York Herald to have summed-up the situation thus : " The very thing we are fighting for is the privilege of doing what we please with our niggers, and if we are denied that right here at home we are deprived of one of the strongest inducements to fight." ^ Some observers have left more favorable estimates of the Southern volunteers composing the Army of Pensa- cola. " I do not believe that a better and more efficient body of fighting men could be assembled in any part of the world," stated the enthusiastic correspondent of the Nezu Orleans Delta. " They compose the very best class of our Southern people — ardent, earnest, and resolute young men. They can never be conquered or even defeated; they may be destroyed or annihilated." ^ An English newspaper correspondent has left in his diary a description of the Confederate and Federal fortifications and forces facing each other at this time on Pensacola bay. He spent two days there in May, and was allowed by the ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. i, p. 751. See reference to discipline in Long, Florida Breezes, p. 2)2)2- * A^. Y. Herald, Nov. 26, 1861. * Moore, Rebell. Red., v. ii, p. 187. Il8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA commanders of each army great freedom in examining camps and forts. He writes : As we got abreast of Fort Pickens, I ordered table-cloth No. i to be hoisted to the peak, and through the glass I saw that our appearance attracted no ordinary attention from the gar- rison of Pickens, close at hand on our right, and the more distant Confederates at Fort McRee and the sand hills on the left. The latter fort (McRee) is weak and badly built, quite under the command of Pickens, but is supported by the old Spanish fort of Barrancas upon high ground further in- land, and by numerous batteries at the water-line. . . . The wind was light but the tide bore us toward the Confederate works. Arms glanced in the blazing sun where regiments were engaged in drill ; clouds of dust rose from the sandy roads ; horsemen riding along the beach ; groups of men in uniform gave a martial appearance to the place in unison with the black muzzles of the guns which peeped from the white sand batteries from the entrance of the harbor to the Navy Yard, now close at hand. ... At last the Captain let go his anchor off the end of a wooden jetty which was crowded with ammunition, shot, shell, cases of provisions, and commissary stores. . . . The Navy Yard is surrounded by a high wall, the gates closely guarded by sentries. . . . Inside there was the greatest activity and life — Zouaves, Chasseurs, and all kinds of military eccentricities were drilling, parading, exer- cising, sitting in the shade, loading tumbrills, playing cards, or sleeping on the grass. Tents were pitched under the trees and on the little lawns and grass-covered quadrangles. . . . From the naval arsenal quantities of shot and shell are constantly pouring to the batteries. Piles of cannon balls dot the ground, but the only ordnance I saw were two old mortars placed as ornaments in the avenue, one dated 1776. The Quartermaster conducted me through shady walks into one of the houses, then into a long room, and presented me, en masse, to a body of officers, mostly belonging to a Zouave regiment, from New Orleans, who were seated at a THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE 119 very comfortable dinner, with an abundance of champagne, claret, beer, and ice. They were all young and full of life, and spirits, except three or four grave and older men who were Europeans. One, a Dane, had fought against the Prus- sians and Schleswig-Holsteiners, at Idstadt, and Fredrick- stadt; and another, an Italian, seemed to have engaged indif- ferently in fighting all over the South American continent ; a third, a Pole, had been at Comoru, and had participated in the Revolution of 1848. From these officers I learned that Mr. Jefferson Davis, his wife, Mr. Wigfall, and Mr. Mallory, Sec- retary of the Navy, had come down from Montgomery and had been visiting the works all day. Everyone here believes the attack so long threatened is to come off at last and at once. . . . (The next day.) From headquarters we started on our tour of inspection of the batteries. Certainly anything more calculated to shake the confidence in American journal- ism could not be seen, for I had been led to believe that the works were of the most formidable description, mounting hundreds of guns. Where hundreds were written, tens would have been nearer the truth. I visited ten out of the thirteen batteries which General Bragg had erected against Fort Pickens. I saw but 5 heavy siege guns in the whole of the works among the 50 or 55 pieces with which they were armed. There might be about 80 altogether on the lines which de- scribe an arc of 135 degrees for about three miles around Pickens, at an average distance of one and one-third miles. . . . The working parties as they were called — volunteers from Mississippi and Alabama, great long-bearded fellows in flannel shirts and slouched hats, uniformless in all savd brightly burnished arms and resolute purpose — were lying about among the works. Altogether, I was quite satisfied that General Bragg was perfectly correct in refusing to open fire on Fort Pickens and on the fleet, which ought certainly to have wrecked his work about his ears. I had heard during my sojourn in the North, that the South- ern people were exceedingly illiterate and ignorant. It may I20 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA be so, but I am bound to say that I observed a large propor- tion of the soldiers on their way to the Navy Yard engaged in reading newspapers, though they did not neglect the various drinking bars and exchanges, which were only too numerous in the vicinity of the camps/ From the Confederate encampment on the mainland, Mr. Russell crossed to Fort Pickens (on Santa Rosa Island), and there he was allowed to inspect troops and fortifica- tions. " The outer gate was closed," he writes, but at a talismanic knock from Captain Barry we passed through a vaulted gallery into the parade ground, which was full of men engaged in strengthening the place and digging deep pits in the center as shell-traps. The men were United States regulars, and not comparable in physique to the South- ern volunteers, but infinitely superior in cleanliness and sol- dierly smartness. Fort Pickens is an oblique and somewhat narrow parallelo- gram. The gtms were what is considered small calibre in these days — 32 and 42 pounders, with 4 or 5 heavy columbiads. An immense amount of work has been done within the last three weeks, but as yet the preparations are by no means com- plete. On the whole, I should prefer to be inside than outside Pickens, in case of bombardment, and there can be no doubt that the entire destruction of the Navy Yard and station by the Federals can be accomplished whenever they please." This estimate of Federal superiority was not the popular one in the vicinity. People traveled long distances to Pen- sacola " to watch the fun " — as on a holiday. " 140 guns converging on any one point for 60 hours would drive the Devil from his hole," stated the Mobile Advertiser, in com- menting on the situation, May 12th. 1 Russell, op. cit. => Russell, op. cit. THE FORT PICKENS TRUCE 12 1 Although the battle between the forts was expected daily, General Bragg is credited by Russell with the statement on May 14th that he had no intention of attacking Pickens. Subsequent history bears out the truth of this assertion. The fort, however, continued to be a cause of concern for many months. Mr. John Jacob Astor, of New York, as chairman of a " Citizens' Committee " for the purchase of arms and ammunition, advised Secretary of War Cameron to forward more arms and ammunition at once to Pickens. The Secretary replied that the war department could attend to its own affairs.^ Spring passed and the terrific heat of a far-southern summer enveloped the Florida coast. The conflict had begun in earnest elsewhere, but on Pensacola bay there was no firing. Sickness increased in Federal ranks. In June (24th) the transport Vanderbilt arrived with the first vol- unteers for the Federal force on Santa Rosa island. The troops were the 6th New York Zouave Infantry. They were commanded by Colonel " Billy " Wilson, bald-headed, sharp-eyed, self-assertive, and generally vigorous, with a heavy black mustache and a cigar usually stuck at an up- turned angle in the corner of his mouth. His command be- came known as the " Pet Lambs ". They were reputed to be in large part toughs and touts recruited from the east side of New York City. They were more given at first to fighting among themselves than fighting the enemy.^ By midsummer the blockade had effectually stopped all shipping from Pensacola and other Florida ports.^ Many of the white inhabitants of Pensacola had moved into the 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. i, p. 414. * N. V. Herald, July 26, Aug. 17, 1861. N. Y. Times, Jan. 28, 1862. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. i, pp. 409, 413. A^. Y. Herald, May 27, June 23, 1861. Naval Records, s. i, v. 6, p. go. 122 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA interior, taking their slaves with them/ The majority of the younger men were in the Confederate army. The hamlets of Woolsey and Warrenton near the navy-yard were likewise deserted.^ Summer gave way to autumn, and still no combat had taken place in West Florida. The " Sebastopol of Amer- ica " ^ was almost as quiet as a country grave-yard. Tropi- cal storms, with thunder and lightning and rain, occasion- ally swept over the crouching armies, and the up-country recruit became sick of fish and hardened to the sad mono- tone of the Gulf surf. The tide of conflict had drifted far North. But the mobilization of troops on Pensacola bay was not devoid of effect, probably important effect. " It was re- garded at the time as of significant importance, aroused great interest and enthusiasm, and was the subject of wide and excited comment at home and abroad," writes a vet- eran who entered upon the War in the Army of Pensacola.* It strengthened the determination and increased the confidence of the people all over the South, and was everywhere regarded as a test of the spirit, devotion and purpose of her people. It was the first aggressive movement in which the Southern States acted in concert, and dispelled all doubt as to their future co-operation. The moral effect greatly exceeded in value and importance all other resulting physical advantages. ' A^. Y. Herald, Apr. 6, Sep. 30, 1861. » N. Y. Herald, Apr. 6, 1861. ' A''. Y. World, Apr. 6, 1861. This term was frequently employed by the journals in referring to Pensacola bay. * McFarland, B., Miss. Hist. Soc., v. ix, pp. 21-23. BOOK II THE CIVIL WAR "What is all this for? Why this array of armies? Why this fierce meeting in mortal combat? What is all this carnage and slaughter for? Why the prolongation of this conflict? Why this lamentation and mourning going up from almost every house and family from Maine to the Rio Grande, and from the Atlantic and Gulf to the Lakes, for friends and dear ones who have fallen by disease and violence in this unparalleled struggle? The question if replied to by the North can have but one answer." — Alexander H. Stephens, 1863, Mess, and Papers of the Confed., v. i, p. 175. CHAPTER VI The Beginning of Hostilities in Florida Across the channel from Pickens the batteries of the Confederate army stretched in a majestic curve for more than two miles/ The western rim of the lower bay sparkled at night with the myriad lights of camp fires. The rank and file of both armies awaited with grim impatience the open- ing of hostilities. " In our camp there is an unusual degree of excitement," wrote a Union correspondent from the B'ed- eral encampment on Santa Rosa island. " Although we could not take a very active part while the bombardment lasted, yet we longed for the fray to commence." - Near the navy-yard was anchored the huge " million dol- lar dry dock ". It had been acquired by the secessionists on the surrender of the yard. The first offensive movement of the Federal military was directed against this very valuable piece of property. It lay with an insufficient guard under the guns of both Pickens and the Confederate batteries. Preparations were completed on September ist for its de- struction, but the " night came cloudless ", records a Federal soldier — the heavens lit up by a host of stars looked beautiful beyond description. The shore opposite was plainly visible and the entire enterprise seemed too hazardous, as in the planning of it a darker night had been looked for. Upon consultation it was thought best to wait till the following night [September » Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6. » Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, p. 117. 125 126 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA 2nd]. All day Monday a strong wind blew from off the Gulf; rain was expected but none fell. Night came and the sky was cloudy. A few minutes after " tattoo " Lieut. Shipley left the beach in front of the fort in a boat with eleven picked men, rowing noiselessly for the dry dock.^ They clambered aboard and found no one there to op- pose them. Combustibles and inflammable material were put into the hold of the dock; the torch was applied; and the boat's crew withdrew. " As the first streak of flame mounted upward the long roll sounded at the navy-yard, the soldiers stationed there turned out in haste, and every- thing was wild confusion — but not a shot was fired ", stated a recording witness on Santa Rosa island. " Meanwhile the whole sky was illumined by the tall spires of flame which sprang upward from the burning dock." ^ This stroke under Confederate guns was soon followed by a bolder one. At three-thirty o'clock on the morning of September 14th, three launches from the Federal warship Colorado succeeded in reaching, undetected, the side of the armed Confederate schooner Judah, which was moored at the docks under the guns of the navy-yard batteries.' The at- tacking party was almost aboard before discovered. A savage hand-to-hand fight with the Confederate crew gave them possession of the craft. The rumble of the long roll soon awoke the Confederate encampment, but those on shore could not distinguish friend from foe on the dark and smoking deck of the Judah. The ship was set afire, and while the Southern drums were beating lustily the Federal blue- jackets quickly withdrew in their cutters to the pro- tecting gloom of the Gulf beyond the circle of light made by * Moore, Retell. Red., v. 3, p. 117. ^ Ibid., V. 3, pp. 117-118 and 77. ' Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 16, p. 671. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA i2y the blazing ship. They left behind three of their number dead and fourteen wounded. The Judah burned to the water's edge.^ The first blood of the war in Florida had been shed in savage fashion. These daring efforts provoked reprisal. General Bragg was determined to pay back in kind. On the eighth of October preparations were completed for a night attack on the Federal encampment in the rear of Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa island." Part of the troops destined for this work were moved by water from the navy-yard to Pensa- cola on the steamer Time. Darkness veiled the man- oeuver from those on Santa Rosa island. As the craft passed up the bay toward the town, Brigadier-General Richard H. Anderson, in command, issued final orders for the divi- sion of the troops into three battalions. The first, 350 strong, was composed of the 9th Mississippi Infantry, loth Mississippi Infantry, and the ist Alabama Infantry; the second, 400 strong, of detachments from the 7th Alabama Infantry, the ist Florida Infantry, and two independent companies of Infantry from Louisiana; the third, 200 strong, of the 3rd and 5th independent Georgia Battalions. In addition, a company of 53 picked men was taken to spike cannon and set fire to the Federal camp. The whole com- mand numbered about 1,090 men.^ Shortly after ten o'clock in the evening these troops al- ready collected in Pensacola, were transferred to barges and to the small bay steamers Ewing and Neaffle. With lights out the flotilla moved across the bay to Santa Rosa island. Some time after midnight a landing was made on the beach at a point more than four miles east of 1 Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 6, p. 437. Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 16, pp. 670-674. ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 460. ' Ibid. 128 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Fort Pickens/ Between the Confederate force and the fort lay the sleeping Federal camp. Rumor had gotten abroad there and at Pickens early in the evening that the enemy had landed on the island. As the night progressed in peace the rumor was discredited and apparently for- gotten.^ The attacking expedition formed in three columns. One took the south or Gulf side of the island; one, the center; and the third, the north or Bay side." Santa Rosa island varies in width from 250 yards to more than half a mile. The men of the central column struggled in the darkness over the shifting sand and through snake-haunted pal- metto jungles.* " I had rather attempt to scale the rugged- est peak of the Rocky Mountains than to make a forced march on Santa Rosa island," stated one man. " It is im- possible for the best-trained troops in the world to keep in line in such a place." The monotone of the Gulf surf dulled the noise of the advancing columns. Occasionally someone, pricked by cactus or sand spur, believed for a moment that he had been bitten by a rattle snake and expressed his belief aloud. " Jump, pardner, jump, Good God, there's a rattler big enough to swallow yer foot! Don't you see him?" " Silence in ranks. Close up, boys," was the response from the company officers. They passed the dunes which rose up like pale, strange mountains in the darkness. They passed beneath the ' Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, pp. 83, go, 91. The accounts coincide in saying " about 2 o'clock ". ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 439. Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3. pp. 83, 90. Reports of Col. Brown and the testimony of negroes. " Hav- ing little confidence in the correctness of the report I directed that no alarm should be given," stated Col. Brown. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 460-61. * See accounts in Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, pp. 90-93. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 129 dwarfed and gnarled pines, that facing for a century the winds of the sea, made even on a moonless night grotes- quely beautiful silhouettes against the sky. They passed silently within the confines of the sleeping Federal camp — and at half past three, about three miles east of Pickens, the first pickets were encountered. " The night was dark and lowering so that a man could scarcely be distinguished twenty yards ahead," stated a Federal officer in the camp. " Not a sound was heard save the regular tramp of the pick- ets and the voice of command as it rang through the silent night air. The Zouaves little imagined so incensed and blood-thirsty a foe was so near them and panting for their blood." ^ The luckless sentinels were promptly shot down," and the Southern columns, moving swiftly through the darkness and over the stricken outposts, burst into the camp of the 6th New York Zouaves with the cry " Death to Wil- son ! No quarter to Wilson's Zouaves ! " — or such was the cry that the frightened Zouave Colonel thought he heard.* The firing was an abrupt alarm. Colonel Wilson at- tempted to rouse his men, several hundred strong, to with- stand the attack. The sound of " heavy musketry " ac- companied by the patting of bullets came from the direction of the field hospital. A lieutenant rushed up to the colonel and reported 2,000 men advancing in two columns.* A warning was immediately sent to Colonel Brown in Fort Pickens. Hardly had the message departed when volleys were poured into the half-fomied 6th New York from both 1 Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, p. 87. Capt. Norman's (6th N. Y.) state- ment. ' Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 6, p. 461. Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, pp. 87-98, statements of Capt. Norman. 6th N. Y., and Lieut. D'Orville, 6th N. Y. » Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, p. 86. Off. Rpt. of Col. Wilson. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 446. 130 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA flanks and the front. " We were fired into from three sides," stated Wilson/ The Zouaves wavered and then fled without heavy loss to the protection of batteries Totten and Lincoln, in the rear of Pickens. The camp burst into flames ere its occupants reached the protection of the Bat- teries.^ " My men did well," boasted the Zouave Colonel a few days later. " They have smelt gunpowder ; now they are all right. The enemy lost in killed and wounded 500 men," ' he affirmed. Yet one of the enemy who survived re- ported that " the gallant Colonel took to his heels with noth- ing but a brief skirted nether garment to cover his naked- ness, and the race between him and his valiant braves pre- sented a struggle for precedence more closely contested than any ever witnessed on the race course. Bull's Run was nothing in comparison to it." * The burning camp was rifled of available property by the more thrifty Southerners.^ " One man got $340 in cash," stated a Southern volunteer. " Another took the Zouave Major's hat; others took coats, hats, caps, swords, a fine pair of navy pistols — one man captured a fine Ger- man silver horn." " Every one in Pensacola has my sword and uniform," reported Colonel Wilson a few days later. "I must have had a large quantity of hair, plenty of swords, and uniforms. They say if I was to be taken alive, I would be put in a cage and exhibited." * Soon after the outbreak of the general firing, " the light of the burning camp" being seen at Pickens, Colonel Brown ^ Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, p. 86. » Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 446. ' Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3. Wilson's Report, passim. < Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, p. 91. ' Ibid., pp. 83-93. Southern and Northern testimony. * Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, pp. 86, 91, 92. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 131 ordered Major Vogdes to move forward with two compan- ies of regular troops/ Vogdes and command were flanked by the Confederates and after a sharp fight the regulars re- treated to the batteries, leaving behind eleven killed and wounded, and their commander, Vogdes, in the hands of the enemy.^ And now the good sense or good fortune of the Southern troops deserted them. Two Confederate de- tachments fired upon each other and several companies be- came disorganized in looting the Federal camp.^ One re- port from a Southern source states that the " wildest dis- order reigned ".* The Federal regulars and Zouaves came back cautiously into the conflict with their long-range En- field rifles. In their rear was the stimulating refuge of heavily-entrenched and walled batteries. The approach of daylight decided General Anderson to withdraw his force from the island. ° The Confederate troops began at the break of day to march back to the boats, leaving behind the smoldering Federal camp and a small detachment at the field hospital. Federal troops followed at a safe distance, promptly capturing the hospital corps and cutting oflf some stragglers. The Confederates suffered serious reverses in embarkation. The propeller chain of the steamer Ewing became entangled in a cable. The steamer drifted about helplessly for some time with her crowded barges in tow. The Federal soldiers quickly took advan- tage of the situation with their Enfield rifles. From behind ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 439, 448. Col. Brown also called upon the warship Potomac to move east and join in the engagement. She arrived too late. * Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 3, p. 85. Report of Col. Browa 'Ibid., pp. 91-92. * Ibid., p. 92. From Letter to Atlanta Intelligeneer. ^Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 461. 132 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA sand dunes they opened an effective fire upon the exposed Southern troops/ " Their large Enfield rifles carry a ball a great distance," stated a Southern correspondent with the expedition — " and elevate my musket as I would the bullet fell short of the beach, while their balls fell among us or passed just over our heads." ^ The outcome of this night conflict on Santa Rosa island had been a questionable success from the Confederate stand- point. The camp of the 6th New York was destroyed ; some cannon were spiked ; both Federal regulars and volunteers were driven into the entrenchments ; and fourteen of the enemy were killed, twenty-nine wounded, and twenty-four captured and missing.^ But the Confederate loss was seven- teen killed, thirty-seven wounded, and thirty captured or missing.* In the actual fighting, the Federal troops were heavily outnumbered — probably two to one, but they had the advantage of weapons and position. All Federal troops on Santa Rosa island would have more than equalled the number of the attacking force. The Confederate attack was well planned and remarkably well executed through the repulse of Vogdes' regulars. The green Southern troops were not steady in the excitement of partial victory, stopped to plunder, and failed to follow up their earlier advantages, as they might have, to the very walls of Pickens — one mile distant. Both sides claimed victory. General Lorenzo Thomas, Ad- * Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 6, pp. 440, 462. * Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 3, p. 92. * Off. Reds. Rehell.. s. i, v. 6, p. 442. Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 3, pp. 85-86. Report of Colonel Brown. * Off. Reds. Rehell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 458, 459, 462. Bragg stated that eleven of the dead bodies recovered had a bullet wound in the head and each a fatal wound in the body which led him to the conclusion that they had been murdered on the field. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 133 jutant-General of McClellan's army, stated in his congratu- latory announcement : " On the night of October 9th an at- tempt was made by a large body of rebels to burn the camp of Wilson's Zouaves, spike the guns of the outer batteries, and take Fort Pickens by assault. The enemy was signally repulsed from Santa Rosa Island with heavy loss on their side, after firing a few of our tents." ^ Colonel Wilson, of the Zouaves, reported, '' We have had our first fight. It was a terrible one for the enemy," yet further on in the same re- port he states : " Our new clothes are all destroyed. I have lost everything I had; my men also. They burned us out completely. Our papers and books are burned. My com- mission is safe. I sent it to the post office before the fight."^ On the other hand, General Bragg announced : " We chas- tised the enemy on Santa Rosa Island last night for his an- noyances, drove him from his camp, burned his tents, spiked some of his guns, and retired in good order. Our loss was 30 or 40 killed or wounded." ^ One member of the expedi- tion stated, 'T scarcely know whether we achieved a victory or suffered a defeat. Night skirmishing is a dangerous busi- ness — especially in an unknown country, as is the island of Santa Rosa." * Fort Pickens was beleagured by Confederate forces nine months before the long-expected artillery battle occurred. The press North and South generally consigned Pickens to the fate of Sumter. Since February the Confederate troops had been engaged in erecting and improving a powerful line of batteries on the mainland opposite Pickens. These works stretched along the coast in a great crescent for more 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 6, p. 457. * Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 3, p. 86. * Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, p. 458. * Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 3, p. 92. 134 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA than two miles with Fort McRee at one horn of the crescent, the navy-yard at the other horn, and Fort Barrancas be- tween. The Confederate armament included probably fifty effective pieces of rather light artillery and twenty ten-inch G^lumbiads.^ The Federal stronghold opposite was a more powerful work than the combined batteries on the mainland. The armament of Pickens by November, 1861, consisted of seven separate batteries mounting thirty-five heavy guns — twelve of them being eight- and ten-inch Columbiads. In addition were five batteries near the fort mounting twenty-two pieces, including four ten-inch Columbiads, two forty-two pound- ers, eight ten-inch sea-coast mortars, one twelve-inch mor- tar, and one thirteen-inch mortar. On the morning of November 22nd, at ten o'clock, the batteries of Fort Pickens suddenly opened fire. The first shots were directed against two Confederate steamers lying at the navy-yard wharf.^ Both boats escaped with slight injury, and soon the Confederate batteries all along the line were engaged in the artillery duel. The Federal men- of-war Richmond and Niagara moved nearer the shore and opened fire.^ Their attack was directed mainly against Fort McRee. The big guns of Pickens soon played havoc with this fortification. Three times during the afternoon the fort was afire. This threatened to expel the garrison. The magazines were laid bare to the Federal shells which constantly exploded near them. A burning building to the left of the fort sent showers of cinders and sparks through the open magazine.* The flag staffs of both McRee and 1 Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, p. 443; N. Y. Herald, Nov. 27, 1861. * Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, pp. 473, 477. » Ibid., pp. 469, 490. Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 16, pp. 775-781. *• Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, p. 490. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 133 Barrancas were shot away/ The men-of-war circling east and west like hawks poured into the devoted Confederate fort tremendous broadsides. The Confederate gunners worked desperately and not entirely without effect on the ships. A seaman on board the Richmond wrote home, I had been complimenting the captain of one of our guns for the accuracy of his aim when a shell from Fort McRee bounded through our bulwarks and took the poor fellow's head square off. His brains and blood were scattered all over my face, blinding my eyes and making my brain reel. We had thirteen men serving that gun. Of these six were wounded and one killed outright.^ The loss in Fort Pickens during the first day's bombard- ment was insignificant — one killed, six wounded, and no fires. ^ Darkness closed the first day's duel. For more than eight hours the roar of artillery had been almost continuous. It was a magnificent and spectacular waste of ammunition. " It was grand and sublime," wrote Gen. Bragg. " The houses in Pensacola, ten miles off, trembled from the effect ; and immense quantities of dead fish floated on the surface of the lagoon, stunned by the concussion." ^ Wind and rain came with the darkness. The Confederate loss was one killed by a shell, twenty-one wounded, and six smothered to death by the caving-in of a magazine.' The abandonment of McRee was seriously discussed during the 1 Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, p. 475. ' N. Y. Times, Dec. 12, 1861. Compare account in Naval War Reds., s. i, V. 16, pp. 777-9. » Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, p. 475. * Ihid., p. 490. ' Bragg's Report, Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 16, pp. 783, 784. 136 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA night. Half of its armament was disabled and its maga- zines exposed to fire. " Upon reflection as to the effect this would have on the morale of my troops," stated General Bragg. " I determined to hold it to the last extremity." ^ In the midst of a midnight gale, accompanied by thunder and lightning, efforts were made to put the work in repair.^ The next day, at 10:30 A. M., Pickens opened again. The firing was more deliberate now and better directed. At three o'clock in the afternoon the villages of Warrenton and Woolsey were afire from the hot shots of the Federal bat- teries.^ Two churches, the Confederate hospital, and some score of private dwellings were consumed. The sand bat- teries between Barrancas and McRee continued to be worked furiously throughout the day. At two o'clock in the morning, November 24th, firing ceased. " Quiet reigned," wrote General Bragg.* Sunday morning dawned in profound peace. By contrast a death- like stillness seemed to pervade everything. In this first duel of the forts more than 5,000 cannon shots had been fired, and all told, eight men had been killed. The firing was at comparatively short range — from 2,000 to 3,000 yards." The Confederate works had suffered the greater damage. The result of the bombardment demon- strated the strength of Pickens when matched against the improvised works across the channel ; and showed that the Union could with ease continue to hold Pensacola bay and could ultimately, by greater effort, completely destroy the Southern fortifications. General Bragg, however, found ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 491. * Ibid., pp. 478, 491. » A^. Y. Herald, Dec. 12, 1861. Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 47S, 491. * Ibid., p. 489. • Ibid., pp. 469, 489, 491. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 137 something to be thankful for. In closing his report of the engagement, he chanted like David, "The missiles of death, showered upon us by an infuriated enemy, respecting neither women, children, nor the sick, have been so directed as to cause us to laugh at their impotent rage. ' Verily, except the Lord keepeth the city, the watchman walketh but in vain.' " ' The Federal commander at Pickens, Colonel Brown, was denounced bitterly by General Bragg for firing upon the Confederate hospital. The hospital building was in the rear of the batteries, and Brown had notified Bragg to move either his batteries or his hospital. Bragg had replied, It seems from your communication that you claim the right to violate the hospital flag because it may be abused. Admit that principle and we must be in a state of barbarism. The sick, the women, the children, and the prisoners must become the object of vengeance ; the white flag must be abolished ; booty and beauty, rape and rapine must follow in the traces of a victorious command.^ To this Brown replied. You have knowingly and willingly misconstrued my letter for the evident purpose of having your Christian answer pub- lished. You knew that in calling to your notice that these buildings would necessarily be exposed to my fire I was in- fluenced by a desire to save the sick, women, and children from danger.' The bombardment followed this controversy. The women, children, and sick — if there were any — were removed be- yond the danger zone. * Off. Reds. Retell. , s. i, v. 6, p. 493. Report of Bragg * Ibid., p. 470. » Ibid., p. 471. " ' 138 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA A second artillery duel of less consequence took place on New Year's afternoon, 1862. Again the engagement was begun by Federal cannon opening on a steamer stationed near the navy-yard. Almost immediately the whole west- ern rim of the bay's mouth vv^as aflame in a superb and use- less waste of valuable ammunition/ General Bragg was away when the engagement began. His timely arrival put a stop to the Confederate firing. This induced the enemy to cease. A large store-house at the navy-yard was burned by the Federal hot shot. Brigadier-General Anderson, who in Bragg's absence had given the order to return the fire, was arrested by his superior on a charge of intoxica- tion. The charge was not substantiated, but it created a bitter controversy in the Confederate army on Pensacola bay.^ These artillery duels, so long awaited by both armies and the entire country, clearly indicated that without tre- mendous effort Pensacola bay could never be controlled by the Confederacy. That power was thereby deprived of a valuable port of entry for blockade-runners and the great- est naval base on the Gulf. Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa island never passed out of the hands of the Union. Early in 1862 the development of the conflict in Ken- tucky and Tennessee seriously threatened the safety of the lower South. While the army of McClellan was preparing to move forward in Virginia, the western army was actively engaged in a far-flung and stubborn campaign which has been termed by one critic " a flanking movement on a vast scale ".' If the Confederate line in the West had been broken, a few days' march southward would have put the ^ Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 6, pp. 497, 671. » A^. Y. Herald, Jan. 30, 1862. A^. Y. Times, Jan. 16, 18, 1862. Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, pp. 323, 324. * Hosmer, Appeal to Arms, p. 84. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 139 invaders in the most populous portions of Mississippi and Alabama. They would have swept before them a compara- tively dense slave population whose work was vital to the success of distant Southern armies. Plantations, ware- houses, homes, and recruiting grounds would have fallen into Federal hands — for the heart of the productive lower South was here — in striking distance of the Western army. The rivers which penetrated this region complicated the military problem of defense and produced a new factor to be seriously reckoned with in interior warfare — namely, the river gunboat. President Lincoln was anxious for a general advance of Federal forces. He was consistently aggressive in his mili- tary policy and sometimes in advice to his army command- ers showed irascibility when confronted with probably undue cautiousness. He issued orders for a general advance to begin not later than February 22nd, 1862.^ Before that date his western army was actively engaged. Fort Henry fell on February 6th. Grant at once moved against the more formidable Fort Donelson. On February i6th it capitulated.^ In March, McClellan's army in the East moved slowly and majestically forward to ultimate defeat in the Peninsula campaign. Military events during the first weeks of the spring of 1862 possess a certain panoramic largeness and dramatic quality which partly hides the true hideousness of war. From Virginia to Missouri the conflict was developing on an immense scale. The entire frontier between the two re- publics was distraught in the hurry and thunder of hostile armies, except where mountain solitudes shut out the clamor of the warring nation. Grant was moving forward ' Nicolay and Hay, Complete Wks., v. ii, p. 119. ' Hosmer, op. cit., p. 95. 140 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA with persistence and good fortune toward his star. Mc- Clellan had done his best work ere he led his army into Virginia. His star had reached the zenith, but he and others did not reaHze it. Lee, laboring over coast defenses and recruitment in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, had not yet given evidence of that genius which within a few months made him as leader of the Army of Northern Vir- ginia the most remarkable figure of the war. Albert Sidney Johnston was striving with the Confederate war depart- ment to collect a great army for the decisive shock that most wise Southerners then knew must come in the West. It came with swiftness. Shiloh was fought in early April. The Federal advance was checked but Johnston, the great leader, was lost to the South. Hardly had the bells ceased their tolling for the dead when Farragut with a powerful fleet swept past the forts below New Orleans and was literally swept into fame by his victory in Louisiana, the scene of his childhood.^ This aggressive movement in the West toward the South drew from all the cotton states troops to repel the Federal invasion,^ and what is important in this narrative of Florida, greatly reduced Confederate military strength within that state. The withdrawal of soldiers was not the only weakness which threatened to prostrate Florida before invading armies. Local conditions almost destroyed military effi- ciency. Arms, ammunition, and supplies were scarce and difficult to procure even when military funds were plenti- ful.' "As sure as the sun rises, unless cannon, powder, etc., ^ Rhodes, U. S., v. 3, pp. 580-630. Hosmer, op. cit., chap. 6. * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 6, particularly pp. 400, 406, 409, 411, 418. ' Ibid., pp. 276, 287, 288, 299, 319, 325, 399, etc. On October 29th Milton to Mallory : " Florida wants arms. She has not received a musket from the Confederate states"; on Nov. 14, "We need arms and munitions of war " ; on Nov. 19, to Pres. Davis, " We need troops and munitions of war and military officers of education." BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 141 be sent to Florida in the next thirty days, she will fall into the hands of the North," reported Brigadier-General Gray- son, who commanded in East Florida. " Florida will be- come a Yankee province," he concluded. " Our state is in a most deplorable condition," stated Governor Milton to Secretary Alallory in October, 1861. A few days later he informed President Davis that there was " much derange- ment of military affairs in this state owing chiefly to the desire to enter Confederate service for short periods and certain pay. The large majority who were willing to serve as soldiers as infantry are now in favor of riding into ser- vice." Great sections of Florida were entirely without railways. Pikes were poor ; towns were few ; bridges and fords were many, and Florida rivers were given to sudden rising and falling. Such conditions hampered the mobilization of troops, and when they were mobilized, disputes and wrang- ling took place between the officers of state and Confederate troops concerning authority.^ The governor reported in December. 1861, to the secretary of war that such disputing at Apalachicola " frightened and alarmed the citizens and threatened most serious and disreputable disturbances." ^ Intemperance in the use of liquor and ignorance of the essentials of military organization and management were not uncommon short-comings among both the militia and the Confederate troops recruited in Florida.^ Experience 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 6, pp. 288, 298, 355, etc. Milton Papers, Nov.-Dec, i86r. =" Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 14, pp. 303, 325, 477, etc.; v. 6, pp. 287, 301. Milton stated that the Confederate Lieut.-Col. in command at Cedar Keys " drank to excess ", while the garrison at Fernandina was in his opinion " demoralized by the habitual intemperance of its Colonel and Lieut.-Col." On April 10, 1862, Gen. Finegan, stationed at Tallahassee, issued orders (No. 17) calling "upon officers of all grades to aid him in suppressing the vice of intemperance in the army." Also Richardson, Lights and Sluidozvs of Itinerant Life, p'. 173, etc. 142 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA in the field eradicated most short-comings of this character and made of the Florida troops seasoned, canny, fighting veterans in some of the most effective armies in history. It took time to produce such fighting organizations. The re- markable thing is that in so short a time and with such poor equipment the Southern rank and file learned to practice warfare so successfully. General Bragg, commanding in West Florida, reported in the autumn of 1861 that his army — more than 5,000 strong — was "raw and insufficiently or- ganized ".^ The greater part of it was composed of troops from neighboring states. General Grayson, commanding troops in Eastern and Middle Florida until the autumn of 1861, was dying of tuberculosis, and was often abed. He was physically unfit to cope with his strenuous task." Petty politics in regi- mental elections had developed bitter feuds between offi- cers.^ State politics in some insidious way aggravated the trouble. When Governor Milton entered upon the duties of his office in November, 186 1, he found the friends of ex-Governor Perry directing military organi- zation. Milton was personally opposed to Perry and his followers. Both were Democrats and radicals. " Gov- ernor Perry," he wrote confidentially to Mallory, " is, I reckon, as you have perceived, a man of strong pre- judices, without very strong intellectual abilities." * The new governor at once attempted to supplant as best he could the Perry men by his own friends. To accomplish this he J Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 757, 762. * Ibid., pp. 288, 289, 341. * Ibid., s. i, V. 6, passim. Correspondence of Milton, Benjamin, Davis, Trapier, Floyd, Finegan, Anderson, and Finley in this vol., and Milton Papers, MSS. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 287, Letter of Oct. 2, 1862, and p. 290, to J. Davis. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 143 sought to influence the Confederate war department in many of its appointments, removals, and orders concerning Flor- ida and Florida troops for the Confederacy/ To cap the climax of misfortunes for the immediate mili- tary welfare of the state, the constitutional convention which reassembled in Tallahassee during January, 1862, voted out of existence the militia after March loth of that year.^ Most troops in Florida — state militia and Confed- erate — were " twelve-month volunteers ". Their terms of enlistment dated mostly from the spring and summer of 1861/ Both the Confederate government and the state government were face to face in the spring of 1862 with the possibility of a considerable part of their military being temporarily disbanded. Thousands of soldiers were in- duced to re-enlist before their terms expired by the reward of furloughs, which enabled them to return home for a little while. They found themselves heroes in the eyes of the homefolks — the women particularly. To keep alive the im- pression, they promptly returned and re-enlisted.* The Confederate government finally settled the question of hold- ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 93, 292, 298, 300, 355, 390, 404, 412, 427, 429; V. 14, p. 474; V. 53, pt. 2, pp. 203-206, 211, 230, 236, 237, 290. Conven. proceedings, 1862, pp. 57, 95; Milton Papers, 1862-4. 2 Gov.'s message, November 17, 1862, Ordinance of Convention, in part as follows : " That the Governor be and is hereby required on or before March 10 next to transfer into Confederate service all troops now^ in the service of the state; and if they fail or refuse to go into Confederate service, said troops shall be disbanded." ' Muster rolls in Robertson, Soldiers of Florida. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 376, 768, 770, 778, 806, 810. On Dec. II, 1861, Gen. Bragg at Pensacola wrote to Sec. Benjamin: "Great difificulty is being experienced in organizing our old men for the war — our fight (on Santa Rosa Island) has injured 'our prospects. Men wish to go home and talk over their deeds with their friends and families. I shall try now by liberal use of furloughs. As they are to go anyhow it will be as well to let them go on furlough, and then they will not stay. The women will not tolerate it." 144 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA ing together its volunteers by the passage of the Conscript Act on April i6th/ More than a month before this date the Florida militia had been disbanded. The convention ordered that the gov- ernor transfer to Confederate service those troops who wished to be transferred. If a soldier did not wish to go from the state service to the Confederate service he was to be mustered out on March loth. Brigadier-General Floyd of Florida expressed the opinion that " the militia will not enlist in Confederate service until they have enjoyed the privilege of going home." This proved to be the case.^ On March loth less than i,ooo Florida militia were mustered out and for a time the Confederacy was none the better ofif for soldiers in Florida.^ The men returned home before entering the service again. In the Confederate war department the defense of Flor- ida resolved itself primarily into defending the approaches to Apalachicola at the mouth of the Apalachicola river; Fernandina, the Atlantic terminus of Florida's railway sys- tem; Jacksonville, near the mouth of the St. Johns river; and Pensacola, the chief town of West Florida.* The evi- 1 Act C. S. Congress, Off. Reds. Rebell., s. iv, v. i, pp. 1095-1099. * Ibid., s. i, V. 6, pp. 412, 768, 770-8. Gov.'s message, Nov. 17, 1862, Milton Papers. ' Rpt. State Adj.-Gen., Jan., 1862. Gov.'s message, Nov. 17, 1862. " The effect of this order," wrote Gov. Milton, " was, in spite of every effort I could make, to disband the slate forces and thus create the necessity of abandoning Apalachicola and other important positions to the mercy of the enemy." Also A71. Cyclo.. 1862, for resume of con- ditions. * The principal coast towns in Florida were Pensacola, Apalachicola, Cedar Keys, Tampa, and Key West on the Gulf; and St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Fernandina on the Atlantic. Key West never passed out of Federal hands. Pensacola was held jointly by the Confederates and Federals. None of these towns had a population of more than 3,500. Regarding their condition at this time see U. S. Census, i860; BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 145 dent intention of the Confederate government during the autumn and early winter of 1861-2 was to defend the Florida seaboard/ Cannon, ammunition, and supplies as well as troops were sent to Fernandina, Apalachicola, St. Johns Bluff (below Jacksonville), and Pensacola.^ Cedar Keys, the Gulf terminus of the Florida railway, was neg- lected. By the end of February, 1862, thirty guns had been mounted in works about Fernandina — some in Fort Clinch and some behind sand barriers. A few pieces were eight- and ten-inch Columbiads. Brigadier-General Trapier, in command at Fernandina, stated that it would take 7,000 men to man adequately the works and trenches about the town. Never more than 3,500 men were stationed there. ^ At Apalachicola on the Gulf the defenses were ridicu- lously feeble. By October, 1861, they consisted of six light and old thirty-two-pound smooth-bores, mounted on St. Vin- cent's island, twelve miles away toward the Gulf. The land approaches to the town were unguarded, as well as an ap- proach by water from the sea through East Pass. By the A''. Y. Herald, Jan. 12, Feb. 14, Mch. 2, 14, 15, 18, 20, Apr. 2, 1862; N. Y. Times, Mch. 13, 1862; Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, pp. 291, 298, 301, 303, 316, 355, 757, 762; V. 14, pp. 488, 512, 630. ^ Off. Reds. Rehell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 294, 307, 334, etc. ; v. 53, supra, pp. 64, 73. Correspondence of Milton, Yulee, Grayson, Finegan, Trapier, Benjamin, Davis. Also Milton Papers, 1862. On Nov. 29, 1861. Benja- min (Secy, of War) wrote to Milton, "No effort shall be intermitted by the Confederate Government to insure the safety of your state." On Oct. 22, Benjamin had written to Gen. Trapier in Florida, "Your instructions are brief and simple. Do everything that your means and energy will permit to place the coast of Florida in a state of defense." * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 276-7, 286-7, 303, 332, 334, 367-8, 386. • Ibid., p. 371. In Jan., 1862, Gen. Trapier reported 2,127 Confederate infantry, 1,126 cavalry, and 95 artillery in East and Middle Florida. These troops included one Georgia regiment, one Mississippi regiment, and the rest Florida troops. 146 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA end of the year shallow entrenchments more than three miles long had been thrown up to protect the town, but to man these trenches at least 5,000 men were needed and never more than i ,000 men could be counted on for service there. The place was no stronger in guns, the heaviest being a 32-pound smooth-bore. The supply of ammunition was very limited.^ Apalachicola was the entrepot by sea to rich sections of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It was important therefore that it be protected. " Insecurity and apprehension is the predominant feeling at Apalachicola," wrote a citizen of the town.^ Governor Milton and ex-Sen- ator Yulee desperately sought help from the Confederate war department for both Fernandina and Apalachicola, but with little result. The pressure was becoming terrible else- where and Florida was almost forgotten.^ Early in February, 1862, Mr. Benjamin, Confederate sec- retary of war, directed General Bragg at Pensacola to send immediately to Johnston's army in Tennessee all troops which he could spare.* By this order was first officially transmitted to Florida that increasing pressure for men and supplies felt along the northwest border of the Confed- eracy. The entire lower South responded. The shifting of military forces west and north was a vast movement.^ * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 286, 304, 319, 355-6. * Ibid., pp. 286-7. * For Milton's attitude and efforts, see Message, Nov. 17, 1862, Milton Papers; Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 6, pp. 288, 319, 325, 354-5, 402, 404. Milton's home was in Apalachicola valley, which sharpened his interest in that section. For Yulee's attitude and efforts see Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, V. 6, pp. 292-5. Letter to R. E. Lee in N. Y. Herald, March 18, 1868; N. Y. Herald, Jan. 27, 1862. Yulee's beautiful plantation was near Fernandina, which sharpened his interest in East Florida. See Phil. Bulletin, Jan. 24, 1862. * Off. Reds. Retell, s. i, v. 6, p. 823. * See An..Cyclo., 1861-2. Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 725-894. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA 147 The resulting withdrawal of troops from Florida was a small part of this movement, but it wrought an important change for the state. Fort Donelson fell on February i6th. One week later the Confederate war department announced a complete change of policy regarding the east or Atlantic coast of Florida. It was to be abandoned. Mr. Benjamin, secretary of war, informed Robert E. Lee, then commanding the mili- tary department including East and Central Florida, that the recent disaster to Confederate arms in Tennessee would force the government to withdraw its lines within more defensible limits; that the railroad between Memphis and Richmond must be held at all hazards; that this could be done only by the withdrawal of troops from the seaboard ; and that accordingly the troops along the Florida coast must be sent to General Johnston's army in Tennessee.^ The only Confederate troops to be retained would be for the defense of the Apalachicola river. When General Lee heard of the fall of Fort Donelson, he warned General Trapier, his lieutenant in East Florida, to be prepared to move toward Tennessee on short notice." Mr. Benjamin informed General Bragg, commanding in West Florida, that " it is proposed not to leave any force at all at Pensacola. The heavy blow which has been inflicted on us in Kentucky and Tennessee renders necessary a com- plete change in our whole program." ^ Some hopes were ex- pressed by General Lee and the Confederate war depart- ment that troops might be spared for the protection of the Apalachicola and St. Johns rivers.* It will be remembered that on March loth by law the state militia would cease to » Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, p. 398. » Ibid, p. 393. * Ibid., p. 286. * Ibid., s. i, V. 6, pp. 398, 406, 410, 884. 148 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA exist. The withdrawal of Confederate troops threatened therefore complete abandonment by the military. Governor Milton believed that with seaports, rivers, railways, and in- terior towns unguarded Florida would soon be the scene of disastrous invasion. " The effect of this order," he wrote, " is to abandon Middle, East and Southern Florida to the mercy and abuse of the Lincoln Government." ^ Troops moved out of the state slowly. Cannon, mili- tary equipment, and supplies were withdrawn with some difficulty because transportation facilities were poor.^ Public opinion in Florida called for every possible delay. In Middle and East Florida many of the troops were natives of the state. General Pemberton wrote from Florida in March, 1862 : " I find the citizens of Tallahassee much ex- cited over the subject of the withdrawal of the troops, and I am informed by Governor Milton and others that the feel- ing in many cases amounts almost to disaffection." ^ In East Florida some people declared that the Confederate Government had " deserted them and has no claims to their fealty." * General Bragg stated that " the people of Pen- sacola, Mobile, and all Alabama and West Florida are greatly alarmed at the report that this place [Pensacola] is to be abandoned to the enemy." The Confederacy with no navy except a few commerce destroyers could not hold its seaboard and its northern frontier at the same time. By the middle of April, 1862, 5,000 of the 6,500 troops on Pensacola bay were withdrawn beyond the state.' By 1 Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 402, 403, 408. * Ibid., pp. 398, 404-412, 417, 835, 838, 857, 858, 862, 869. » Ibid., pp. 841, 838. * Special Florida correspondent of A''. Y. Tribune, Mar. 24, 1862. ^ Ibid., pp. 371, 409; V. 14, pp. 485, 488, 512, 530, 577. See also regi- mental histories in Robertson, Soldiers of Florida. BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES IN FLORIDA i^q the end of May probably 3,000 of the 4,000 troops in East and Central Florida had left.^ The defenses along the coast were partially or totally dismantled. The ordnance was removed into the interior. While Confederate forces were leaving the state for the West a Federal army was preparing to invade. ' Oif. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, passim. CHAPTER VII Federal Invasion Federal invasion quickly followed Confederate aban- donment of Florida coast defenses. The invasion was a component part of an extended movement down the At- lantic seaboard from Fortress Monroe, Virginia. The Fed- eral navy department elaborated plans early in July, 1861, for this proposed advance southward. Fernandina, Flor- ida, was then prominently mentioned as an objective point. " Fernandina is by its position obviously the most suitable point for a place of deposit," reported the House Com- mittee on Naval Affairs, " answering at one end of the line to Hampton Roads at the other." ^ This town is in ex- treme northeastern Florida, built on an island, and near the Georgia-Florida state line. Late in August, 1861, Forts Hatteras and Clark on the North Carolina coast were taken by the Federal expedition from Fortress Monroe. On November 7th, General T. W. Sherman took Port Royal, S. C.^ Logically the occupation of ^ Rpt. Naval Com., Off. Reds. Rehll., s. i, v. 53, supra, pp. 64-73. On July 5, 1861, the Du Pont Comit. reported to Secy. Welles on the neces- sity of occupying Fernandina. Its population was estimated by the committee at i,ooo; depth at bar, 14 feet; property: valuable wharves and warehouses of the Fla. R. R. ; defense : isolation on Amelia Island made it easy to defend. Fernandina was compared with Port Royal, S. C. and Jacksonville, Fla., and pronounced the best place for a naval and military station. ' Rhodes, U. S., v. 3, pp. 489-90. Hosmer, Appeal to Arms, pp. 74, 112. ISO FEDERAL INVASION 151 Fernandina was soon to be attempted/ General Horatio Wright on the last day of January, 1862, formally proposed that an expedition set out from Port Royal for Fernandina. His chief, General McClellan, approved the plan, and late in February a combined naval and military force was ready to proceed to Florida.^ The people of the lower South had rea- son to fear this steady advance by sea from the North. It bade fair to sweep along the entire southern coast, Gulf as well as Atlantic.^ It meant invasion with the attendant de- struction of life and property. During 1862 extended opera- tions did not occur on the Gulf coast of Florida. In this quarter, however, the state experienced two naval raids on its unprotected entrepots. The first of these was the de- scent on Cedar Keys in January. During the Civil War, Key West was an important dis- tributing center for war news — particularly news concern- ing the lower South. Both Confederate and Federal au- thorities obtained information in the town. White Union men and escaped negroes from time to time carried there news about the interior. Confederate sympathizers in the town forwarded information to the mainland.* News that the Confederate coast guard at Cedar Keys had been greatly ^ Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 6, pp. 207-9. On Dec. 19, 1861, Sherman (T. W.) wrote McClellan: " Du Pont thinks he will be ready for Fer- nandina in a week or two"; and on Dec. 21, to Cameron, " I have for a long time been ready for Fernandina, but the Navy is not ". * Ibid., pp. 220, 225, 235. Feb. 14th, McClellan wrote Sherman : " The expedition to Fernandina is well and I shall be glad to hear that it is ours." » A^. Y. Times, Mch. 19, 28, 1862. N. Y. Herald. Mch. 18, 1862, letter of Yulee. Correspondence of Governor Milton in Milton Papers and Off. Reds. RebelL; several letters of Gov. Shorter in Off. Reds. RebelL * N. Y. Herald, Mch. 2, Oct. 26, 1862. A^. Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1862; Mch. 18, 26. 1863. N. Y. Tribune, Mch. 9, 1863. iV. Y. World, Mch. IS, 1863 ; Off. Reds. RebelL; and Navy; and Milton Papers, passim. 1^2 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA reduced and that several ships were loading there prepara- tory to running the blockade reached Key West in Decem- ber, 1 86 1. At best it was only a rumor, but being a very plausible one, it might have sent there a Federal man-of- war engaged in the blockading.^ On January 15th, the United States ship Hatteras from Key West entered the harbor of Cedar Keys. Few inhabi- tants were left in the village. The remnant of the Coast Guard, twenty-two strong — stationed on Sea Horse Key to protect property from thieves and " Union Men " — quickly decided on flight.^ They ran for their boat, which was a fiat-bottomed scow. They attempted frantically to " pole " the boat to the mainland. On reaching deep water their poles were found to be too short to touch bottom. In their hurry they had forgotten their sweeps. The wind and tide caught them and bore them out toward the waiting Hatteras, where they were taken aboard as prisoners of war.^ Marines and sailors from the Hatteras were sent ashore. They spiked the three cannon found on Sea Horse Key, set afire five schooners and three sloops loaded with cotton and turpentine preparatory to running the blockade; burned the railway depot, seven freight cars and a warehouse filled with turpentine ; and pulled down all telegraph wires.* No one in the village was molested because no one was found there, probably, who was not professedly a Union sympathizer. Union men in the neighborhood were given an opportunity to subscribe regularly to the Federal oath > Rpt Gen. Trapier, Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, pp. 74-77 ; N. Y. Herald, Jan. 3, 1862. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 17, p. 51. Rpt. Gen. Trapier (C. S. A.). » Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 76-77. Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 17, pp. 48-51. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 17, pp. 48-50. Report of Emmons. FEDERAL INVASION 1 53 of allegiance. Several negroes ran off to the warship in the harbor, but not being desired by those on board they were promptly sent back to land. The Hatteras soon "with- drew to sea." ^ This was the first naval raid on an unprotected Florida seaport. Military strength at Cedar Keys had been de- pleted to strengthen Fernandina, which was the Atlantic terminus of the Florida railroad, and as a result the Gulf terminus of this road had been almost wiped out by one small gunboat." Mr. Yulee, ex-United States Senator and president of the road, arrived there several days after the catastrophe. ^^•^' A few weeks later (February 28th) the Federal expedi- tion for the occupation of East Florida sailed from Port Royal, South Carolina.* The fleet comprised some twenty- four or twenty-five steamships and eight sailing craft. Eigh- teen of the steamers were gun-boats or armed transports.' A brigade of infantry was aboard under the command of General Horatio Wright.® The fleet was commanded by Commodore Du Pont. " It was a clear, star-lit night when the fleet weighed anchor and proceeded southward." ^ The distance from Port Royal to Fernandina is less than ' Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, pp. 74-77. A^^. Y. Herald, Jan. 25, 30; Feb. 14, 1862. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 17, p. 51. Statement of Gen. Trapier (C. S. A.). » Letter of Yulee to Lee. A^. Y. Herald, Mch. 18, 1862. *■ Du Font's Report. Moore, Rehell. Red., v. iv, p. 229. * See Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, p. 229; N. Y. Times, Mch. 15, 1862; N. Y. Herald, Mch. 11, 1862; Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12. pp. S71-575. « Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 6, p. 244; Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 4. Dray- ton Report; A^. Y. Times, Mch. 15, 1862. The troops were the 97th Penn. and 4th New Hamp. Infantry. ^ Correspondent of A'^. Y. Times with expedition Mch. 15, 1862. 154 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA 150 miles. The flotilla wound its way slowly along the Georgia coast, which is washed by a semi-tropical ocean and fringed by the Sea Islands, that lift a waving cloud of green above the azure of the sea. The shore of the main- land is sunk almost to the level of the ocean in great, deso- late, wind-swept marshes which stretch down from the North and touch the sea in " beach lines that linger and curl as a silver-wrought garment that clings to and follows the firm, sweet limbs of a girl." Here are the marshes of Glynn. Beyond them is Florida. Near the southeastern edge of Georgia, Cumberland island forms with the mainland St. Andrews sound. This sound afforded a way by water to Fernandina in the rear of the heavy guns of Fort Clinch, which guarded the seaward approach to the harbor.^ On the morning of March 2nd, the fleet cast anchor in St. Andrews sound. Information was obtained from a negro that Fernandina was being evac- uated by its Confederate garrison and deserted by its in- habitants.^ After some delay several gunboats were sent ahead to Fernandina.^ The negro had reported correctly. The town was being abandoned. Word that the Federal fleet had sailed from Port Royal quickly reached Fernan- dina by telegraph. The Confederate garrison at Fort Clinch began the removal of guns and ammunition. The inhabi- tants of the neighborhood began to pack their personal ef- fects and collect their negroes for flight into the interior. They were slow to turn their backs on their homes. Many lingered, hoping that the news might prove untrue. But * See map Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. 620; also pp. 568-72, ^ Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. 572 (memorandum). Moore, Rebell. Red., V. 4, pp. 57, 229. N. Y. Herald, Mch. 18, 1862; N. Y. Times, Mch. 15, 1862. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. 573. Du Pont to Commodore Drayton of the Pawnee. FEDERAL INVASION 155 alarming dispatches continued to arrive. The first report was confirmed, and during Sunday while church bells were ringing, women, children, old men — black, white, slave, and free — were reluctantly crossing with the soldiers to the mainland, and moving on into the interior away from " Yankee " invaders/ On Monday afternoon, March 3rd, the advance squadron came into the bay. As the gun-boats approached, the last railway train pulled out from the station at Fernandina. The cars were crowded with fugitives and piled high with household goods. Confederate outposts appeared here and there on the seashore, and, firing random shots at the boats, retreated into the woods. A small river steamer heavily laden and working her machinery to the utmost was at- tempting to escape in the direction of the St. Marys river. Smoke poured from her funnels. The forsaken hamlet on the edge of the sea was serene in the bright sunshine of this winter afternoon. A white flag somewhere — perhaps on the most prominent pier — was waving. The locomotive and cars began the passage of the long trestle which con- nected the island with the mainland. The leading Federal gun-boat opened fire. A solid shot struck the last car, and tearing through tables, chairs, and bedsteads, killed two boys seated on a sofa. The wrecked car with its dead was detached and the train, amid the cannon shots of pursuers, went on into safety.' The flying river steamer was cap- tured after a long chase. Some forty women and children ^ Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, pp. pp. 573-75. Moore, Rebell. Reds., V. 4, p. 229. " At eight o'clock the night previous a telegram was re- ceived that the Federal fleet was coming," reported Du Pont. " This news seems to have produced a perfect panic, as by twelve o'clock the next day the garrison which consisted of 1,500 men and almost all the inhabitants had gone off." * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, pp. S7^-77- 156 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA were aboard. Most of them were on their knees engaged in prayer for deliverance from the Yankees, " battle, mur- der, and sudden death ". The skipper who directed their flight till caught by the Federal gunboat was a stout New- Englander/ Early the next morning troops were landed. The twenty- five or thirty families remaining in and about Fernandina were peacefully disposed. Several natives " made money off the soldiers " by sale and barter. We therefore conclude that the policy of the invaders was not unduly severe. General Wright posted notices that the persons and property of the " Loyal " would not be molested. There were soon evidences of reviving loyalty under such stimulating an- nouncements. The property of those who had fled the town and of those known to be disloyal was appropriated by the Federal commissary department. This mode of acquiring forfeited property had its difficulties. " Loyal " individ- uals in Fernandina claimed the property of friends who had fled, which reduced the amount to be confiscated by the army. A quantity of rice, cotton, whiskey, molasses, and turpentine was seized; and also a locomotive, several rail- way cars, and two blockade-runners in cargo. General Wright expressed the opinion that, with few exceptions, those remaining in Fernandina were Confederate sympa- thizers.^ On March 8th, in the afternoon, a Federal squadron of four gunboats, two armed launches and a transport with the 4th New Hampshire Infantry sailed from Fernandina for Jacksonville and St. Augustine.^ When the ships ar- > A^. y. Times, Mch. 15, 1862. Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 244. Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, pp. 57, 229. * Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, pp. 57, 229 A''. Y. Times, Mch. 15, 1862. A^. V. Herald, Mch. 18, 1862. Naval Reds., s. i, v. 12, pp. 573-585. ' Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, pp. 586-588. FEDERAL INVASION 15: rived at the mouth of the St. Johns anchors were cast and a boat sent ashore. Negroes reported that Jacksonville was being abandoned and that the fortifications along the lower St. Johns had been dismantled. The portion of the squadron ordered to Jacksonville crossed the bar of the St. Johns on the afternoon of the iith.^ Near nightfall of this day, while the Federal ships were at anchor twenty miles away, several hundred irregu- lar Confederate troops arrived in Jacksonville on the rail- way train with orders from General Trapier to burn that property which might be of use to the enemy.^ Consternation quickly spread among the remaining inhabitants of Jack- sonville. Much of the property in and about the town was owned by Union sympathizers. The Confederate soldiers who came with orders to destroy came with the intention of intimidating Union men. At dusk the torch was applied to saw-mills along the St. Johns and the warehouses at- tached; in Jacksonville, to a foundry, machine shops, hotels, warehouses, the railway station, a business block, and a few dwelling-houses. The loss amounted to more than a half million dollars. Rowdyism by the irregular troops accom- panied the destruction. Stores were broken open and plun- dered. The most offensive of the Union sympathizers fled across the river and found safety in hiding till picked up by Federal troops. Those on board the ships near the mouth of the river saw in the sky the eerie reflection of the burning property.^ The next day dawned damp and cold. Seabirds were ^ Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 4, pp. 283, 293. N. Y. Tribune, Mch. 24, 1862. N. Y. Herald, Mch. 20, 1862. * Off. Reds. Rehell. s. i, v. 6, p. 414. » Rebell. Red., v. 4, p. 293. N. Y. Tribune, Mch. 24, 1862 A''. Y. Times, Mch. 20, Apr. 2, 1862. N. Y. Express, Apr. 7, 1862. TV. Y. Herald, Mch. 20 (containing itemized list of property destroyed), Mch. 31, 1862. 158 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA flying low and no wind blew from the ocean. Through a foggy atmosphere the squadron proceeded up the river. The charred ruins left by the Confederate " regulators " were still smouldering when the boats cast anchor off Jack- sonville.^ A deputation from Jacksonville headed by a Mr. Burritt — called " a Northern man " — came aboard the flag- ship to surrender the town, pledge the good behavior of its citizens, and pray for protection against further vandalism.^ Mr. Burritt stated to Captain Stevens, the fleet commander, that the past night had been one of terror and that the opin- ion of the people of Jacksonville was singularly unanimous on the subject of the war. " It is believed to be unwise, un- provoked, and unjust," he said. He frankly represented the people as not being in sympathy with the Union.^ " There was no enthusiasm or feeling of any kind shown by the people on the arrival of the Union troops," writes one ob- server. " Captain Stevens is confident of a strong Union sentiment among the people and that a considerable por- tion of the State is weary of the rebellion and will return to its duty," he continued. No such inference could be drawn from anything that I have heard publicly or privately. I talked with many persons, and nowhere was expressed love for the Union. If any sentiment predominates, it is loyalty to the State. The Confederate Government, they say, has deserted them and has no claim to their fealty.* ' Account from Philadelphia Press, Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 4, ^ Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. 599. ' The mayor of Jacksonville issued a proclamation on Mch. 7, 1862, stating that the city council after deliberation with the Confederate military authorities had decided to make no effort to defend Jackson- ville. He counseled the people to remain in their homes and pursue their usual vocations. Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. koo. ^ * A'^. Y. Tribune, Mch. 24, 1862, special correspondent with expedi- tion. FEDERAL INVASION 159 Captain Stevens reported : " From conversation with intel- ligent citizens I find that inhabitants are seeking and wait- ing for the protection of our flag; that they do not fear us but their own people," ^ while another person stated : '' Our (Federal) reception was not enthusiastic. They looked as if they could not help it." ^ The truth was that many of the inhabitants of Jackson- ville had departed ere the invaders arrived. Those who departed were hostile to the Union and those who remained were divided in sentiment. The Union sympathizers were mostly prosperous town merchants, lumbermen, and real- estate dealers who had recently come into Florida from the North and who being " unwilling to relinquish so much val- uable property, remained to protect it ". They vehemently urged the retention of the town by Federal troops. Within a week General T. W. Sherman arrived and following his arrival were inaugurated some rather premature measures to reconstruct Florida politically.^ There was little worth holding in Jacksonville and the Union men were desper- ately trying to make their case as plausible as possible. This case will be considered further on. It will be remembered that part of the squadron which set out from Femandina on March 8th was ordered to St. Augustine. A Federal gun-boat anchored off the town on the nth, and in the early afternoon Commander Rodgers and a Mr. Dennis, of the coast survey, unescorted by troops, entered the harbor in a small boat. They were met at the principal pier by Mayor Bravo and a curiosity-stricken crowd who amicably, though without cheering, escorted the * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. 600. * Moore, Retell. Red., v. 4, account from Phila. Press. *N. Y. Times, Apr. 2, 1862. N. Y. Herald, Mch. 20, Apr. 11, 1862. Moore, Retell. Red., v. 4, pp. 325, 349. l6o RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Federal officers to the town-hall. There, in the presence of mayor and council and the two Federal officials, the town was formally surrendered/ The people of St. Augustine seemed less perturbed than those of Fernandina and Jacksonville. About one-fifth of the 2,000 inhabitants had left the town on the approach of the Federal warship. The small Confederate garrison had retired into the interior the night before." Rodgers visited the clergymen of St. Augustine, talked peace and good-will to them, and directed that they use their best efforts to re- assure the people concerning the kind intentions of the Fed- eral government. " I believe many citizens are earnestly attached to the Union," wrote Rodgers from St. Augustine, " a large number silently opposed to it, and a still larger number who care very little about the matter. I think that nearly all the men acquiesce in the condition of affairs." ^ The only bellicose spirits in this rather peaceful war-time episode were some patriotic ladies. " They seem to mistake treason for courage," angrily reported the Federal com- mander, " and have a theatrical desire to figure as hero- ines." * He had found the flag-pole at Fort Marion cut down when he arrived. The men said the women did it, and one woman, a widow, informed Rodgers to his face, " that the men had behaved like cowards, but that there were stout hearts in other bosoms (striking her own)." This accounts probably for Rodger's outburst.^ To recapitulate the military situation in East Florida by ' Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, pp. 595-596. Moore, Rebel!. Red., v. 4, passim. ' Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. 596. * Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, p. 326. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 12, p. 596. * Ibid., p. 601. FEDERAL INVASION l6i the middle of March, 1862: the coast from St. Augustine north was in the hands of the Federal military or under the guns of the fleet; the Confederate troops remaining had fallen back twenty or thirty miles to Sanderson and Bald- win;^ bodies of "bushwhackers" and irregular cavalry moved here and there through the scrub and along the lonely, sandy trails of East Florida seeking to hang the dis- loyal; a large portion of the native population had retired into the interior to avoid the Federal invasion; a half- million dollars worth of property had been burned at Jack- sonville by Confederate orders; the Confederate military in Florida was steadily moving out of the state for Tennessee and Virgina; Governor Milton and others were vigorously petitioning the Confederate war department to have the troops retained in Florida ; - and as the white dogwood of early spring festooned the borders of the spacious fields of the interior the wiser ones among the elders who directed the planting and herding which was the life of the state must have entertained grave fears that enemies would share the harvest there. The Gulf coast was still held by the Confederacy. A veteran Baptist preacher recalling memories of Apalachi- cola at that time wrote : Our battalion was increased to about 1,200 men. We guarded Apalachicola and adjacent islands. The general and all the field officers drank. We had fine bands and they frequently serenaded us. . . . One day the Lieut.-Col. came to me and said that I loved music and that the band had to be treated. ' Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 6, pp. 276, 287, 288, 298, 301, 355. Tha troops in East Florida were the 3rd and 4th Fla. Infy. (Confed. Army), several companies of ist Fla. Battalion, Infy., and irregular bodies of horse and artillery. ' Letters of Milton to Lee and Benjamin, Off. Reds. Rebell.. s. i, v 6, pp. 400, 404. 1 62 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA I told him that I would not treat my father if he were to rise from the dead; but to show him that it was not money but principle with me, I said that if he would serenade me as a Christian I would treat them as Christians. . . . About nine o'clock the band and singers came. They opened up at my room at full blast on that grand hymn, " Before Jehovah's Awful Throne Ye Nations Bow with Sacred Awe." The moon was bright. Our headquarters were on the Bay. The sound of the many instruments and fine voices swept over the Bay, and all the air seemed alive with music. The old general came to my door and knocked, exclaiming that he had never heard anything like that. And I never have — before or since. . . . There are no songs like the songs of Zion. The chaplain had promised to treat the singers as Chris- tians. He accordingly treated them to oysters.^ The tragic march of events abruptly ended garrison duty and oyster-suppers at Apalachicola." The disbanding of the state militia by order of the Florida convention and the steady withdrawal of Confederate troops for service in Tennessee forced the abandonment of the town by the mili- tary. The Federal blockading squadron hovered off the coast. People expected Apalachicola sooner or later to experience the fate of Cedar Keys, Jacksonville, St. Au- gustine, and Fernandina; therefore many inhabitants fol- low^ed the retiring troops into the interior. The blockaders demanded in March that the town be surrendered and that the people forthwith take the oath of allegiance to the Union. Whereupon a committee of citizens — among them the Roman Catholic priest — responded : " The city is de- fenseless. There are no soldiers or any arms ; but there is no one having authority to surrender it." The answer * Richardson, Lights and Shadows of Itinerant Life, p. 173. ' Governor's Message, Nov. 17, 1862. Milton Papers, MSS. FEDERAL INVASION 163 closed with the opinion that there was " no one who would take the oath of allegiance except some foreigners." ^ The expected visitation from the Federals soon followed this candid reply. On the night of April 2nd, a boat ex- pedition put off from the two Federal warships blockading the harbor and the next day Apalachicola was occupied by a small force of marines and sailors — called a " large and well-armed force " by its enthusiastic commander.^ The town presented a desolate appearance. The batteries were dismantled ; the warehouses and shops were closed ; the streets and wharves were deserted; the harbor was empty of ships. Perhaps 500 people out of a population of 2,500 remained. Those left behind were mostly poor whites and free negroes. Destitution was apparent — no flour, no sugar, no meat, and very little corn. The people were de- pendent on fish and oysters for subsistence.' They gathered silently and respectfully about the group of Federal soldiers and listened to the words of the com- mander, Stellwagen. "It was really affecting," he reported, " to see the crowd, principally women and children." * He magnanimously granted them permission to fish in what they had been wont to consider their own bay, and he fol- lowed this with permission to use their own fishing boats as long as they did not aid blockade-runners. A man in the crowd called out: "Captain, some of our boys [meaning negroes] have gone to your ship. Will they be given up ? " " No," replied the commander. " They have been used to transport soldiers and arms, in building fortifica- tions and a gunboat to be used against the United States. You will never get relief for their loss." ^ The marines ^ Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 17, p. 203. 2 /^f^f.^ pp, 201-205. ^N. Y. Herald, Apr. 21, 1862; Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, p. 76. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 17, p. 203. ^ N. Y. Herald, Apr. 21, 1862; Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 17, pp. 203-4. 164 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA moved up the river, capturing a schooner loaded with cot- ton and a sloop loaded with coffee from Havana. The pilot boats in the harbor were burned and the Federal force with- drew to their ships at sea/ This comparatively unimportant affair at Apalachicola alarmed the people of the lower Chattahoochee valley. The town of Columbus, Georgia, reluctantly made common cause with the governor of Florida in preparations to de- fend the valley. The Columbus city council voted funds for obstructing navigation above Apalachicola.^ More than 50,000 balejj of cotton were stored at Columbus ; 20,000 at the town of Eufaula, Alabama (on the Chattahoochee) ; and probably 10,000 bales at other points along the river.* Herds of cattle and cribs of corn in the valley of the Chatta- hoochee made that section important as a source of food supply. A powerful submerged boom was constructed across the Apalachicola river a few miles north of the town ; ten cannon were mounted behind earthworks at Ricco's Bluffs ; and the 6th Florida Infantry and Holland's Independent Florida Battalion were stationed there.* The valley of the Chattahoochee was in fact effectually barricaded for any but a formidable force. The next point to be abandoned by the Confederates was Pensacola. Governor Shorter, of Alabama, advised the war department to retain this port; and for its defense he had sent there from time to time more than 2,000 Alabama troops. The outlook for Pensacola in 1862 was gloomy. The saw-mills in the vicinity were closed. Logging oper- 1 Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 286-288, 412. Naval War Reds., s. i, V. 17, pp. 201-205. ' Off. Reds. Rebnll., s. i, v. 14, pp. 553, 686-7, 731, 735-6. ^ Ibid., s. i, V. 53, sup., p. 237, estimate of Gen. Finegan (C. S. A.)- * Ibid., s. i, V. 6, pp. 848, 853, 862, 870, 871. FEDERAL INVASION 1 65 ations had ceased. Here as in the other coast towns many people had moved away. " There is much anxiety among our citizens," reported one inhabitant. " Merchants are packing up and famihes are leaving." ^ Bad characters took advantage of the absence of men from home to steal or bully a living from unprotected families. Late in March, 1862, Colonel Jones, commanding at Barrancas, declared by proclamation that there are certain hungry, worthless people, white as well as colored, who frequent Pensacola and vicinity and who have no observable occupation. Their intentions may be honest, but the colonel commanding does not believe it, and as he has no use for their presence they are warned to leave or the conse- quences must be on their own heads. The gallows is erected at Pensacola and will be in constant use after the 3d of April, 1862. The town is under complete martial law.^ Preparations to abandon Pensacola included the destruc- tion of much private property. On March 7th, 1862, Colonel John Beard, of the Confederate army at Pensacola, was or- dered to " destroy every foot of lumber, all saw-mills, boats, etc.," in the vicinity of Pensacola. " Everything which might be of service to the enemy," ran his instructions, " in order that if we are forced to abandon this place nothing of value will fall into the hands of the enemy." ^ On March nth, before daybreak. Colonel Beard and a company of infantry set out from Pensacola for the work of destruction. By daylight the mills of Wm. Miller on East ' Mobile Register, quoted in N. Y. Times, Mch. 28, 1862. See also correspondence of Bragg and Jones, Off. Reds. Rehell., s. 1, v. 6. pp. 83s, 838, 841, 846, 857. N. Y. Herald, Mch. 12, Apr. 21, 1862. ^ Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, p. 72. » Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 846. l66 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA bay were afire. At Milton, Bluff Springs, Bagdad and many other places along the Blackwater and Escambia rivers property was burned — saw-mills, lumber, warehouses, naval stores, boats, two Confederate gun-boats, and forage, clothing and food supplies not absolutely necessary for the life of the inhabitants. Booms were cut and rafts of timber set adrift. Beard reported a " loyal spirit " among the people. Certainly this was a terrible ordeal for some. They saw their worldly wealth disappear in smoke and ashes — a sacrifice to the Confederacy. Whatever were the true sen- timents of the unfortunates, they failed to leave record of such decidedly anti-Confederate sentiments as did the property holders in East Florida.^ Two months passed before the Confederate troops finally evacuated Pensacola. When Colonel Thomas Jones took command at Barrancas on March 9th, his instructions were to remove as rapidly as possible all machinery and other movable property from the navy-yard.^ For two months this removal slowly proceeded. On receipt of news that a Federal fleet had passed the batteries below New Orleans, Jones at once began the removal of his heaviest artillery.' General Robert E. Lee, commanding the department includ- ing Florida, ordered him to shift his entire force to Mobile if that point was threatened by the Federal fleet.* Late in the afternoon of May 7th a dispatch reached Jones that the fleet had appeared off Mobile and that the forts had been fired on. The moment for quitting Pensacola had arrived.' ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 849, 856, 859-60; N. Y. Times, Apr. 19, 1862. Milton Papers, memorandum of property destroyed. * Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 6, pp. 660, 841, 848. 856. ^ Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 18, pp. 482-486 (Report of Jones). * Off. Reds. Rehell., s. i, v. 6, p. 824. * Ibid., p. 660. FEDERAL INVASION i^y The 8th Mississippi Infantry set out for Mobile early the next morning, and the three companies of cavalry and two companies of infantry remaining began the removal of the sick and the camp baggage to Oak Field — six miles north of Pensacola. After nightfall on May 9th the infantry began its march to Oak Field and the cavalry prepared to begin the destruction of the property about their abandoned fortifications. " Precisely at 1 1 130 o'clock, when everything was per- fectly quiet, both on the enemy's side and ours, the most painful office it was ever my duty to perform fell to my lot; namely, the signalling for the destruction of the beautiful place which I had labored so hard night and day to defend," reported Colonel Jones/ Two rockets were set off at the Marine Hospital (situated between the navy-yard and Barrancas). Scarcely had the thin blue flame of the rock- ets disappeared ere the public buildings, camp tents and every combustible thing from the navy-yard to McRee were enveloped in flames. Oil and grease and gunpowder had been spread about. " The scene was grand and sublime," wrote one correspondent. " The Bay was as light as mid- day while the murky clouds overhead reflected back an ap- parently liquid sea of fire." ^ The reflection of the con- flagration was seen by the blockading squadron out at sea. " At two A. M.," wrote Admiral Porter, " a brilliant light illumined the sky." ^ A few minutes later and those at the yard saw the flames of burning property at Pensacola. The Federal batteries on Santa Rosa island opened on the burning barracks and forts opposite — the object being, probably, to prevent the spread of the flames. At Pensacola the destruction was * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 18, pp. 482-486. ^ Moore, Retell. Red., v. 5, p. 48, from Mobile Register. ' Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 18, p. 479. l68 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA confined to the quarter-master's storehouses, an oil fac- tory, and two steamers. All telegraph wires and poles were pulled down. A river steamer loaded with machinery and stores was sent up the Escambia river and her captain was ordered to obstruct the river with timber and debris to prevent pursuit.^ Next morning. May loth, acting-Mayor Brosenham sur- rendered the town to the Federal authorities.' An officer with a small guard had been sent there from Fort Pickens soon after daybreak. " The town appeared to be deserted. Grass was growing in the street and everything was wear- ing a sad and forlorn appearance." ^ A few hours later the warship Harriet Lane, with Commander David Porter aboard, steamed into the harbor. Mr. Brosenham went aboard and assured the commander that the people of Pen- sacola would respect Federal authority.* There was no other reasonable course left open. Formal military possession of the town was taken next day (May nth) by Brigadier-General Arnold and several companies of Federal troops. The soldiers stood in hollow square about the flag-staff in the center of the Plaza as the United States flag went up. General Arnold settled himself comfortably in the home of Colonel Chase, who had fled from Pensacola, and Colonel Wilson, of the New York Zouaves, made his headquarters in the home of Secretary Mallory of the Confederate navy.^ Proclamations were ^ Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 660-665; A'^. Y. Herald, May 19, 1862; A^. Y. Tribune, May 22, 1862. ^ Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 18, p. 480 ; Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 6, p. 658. ' .V. Y. Herald, May 19, 1862 ; N. Y. Tribune, May 22, 1862 ; Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 5, passim. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 18, p. 480. • iV. Y. Times, May ?, 1862 (Townsend Lib., Columbia University). FEDERAL INVASION 169 posted about the town setting forth the duty of " good and loyal " citizens/ Most of the Southern sympathizers here as in East Florida had departed with their negroes and other movable property before the Federal troops arrived/ Pensacola, Fernandina, and St. Augustine passed per- manently into Union hands in 1862, They were occupied by Union troops for the rest of the war. Jacksonville, however, was abandoned a week after its capture in April.* General Sherman stated that the sole object in occupying the town was political.* When the Federal house of repre- sentatives requested Secretary Stanton to give an explana- tion of the sudden abandonment of Jacksonville, that offi- cial refused for reasons " not compatible with the public interest." ^ The withdrawal of the military was a serious reverse for the Union men of the town. They departed with the troops. Some fifty or sixty went to New York City and the public press took up their case so piteously that the city council voted $1,000 for their immediate relief.® Six months after its abandonment by the Union army, Jacksonville was re-occupied, but only for a short time.'' The expedition left Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Sep- tember 30th, 1862.^ It consisted of the 47th Pennsylvania and 7th Connecticut Infantry, one section of the ist Con- necticut Light Artillery, and a detachment of the ist Massa- chusetts Cavalry — in all 1,573 nien. They were aboard > Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 6, p. 659; .V. Y. Herald, June i, 1862. * A^. Y. Times, Mch. 22, June 2, 1862. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, pp. 124-127. * Letter to Phil. Frazer, N. Y. Ev. Express, July, 1862 (Townsend Library). ' Rpt. of Stanton, A''. F. Herald, Apr. 30, 1862. « N. Y. Herald, Apr. 22, 1862; Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 6, p. 125. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 14, p. 127. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 13, p. 357. lyo RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA four transports and convoyed by six gunboats.^ The fleet entered the St. Johns river on the afternoon of October ist.== A Confederate force was stoutly entrenched at St. Johns Bluff on the south side of the river between Jacksonville and the sea. Under the direction of General Finegan ten guns — taken probably from Fort Clinch — had been mounted on the bluffs early in September.^ The Federal gunboats engaged the batteries on the afternoon of October ist. At night troops were put ashore between the batteries and the sea. The next day (October 2nd) the Union forces ad- vanced upon the Confederate works by flank and rear. The country was swampy, overgrown with brush, and inter- laced with small creeks and bayous. This made a rapid movement impossible and prevented the effective use of field artillery. But the attacking land force had the help of war-ships and the Confederates were only about 500 strong and poorly equipped.* After some sharp skirmish- ing with the Federal advance guard the garrison hastily withdrew from its position on St. Johns Bluff, already under bombardment by the gunboats.^ The retiring troops were threatened in rear by the Federal army and in front by the navy. They left their batteries and magazines prac- tically intact. " I am utterly at a loss to account for the sudden evacuation," reported the Federal commander.® General Finegan of the Confederate army himself ex- * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 14, p. 129. Commander Chas. Steedman led this expedition. ' Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 13, p. 362. » Ibid., pp. 326, 357. * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 14, pp. 129, 138, 139. * Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 13, pp. 356, 362. St. Johns Bluff was oc- cupied October 3rd, p. 363. * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i. v. 14, p. 127. FEDERAL INVASION 171 pressed the opinion that the garrison at St. Johns Bluff was sufficiently strong to have held the place. After the Confederate evacuation of the bluff. Federal troops moved cautiously toward Jacksonville. The gun- boats advanced up the river shelling the shore at intervals. The invaders met with no opposition. One detachment came upon a hastily evacuated camp with " a sumptous meal already prepared for eating." In the center of the table was a meat pie, still warm. Another detachment entered a small camp as its occupants sought the woods, leaving be- hind them fifty stands of arms. The few Confederate troops seemed demoralized and surprised.^ On October 3rd, a detachment of Union troops entered Jacksonville.^ Many of its inhabitants had left. Its busi- ness was dead. The people in the St. Johns valley already were " living in a most destitute condition." ^ As long as St. Johns Bluff and the river were held by Federal forces, Jacksonville could be re-occupied at pleas- ure. Therefore, after ruthless raiding and burning by troops on gunboats for 200 miles up the St. Johns river,* the town was again deserted by Federal troops, who carried away with them a few negroes and a few white refugees.^ A small garrison was left at St. Johns Bluff and the Federal war-ships patrolled the mouth of the river. The following spring (March, 1863), Jacksonville was a third time occupied by Federal troops. They came to col- lect negro recruits, to plunder, and probably to inaugurate ^ Oif. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 14, p. 133. "^ Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 13, p. 363. ' Ibid., p. 369. *Ihid., pp. 361, 366-371. ^ N. Y. Herald, Oct. 19, 1862; Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 13, pp. 368, etc. 172 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA some vague plans of " loyal " political reconstruction.^ " It was urged that it was worth while to risk something in the effort to hold Florida," stated Colonel Higginson, com- manding the expedition — " and perhaps bring it back into the Union," he added.^ The invading military consisted of two regiments of negro troops.^ Two weeks later this force was reinforced by the 6th Connecticut and 8th Maine.* " At two the next morning we steamed up the river " (St. Johns), writes Higginson of this expedition. Again there was the dreamy delight of ascending an unknown stream beneath a sinking moon into a region where peril made fascination. . . . We aimed to reach Jacksonville at daybreak, . . . but we had several hours of fresh early sunshine lighting up the green shores of that lovely river. . . . Here and there we glided by the ruins of some saw-mill burned by the Confed- erates on General Wright's approach ; but nothing else spoke of war except perhaps the silence. It was a delicious day and a scene of fascination. Our Florida men were wild with delight, and when we rounded the point below the town and saw from afar its long streets, its brick warehouses, its white cottages, and its over-shadowing trees — all peaceful and undisturbed by flames — it seemed in the men's phrase " too much good," and all discipline was merged for a moment in a buzz of ecstasy. . . . There were children playing on the wharves ; careless men, here and there, lounging down to look at us, hands in pockets ; a few women came to their doors and gazed listlessly upon us, shading tlieir eyes with their hands. ^ 1 017. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 14, pp. 191, 195; Civil War Papers, v. 2, p. 468, Higginson. A^. Y. Times, Mch. 22, 1862. " Higginson, Army Life in a Black Regiment, p. 134. ' The 1st and 2nd S. C. Colored Infantry, partly recruited in Flor- ida, see Civil War Papers, v. 2; Higginson, Army Life in a Black Regiment. * Moore, Retell. Red., v. 6, pp. 482-5. ^ Higginson, Army Life in a Black Regiment, pp. 139-142. FEDERAL INVASION 17: The country adjacent to Jacksonville was raided by the negro troops. Private dwellings were sacked and the in- mates abused. Sharp skirmishes were fought at several points with Confederate cavalry, aroused to a high pitch of desperation at the raiding of the blacks.^ But as neither plunder nor negroes were found in sufficient quantity, and as Union sentiment was practically non-existent outside of Union lines and deserters' camps, for a third time Federal troops prepared to abandon Jacksonville. March 31st. A "fine south wind was blowing," as the first troops prepared to embark.' Suddenly fiames burst from several points in the town, and immediately the hood- lums among the Federal soldiers began sacking private dwellings, dilapidated stores, and churches. A mob of drunken soldiers burst into the Catholic church which was afllame and several reeled out with the pipes of the demol- ished organ. Down the street swept the mob, some good- naturedly cursing, some hurrahing, and some blowing through the organ pipes. By the end of the second day's looting at least a third of the town was in ashes. ^ The guilt for beginning this vandalism — this example of what Vattel terms " savage and monstrous excess " * — rests mostly with the soldiers of the 6th Connecticut and 8th Maine — white troops, and not with the negroes. The whites led in plundering. " When evacuating Jacksonville in East ^ See Mrs. Dickison's Dickison and His Men, passim. Capt. Dickison was one of the most remarkable guerilla leaders of the Civil War. Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 14, pp. 232, 238, 239, 860, 861. A^. Y. Times, Mch. 22, 1863. * Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 6, p. 483. ' Moore, Rehell. Red., v. 6, p. 483 ; N. Y. Herald, Apr. 27, 1863, con- taining an excerpt from Lake City Columbian with inventory of prop- erty destroyed. A''. Y. Herald, Apr. 8, 1863 ; A''. Y. Tribune, Apr. 8, 1863 ; N. Y. World, Apr. 9, 1863. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 28, pt. 2, p. 12. 174 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Florida your troops set on fire and destroyed the larger part of that town, including several churches," wrote Beaure- gard to Gillmore, "not assuredly to cover their embarkation but merely as a measure of vindictive and illegitimate hos- tility." ^ This burning was probably induced by a desire to " pay back " the Confederate sympathizers for the burn- ings perpetrated by the Confederate irregular cavalry dur- ing the previous spring. Union men had suffered then. The Federal force quit Jacksonville on the 2nd of April, while a part of the town was still blazing. " It made our sorrow at departure no less," wrote Thomas Wentworth Higginson, colonel of the First South Carolina Blacks, " though it infinitely enhanced the impressiveness of the scene. . . . The sight and roar of the flames and the rolling clouds of smoke, brought home to the impressible minds of the black soldiers all their favorite imagery of the Judgment Day." ^ As the ships bearing the departing military passed out of the St. Johns, they were rocked in a heavy north- easter which brought a cloud of rain. It was the south wind that had spread the flames and aided the would-be destroyers of Jacksonville, and a rain-storm from the North that finally extinguished the smoking cinders of burned homes. ^ ^Off. Reds. Rehell., s. i, v. 28. pt. 2. p. 11. ' Life in a Black Regiment, ?. 175. » A". Y. Herald, Apr. S. 27. 1863. CHAPTER VIII Economic Adjustment to the War Secession did not produce remarkable change in the fonn of Southern state governments. Transposition from the Federal Union to the new Confederate union was ac- complished simply, directly, adroitly, not only without great change in actual constitutions, but also without much ex- perimentation and almost without blunders. Carried for- ward on the verge of war, it was a political performance which merits critical admiration — not so much for what was done as for what was not done. The severing of strong political bonds, the establishment of independent states, and the organization of the Confederacy demon- strated well the native political sagacity and wise conser- vatism of the American politician upholding a radical cause. Probably the very dangers of war made the work of leaders easier and forced them to be careful. There was oneness of aim. The record of state and Confederate legislation after war became an accomplished fact fails to show such politi- cal wisdom or success. The American publicist is pecu- liarly efficient in devising and becoming content with a written constitution, probably because the making of such documents is a proud tradition, or because Americans read- ily agree that a certain very definite type of government is necessarily the best. Accepted sine qua nons thus make them rapid and smooth constitutional organizers. Now in legislation and administration the American is less apt than 175 1^6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA in the other capacity. War-time legislation in the South was in part experimental. Some of it was clearly vision- ary, and much of it was unsuccessful, though well meant. Neither was there oneness of aim among legislators, jurists, and administrators. Florida was no exception to the rule. Law-making there played its part in the economic adjust- ment which began with the war. Early in 1861 (Jan.-Feb.), the secession convention and the legislature by ordinance and statute provided for some of the exigencies of the moment. In this legislation a num- ber of enactments reflect the change that had taken place. Several new financial and industrial institutions were in- corporated with an expanded capitalization for Florida.^ A system of state circuit courts was created and the pend- ing cases in the disestablished Federal courts were trans- ferred to these new courts.^ All processes at law in state courts for debts were arrested until the first Monday of 1862.^ Provision was made for the representation of the state in the Confederate provisional government. Money was issued by the state. Such measures logically followed the secession of Florida from the Union, and though re- sorted to in the face of impending war they were not strictly war measures. * Laws of Florida, loth session, chap. 1142, Planters and Merchants Bank of Pensacola, capital up to $1,000,000.00; chap. 1144, Bank of Apalachicola, capital up to $300,000.00; chap. 1145, Bank of Lake City, capital up to $500,000.00; chap. 1146. Bank of Tallahassee, capital up to $500,000.00; chap. 1 147, Bank of Fernandina, capital up to $500,- 000.00; chap. 1 151, Lake City and Blount Ferry Railroad Co.. capital $200,000.00; chap. 1150, Alachua County R. R. Co., capital $200,000.00; Western R. R. Co., capital $1,000,000.00. 'Laws of Florida, loth sess., chap. 1108; 12th sess., chap. 1354. * Laws of Florida, loth sess., chap. 1136, providing for stay in execu- tion till the first Monday in 1862; nth sess., chap. 1271, for stay in execution till 12 months after peace; chap. 1129, and nth sess., chap. 1284, cancelling debts owed to alien enemies. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 177 As the war progressed ; as thousands of the best citi- zens marched out of the state to the Confederate armies on the firing line ; as Federal troops invaded ; as the cordon of the Federal blockade fleet became tighter; as the food supply of Florida diminished perceptibly; as rich sections were laid waste by raiders; as financial confusion in Flor- ida and the entire Confederacy became more pronounced; as securities steadily fell in value; as private business in- terests tried, by fair means and foul, to adjust themselves to the abnormal conditions ; as fast disappearing Confed- erate armies fought out stubbornly the issue which was the reason for the Confederacy's being — as these conditions developed with kaleidoscopic rapidity, the state legislature attempted to rise to the occasion with arbitrary, restrictive or paternal laws. Such legislation was a response to the conditions of actual war. One of the immediate tasks which confronted the people of Florida in 1861 was the quick raising of money to sup- port the government. The expansion of state credit at- tempted was based principally on state lands. These lands were either pledged for the redemption of notes and bonds or were purchasable with the notes. The amount of land held by the state was hugely increased on secession by the appropriation of Federal lands.^ The two forms of security issued by the government in expanding the state's credit were treasury notes and 8 per cent twenty-year bonds. On January 14th, 1861, four days ^ Governor's Message, Nov. 21, 1864, Milton Papers. 1,300,000 acres of public land were pledged for the redemption of Treasury notes issued up to that time. Sp. Rpt. Register Public Lands, Nov. 22, 1862, Sen. Journal, p. 100. The public land derived on seces- sion from the U. S. by the state of Florida amounted to 7,653,953 acres. By ordinance No. 49 of the convention of 1861 the valuation of this land ranged from $1.00 to 10 cents per acre. Later laws changed the valuation of the land. 1^8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA after secession, the governor was authorized by law to issue $500,000 in treasury notes — to be used as money and to be received by the state for all dues, including the pur- chase price of public land. On the same day the legislature authorized the issue of $500,000 in bonds as described, pledging the honor of the state for the payment of the in- terest/ The bonds did not have a ready sale and the state government applied to the banks for a temporary loan as a supplement to its treasury notes in order to meet the press- ing needs of the moment.^ The constitutional convention which reassembled in the spring of 1861 tried to improve the character of the bonds and at the same time it debased the value of the treasury notes. It authorized the governor to substitute for the bonds already authorized, 8 per cent twenty-year coupon bonds expressly secured by the income from the sale of public land. The convention instructed the register of lands to receive only gold or silver coin for public land. Thus the acts of the legislature and the ordinances of the convention were in conflict. The convention's withhold- ing lands from the purchaser with treasury notes lowered the value of the notes. ^ The following year (1862) the re- assembled convention repealed this particular ordinance, and once more the state accepted treasury notes for its land.* The government was aided in the preliminary financial operations by the banks. On the secession of Florida from the Union in 1861 there were within the state thirteen * Laws of Florida, loth sess., Feb. 14, 1861. 2 Schwab, J. C, The Confederate States of America, p. 306. 8 Governor's Message, Nov. 21, 1862, Milton Papers. * Thomas, David Y., " Florida Finances in the Civil War," Yale Re- view, Nov., 1907, p. 315. Prof. Thomas' article is of considerable value. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 179 banking houses. Only three of these — the most important — held charters from the state. The aggregate capital stock of the three was $350,000.^ The other ten banks were de- nominated " private banks ". Little is known of their con- dition or operations. Both state and private banks sus- pended specie payment before the outbreak of war. This step was taken without the express authority of law. The legislature at its December session in 1861 provided by sta- tute for the suspension of specie payments by the banks during the war. The avowed object of the law was to " re- lieve the community " and to afford " a safe, adequate and reliable currency ".^ For a year following secession bank notes constituted a considerable part of the state's cur- rency. The practical working of these state financial measures was not satisfactory. The bonds could not be readily sold, which left treasury notes as the main immediate resource of the state. ^ To sustain the value of these notes became a matter of grave importance. With them principally the state must pay its outstanding debts, meet its current ex- penses, pay its soldiers in the field, support its poor at home, and contribute its part to the Confederate direct war tax of 1 86 1. To declare nonchalantly that notes be issued and ^ Report of Comptroller to House on condition of banks in Florida, House Journal, Jan. 21-26, 1861. The official reports of the three state banks : " Bank of Florida ", " Bank of St. Johns ", and " Bank of Fernandina ", all indicate a sound condition. Thomas, op. cit. ''Laws of Florida, nth sess., Dec. 14, 1861. Schwab, J. C, op. cit., p. 130. * State taxes remained at the same figure during the war that they had been in times of peace — one-sixth of one per cent, yielding in the neighborhood of $140,000 a year. Expenditures each year by the slate were more than $500,000. The state tried to shift the burden of extraordinary expenses to the future. Taxes were paid slowly. In Dec, 1861, the collection of taxes for 1860-61 was suspended. Gov- ernor's Message, Nov. 21, 1861, Milton Papers. l8o RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to print them proved easy as long as the paper lasted; but to induce people to use them at their face value proved im- possible. The legislature tried to uphold the value of its notes by- law. It provided that the notes of solvent banks which re- ceived treasury notes at par would be received for taxes, and that all state taxation on such banks would be sus- pended. Those banks which did not receive treasury notes at par were forbidden to issue notes smaller than $20. oo.'^ Florida paid its entire direct contribution to the Confed- erate direct war tax in December, 1861, with treasury notes —$225,374.11.^ The appearance of Confederate treasury notes as a circu- lating medium had a marked effect upon state finance. Confederate notes were worth less than state notes — which were secured by land — and accordingly Confederate notes began to flow into the state treasury. People paid their taxes in the cheaper money. ^ The legislature tried to curb this " unpatriotic discrimination " against Confederate notes by declaring that all discrimination against these notes was "traitorous" and by providing that no one should be exempted from military service who was found guilty of such practice.* The legislature's efforts were of little * Thomas, op. cit. 2 Laws of Florida, nth sess., Dec. 16, 1862. Milton to Boston (Con- fed. Tax Collector, Savannah), July 23, 1862; Sparnish (Chief Clk. Con- fed. War Dept.) to Memminger (Sect. Treas.), July 18, 1862, Milton Papers. Final payment made July 23rd. This amount varies from that given by Prof. Schwab in his Confederate States ($226,109.88), p. 288. * Governor's Message, Nov. 21, 1864, Milton Papers. The Governor stated that although the state paid out " a large amount " of notes, very few came back to the treasury except in the purchase of land. Almost all taxes and other dues were paid in Confederate currency. * Laws of Florida, Dec. 3, i853. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR igj avail. The progress of the war showed a steady falling-off in the value of Florida securities, augmented by the continual issue of treasury notes and sympathetic decline with Con- federate currency and securities/ By the close of 1862 bank notes had practically disappeared from circulation.^ Each session of the legislature from 1861 to 1865 wit- nessed a heavy authorization of treasury notes. The amount of treasury notes authorized by the legisla- ture of Florida while that state was out of the Union was $2,450,000; of bonds $500,000.^ It is impossible to-day to compute with accuracy how much of this authorized amount was actually issued. More than $2,239,640 were put in circulation.* On the collapse of the Confederacy in 1865, $1,800,000 notes were outstanding in circulation and $300,000 bonds had been sold. This was the war debt of the state in 1865." * Governor's Message, Nov. 21, 1864, Milton Papers, For discussion of entire South see Schwab, The Confederate States, passim. ' Thomas, op. cit. 'Laws of Florida, loth sess. (Feb. 14, 1861), chap. 1097: $500,000 in treasury notes issued in denominations of 1-2-3-4-5-10-20-50- and 100 dollars. The notes were legal tender for taxes, fines, debts, pubHc lands, etc. They were beautifully engraved on a good quality of paper. The work was probably done beyond the state, nth sess. (Dec, 1861), chap. 1297, $500,000 for payment of war tax to Confed- erate government (see Governor's Message, Nov., 1862), 12th sess. (Dec, 1862), chap. 1372, $300,000 in same denominations as first issue. I2th sess. (Dec. 6, 1862), chap. 1337, $200,000 expressly for relief of soldiers' families. 12th sess., chap. 1420, $300,000 expressly for relief of soldiers' families. 13th se&s. (Dec, 1864), $300,000 issued expressly for soldiers' families. 13th sess. (Dec. 7, 1864), chap. 1463, $350,000, public lands expressly pledged for the redemption of this issue. Bonds Law of Feb., 1861, chap. 1141 — 20-year 8 per cent imerest payable semi- annually. * Thomas, op. cit. ^Governor's Message, Nov. 21, 1862; Milton to Boston (collector), July 23, 1862; Sparnish to Memminger, July 18, 1862; Memminger to l82 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The extraordinary confusion accompanying secession and war produced a scarcity of currency, particularly frac- tional currency — coins and small bills. Railroads and other corporations began to issue their notes for small amounts early in 1861. Employees were paid in this "railroad money " or " change bills " which for a time passed as cur- rency at a discount. In order to furnish much-needed small change, towns began to issue by the second year of war fractional paper currency in small amounts, termed " shin plasters ".^ Pensacola was empowered by law in December, 1861, to issue $25,000 in small bills, which when issued passed as currency and for the redemption of which the faith and resources of the city were pledged.^ To recapitulate the war-time currency situation in Flor- ida : secession and war produced really four new sorts of currency, namely, state treasury notes. Confederate treas- ury notes, corporation notes, and fractional paper notes of municipalities. Bank notes circulating before 1861 consti- tuted another form of money. Specie was very scarce. The legislature attempted to force up the value of state notes by penalizing banks discriminating against them; to force up the value of Confederate notes by penalizing indi- viduals who discriminated against them; and in December, 1861, by a drastic law to force out of circulation corpora- tion currency bills of denominations less than $5.^ Be- Milton, Apr. 17, 1862, Milton Papers. State Treas. and Comptr.'s Rpts. for 1862 and 1864, A''. Y. World, Nov. 17, 1865. Report of Finance Committee in the state convention. This body reported the outstand- ing bonds to be $300,000, in addition to which $70,000 in bonds of an issue prior to the war was outstanding: see Treas. and Comptr.'s Rpt., 1864. ' Thomas, op. cit. • Laws of Florida, nth sess., Dec. 17, 1861. Schwab, op. cit., pp. 154- 155- ^ Laws of Florida, loth sess., Feb. 14, 1861 ; nth sess., Dec. 13, 1861. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 183 fore the end of the war state and Confederate treasury notes were practically the only circulating media — both at an enormous discount under gold. The decline in the value of state securities encouraged some people to speculate heavily in public lands. With depreciated currency they purchased at the monetary rate fixed by law and then sold or hypothecated at a higher fig- ure.^ This was by no means the only form of speculation flagrant during the war. The drain of supplies from the state for the Confederate army, the interruption in planting due to the war, and the success of the Federal blockade pro- duced a steady decrease in the necessities of life, and this increasing scarcity made it more easy than it would have been otherwise for speculators to realize big profits.^ The legislature and the governor tried to combat specu- lation. They believed its ramifications touched evilly agri- culture at home and commerce abroad, and before the war was half over they declared that it made difificult the pur- chase or impressment of supplies for the army ; and that it sometimes prevented absolutely the purchase of supplies for the support of soldiers' families within the state. In November, 1861, a law was enacted that forbade the export from the state of any beef cattle, dried or pickled beef, hogs, pork, bacon, corn, corn-meal, salt, or provisions of any kind. The legal maximum price for all articles and commodities was fixed at 33 per cent over cost and charges. Speculation was declared unlawful beyond the 33 per cent * Governor's Message, Nov. 21, 1864, Milton Papers. Laws of Flor- ida, I2th sess., Dec, 1862, chap. 1367. ^ Milton to Seddon, Jan. 11, 1864, for instance, Milton Papers. Many references to speculation in sources of this period. Milton spoke of the " widespread desire for speculation. . . . Notwithstanding alleged depreciation of currency people of all ages and conditions seem wild in its accumulation." 184 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA mark. The governor was authorized to appropriate pro- visions and suppHes for the state at a just price, when he should consider it necessary. A $1,000 fine was fixed for those found guilty of violating the act. For conviction of having conspired to form a monopoly of any commodity the punishment was to be $1,000 fine and one year's im- prisonment. The judges of the circuit courts were directed to charge the grand jurors to take into consideration such offenses.^ The convention of 1862 repealed the act of the legis- lature attempting to restrain monopoly. " Immediately the flood-gates of villainy were opened," wrote Governor Milton. The legislature again stepped into the breach. A law of December, 1862, declared that if any person shall purchase any article of clothing, shoes, leather, cloth, provisions, wheat, flour, meat, salt, bagging, rope, etc., and shall falsely represent that he is purchasing such for the soldiers of the government, he shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprison- ment for not less than one or more than three years ; that all persons who shall monopolize any of the above articles with intent to produce a scarcity in the market or of raising the price shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $500 or more than $5,000 ; that if any of the above things be done by a corporation, then the president and directors of the corporation shall be liable to be severally indicted and punished. Circuit judges were again directed to call the attention of grand juries to this act.^ Legislation such as this was ob- viously difficult to enforce. Unlawful speculation and dis- ^ Laws of Florida, nth sess., Nov. and Dec, 1861, chapts. 1258 and 1283. ' Laws of Florida, 12th sess., Dec. 10, 1862. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 185 honest practice in trade continued to be prevalent because it yielded a round profit. Statutes cannot change human nature, and at that time they could neither raise the block- ade nor stop the war. During the four years of war the expenditures of the Florida government increased enormously. The budget of i860 was less than $150,000. The yearly budgets while Florida was out of the Union averaged more than $500,000. The principal objects of this extraordinary or war-time expenditure were: ist, supplies for state troops; 2nd, the payment of Florida's quota to the Confederate di- rect tax of 1861 ; 3rd, supplies for soldiers' families and indigent within the state; 4th, the maintenance of hospitals at home and abroad for Florida troops. To meet this increased expense the state government did not raise its tax rate, but issued treasury notes. It tried to shift to the future the burden of the present.^ The property tax rate of the state remained the same for the war — one-sixth of one per cent — and yielded less than in time of peace, because, ist, people were slower in paying their taxes than in times of peace; 2nd, the state legisla- ture in December, 1861, suspended until the following year the payment of taxes for 1860-61.^ However, many of the county and town rates throughout the state increased. Communities more than ever found themselves forced to help the poverty-stricken and indigent at home; and their soldiers in distant armies needed aid. But the people of Florida felt in another way the new burden which the war created. The Confederacy's finan- cial system soon directly touched the wealth of the Con- federacy's citizens. Taxation by the central government ' This was the policy of government throughout the South. See Schwab, op. cit., pp. 285-90, and elsewhere. -Laws of Florida, nth sess., Dec. 13, 1861. l86 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA rested fundamentally upon three statutes: namely, ist, the Direct Tax Act of 1861 ; 2nd, the Impressment Act of March 26th, 1863; 3rd, the General Tax Act of April 24th, 1863. The first measure, amounting to a tax of one-half of one per cent upon all real and personal property within the various states, was shifted in Florida from the individual to the state government by an issue of state treasury notes. The second measure, the Impressment Act, was not technically a tax law, but in reality its character was then and is now patent. It proved a very effective and heavy form of taxation. Under it Confederate agents were au- thorized to impress food products and other forms of property useful to the army at prices arbitrarily fixed by " boards " created by the Confederate war department and the state governors. These boards published from time to time in the newspapers schedules of maximum prices which an impressing agent might pay. The scheduled prices were considerably less than the maiket prices. Com- missary impressing agents used large discretion in apply- ing the law in Florida. Their orders came from their state chief, and this chief tried to get out of the country what was necessary — which meant, toward the end of the war, all that he could. Corn, beef, pork, rice, potatoes peas, molasses, sugar, forage, etc., were " impressed " paid for in Confederate notes, and either sent at once from the state or collected in " commissary warehouse depots ' at various points in the state — Milton, Marianna, Quincy Tallahassee, Monticello, Baldwin, Starke, Gainesville Tampa. How much was " impressed " in Florida during the war? This leading question cannot be answered satis- factorily through lack of recorded evidence. The third Confederate tax to be noted — that levied by the law of April 24th, 1863 — was comprehensive ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 187 in its scope. It authorized a yearly levy of eight per cent on the value of all naval stores, salt, wines, liquors, tobacco, cotton, wool, sugar, molasses, syrup or other agricultural products produced within the state, and on money in hand ; a license tax of from $50 to $500 on various occupations, trades and professions — butchers, bakers, bankers, innkeepers, lawyers, doctors, etc.; an income tax of one per cent to fifteen per cent on all in- comes; a sales tax of ten per cent on all profits from the sale of provisions, iron, shoes, blankets, and cotton cloth ; and last but not least a tax in kind of one-tenth of all agri- cultural products. This last tax was known as the " Con- federate Tithe ". It yielded the Confederacy an immense amount of foodstuffs and cotton.^ The collection of Confederate taxes was entrusted to state tax collectors. Confederate commissary agents, and special impressing agents. The " Tithe " in cotton and tobacco was turned over to the Confederate treasury de- partment. The foodstuffs were collected in commissary depots for the army — where were stored also the " im- pressed " supplies. How much did Florida contribute in direct taxes to the Confederacy? Here too any answer must be unsatisfac- torily vague. Up to April ist, 1864, the approximate yield in Florida of the tax law of April 24th, 1863, was $1,000,- 000 in Confederate currency. This did not include the "Tithe"." Both the "Tithe "'and the Confederate Im- pressment Act were pretty stringently enforced in Florida. ' Schwab, J. C, op. cit., pp. 297-8. " The amount of produce col- lected by the tax in kind cannot be determined," says Prof. Schwab. N. C, Ga., and Ala. were the largest contributors. Considerably more than $12,000,000 worth of produce (estimated in gold at normal prices) was collected. " Ibid., p. 293. 1 88 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA If the tithe law was thoroughly enforced and the produc- tivity of the state did not decrease, the yield to the Con- federate tax gatherers in Florida should have been agri- cultural produce valued at more than $1,000,000 in gold in normal times — about 300,000 bushels of corn annually, 35,000 bushels of peas, 120,000 bushels of potatoes, 40,000 gallons of molasses, 5,000 bales of cotton and one-tenth of the annual increase from 275,000 hogs, 400,000 head of cattle, 30,000 sheep, and 25,000 horses and mules. ^ But we know that agriculture changed greatly in character after 1862 and steadily decreased in productiveness, and we know that the tithe was not perfectly enforced and that incom- plete records were kept of what was taken by the Confed- erate Government. Invading armies destroyed crops and private storehouses. Unpatriotic persons in the South dodged taxes when possible. These facts materially amend any a priori estimate based upon what the state ought to have yielded according to the census of i860. A considerable part of the state government's resources was expended for the care of soldiers' families that were in need of aid. The pathetic poverty of the poor white soon became painfully evident. The justices of the peace were required by law in 1862 to make lists of the families of Confederate soldiers and to forward these lists to the judges of probate, who in turn forwarded them to the comptroller of the state. The governor directed expendi- ture for the needy through either the boards of county commissioners or the judges of probate.^ The money went for clothing, food, salt, wool-cards, spinning wheels and other necessities. In 1862 the legislature put $20,000 in the hands of the governor to be expended for wool-cards ' See U. S. Census, i860, passim. * Laws of Florida, 12th sess., 1862, chap. 1337. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 189 alone/ During 1862-63-64, $1,200,000 were appropriated in treasury notes by the legislature for soldiers' families.^ Only a fraction of this amount was actually expended. During 1862-1863, Florida's soldiers' families receiv- ing state aid numbered 3,431 — composed of 11,744 per- sons. Only $186,639 were expended for this purpose by the state during this year. During 1863-64 there were 3,633 families receiving aid, numbering 13,248 persons. $291,443 were expended.^ Florida had sent 12,000 or 13,000 soldiers to the war. From these figures it is seen that the state government was contributing to the support of approximately one non-combatant for every soldier in the field. 1863-64 witnessed a great increase in destitution over the record of the preceding year. But for the fact that the eastern portion of the state was in the hands of the enemy the amount expended would have been much larger. In practically every county receiving aid the increase was from 75 per cent to 200 per cent in currency. Depreciation had much to do, however, with this increase in the number of dollars expended. In Alachua county, for instance, $8,000 were expended in 1862-63; and $17,000 in 1863-64; in Jackson county, $9,000 in 1862-63, and $22,000 in 1863-64; in Leon county, $6,000 in 1862-63, and $12,000 in 1863-64; in Gadsden county, $7,000 in 1862-63, and $21,000 in 1863- 1864.* ^ Laws of Florida, 12th sess., Dec. 8, 1862, resolution No. 6, Quarter- Master General's (state) Rpt., Oct. 3, 1864. During this year (1864) 2,500 wool-cards were distributed over the state by the government to aid the poor in spinning and weaving. ' Laws of Florida, chapts. 1337, 1420, 1461. 3 Florida Senate Journal, 1864, pp. 31, etc. It is not clear as to what currency this estimate of expenditure is computed in. ^Florida Senate Journal, 1864, pp. 31, etc. igo RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The enforcement of the Confederate Impressment Act and the collection of the Confederate "Tithe" developed ras- cality, and was accompanied by friction between local and Confederate officials, and by more serious conflict between civil authority and military authority. The civil proved unable to have its will generally when in conflict with the military.^ Merchants traveled through Florida dishonestly claim- ing to be Confederate commissary agents with authority to " impress " supplies or to collect the *' Tithe ". This was plain rascality and is mentioned here because for a time it was prevalent in parts of the state. Commodities were seized on their way to market. The Florida legislature tried to remedy the situation by a law foi bidding the impressment of goods en route, and pro- viding for a speedy method of redress before state courts when property had been thus seized." County commissioners and judges of probate who were directed to purchase food for the destitute in their locali- ^ Milton to Seddon, January ii, 1864. The county commis- sioners had no authority to impress supplies, as did the Confed- erate agents. Florida was divided into five commissary districts. In each district were several agents accountable to the commis- sary in chief for the state. The legal form served on those from whom supplies were desired was as follows : " Sir : The heads of beeves [or pounds of bacon, etc.] which you have on hand is needed for use in the armies of the Confederate States. For this purpose I will pay you at the rate of schedule price per . If this price is not satisfactory to you, compen- sation will be made according to the Act of Congress passed for the regulation of impressment, etc." See Milton Papers, Nov., 1863. Laws of Florida required the Confederate commissary for the state to notify the governor of all appointments of sub-agents, and the gov- ernor was directed to publish the names of such agents. It proved hard to comply with this law. See White to Milton, Dec. 9, 1863; Beauregard to Milton, Nov. 30, 1862, Milton Papers. ' Laws of Florida, 12th sess., chapts. 1414, 1415- ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 191 ties came into conflict with Confederate commissary agents collecting the " Tithe ", with impressment agents buying at an arbitrary figure, and with merchants trading for a profit.^ People suffered for want of food in 1864-65. There was usually enough corn, peas, meat, salt, and molasses to supply the immediate needs of the inhabitants, but the necessary surplus was held by Confederate agents. By the spring of 1864 the scarcity of food in some localities had become acute. Major C. C. Yonge, chief Confederate quartermaster for the state, ordered on March 30th, 1864, that where " tithing corn " was needed for the indigent families, it could be purchased from the Confederate com- missary. This wise measure relieved temporarily the want that was driving some families perilously near starvation.^ Governor Milton was hostile to the practice of impress- ment. He informed the legislature in the autumn of 1863 that " the press of this and other states, for the protection of creditors and worthy citizens, have made known the most shameless frauds practiced by impostors claiming to be officers or agents in Confederate service." As for the rulings of regular agents, he declared them to be " incom- patible with the rights of citizens and insulting to freemen who know their rights and have proven their loyalty to the government. Why should any citizen," he added, " be * The efforts of the Confederate commissary to obtain control of Wm. Bailey's cloth mill at Monticello furnishes a good example of competition between state and Confederacy. The mill was producing for the state government. The Confederate government withdrew finally in favor of the state. See Milton to Cunningham, Jan. 13, 1864. Milton to Seddon, Jan. 17, 1864; Seddon to Milton, July 30, 1864; Beauregard to Milton, Nov. 30, 1863, Milton Papers. Gov. Milton often encouraged and aided Confederate officials in obtaining sup- plies — see Milton to White (Chief Commissioner), Dec. 12, 1863, Milton Papers. "^ Yonge to Milton, Mch. 30. 1864; Milton to Seddon, Jan. 11, 1864, Milton Papers. ig2 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA clothed with military authority which would enable him to intrude himself into the sacred precincts of the family circle and when reproved or repulsed for this intrusion, then with an armed force at his back to return and make unlawful searches and seizures? " ^ But the Confederate government did not recede from its position on impressment. Supplies were absolutely essen- tial for the continuation of the war, and this system put the government into possession of supplies. One of the last acts of Congress (March, 1865) was the enactment of a more stringent impressment law, including milch cows, breeding hogs, and other stock vitally necessary for the very life of the farm." " If we have arrived at that point where it has become actually necessary to impress all the cows in the country," stated Judge Wall of Hernando County to Governor Milton ere the foregoing law was en- acted, " then I say God help us, for starvation must be in- evitable ".' A prominent case in Florida of conflict between private owner and Confederate impressment agent originated in the efforts of the Confederate commissary to obtain control of 50,000 pounds of sugar from ex-Senator Yulee's plan- tation. The sugar was seized while en route to Savannah, Georgia, where the government of that city had made a ten- tative agreement to purchase it at $1 per pound.* The ^ Off. Reds. RebelL, s. iv, v. 2, pp. '^72-6. Milton to the legislature, Nov. 23, 1863. * Ibid., V. 3, pp. 1170-72. ^Off. Reds. RebelL. s. iv, v. 3, pp. 47-48. * Yulee vs. Conova, Fla. Rpts., v. xi, pp. 11-13. Conova was a major in the Confed. Commissary Dept. in Florida. By his orders the sugar was seized. Yulee disclaimed ownership and held therefore that he could not negotiate with the government. Conova had difficulty in fixing on the owner. He declared, " It matters not to whom the sugar belongs ; it is necessary for the subsistence of the armies of the Con- federate states in the field and it is my duty to obtain it," p. 15. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 193 impressment agent held the sugar and offered the owner 45 cents per pound. The offer was refused. The state im- pressment commissioners, in accordance with the Confed- erate law, fixed the compensation at 75 cents per pound. This was refused, and suit for damages was brought by the agent for the city of Savannah in the state circuit court of Florida. The Confederate agents held the sugar under military guard. ^ The damage suit was thrown out of court, but in equity proceedings the court awarded the owners of the sugar $54,204.19 damages.^ The case was appealed to the state supreme court. That tribunal fixed a rule for estimating a " just compensation " for the sugar, reversed the decision of the lower court, and directed it to increase the amount to be paid by the Confederate government.'' In this case state courts assumed and exercised very defi- nitely the right of fixing the price under the Confederate Impressment Act. The most serious conflict over impressment was that arising from the seizure of property belonging to the Flor- ida Railroad. In the spring of 1864 the Confederate war department determined to complete railway connections be- tween Central Florida and the Chattahoochee river. To accomplish this purpose railroad iron, spikes, and bolts were " impressed " in East Florida.'* Such material was then very scarce in the South. Track was torn up in order to extend the railway west. Lieutenant Fairbanks, of the Confederate engineering bureau, was entrusted with this work. He acted under ^ Yulee vs. Conova, Fla. Rpts., v. xi, p. 17. ^ Ibid., pp. 40-41. 8 Ibid., pp. 61-62. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 53, pp. 350-63, Executive Correspondence, 1864. 1^4 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA formal permit from the major-general commanding the dis- trict. The permit called upon all officers to aid Fairbanks because "the work he is engaged in is a military necessity." ^ The railroad owners and their friends, led by ex-Senator Yulee, filed a bill in the court of Alachua County against Lieutenant Fairbanks, Major Minor Merriweather (of the Confederate engineering bureau — Fairbanks's chief), James A. Seddon, Confederate secretary of war, J. H. Burns, and S. P. Mallory, Confederate secretary of the navy. In response to the petition the court awarded an in- junction against the defendants restraining them or their agents from removing the iron.^ The writ of injunction was served on Lieutenant Fair- banks, April 27th. He disregarded it and continued to remove the iron. He so acted after consultation with his chief, Major Merriweather of the engineering bureau. General Anderson furnished Lieutenant Fairbanks andl workers a military guard and impressed a locomotive and cars for hauling the iron.^ Some two or three miles of track were removed, when on May 28th the lieutenant was summoned to answer for contempt of court. He again disregarded the court's order, refused to seek the advice of counsel, and continued to tear up track.* The case was beginning to excite bitter feeling, locally, and general popular dissatisfaction. The asseveration was spread abroad that the interests of East Florida were being sacrificed in order that another section might prosper, and that the military was acting without authority from Rich- mond. All attorneys in the Eastern portion of the state 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 53, p. 359. ^Ibid., pp. 353-4. * Ibid., p. 362. * Ibid., p. 353. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT TO THE WAR 1^5 were engaged by the railroad in order to embarrass the gov- ernment. Popular sympathy seemed to be with the railroad in its conflict with the Confederate military. General An- derson, commanding the district, said : " I do not believe the people could be induced to take sides with any party, class or corporation who openly refused to acquiesce in any demand which the government might make upon them. But in this case they are made to believe that it is not the government but interested officers who are seeking to obtain iron, as they say, by despoiling a weak state of her resources to enrich other more prosperous communities." ^ The Alachua county court directed the sheriff to arrest Lieutenant Fairbanks for contempt. The sheriff and posse attempted to arrest him, but the lieutenant resisted, reading aloud his instructions from his military superior and calling upon his provost guard for protection. With fixed bayonets the soldiers ranged themselves between the Confederate military official and the state's posse. Where- upon the sheriff and his men withdrew.^ This occurred on June 8th. It seemed clearly and only a case of conflict be- tween the Confederate military, private citizens and county civil officials. It soon proved more complicated. On June 14th the Confederate States' attorney at Tallahassee, James Banks, notified Governor Milton that as Confederate States' attorney his duty in the pending case of Lieutenant Fairbanks and the Florida Railroad, was to protect the Sequestration fund of the Confederate government. Under the Confederate Sequestration Act of August 30th, 1861,' the central government had confiscated, as belonging to an alien enemy, $2,000,000 in stock and $800,000 in land and mortgages of the Florida Railroad. As the protector of this * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 53. p. 362. * Ibid., p. 355. 8 Ibid., s. iv, V. I, pp. 586-92. ig6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA land in Florida, Attorney Banks had united with others in asking the county court to call Lieutenant Fairbanks before it for contempt/ This meant that civil officials of both the Confederacy and the county of Alachua were united in opposing impress- ment by the military of the Confederate government. It was clearly a case of conflict between civil authority and military authority. After the failure of the sheriff to exe- cute the order for the arrest of Fairbanks, that officer sought the advice of Colonel C. C. Yonge, Confederate attorney at Tallahassee. He was advised not to appear in court to answer for contempt and to continue to remove the iron.^ He did so, and the court, unable to enforce its de- crees, dropped the case. Judge Dawkins, who presided in the Alachua county court, and Governor Milton both deplored the conflict, both expressed their approval of the military's object in tearing up the track, but both stood stiffly in desiring the object to be obtained by very regular legal process.^ The Alachua county court failed to force the military to comply with the details of the Confederate Impressment Act. The opportunities to speculate which came with the clos- ing of southern ports by the Federal blockading fleet and the consequent rising market not only affected trading in the domestic food supply, but became a factor in the busi- 1 Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 53, P- 35t). 'Ibid., p. 363- 3 Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 53, pp. 349-354- Milton,—" Nothing can justify a conflict between the state and Confed. Govts, but an absolute necessity for the protection of civil liberty . . . with regard to the propriety and necessity of the removal and appropriation of iron from the Florida 2, Z7 (Sept. 28, 1864, in Volusia Co.), 38 (Oct. 4, 1864, in Volusia Co.; Oct. 24, 1864, west of Magno- lia), 393-98 (along St. John river. May 19-24, 1864), 401-3 (near Jack- sonville, June 2-3, 1864), etc. 3 Ibid., pp. 443-445 — Sept. 18 to Oct. 4, 1864 (82nd U. S. Colored Infy.) ; Brevard and Bennett, History of Florida, pp. 168-170. * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 389-391 (2nd U. S. Colored Infy. and 2nd Fla. Cavalry). Several citizens "arrested at the hotel." Some tried to escape ; i shot dead and 2 wounded. * Raiding by negroes in West Florida (Florida west of the Apalachi- cola river) occurred during the last year of the war. In July, 1864, black raiders came into Washington County from St. Andrews Bay, taking horses, mules, cattle, corn, meat, and slaves. See letter of Col. Montgomery (C. S. A.) to Capt. Call, July 24, 1864, from Marianna; also letter of Gov. Milton to Gen. Jackson, Aug. 7, 1864 — Milton Papers; and Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 405-408, 413-419. 234 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA negro regiments recruited in various parts of the Union saw service in Florida before the end of the war/ Some Northern military men were enthusiastic over the soldierly qualities of the negro. Colonel Beard of the 48th New York Infantry, who commanded negro troops in Flor- ida, reported that the " colored men fought with astonish- ing bravery and coolness ".^ General Saxton, in referring to Florida, declared that " negroes fought with coolness and bravery, fighting as if to vindicate manhood and did it well ". " The blacks are better than white soldiers in this part of the country," he said.^ Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who gained notoriety by leading negro soldiers in Florida, stated that " nobody knows about blacks who has not seen them in battle. Their fiery courage is above anything I have ever seen or read — except French Zouaves." * A Northern war-correspondent present at Fort Meyers, South Florida, when it was at- tacked by Confederate cavalry stated that " the colored sol- diers were in the thickest of the fight and could hardly be restrained; they seemed totally unconcerned of danger and the constant cry was ' to get at them '." " The actual efficiency of black troops was far' under these enthusiastic estimates. The blacks usually gave way under determined attack. They were swept off the field at Olus- ' The following were the negro regiments, all infantry: 3rd, 7th, 8th, 34th, 82nd, 102nd U. S. Colored Troops; the ist, 2nd and 3rd S. C. Volunteers; the ist N. C. Volunteers; the 54th and 55th Mass. Colored Infantry. See Off. Reds. Retell., passim. "^ Ibid., s. i, V. 14, p. 191. 3 Ibid., p. 189. ^ Ibid., p. 195. See also Higginson, Army Life in a Black Regiment, passim. ^N. Y. Times, March 18, 1865. THE NEGRO AND THE WAR 235 tee, Jacksonville, Palatka, and Natural Bridge. Their most valuable services to the Union were as guide, spy,^ and plunderer. Their presence in Florida as soldiers caused terror to the unprotected white families and hurt sentiment for the Union. Southerners were nerved to greater effort because they realized that a servile race was being employed to subdue them. "It is my belief," declared General Saxton, " that scarcely an incident in this war has caused greater panic throughout the whole South coast than this raid of colored troops in Florida." ^ The black soldier did not prove to be any more barbarous than the white. President Lincoln encouraged the use of negro soldiers in Florida. " I am glad to see the accounts of your colored force at Jacksonville, Florida," he wrote privately to General Hunter. " I see the enemy are driving at them fiercely, as is to be expected. It is important to the enemy that such a force shall not take shape and grow and thrive in the South, and in precisely the same proportion it is important to us that it shall." ^ Within Federal lines the negro furnished the newcomer from the North opportunity for charitable experimentation. Military leaders wanted the able-bodied men, but were bur- dened and worried by the women, children, and infirm. By the beginning of 1864 the Freedman's Aid Society had with the help of the Federal military established common schools for negro children at St. Augustine, Fernandina, and Jack- sonville.* The Rev. Dr. Barrows was superintendent of ^ Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, pp. 57, 229, 283, 293. N. Y. Herald, Mar. 18, 20, 1862; N. Y. Times, Mar. 15, 1862; N. Y. Tribune, Mar. 24, 1862. * Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 6, p. 444. ^ Nicolay and Hay, Lineoln, Complete Wks., v. 2, p. 321 — letter of Apr. I, 1863. * A^. Y. Tribune, Aug. 17, 1864. A''. Y. Times, Jan. 23, 1864. Schools were established in Fernandina in Dec, 1862 — Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 6, p. 61. 236 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA these schools which were taught by a half-dozen women from the North. In Jacksonville the Odd Fellows hall was seized by the United States provost marshal and turned over to the Rev. Barrows for a school building. There a school was opened for blacks and whites. It is reported that when the white children of the town remonstrated against attending school in company with blacks, Mrs. Hawks, the lady principal, said, " Very well, the colored children will be educated even if you are not." " This argument," continues the account, " proved ef- fective, and the two classes are pursuing studies harmon- iously." ^ Thus was a first step taken in the social revo- lution. Only about one hundred pupils (black and white) were enrolled in the Jacksonville school. This war-time experi- ment in education in East Florida did not prove successful, partly because small-pox became epidemic among the few negroes available for scholars. By the end of 1864 the negro schools of East Florida, established under the bay- onets of an army of occupation, were closed.'^ But education did not cease for the black with the clos- ing of the schools. Federal military camps were the places where the negroes received their first instruction in popular ideals from the North, in " loyalty " to the Union, and in " politics ". The ex-slave took part in patriotic demon- strations. The promulgation of the Emancipation Procla- ^ N. Y. Tribune, Apr. i, 1864. See also Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 6, p. 61, quotation from letter from Fernandina, Fla., published in Wisconsin State Journal: " The progress made by the pupils more than equals the expectation of the most sanguine friends of the race. The children (blacks) have evinced an aptitude to learn fully equal to the children of the North, and in all the better characteristics they are in no way behind us," etc. * N. Y. Tribune, Aug. 17, 1864. THE NEGRO AND THE WAR 237 mation was the occasion of a " negro celebration " at Key West. 250 blacks with waving flags and military music paraded the streets and went for dinner to the " Barra- coons ". The procession was stoned by whites and the flag taken from the leader and the flag staff broken over his head.^ The anniversaries of the proclamation (1864-65) were again the occasion for negro parades in Jacksonville, Key West, and St. Augustine.^ The Federal military co-oper- ated. At St. Augustine, in 1864, the regimental bands of the 24th Massachusetts and loth Connecticut united in ren- dering national airs — marching about town followed by a mob of elated negroes — men, women, and children. At the " picnic grounds " Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was read. Federal Tax-Commissioner Stickney and offi- cers of the Federal military in garrison spoke to the assem- bled crowd on patriotism and citizenship. Stickney was at the time engaged in swindling his government and his friends.^ Negro school children sang " Thrice Happy Days " and Whittier's " Negro Boatman's Song ".* To the one-time slave inured to the simple and monot- onous life of the plantation, this marching and counter- marching to sweet music ; this flash of color, waving of flags, and donning of soldier suits with brass buttons; this deep interest expressed by his white friends in his mental well-being, which, in fact, he little understood ; this feast- ing, this resting, and this singing — all combined to produce mental exhilaration which spelled demoralization for the old regime of work. He was moving too fast toward re- ^ A''. Y. Herald, Feb. 11, 1863 — letter from Key West correspondent. "^ N. Y. Times, Jan. 22,, 1864, and Jan. 15, 1865. A''. Y. Tribune, Jan. 23, 1864. * H. Ex. Docs., 38 C, 2 S., no. 18 — papers of Fla. Tax Commissioners. * A''. Y. Times, Jan. 23, 1864 ; N. Y. Tribune, Jan. 23, 1864. 238 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA generation. Once within the Federal lines he seldom re- turned as slave to his former haunts. For him the old regime was at an end. " Thank Gawd," he said, " Der juberlee have come. Glory be to Jesus and Marse Linkum." The legal status of the negro in Florida during the first eighteen months of war perplexed the few conscientious and careful Federal commanders stationed there. ^ The first Federal Confiscation Act, August 6th, 1861, made it the duty of the President to confiscate all property used in " aid- ing, abetting or promoting " the war against the Union.^ Slaves were considered contraband of war when employed, in any military or naval service against the Union, and were accordingly forfeited. Where the negro was owned by a " loyal " white and had not been used to oppose the government of the United States, he was clearly a slave of unchanged position in the law of the United States ; but where the owner was known to be or suspected of being " disloyal " to the Union, then to some the black's position seemed in doubt. What was the condition, in law, of fugi- tive slaves, and what of slaves belonging to the " disloyal " and not used in " aiding, abetting," etc., the " insurrection " against the Union? Lieutenant-Colonel Bell, for example, wrote from St. Au- gustine on April 5th, 1862, to department headquarters ask- ing for definite instructions regarding the status of slaves of the disloyal. " I have retained such slaves, furnishing them with food and compelling them to work, and simply exclud- * Both the Federal army and navy had taken away negro slaves be- fore the summer of 1862 — claiming the act under the Federal Confisca- tion Act of Aug. 6, 1861. For instances, see the case of Stellwagen at Apalachicola in April, 1862 — Rebell. Red., v. 4, p. 76; N. Y. Herald, Apr. 21, 1862; raid on St. Andrews bay — Off. Red. Rebell, s. i, v. 53, p. 230 — Apr. 7, 1862. " U, S. Stats, at Large, v. 12, p. 319. THE NEGRO AND THE WAR 239 ing other slaves from the fort"/ Department headquarters seemed as much at sea on this question as the commanders asking for instruction. At some points in Florida slaves M^ere kept, fed, clothed, and presumably made to work by the Federal military. "In other cases," said General Saxton, " slaves reputed to belong to rebel masters have been em- ployed at high rates, whose wages were paid to agents of those masters (among these cases are the slaves of ex-Sen- ator Mallory)." ' General Hunter attempted logically to simplify the situa- tion by issuing an order on May 9th, 1862, which declared that as "slavery and martial law are incompatible," therefore within the department of the South, which he commanded (Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida), all persons held as slaves were free.*^ President Lincoln read in the public press, one week after its promulgation, the astounding con- clusion reached by Hunter in South Carolina.* Forthwith the President firmly revoked the general's order, May 19th, 1862,^ and the condition of slaves in Florida was for the time as anomalous as ever, beyond the patent fact that they were not legally free men. On July 17th, 1862, the second Federal Confiscation Act was enacted, which very definitely settled the status of the slaves of the " disloyal " when those slaves came within Federal lines.^ They were to be deemed " captives of war " and " forever free of their servitude ". The slave was de- clared free in this case as a penalty for the master's par- ticipation in the " rebellion ".'' ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 14. p. 333. -Ibid., p. 375. 'Ibid., p. 341. Ge.i. Order no. 11. * Rhodes, J. F., Hist, of U. S., v. 4, p. 65. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, Complete IVks., v. 2, pp. 155-56, 205-6. ® Statutes at Large, v. 12, pp. 590-592. ' Dunning, Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction, p. 36. - 240 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Five days later, July 22nd, the President ordered the Fed- eral military commanders to employ at wages as many negroes as they should see fit/ Blacks belonging to the " loyal " were slaves. Blacks belonging to the " disloyal " were " free captives of war " when within Federal lines. These various statutes and orders respecting slaves did not very immediately affect the mass of Florida's black population because so small a portion of it was within Fed- eral lines; but at Key West a troublesome situation de- veloped. Here a number of white men loyal to the Union held slaves. Colonel Morgan, of the 48th New York In- fantry, who succeeded Colonel Brannan as commandant at Key West, was hostile to slavery and slaveholders. Lin- coln's revocation of Hunter's emancipation order did not deter the Key West commandant from attempting abolition locally. It was supposed that Morgan's mouthpiece at Key West was the New Era, an abolition journal whose editor was spoken of as " Morgan's Man Friday ".^ On August 9th, an editorial in this journal declared that " slavery cannot exist here and does not at this moment ; there is not a negro lawfully held to service in Key West ". Three weeks later, August 30th, a leading editorial stated that " An uprising of slaves would not be permitted, but a slave can declare him- self free, refuse to work, and still be protected by martial law ; for it does not recognize slavery any more than it does secession. . . . The master cannot punish a slave without committing an offense against martial law ".^ Already the few hundred negro slaves in Key West, in- spired probably by the military, were " sassy " and insub- ' Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, Complete Wks., v. 2, p. 212. » N. Y. Herald, Oct. 26, 1862. 3 Ibid. THE NEGRO AND THE WAR 24I ordinate to their "loyal" owners/ The New Era was in sub- stantial accord with instructions given Colonel Morgan, of Key West, by his superior, General Terry, on August 14th. These instructions — a sort of code of Federal procedure toward slavery — declared that no aid would be given by the military to any master to compel his slave to obey him ; that masters found guilty by the military of cruel treatment of slaves would be duly punished ; that slaves of the "disloyal" would be protected by the military from any control by agents of their former masters; and that violence publicly offered by one person to another for the enforcement of obedience or labor would be punished by the military.^ There was no advance in principle from these instruc- tions to the revolutionary order of Colonel Morgan, issued September 5th. " A necessity having occurred," he an- nounced on that day, by the prevailing epidemic for the employment of persons of African descent, including those held to service or labor under state laws in the various parts of this command, the Provost Marshal is authorized to employ such persons seeking employ- ment and send them to the headquarters of the quartermaster ; and it shall be the duty of the quartermaster to cause accurate lists to be made sufficient in detail to show from whom such persons shall have come. Persons so subject and so employed have always understood that after being received into the mili- tary service of the United States in any capacity they could not be reclaimed by their former owners. . . . The Colonel commanding, therefore, from precedents already established, feels authorized to declare that all persons so employed as ^ N. Y. Herald, Oct. 5, 1862— letter from Key West, Sept. 29 : " Ne- groes in Key West, with all mistaken notions of freedom, refuse to work except at exorbitant wages," etc. •"Terry's Code," A''. Y. Times, Oct. 4, 1862— dated "Key West, Aug. 14." 242 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA above shall receive permanent military protection against any compulsory return to a condition of servitude. . . . No force or undue persuasion will be permitted to be used to recover such fugitive property.^ Thus by subterfuge were the slaves of Key West prac- tically emancipated more than two weeks before Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.^ With the beginning of 1863 the legal aspect of the negro ques- tion in Florida was much simplified for Federal military commanders because the emancipation of the slaves within the " rebellious states " became by executive proclamation the supreme law of the Union, certainly so long as the war lasted. ' N. Y. Herald, Oct. 26, 1862. ' For a defense of Col. Morgan's action at Key West, see N. Y. Sun- day Mercury, Nov. 2, 1862. Union sentiment at Key West discussed in N. Y. Tribune, Nov. 7, 1862, in letter of Chaplain Bass of 90th N. Y. — Oct. 20, 1862. See also editorial, N. Y. Tribune, Mar. 30, 1863. CHAPTER X Internal Opposition to the Confederacy : Unionists AND Deserters The term, " Union man ", was applied rather indiscrimi- nately during the Civil War to those men who were known to have consciously aided, abetted, or furthered in some fashion by word or deed the cause of the Union in its con- flict with the Confederacy. From a Confederate sympa- thizer the term was generally an unfavorable epithet, asso- ciated with the darkest side of war, with cowardice, traitor- ous action, raiding, and plundering. Yet some eminently good and honored men in Florida sympathized with the Union, such men, for instance, as ex-Governor Call, of Tallahassee, and Judge Marvin, of Key West. Their char- acters, however, did not materially afifect public opinion. " On our burning homesteads ye may write, ' we found no Union Man V' wrote some long-since forgotten Southerner of those times,^ and he gave but an inkling of the passionate resentment of the Southern secessionists toward neighbors who aided and abetted the enemy. With the enlightened Unionists, the " Union man " was more or less a hero who suffered loss and bore persecution for the Union's sake — or even better, for high principle's sake. One confused rhymester, raised to a high pitch of en- thusiastic perplexity by the terrible events of the hour, began his poem : ^ Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 7, p. 59. 243 244 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA " ' O Mother !' exclaimed a bright boy as he ran, ' Our God whom we serve is a Union Man, And the Union can never cease.' ' My patriot Boy! Why, why think you so? The Rebels all boast that Jehovah doth know Their cause is the right and the true,' " etc., which way of looking at the matter calls up an aspiring Southern ode which in all Byronic seriousness began, " Rebels ! 'Tis a holy name ".* Any attempt to estimate the number and influence of Union sympathizers in Florida is apt to prove difficult and to yield meagre results in exact figures or conclusive state- ments. In the aggregate, their number was never propor- tionally large, but their influence in parts of Florida was considerable enough to merit some attention in an account of the war. The class included several varieties, but sub-classification cannot go very far and must depend upon opinions held. Knowledge of opinion is in reality difficult to obtain, and opinions themselves shift continually with those inevitable changes that take place in objective conditions. Union men may be grouped in two broad classes : first, men of Northern and foreign birth lately come to Florida; second, poor native southern-whites who deserted from the Confederate army or who sought to avoid conscription. The Northern-born men were in most cases holders of considerable property or were large traders for their com- munities — usually seaport towns. They were merchants, lumbermen, real-estate dealers, small bankers, physicians, and even planters. Many had come into Florida since 1850. Their traditions were anti-slavery. Their more distant home ties were still strongly Northern. They were section- alized on the slavery question before they reached Florida. ' Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 5, p. 36. * fbid., v. 4, p. 4. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 245 All Northern-born people within the state in i860 numbered but 1,908/ They came principally from New York, Con- necticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania — 688 of the number hailing from New York and 908 from the New England states. Some Northern-born citizens proved staunch and valiant upholders of the Confederacy,^ but probably a majority of the " Yankees " in Florida were out- and-out Union sympathizers. There were 3,309 persons of foreign birth in Florida, according to the census of i860. A large number of them were Germans. The foreign-born population divided on the questions of secession and slavery. From these figures it is seen that, at most, the relative num- ber of non-Southern Unionists among Florida's 75,000 free inhabitants could not be large. In regard to Southern white Unionists, the secession crisis showed the existence of such a class. This crisis, with its complex abstractions on constitutional questions, its bitterness in practical politics, its economic appeal to the slave-holder and Southern debtor, its demand for ready obedience and unusual sacrifice to the state, appealed differently to different classes. The fairly enlightened Southern planter and merchant possessed a comfortable home, broad acres, some slaves to do his manual work, and usually a positive role in local politics. The illiterate back-woodsman — " kasion ", " cracker ", " poor white " or " red-neck " of to-day — almost cut off from the mass of his fellow men, knowing little about the subtler issues of the war, caring little for " civic " obedience or " national patriotism ", and interested not one whit in * Census of i860. * As for instance Brig.-Gen. Wm. Miller, a native of Mass., who led the Confederates in the desperate defense of Tallahassee, 1865. Off. Reds. Retell. , s. i, v. 49, pt. i, passim. 246 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA the purely economic question of preserving slavery, could see little for him in the war. His family was dependent im- mediately on his crude muscular effort for a meagre living at best, and the muscular effort was as meagre as the living. The margin of supplies ahead with such a family was small. The failure of a five-acre crop, the death of a few cows, the burning of a barn, meant their temporary ruin. The poor white of the South was often disloyal to the Southern re- public, because economic and class conditions left his family destitute an*! isolated when the "men folks" were in the army. The wonder is that the vast majority of the poor whites supported the war, with heroic firmness, to the bitter end. Barbarous raiding by Northern armies brought the war home to them. A small minority of the poor whites proved to be Unionists or deserters. The size of this class hostile to the Confederacy increased decidedly toward the end of the war. Florida furnished about 1,300 white re- cruits to the Northern armies.^ Some of them were North- ern-born and foreign-born. The enforcement of the Con- script Act in Florida furnished the Confederate army 2,362 men.^ A large number of these " conscripts " were passive Union sympathizers. In 1 86 1, probably not more than 4,000 men and women in Florida were Union sympathizers. By 1865, the number had doubled. The proportion, therefore, of Unionists ampng the approximately 75,000 white inhabitants varied * Off. Reds. Retell., s. iii, v. 4, p. 1269. The actual number is put at 1,290 three-year volunteers. 1,044 black recruits came from Florida. Alabama, with more than three times the population, furnished to the Union army 2,576 whites and 4,969 blacks. ^ Ibid., s. iii, v. 5, p. 701. This conclusion is based on a report by the Chf. of Confed. Confis. Bu., Feb., 1865. His report covers from the date of enactment of Conscript Law, Apr. 16, 1862, to Feb., 1865. Only 362 of the number came from " conscript camps." INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 247 between 5 per cent and 10 per cent — made-up of Northern- born, foreign-born and native Southerners/ Practically all parts of the state were at first dominated by the secessionists. Only as Federal military lines were extended to include restricted sections along the coast did the Unionists assert themselves, and such assertion was as a rule very feeble. The history of Key West furnishes an exception to this general condition. For the first few months after secession the town was divided between the secessionists and the Unionists." When Florida left the Union all Federal civil officials at Key West, except District Judge Marfan and the collector of customs, resigned their offices.^ For several weeks the judge had no marshal to execute his orders, and in some instances he was prevented from deciding salvage cases.* Key West is built on an island, then remote from the settled mainland of Florida and watched over by Federal regulars and gunboats. The secession cause in Key West was voiced by an ag- gressive journal entitled Key of the Gulf. It savagely at- tacked Judge Marvin and other Unionists. Marvin's friends in his defense claimed that the attacks were inspired by certain business men engaged in the " wrecking and sal- vage " business. The decisions of Marvin as admiralty judge were distasteful to them, and therefore they wished to get rid of him.' Early in May, 1861, Mr. McQueen Mc- * Off. Reds. RebelL, s. iv, v. 3, pp. iioi, 1109; s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, pp. 12, 63, 215; V. 2, pt. I, p. 817. N. Y. Times, Apr. 2, 1862; Jan. 23, 1864; Mar. 18, 1865. N. Y. Herald, May 20, 1864; Mar. 25, 1865. Milton Papers, 1863-4 — letters of Milton to Mallory and Beauregard. ' See N. Y. Herald, June 6, 1861 ; A^. Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1862 ; N. Y. Tribune, Nov. 7, 1862, etc. * U. S. Off. Directory, 1861 ; N. Y. Times, Mar. 13, 1862. *N. Y. Herald, Apr. 12, 1861. *A'^. Y. Times, Mar. 13, 1861. 248 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Intosh arrived at Key West as the new appointee of the state of Florida to the bench occupied by Marvin. The claimant had been a prominent member of the secession convention. With him came a district attorney. Mcintosh demanded of Marvin the surrender of all records and papers pertaining to the office of district judge. Marvin refused to comply. Popular opinion of the whites in Key West might have been with Mcintosh, but Federal guns were back of Marvin, and therefore the state appointee, seeing that in- sistance was useless, left for the mainland.^ During the spring of 1861 two military companies were organized among the Union sympathizers of Key West, for " upholding the laws of the United States ". Major French, the Federal commander, issued orders that no civil or military official of the state of Florida or of the Confederate government, was to be recognized or obeyed.^ On authority from President Lincoln,^ he put the town under martial law, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, and suppressed by force the journal Key of the Gulf. A Methodist preacher-militant invoked Heaven against the Federal government, and was promptly arrested by order of Major French.* " Key West has a thoroughly Union-lov- ing population, largely owing to Major French's exer- tions," stated the local correspondent of the New York ^ N. Y. Herald, May 24, 1861 ; N. Y. Times, Mar. 13, 1862 ; N. Y. Sunday Mercury, Nov. 2, 1862. Marvin held his office till the summer of 1863, when he voluntarily resigned. A^. Y. Herald, July 21, 1863. " A^. y. Herald, May 18, 24, 1861 ; A^. Y. Times, Mar. 13, 1862. ' Off. Reds. Rebell, s. iii, v. i, pp. 184-5, Proclam. of Lincoln, May 10, 1861, allowing suspension of writ of habeas corpus in Key West. * N. Y. Herald, July 7, i86i(?) (Townsend Library, Columbia Univ.). See also Marvin's charge to the grand jury at Key West for a discus- sion of what was treason. A'^. Y. Herald, Nov. 26, 1861. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 249 Herald.^ Eight months later we hear of " a deep and abid- ing hatred of the Federal government in the breasts of a large portion of the community." ^ The town during the entire war was without the sphere of operation of Florida laws — a local government under military jurisdiction.^ As late as the autumn of 1862 a dis- gruntled regimental chaplain in Key West stated : " I be- lieve that three-quarters of the people here would at least be perfectly reconciled and resigned to the will of God would it please Him to lay the whole regiment, yea, every other regiment, in the dust." * He no doubt told the truth. As the war progressed, the manifestations of Union sen- timent in Florida underwent some change. The enforce- ment of the Confederate Sequestration Act after Sep- tember 13th, 1861, confiscating the property of alien ene- mies, ° forced many persons in Florida to go on record as Southern or Northern sympathizers. Hundreds, who found themselves in embarrassing positions, hid for the time not only record of any property North, but the truth concerning their sympathies as well, in order to pro- » N. y. Herald, June 6, 1861. » N. Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1862. ' Local civil rule was restored in Key West by order of the Mil. Commander, Dec. 29, 1862. These orders directed " civil oflficers, legally elected and who had taken the oath to the U. S., to resume their func- tions," in conformity with the constitution of the U. S. and the order of the President and war dept. "Militaiy authority will reserve to itself the control over all arrivals and departures from the island and the sale of spirituous liquors. The provost marshal will take charge of all property in Key West owned by persons known to be engaged in the Rebellion." N. Y. Herald, Jan. 10, 1863. * N. y. Tribune, Nov. 7, 1862. ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. iv, v. i, pp. 586-92 (passed Aug. 30, 1861), 932-9 (amendment Feb. 15, 1862). McPherson, Rebell., p. 203 (order of enforcement of Act by Atty. Gen. Benjamin, Sept. 12, 1861). 250 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA tect their property South. With Federal invasion which began in 1862, came the enforcement of the Federal Con- fiscation Act/ The property of those who had taken up arms against the Union was seized. Northern civil officials and benevolent speculators came with the armies of inva- sion.^ Such individuals, interested in the moral uplift of the negro and the sale of abandoned and confiscated prop- erty, slightly augmented the ranks of the nominal Union men. In East Florida, the Unionists, stimulated by the presence of a friendly army, attempted political organization. Their political principles were set forth in numerous resolutions which were spread abroad in Northern newspapers, thereby giving an exaggerated and formal importance in the eyes of outsiders (among them President Lincoln ^) to those in Florida who opposed the Confederacy. The first political demonstration of Union men in Flor- ida followed by a few days the first occupation of Jackson- ville by Union troops in the spring of 1862. When General Sherman reached that town he was at once waited on by Union sympathizers. They represented how bright the cause of the Union would be as long as Federal soldiers were present and how perilous their position would be if troops were withdrawn.* Only a few days before — ere the invading army had reached Jacksonville — much property had been burned by Confederate troops in and about Jack- sonville; and the owners seem to have been mostly among * U. S. Statutes at Large, v. 12 (Confiscation Acts) ; McPherson, Rebell., p. 208 (Pres.'s Proclam., July 5, 1862, under Confisc. Law). * N. Y. Times, Oct. 16, 1862, the appointment of tax-commissioners for Florida. N. Y. Herald, Feb. 13, 1863, Gen. Hunter delayed the forced sale of property in Fla. for non-payment of direct taxes. ' Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, Complete Wks., v. 2, p. 470. * N. Y. Times, Apr. 2, 1862. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 251 Union sympathizers/ The day after the first interview with General Sherman a meeting was held in the public square of Jacksonville. About 100 Unionists were pres- ent.' Resolutions were adopted which protested against the abrogation of United States authority and proclaimed the ordinance of secession " null and void " because it had never been submitted to the votes of the people. " We protest against the exactions which have been im- posed upon us," ran the resolutions. forced contributions of money, property and labor, and en- listments for military service, procured by threats and misrep- resentations. We protest against the tyranny which demands of us as a measure of revolutionary policy the abandonment of our homes and property and the exposure of our wives and children to sickness, destitution, gaunt famine, and in- numerable and untold miseries and sorrows. We protest against the mad and barbarous policy which has punished us for remaining in our homes by sending a brutal and unre- strained soldiery to pillage and burn our property and threaten and destroy our lives,* The man who drew up these resolutions was Philip Fraser, a one-time citizen of New Jersey. The chairman of the meeting was C. L. Robinson, who had come into Florida from Vermont in 1857.* The foregoing political manifesto, which set forth with some vividness the position of the Union man, was no doubt issued with the tacit approval of General Sherman, al- though the correspondent of the New York Times, in Jack- sonville, stated that there was " no sort of collusion ". 1 Cf. supra, chap. 7. ^N. Y. Times, Apr. 2, 1862; A^. Y. Herald, Mar. 20, 1862. ' Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 4, p. 325. ^ N. Y. Times, Jan. 23, 1864. 252 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Sherman himself admitted that " the real object in occupy- ing Jacksonville was a political one "/ On the morning of the mass meeting in the public square the General issued a proclamation to the " People in Florida " calling them to loyal political reorganization.^ Four days later (March 24th), a second mass meeting of Unionists in Jacksonville called for an election of all state officers on the first Monday in the following month, April, 1862.^ A few score men within the straitened limit of Federal lines were preparing on paper to reconstruct Flor- ida. Said one observer : At Jacksonville, then in Federal possession, a half-dozen shrewd heads got together and agreed to take the lead in a reactionary movement. Not being among the original Jacobs of secession, their standing had never been satisfactory. They had all along really preferred the Union. Now Union had won, their property was safe, their opportunity was safe to make a ten-strike ; and the political power of the State and the patronage of the Government were prizes worth seizing and working for,* During the six weeks of Federal occupation these men in the protecting shadow of the Northern army remained pronounced and at times loud advocates of the Union. Then, rather unexpectedly, Jacksonville was ordered aban- doned. There was consternation among the Union men. They had accepted Confederate authority to save their property and had recanted for the same honest reason when the Federal expedition arrived. Flight was the only safe course left to them. They could expect little forbearance * Letter to Phil. Fraser, N. Y. Ev. Express, July 23, 1862. ^ Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, p. 301. * A''. Y. Herald, Apr. 11, 1862; Moore, Retell. Red., v. 4, p. 349. ^A''. y. World, Mar. 11, 1864 (Townsend Library). INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 253 under the interpretation of Confederate law by " their ex- asperated old associates ", whom they had repudiated. So some of them embarked on Federal transports with what personal property they could carry along. *' Thirty or forty families managed to escape," stated a press correspondent. None of these had more than ten hours in which to make preparations for leaving homes they had occupied for years. It was sad to see them hurrying down to the wharf, each carrying some article too precious to forsake. Books, boxes, valises, portraits, pictures, packages of clothes, pet canaries and mocking-birds are most frequently seen. Stout-hearted and stylish officers relieving Dinahs of their little charges and leading two-, three-, and four-year-olds added a humane and praiseworthy ludicrousness to the melancholy scene. ^ Thus the first essay in political reorganization by Florida Unionists ended in flight; yet the withdrawal of troops from Jacksonville did not end political experimentation in East Florida by enemies of the Confederacy. In the spring of 1863, there was a feeble repetition of the same farce, when Jacksonville was a second time occupied and aban- doned.^ Colonel Higginson felt the "wrongfulness" of leav- ing these people " to the mercy of the Confederates once more ". Again Union sympathizers flocked on board Union ships and " at once developed," says Higginson, " that in- sane mania for aged and valueless trumpery which always seizes upon the human race, I believe, in moments of danger." ^ ' Moore, Retell. Red., v. 4, p. 82. These people seem to have gone to New York City. See report in A''. Y. Herald, Apr. 22, 1862, inscribed " Mayor's Oflfice," which stated that 50 loyalists had arrived from Fla. in N. Y. City, and that the mayor and council had voted them $1,000.00. * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 14, p. 232. Rpt. Col. Rust. * Higginson, Army Life in a Black Regiment, p. 173. 254 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Late in the year 1863 several Unionist political rallies took place in St. Augustine and Fernandina under the guid- ing influence of the Federal military/ The cause of the Union seemed to be reviving. Tax commissioners for Flor- ida had been appointed the year previous by the Federal treasury department,^ and a Federal district court for " Northern Florida " v^as about to begin its sessions in January, 1864, at St. Augustine. The judge in this court had come lately from Pennsylvania; the district attorney, from New York; the clerk, from Vermont; and the mar- shal, from Rhode Island.^ Major John Hay arrived at Jacksonville in February, 1864, with the Union army of invasion. He came as the personal representative of President Lincoln to inaugurate meas- ures for loyal political reconstruction.* Hay failed to find men enough to put into operation the administration's pro- ject. In fact, the few Union men of East Florida showed that they were by no means all in accord. One group sent to Lincoln a formal condemnation of those whom Hay had seen fit to call about him as advisers. The serious disaster at Olustee in February, 1864, forced the Union army to confine itself to the immediate vicinities of Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Fernandina.^ Politi- cians continued to be active, however. A Unionist " con- ^ N. Y. Tribune, Dec. 29, 1863 ; resolutions of St. Augustine meeting. N. Y. Times, Jan. 2, Jan. 23, 1864. N. Y. Tribune, May 24, 1864. Col. Osborn (U. S. A.), at St. Augustine, was active in local politics. »M Y. Times, Oct. 16, 1862. * N. Y. Times, Jan. 23, 1864. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, Complete Wks., v. 11, p. 470; Oif. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 276. ° See account in Florida Union, Dec. 31, 1864. This sheet was pub- lished by nominal Union men, Morrill and Stickney, the latter a Fed- eral tax commissioner. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 255 vention " was held in Jacksonville during May, 1864, with representations from four or five eastern counties.' This body chose delegates for the Republican national conven- tion and adopted resolutions which closed with the follow- ing sentiment : " On the eve of a coming election and in view of the vast difficulties which surround the Nation, we feel like a horse-trader struggling in the waters of the Mississippi — that it is a mighty poor time to swap horses; 5, that Abraham Lincoln is the choice of this convention for next President of the United States." ^ To the end of the war Florida Union men kept up the pretense of being both in the Union and engaged in reconstructing their state. With their ideas of political reconstruction, Eli Thayer, a New-England abolitionist who had already won local fame in Kansas,^ attempted to associate his own peculiar theories of what he termed " economic reconstruction ". He was a vigorous champion of free labor. He promised recklessly that if the national government would furnish funds for equipping, arming, and transporting to Florida and supporting there, for one year, several thousand farm- ers, he would win back the state for the Union. His aim was to " crowd out slavery " in Florida by turning into that state a stream of free-soil immigrants. His army of farmer- soldiers would be the advance guard of such an invasion. In the accomplishment of this project he would have the Federal Government confiscate all property of Southern sympathizers, appropriate the lands of the state, and turn ^ A''. Y. Tribune, May 26, 1864. The proclamation calling together this convention was approved by Gen. Gordon, the Fed. commander of the District of Florida. * N. Y. Herald, June 3, 1864 ; A''. Y. Tribune, June 6, 1864. ' See Thayer, History of the Kansas Crusade, for a discussion of his colonizing work in the west. 256 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA over lands and other property to the white and black colo- nists from other states. His plan actually received some public attention in the North, probably because Thayer was already well-known to a circle of prominent men. In December, 1862, a dele- gation of politicians laid the scheme before Mr. Lincoln.^ The matter was discussed in cabinet meeting,^ brought up in the national House of Representatives, referred to a committee, and then lost sight of.^ During January and February, 1863, Thayer and his friends engineered two public meetings in New York City for the conquest of Florida. It was a strange cause — this proposed crusade to the back counties of Florida. One meeting was held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, on January 5th, and the other, at the Cooper Union, February 6th.* In the Cooper Union meeting, Wm. Cullen Bryant pre- sented resolutions which declared this plan to be " the most economic, the most speedy, the most certain method of end- ing the Rebellion, and of restoring National prosperity and repairing the damages of the war ". The conquest of Flor- ida was to be followed by the conquest of other states. Thayer claimed that thousands of men were ready to follow him to Florida and that in the state to be invaded 7,000 negro slaves could be counted on as recruits. If this plan had been put into operation, servile war would have re- sulted. Among those who endorsed the project and par- ticipated prominently in the meetings were several Florida Union men in exile. Thayer's proposals furnished the New York dailies with subject-matter when war news proved ' A''. Y. Herald, Dec. 18, 1862 — " a delegation with Vice-President Hamlin at its head." ^ Diary of Gideon Welles, v. i, p. 206, Dec. 26, 1862. * A'^. Y. Times, Jan. 13, 1863. Rep. Bingham of Ohio was interested. * N. Y. Times, Jan. 25, Feb. 7, 1863. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 257 dull or the winter season too silly. Florida was never in- vaded by armed farmer colonists/ To suppress positive Union sympathizers and to keep faint-hearted Southerners in line, drastic measures were em- ployed by the " irregular " or " independent " companies of Confederate cavalry, which scoured great sections of Florida." In East Florida the operations of such bodies became particularly active and violent. " Union people of late have been obliged to conceal their feelings," wrote the Florida correspondent of the Nezv York Times. " Their lives and property have been threatened by bodies of armed guerillas who infest this part of Florida, murdering in- habitants and destroying property. They call themselves regulators." ^ By another press correspondent, the regu- lators were termed " a band of scoundrels who have for weeks threatened the lives and property of all suspected citi- zens and who have succeeded in creating a reign of terror."* From St. Augustine came the lurid report that " the in- habitants are not privileged to go out because of bands of guerillas who are everywhere organizing. This has pro- duced a reign of terror in the neighborhood. Guerillas do not hesitate to kill those who differ from them." ' In West Florida, General Asboth, the Federal commander at Fort Barrancas, reported : "In Walton county seven citizens were hung last week for Union sentiments, and one woman, re- " For references to Thayer's Florida scheme, see A''. Y. Tribune, Oct. I, 1862; Feb. 7, 9, 19, 1863; N. Y. Herald, Feb. 10. 1863; iV. Y. World, Feb. 10, 1863 ; N. Y. Ev. Post, Jan. 30, 1863 ; A''. Y. Times, Feb. 7, 1863 ; Moore, Rebetl. Red., v. 6, p. 44; An. Cyclo., 1862-3. * Gov. Milton's correspondence in Off. Reds. Retell, and in Milton Papers (MSS.). * A''. Y. Times, Apr. 2, 1862. * TV. Y. Tribune, Mar. 24, 1862. » A^. Y. Herald, Sept. 12, 1862. 258 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA fusing to give information, was killed by hounds." ^ A Florida guerilla captain stated to his chief, General Floyd : I am now a Guerilla in every sense of the word. We neither tell where we stay or where we are going or when we sliall return. We assemble the company at the sound of a cow's horn. We have made some arrests, both black and white, and hung one negro belonging to Mr. Mays last week. We have scouts out. We have three men spotted that ought to be hung. Three-fourths of the people on the St. Johns River are aiding and abetting the enemy. ^ On the return of a Federal naval raid up the St. Johns river, in the autumn of 1862, a Federal officer reported: "Mr. Blood (a Union man) informed me that his life was threat- ened and he was in fear momentarily of being seized and made to ornament a pine three for his well-known Union views." ^ Allowing for evident exaggeration in the evi- dence, we may conclude that suspected Unionists were watched and often severely harried by guerilla bands, which were usually not irresponsible bodies, but nominally under the control of the Confederate authorities, and in some cases recognized by the laws of Florida.* These irregular bodies of Southern soldiery sought not only the passive Union sympathizers whose offense was gen- erally giving information and comfort to the enemy,^ but ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, p. 63 — Asboth to Stone, Apr. 22, 1864. ''Ibid., V. 53, p. 233 — letter of J. W. Pearson, "Oakland Rangers," to Gen. Floyd. ' Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 13, p. 368. * For instance, see Laws of Fla., nth Sess., "Joint resolution" pro- viding for organization of the Amelia Guerillas Co., Dec. 31 ; Moore, Retell. Red., v. 8, p. 422, Act. Confed. Cong, authorizing Partizan Rangers. The leaders of the bands reported to Confed. officers. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 53, p. 235. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 259 they sought as well the deserters from Confederate ranks and " conscripts ". After the passage of the Confederate Conscript Act in April, 1862/ opposition encountered by- Confederate enrolling officers increased.^ Many who had not yet volunteered preferred to "lay out" — that is, secrete themselves in the woods near their homes in order to escape conscription. The controlling motive with these men was hardly love for the Union. They seem to have been actu- ated by a strong desire to avoid service in the army. They wished to be at home more ardently than they wished to support their country or win the commendation of neigh- bors. They lacked patriotism. They were usually poor and illiterate. By the beginning of the third year of war (1864) the deserters, " conscripts " and " Union men " in certain sec- tions of Florida — notably Taylor and Lafayette counties — regularly organized themselves into armed bands. ^ One such band drew up a constitution and signed it. They called themselves " The Independent Union Rangers ". Among the provisions of the constitution were : " True allegiance to the United States " ; absolute obedience to the officers of tl'e company; absolute secrecy concerning opera- tions; death by shooting for anyone found guilty of being a spy ; equal distribution by officers of all plunder taken ; and (strangest of all among deserters) the death penalty for any member who deserted the band.* Deserter bands became aggressively hostile. They held ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. iii, v. 5, pp. 693-4, passed Apr. 16. 2 Ibid., s. i, V. 52, pt. 2, p. 372. ' These two counties and the country south of the Withlacoochee river were the sections most frequented as places of retreat by de- serters. See accounts in N. Y. Herald, Apr. 30, 1864; N. Y. Tribune, Sept. 6, 1864. * Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 53, p. 319. The document, signed by 33 members, was captured by Col. Capers. 26o RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA some of the swamps, kept in communication with Federal forces, received food and ammunition from Federal camps and blockading vessels, occasionally raided isolated plan- tations, drove off and slaughtered cattle and hogs, enticed negro slaves away from their plantations, put arms in the hands of these runaway blacks — in a word seriously inter- fered with the peace and safety of many communities/ At the close of the year 1863 Governor Milton represented West Florida as being in a "bad condition" for "our cause". " The disloyal," he said, " were in touch with the enemy." " The Sheriff of Washington County and others are now in the service of the enemy," ^ and he stated further that a " large proportion, if not a majority, of the citizens of West Florida are represented to be disloyal ; at all events advocate reconstruction and have threatened to raise the ^ Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, pp. 5, 215, 368; v. 28, pt. 2, pp. 273; V. 53, pp. 309, 319-20, S37- Gen. Anderson (C. S. A.) reported: "In March last (1864) I assumed command of the Dist. of Fla. At that time there was considerable alarm felt by many citizens of Middle Fla. on account of recent depredations of bands of Deserters, disloyal persons, and bandits gathered in semi-organization along the coast in Taylor and Lafayette Counties. South Fla. was infested by the same kind of bands. . . . Several planters of Jefferson and Madison Coun- ties have lost a number of slaves," etc. The Confederate sympathizers of Levy Co. assembled in meeting and drew up a formal request for protection. To their chairman, Rev. J. M. Nichols, Gen. Anderson wrote : " Hope at an early date to accede to your request for protection ... to clear your locality of Yankees, deserters and outlaws," etc. The Gov. of Ala., in a letter to Gen. Cobb at Quincy, Fla., referred to "a band of deserters in the lower part of Henry Co. (Ala.) and on the Chipola river, Fla. They threaten the loyal population. I have ordered Capt. Armstrong with a command to make arrests. Six or seven men liable to Confed. service [were captured?], but recaptured by friends from ambush," etc. Col. Hatch (U. S. A.) referred in Aug., 1864, to " 500 LTnion men, deserters, and negroes . . . now raiding toward Gainsville," etc. * Milton to Beauregard, Jan. 29, Feb. 4, 1864, Milton Papers. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 261 United States flag, even in Marianna." ' The counties of West Florida " bordering the coast " were in the hands of deserters. " A short time ago," stated the governor to Sec- retary Mallory in May, 1864, '' 10,000 blankets and 6,000 pairs of shoes intended to supply troops in this State were captured." ^ The deserters and conscripts of West and Middle Florida even planned the capture of the governor himself. He was warned of the plot in time by telegraph.' Aroused to the danger of this insidious form of invasion (for Union bushwhackers acted in concert with the Union soldiers on the borders of the state) the Confederacy began a systematic and often merciless campaign against de- serters and conscripts — particularly against the bands in Taylor and Lafayette Counties. Bloodhounds were some- times used to track them in the dense swamps and hum- mocks, where they took refuge. It was cruel business, but, as Colonel Capers of the Confederate army observed when he took charge in Middle Florida, " the only practical way of hunting deserters will be with dogs under experienced woodsmen." * The places of retreat were difficult of access and the dis- loyal bands shifted their camps from point to point. The camps were often destroyed by the pursuing military and a few men made prisoners, but the bands were never com- pletely dispersed during the war. The military in some cases destroyed their homes and sent the women and chil- dren either into Federal lines or to refugee camps within Confederate lines. ° This was more barbarous than occa- * Milton to Beauregard, Oct. 15, 1863, Milton Papers. * Milton to Mallory, May 23, 1864, ibid. ' Telegrams between Luke Lott and Milton, Feb. 3-4, 1864, ibid. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 53, p. 319. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 53, pp. 252, 319, etc. Reports of Col. H. D. Capers (C. S. A.). 262 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA sionally hunting the men with hounds and did not yield ad- vantage to the Confederate cause. The care of destitute families of Confederate soldiers was already a tax on the slender resources of the state. ^ The destruction of prop- erty owned by Union men and the seizing of their cattle and crops for the Confederate commissary increased desti- tution. The refugee or conscription camps became an ad- ditional burden to the tottering state.^ The leader of one of the most notorious deserter and " conscript " bands sent the following characteristic epistle — in the writing of which he had evidently labored for a long time — to Colonel Capers, commanding the Confederate force in pursuit. Got your letter left for me. Anxious to hear from you and you from me, but cannot control my men any longer, since they saw you fire our house. Cannot control them any longer. I ain't accountable for what they do now. As for myself, I will do anything that any half-white man ever done, only to go into the Confederate War any more ; though when I was in it T done my duty, I reckon. Ask Col. Smith if I was not a good soldier as long as he was captain, but now I have went on the other side and tried what we call the United States of Taylor, but I find it like Confederate men, more wind than work. As for me, I ain't a-going in for any order, only to stay with Mr. Johnston and help him tend his stock, and I will help him pen and drive cattle, but my oath will not per- mit me to fight any more. If you will send and get me an exemption and my men who have taken the oath to stay in * Fla. Senate Journal, 1864, p. 31. During 1862-3 the state govern- ment was contributing to the support of more than 11,000 destitute persons in soldier's families and during the following year more than 13,000. * An. Cyclo., 1863, " Florida," quoting Gov. Milton ; Governor's Mes- sage, Nov. 17, 1862— Milton Papers; Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 53, p. 251. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 263 Taylor County, and raise stock for you, they will do so, but they will not go into the war if you had as many men as dogs, for our title is Florida Royals, and if we cannot get a furlough from Mr. Jeff Davis during the war you will find our title right for awhile, so I remain a flea until I get a furlough from headquarters, and when you put your thumb on me, and then raise it up, I will be gone. I give you my respects for the good attention you paid my wife, for it was not her notion for me to do as I have been doing. Just set me and my men free from the war, and we will try, with leave, to get corn till ours can make. So here is my love for the good attention for my wife and child. If the war lasts long enough, and you will raise him to be a good soldier, he will show the spunk of his daddy. W. W. Strickland, Fla. Royals.^ In dealing with these people of Florida, the Confederate w^ar department was temporizing. Opportunity was given such refugees to retract and come back to the support of the Confederacy. General Beauregard issued a proclamation on March 4th, 1864, promising amnesty and employment in a non-military capacity to all conscripts and deserters who would come into his lines within forty days.^ General Gor- don (C. S. A.), commanding in West Florida, issued a very similar proclamation on March i8th, promising amnesty to the disloyal if they would report to conscript camps before April 5th. " Severe punishment to all deserters deaf to this clemency," he concluded. " All such persons found with arms in their hands will be shot without mercy. The families of deserters and the disloyal will be sent into the interior and their property destroyed, and all cattle, horses, and hogs will be driven away or shot." ^ By February ist, • Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 53, p. 319. ' N. Y. Herald, Apr. 30, 1864. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 53, p. 320. 264 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA 1865, 220 deserters in Florida had returned to the Southern army and 2,142 conscripts were enrolled/ Governor Milton counseled greater moderation toward de- serters than was shown. He repeatedly expressed the opin- ion that many left the ranks for the purpose of helping their starving families. He thought that most offenders had little conception of the gravity of their offense in military law.^ He condemned the destruction of deserters' property when such destruction left their families without means of sub- sistence. " I cannot approve of this war on women and chil- dren," he stated with feeling to General Anderson.^ In a private letter he declared that '* the opposition to the Con- script Act and the attempts to enforce it produced much dissatisfaction, and some men of influence who approved secession now prefer the United States Government in spite of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation." * This was in the autumn of 1862. 1 Off. Reds. Rebell., s. iv, v. 3, pp. iioi, 1109. These figures are for all returns from the passage of the Conscript Act in the spring of 1862 to Feb., 1865. The proclamation of amnesty issued by Beaure- gard and Gordon had little effect. Gen. Anderson stated : " Some [de- serters] availed themselves of the terms of the proclamation [Beau- regard's], but no large number"; also s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 368. * Message, Nov. 1862 — Milton Papers. Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 52, pt. 2, p. 337 ; V. 53, pp. 251, 252, 343. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 53, p. 251. " The destruction of property in Taylor and Lafayette counties has caused women and children to depend on the Govt, who once were able to support themselves." On June 20, 1864, he wrote: "The destruction of dwellings and property, and the arrest and continued custody of citizens of the State, women and children, by order of Gen. Gordon, has resulted as I thought. It has increased the number of deserters and excited among them a vin- dictive purpose to avenge wrongs and to liberate women, children and aged men who have been deprived of property on suspicion of dis- loyalty. Houses destroyed should be rebuilt and women supplied with cards and looms and rations for a few months." * Ibid., s. i, V. 52, pt. 2, p. 372. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 265 The impressment of food by the Confederate commissary agents and the absence of so many of the able-bodied men from home left many families destitute, and undoubtedly caused many a man to leave the army in order that he might aid his family.^ The Federal military and naval authorities were in touch with this fugitive class and eager to win its favor. Food, arms, money and safety were offered.^ Dur- ing the winter of 1864 and 1865, hundreds of one-time Confederate soldiers and other refugees came into the Union lines.' This exodus to the enemy was an obvious indication of final break-down in the internal strength of the Confed- eracy. The bare necessities of life were running low. Corn ^ Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. iv, v. 3, p. 45. 'Ibid., s. i, V. 14, p. 724; V. 35, pt. I, pp. 368, 371 ; pt. 2, p. 94; V. 53, p. 319. Col. Capers found in a captured deserters' camp 2,000 rounds of ammunition for U. S. Army Springfield muskets and several barrels of flour from " U. S. Subsist. Dept." Gen. Anderson declared : " In each of these sections the enemy is known to be inciting bands to blood- shed and plunder, supplying arms, clothing, food, etc." ^ N. Y. Times, Jan. 23, 1864: " Nearly enough refugees in St. Augus- tine and Fernandina to make a regiment." A''. Y. Herald, Mar. 30, 1864: "The laborers in the different depart- ments here (Jacksonville) are crackers still attired in the dirty gray uniforms furnished them by the Confederate Govt.," May 20. "At Depot Keys some 300 men, women and children. ... At St. Mark's there are several hundred; ... at West Pass nearly 200; at Charlotte Harbor, 160 ; at Tampa, and on St. Andrew's Sound, like numbers," etc. N. Y. Times, Mar. 18, 1865 : " Two companies of the Second Florida Cavalry recruited from refugees and deserters," etc. Off. Reds. Rebeli, s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, p. 63 : — (Asboth), "At East Pass, 609 destitute women and children," etc., s. i, v. 2, pt. I, p. 817. (Asboth), Nov. 13, 1863, "If I had boats, I think I could raise one white and one black regiment in West Florida." " 500 Union men, deserters and negroes near Cedar Keys," etc., p. 12 (Asboth). "Nearly 200 deserters near St. Mark's, in open war with the Confederacy," etc. (Asboth). V. 35, pt. 2, p. 215 (Hatch), Aug., 1864. 266 . RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA was scarce, meat and salt were precious commodities. Fields were grown up with weeds. Seaports were closed. Railroad companies had ceased operating trains over exposed divi- sions. Boats of commerce plied the rivers at their peril. Cows and calves, mules and horses had been driven off to support the struggling armies. Grim desolation gripped the land. The intermittent post brought news of dead, dead, dead, until the very world seemed dying beneath the eyes of Flor- ida's simple population. The stress of war was indeed awful. The armies of the powerful Union were piercing the very vitals of the proud Southern republic. People were faced by starvation. They were surrounded by misery, as in a nightmare, yet thousands were willing to fight on with the gates of hope practically closed. The women at home, sad-eyed and poverty stricken, deftly put patches on their own garments, prayed to God, sewed to- gether precious remnants of cloth for the men in ranks, and usually saw to it that any bacon went to the firing line, and not on home tables. In recapitulating the record of Union sentiment and de- sertion in Florida, we observe that Union sympathizers and deserters never exceeded one-fifth of the adult white popu- lation, even during the demoralization of the last year of conflict. Most of these people were illiterate Southern whites or persons born and reared in the North. We ob- serve that Union sentiment manifested itself in East Flor- ida by political meetings, political manifestos, and abortive attempts to reconstruct the state government. We observe the Federal military and finally the national administration taking part in such attempts at reconstruction. We observe Union sympathizers and deserters raiding and plundering in West Florida and Central Florida. We observe Confed- erate troops attempting to stamp out disaffection by warn- ings, whippings, and even hangings and house-burnings. INTERNAL OPPOSITION TO THE CONFEDERACY 267 We observe the existence of guerilla warfare in Florida, which helped the cause of the Union indirectly by more quickly exhausting the strength of the state, and directly by furnishing guides, scouts, and information to invading armies. Finally, we observe that the " Union men " created for the Florida government at least two obvious problems : first, the protection of Confederate sympathizers; second, the supporting in refugee camps of thousands of destitute women and children of the despoiled and despised deserters and conscripts. CHAPTER XI The Olustee Campaign — 1864 The food supply of the Confederate armies was becom- ing rapidly exhausted by the autumn of 1863. The fact was probably not unconsidered by Federal military authori- ties. One year earlier (October, 1862), Commander Wood- hull, of the Federal navy, after a raid up the St. Johns, de- clared that the cattle of Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina have all been consumed. Texas and the rich grazing country to the westward of the Mississippi being cut off, the whole dependence of the Confederate Government to feed their Army now rests on this State [Florida]. I have it from reli- able sources that its agents are all over the state buying up all the cattle obtainable, paying any price so they can get the animals. The only dependence the people of Georgia and Florida have for their sugar is that raised along the banks of this river [St. Johns]. The greatest blow at this war would be the entire destruction of the sugar crop and the small salt- works along the shore on the coast of this State.^ Such rumors were evident exaggerations in 1862, but they contained the substance of an important truth — namely, that the South's food supply was failing and that Florida's comparative isolation made it an important cattle range. A circular of rather alarming import, which supports the foregoing generalization, was sent out from Quincy, Flor- ^ Naval War Records, s. i, v. 13, p. 369. 268 THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 269 ida, on November 2nd, 1863, by the chief Confederate com- missary officer for the state, Major P. W. White.' It was a passionate appeal to the citizens of the Southern republic in Florida. Major White declared that the " issues " of the war had more than ever been transferred to the " people at home ". If they should decrease their support of the Con- federate armies those armies must fall back from the fron- tier. If the Federal army should break through the fam- ished Confederate lines the " wave of desolation " would roll from the Gulf to the Atlantic — the cause would be lost. If the Southern people, he said, valued their cattle and hogs, their corn and their money more than their cause, their army must fail. To give bountifully was a fearful test of pa- triotism, for the " people at home " were poor — but the Confederate army needed food, and needed it badly by the autumn of '63. The chief commissary officer for General Bragg's army had written that his troops were dependent on Florida for beef, because all other available sources were exhausted.'^ The chief Confederate commissary officer for Georgia had written that the Southern forces in Georgia looked to Flor- ida because Georgia's beef supply was practically exhausted.' The chief Confederate commissary officer for South Caro- lina had written : " We are almost entirely dependent on Florida. . . . We now have 40,(X>o troops and laborers to subsist. The supply of bacon on hand in this city [Charles- ton] is 20,000 pounds and the cattle furnished by this state is not one-tenth of what is required ".* Major Miller (C. * Report Gen. Beauregard, Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, pp. 393-396. 'Letters of October 5, 6, and 19, 1863. * Mr. Locke. * Maj. Guerin, October 9, 1863. 270 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA S. A.), of Savannah, had written: "The stock of bacon and beef for the armies of the Confederate States is now ex- hausted. . . . Starvation stares the army in the face; the handwriting is on the wall. . . . From the best informa- tion I have the resources in food (meat) in both Tennessee and Virginia armies are exhausted. This remark now ap- plies with equal force to South Carolina and Georgia." ^ Major White included these letters in his circular ad- dressed to Floridians. He pointed out that two large armies looked almost entirely to Florida for their supply of beef and bacon. ^ He called upon the people to husband their stores in order to help the Confederacy meet success- fully the threatened famine. Florida was evidently eco- nomically more important to the Confederacy in 1863 than in 1861. General John K. Jackson, of the Southern army in Florida, estimated in 1864 that 25,000 head of cattle and 10,000 head of hogs went annually from the state to the armies beyond its borders.^ 1 Letter of October 10, 1863. ' The state comptroller in October, 1862, reported to the governor that the number of cattle in Florida was as follows : in East Florida, 383,717; in Central Florida, 174,378; in West Florida, 100,514; total, 658,609. These figures seem to be taken from returns during 1860-61, and are probably much under the number of cattle in 1863. Droves were driven from Georgia into Florida. See Milton Papers, October 10, 1862 — memoranda of comptroller. '"The most valuable portion of Florida," wro^e Gen. Jackson to Gen. Cooper, " is the middle counties of the Peninsula — Alachua, Mar- ion, and other counties in that vicinity. Its productive capacity is very great and the character of its supplies of ines imable value to the Confederacy. The sugar and syrup there produced cannot, I be- lieve, be supplied by any other portion of the Confederacy. From offi- cial and other data I learn that the product of army supplies will amount annually lo 25,000 head of beeves, equal to 10,000,000 pounds; 1,000 hogsheads of sugar; 100,000 gallons of syrup, equal by exchange to 4,000,000 pounds of bacon; 10,000 hogs, equal to 1,000,000 pounds of bacon; 50,000 sides of leather; 100,000 barrels of fish (if labor af- THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 271 To have put Major White's circular in the public press would have been showing a weakness to the enemy. Ac- cordingly it was mailed to supposedly discreet persons who were asked to read it privately and not let it pass out of their possession except to those " true and prudent " per- sons who could be trusted. It was soon widely distributed over the state and at some places during the late autumn of 1863 stuck up on trees at cross roads where both the pru- dent and the foolish pass.^ Its startling disclosures probably reached the Federal government before the end of 1863. General Beauregard stated : " The paper needs no comment. ... I am assured it was one of the main causes of the expedition to Jack- sonville and thence toward Lake City." ^ At Olustee oc- curred the battle which checked this invasion — the most serious which Florida has ever experienced. " Among many most extraordinary things brought to light by this invasion," reported the Florida correspondent of the New York Herald, " is a document emanating from the Com- missariat Department of Ouincy, Florida, in which there is startling evidence to be found of the desperate condition of forded), equal to 20,000,000 pounds of fish. Oranges, lemons, arrow- root, salt, blockade goods, iron, etc. Counting the bacon at one-third pound and beef and fish at one pound to the ration there are of meat rations 45,000,000 — enough to supply 250,000 for six months." Off. Reds. Rebeil., s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, p. 606. For references to food supply- in Florida see also Off. Reds. Rebeil. , s. i, v. i, p. 467; s. i, v. 14, pp. 473, 703; s. i, V. 26, pt. I, p. 873; s. i, v. 28, pt. 2, p. 450; s. i, v. 35, pp. 258, 308, 349. 366; s. i, V. 35, pt. I, pp. 279, 388, 395. Also Townsend Library (Columbia University), v. 41, p. 387. ' Off. Reds. Rebeil., s. i, v. 35, pt. 2, p. 294. Beauregard to Cooper : " I was informed by sundry persons that it had been widely dis- tributed," etc. N. Y. Herald, February 21, 1864. A copy was obtained at Baldwin by Federal troops early in February. Early in January it was evidently at Lake City. ^ Ibid., s. i, V. 35, pt. 2, p. 295. 272 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA the enemy. Beef and bacon are entirely exhausted through- out the South and from all quarters cries are arising for relief from Florida." ^ The explanation of the invasion of '64 is, however, not so simple as this. Before the circular was sent forth the probabilities of the movement into Florida were discussed at the North. The Northern press hostile to the Lincoln administration interpreted the invasion as a part of the President's plan to apply in Florida his own ideas concern- ing reconstruction. One year before, Federal politics had played a minor part in the attack on East Florida. Since 1862 the Union had retained a foothold on the east coast at Fernandina and St. Augustine. Federal direct tax com- missioners had been appointed in October, 1862," and at least one of them, Stickney, became a constant intriguer for more Federal troops in that state where his jurisdiction lay. " Union men " presented now and then to the newspapers the necessity and justice back of Florida loyalists' demand for greater Federal protection and demonstrated the ad- vantages (illusory) to the Union which would follow if such protection were given. ^ On September 7th, 1863. Tax Commissioner Stickney ar- rived in Washington. Forthwith it was reported in the newspapers that he came to petition Mr. Lincoln in the name ^ A''. Y. Herald, February 20, 1864. ^ L. D. Stickney, Jno. S. Sammis, and Harrison Reed. Gen. Mitchell commanding the Department of the South was directed to afford them all assislance and protection that may be required "for the performance of their duty." N. Y. Times, October 16, 1862; also March 6, 1864. Reed and Sammis were replaced in 1864 by two " Union men " of Florida — Judga Wm. Alsop and Buckingham Smith — see Jacksonville Union, December 31, 1864. ' A^. Y . World, February 17, 1864 (letter from Fernandina) ; March II, 1864. N. Y. Times, October 16, 1862; January 25, 1863. N. Y. Tribune, November 6, 1862. A'^. Y. Herald, September 8, 1863. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 273 of Florida's loyal citizens to send a large military force into the state for the purpose of relieving the people there from " Confederate rule ", for the re-establishment of a " loyal " judiciary and a " loyal " legislature, and for the sending of " loyal " representations to the national Congress.^ Mr. Stickney's reputation was not of the best nor his in- fluence in political circles very high. He was undoubtedly a person who mixed politics and private business indis- criminately and for his pecuniary advantage.^ Yet he was the appointee and friend of Secretary Chase of the treasury department. He might or might not have influenced Lin- coln to attempt the political reorganization of Florida. Such reorganization seemed successful or partly successful at that time in other Southern states.^ Lincoln was beginning to consider the next year's na- tional election. He naturally wished to succeed himself, and his adverse critics said then that his Southern political pro- gram was meant primarily to obtain votes for himself in the nominating convention and the election following.* This is a rather gross interpretation of the President's motives, for, as the Tribune put it, " it is quite possible that the Administration may desire the return of a loyal state to the Union without reference to the next Presidential election." * At any rate, soon after the Stickney newspaper > A^. Y. Herald, September 8, 1863. * H. Ex. Docs., 38th Cong., 2nd Ses., No. 18. ' Hosmer, Outcome of the Civil War, pp. 134-36. Military governors had been appointed by the President during 1862 in the states of North Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas. The loyal in Louisiana had gone so far as to elect representatives to U. S. Congress and they were admitted to seats. See also McCarthy's Lincoln's Plan of Reconstruction ; Dunning's Essays on the Civil War, etc., and Welles' Diary, v. i. * N. Y. World, February 13, 1864. * A'^. Y. Tribune, February 23, 1864. 274 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA notices Lincoln showed renewed interest in Florida/ Loyal reconstruction there and military invasion were connected in discussion at the North as perfectly germane subjects before the end of October (1863). Judge Philip Fraser, a reputable Republican Federal office-holder, exiled from Florida, stated on October 8th that, " if forces are to be sent to Florida to be used as tools for political wire-pullers and speculators it were better not to send them at all. We want bold and earnest men to go down inspired by true purpose — the restoration of Florida to the Union as a free state. Political manoeuvers may come after but not before." ^ Stickney was known personally and well to General Gill- more, who commanded the military district nominally in- cluding Florida. Evidently he had urged invasion upon this officer.^ On December 8th, Lincoln issued his Amnesty Proclamation announcing his plan of reconstruction in the South.* A week later. General Gillmore suggested to General Halleck — then general-in-chief of the Union armies — that a Federal force might be profitably sent into Florida to re- cover the most valuable portion of the state, to cut off the enemy's food supplies and to increase the number of negro troops.^ Nothing was said of political objects. On De- cember 22nd, Gillmore was formally authorized by Halleck to undertake such operations in the Southern peninsula as he might think best.® *See an interesting paper in the Battle of Olustee by Gen. Sam. Jones, C. S. A., which treats of political and economic as well as mili- tary side of this invasion. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, pp. 76-79. * H. Ex. Docs., 2nd Session, No. 18, p. 155. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 282. * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln's Complete IVks., v. 2, p. 442. * Report Secretary Stanton to Senate, Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. I, p. 292. ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 276. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 275 On the same day a number of exiled " Union men " sailed from Port Royal, S. C, on the ship Maple Leaf for St. Augustine.^ Among them was Stickney, who was popularly reported to have talked with the President in September. Soon after the Florida Union men from South Carolina had reached St. Augustine, they reported to the Northern press that " a large and enthusiastic " Union meeting had taken place on the 19th, and that this gathering had passed resolutions calling for the reorganization of the state gov- ernment on a basis of loyalty to the United States constitu- tion, for the resumption at once of Federal relations, for the abolition of slavery in Florida, for the withdrawal from the " rebels " of the elective franchise, for the election of a " loyal " legislature, and for the proper amending of the state constitution. The secession ordinance was declared by the meeting to be " null and void ".^ The officers of the 24th Mass. Infantry at St. Augustine were active in prepar- ing the negroes about them for loyal reconstruction.^ Be- fore the end of December a petition had gone from St. Augustine to the President, signed by " many Union men " and praying for immediate " armed occupation " of the en- tire state. On January 13th, 1864, Mr. Lincoln informed General Gillmore that he understood " an effort is being made by some worthy gentlemen to reconstruct a loyal state govern- ment in Florida ", and that he had sent Major John Hay with " blank books and other blanks to aid in the recon- struction ". " I wish the thing to be done in the most speedy way possible," he added.* ^N. Y. Tribune, December 29, 1863. ' N. /. Tribune, December 29, 1863; January 23, 1864; N. Y. Times, January 2, 1864. ^ Ibid., December 29, 1863; January 23, 1864; N. Y. Times, January 23, 1864. * Nicolay and Hay, op. cit., v. 2, p. 470. 276 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The following day Gillmore informed General Halleck of his final decision to occupy the west shore of the St. Johns river, Florida/ This elicited the response from Hal- leck that Secretary of War Stanton directed that all plans be left to the discretion of Gillmore, because he, Stanton, had not been informed of the objects of the expedition to be sent into Florida.^ Neither had the Secretary of the Navy been informed.' This is most strange. Stanton and Welles, heads of the two departments most seriously in- volved, were evidently not closely consulted by the Presi- dent who was directing the movement into Florida. Gill- more in reply to Halleck stated that the objects of the ex- pedition were to procure an outlet for cotton, lumber, tim- ber, and naval stores; to cut off an important source of the Confederate army's food supply; to obtain recruits for negro regiments ; and to inaugurate measures for the restor- ation of Florida to the Union according to instructions from Mr. Lincoln in the hands of Major Hay.* In Decem- ber, Gillmore had not included things political among the objects of the proposed invasion. By January 14th, he had enlarged its scope. Early in February, Gillmore ordered General Sey- mour to prepare to proceed with troops from Hilton Head, S. C., on board transports to Jacksonville. The force under Seymour's command numbered between five and six thousand — made up of six regiments of infantry, one regi- ment and one battalion of cavalry, and three batteries. Sey- mour and command sailed the next day for Jacksonville, where they expected to land on Sunday, February 7th. ° * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 276. * Ibid., p. 276. 'Diary of Gideon Welles, v. i, p. 231. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 276. * Ibid., pp. 276, 280. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 277 The Federal forces at Fernandina received orders to watch the railway from Georgia into Florida and prevent or delay the shifting of Confederate forces into the state by tearing up a portion of the track. On the morning of February 7th, the leading Federal transport ran alongside the Jacksonville docks amid the cracking of a few carbines from the retiring Confederate troops.^ By nightfall the place was once more an armed Federal camp. The town was pathetically dilapidated — a mere skeleton of its former self — a victim of war, lying there beneath the cold light of a winter moon. Scarcely a score of families remained. Straggling winter weeds grew in the streets and vacant lots, and where the tramping mili- tary had left them erect these despised shrubs which bedeck forsaken places glowed like jewels when their delicate beads of dew were touched by the brilliance of the moon. The remains of burned houses — the poor dry-bones of departed prosperity — gave a grotesque, God-forsaken, and dreary aspect to the town. The newly-spread tents of the troops protected the skeleton as a whitened sepulchre. On one side was the St. Johns and on the other the pine woods stretched away in vast vistas of moonlight. News of Seymour's arrival traveled rapidly. On Febru- ary 8th, General Finegan, commanding Confederate forces in East Florida, notified General Beauregard at Charleston, S. C. The answer which flashed back directed him to hold the Federal troops at bay with the forces then on hand. Troops from Charleston, from Savannah, and from Central Florida would be mobilized in East Florida as rapidly as possible.^ In the meantime Federal raiders from Jacksonville began ^N. Y. Herald, February 20, 1864; A'^. Y. Times, February 20, 1864. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 322. 278 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to go abroad over the land. Colonel Henry, at the head of a detachment of the 40th Mass. Mounted Infantry, left Jack- sonville on the evening of the 8th, going west.^ His route led through pine woods and heavy swamps. The command groped its way over now darkened now moon-flecked trails under the guidance of " Union men " who knew the coun- try.' Near midnight Henry's raiders approached the en- campment of the Milton Light Artillery. A sergeant on mounted picket duty heard the tramping of their horses. He rode through the camp shouting at the top of his voice, " Save yourself, the enemy is upon you! " " My command fled," said Capt. Dunham. His loss was eighteen men, four cannon, six wagons, and forty-five horses and mules. ^ Just at daybreak Henry rode into Baldwin, twenty miles west of Jacksonville. The place had not profited by the war. Its railway sta- tion, warehouse, and score of seedy wooden buildings passed into Federal possession without a shot. Strategi- cally the hamlet was important, being the railway junction from which radiated lines to Jacksonville, to Georgia, to Fernandina on the Atlantic, to Cedar Keys on the Gulf, and to Central Florida. Supplies belonging to the Confederacy were stored in and about the warehouse — cannon, camp equipage, accoutrements, forage, cotton, cotton thread, cot- ton sheeting, rice, molasses, blankets, hides, salt, flour, sugar, turpentine, etc. These with forty horses and mules were acquired or destroyed by Henry. * Oif. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 295. ' N. Y. Times, March 6, 1864. Mr. Alsop, a man of Northern origin but for twenty years a resident of Florida, acted as guide to the Union army from Jacksonville as far as Baldwin. He also guided an expedition up the Nassau river after lumber. He was an " old and experienced lumberman " active in politics. * Off. Reds. Rebell.. s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 347. Report of Capt. Dunham (C. S. A.), of Milton Light Artillery. See also accounts in N. Y. Herald and A^. Y. Times, February 20, 1864. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 279 The people remaining in Baldwin told the invaders that the Confederate troops had retired westward. Wretched desolation was written over the face of the country.^ " Yes, sir, Baldwin is a dreadful poor city with right smart poor people in it," said one citizen to a man in the Federal ranks, and the trooper had no reason to doubt the piteous truth of the remark. At the south fork of the St. Marys a small body of Con- federate cavalry contested the crossing with Henry's com- mand; but the raiders pushed over with a loss of three killed and four wounded, and just at twilight reached the hamlet of Sanderson. The flames of burning supplies — corn and turpentine — fired by the retiring Confederate cav- alry lit up the group of houses near the railway station. At the " hotel " a dozen women were gathered. " They were inclined to welcome us because they thought we would be able to prevent the spread of the destructive element," recorded one raider. " They were nervous and fidgety but managed to give us a tolerably polite reception and to as- sure us of their sympathy with the rebel cause. . . . Their features are sharpened and pinched as if the gaunt wolf famine had already been on the threshold of their dwell- ings." ^ Before dawn the Federal force was again moving west. Near mid- day Confederate outposts were encountered a few miles east of Lake City. The Confederate cavalry as- * Excellent accounts are written of this and other raids by Oscar bawyer for the N. Y. Herald. Sawyer was in the field with the troops. His facts are in substantial accord with official reports. Among the supplies taken at Baldwin by Henry were two 12-pound field rifles, two smooth bores, three 3-inch English rifles with caissons, one tanning machine, 93 bales of cotton, 15 tierces of rice, 83 barrels of turpentine, four days' forage for 1,000 men, two railway cars of corn, two empty cars, etc. N. Y. Herald, February 20, 1864. * A''. Y. Herald, February 20, 1864. 28o RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA sumed the aggressive and Henry was quickly forced to begin his retreat toward Jacksonville. His raid had been rapid and effective. Moving by night and day his com- mand had penetrated fifty miles into the interior — as far indeed as the fateful field of Olustee — had practically cut itself loose from its base of supplies, had encountered the enemy at three points, had captured a score of prisoners, had seized, destroyed, or caused to be destroyed property valued at almost $1,000,000, and had located the main body of the Confederate Army — all with a loss of five killed and ten wounded. While the Federal cavalry was harrying the country west of Jacksonville, Federal raiding expeditions set out from Fernandina by way of bayous and swamp-paths. The raiders shelled the woods from aboard gunboats, watched the railway from Georgia, destroyed property, and located lumber, timber, and lumber mills for future confis- cation and stealing.^ At Jacksonville the Federal main body was preparing to move forward into the interior. The town soon began to assume a more prosperous air. Traders came with the army and were given permission to land their merchandise. Half -starved Unionists and a few stray negroes came in from the surrounding country. As the Federal lines were extended to the west the property of the " rebels " was seized and droves of cattle and hogs were driven into town. Treasury agents were busy hunting cotton, turpentine, and ^Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 357-8. Maj. Pennypacker's Report. The 97th Pennsylvania was in camp at Fernandina and did most of this raiding. After a night march of five hours through swamps a small Confederate force was surprised and captured before day, February 9th. On ihe same day the gunboat Para went 30 miles up the Nassau river shelling the woods and taking an inventory of several lumberinj^ plants. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 28 1 timber.^ Mr. Lincoln's Amnesty Proclamation of Decem- ber 8th and General Gillmore's orders were posted in con- spicuous places.^ General Seymour, however, was not opti- mistic over the Florida situation. He informed his chief, Gillmore, that what had " been said of desire of Florida to come back now [into the Union] is a delusion. The backbone of the rebellion is not here, and Florida will not cast its lot with the Union till more important successes elsewhere are assured. ... I would advise that the force be withdrawn at once from the interior [Baldwin — twenty miles west of Jacksonville], and that Jacksonville alone be held." He added significantly, " Stickney and others have misinformed you." ^ The outlook in East Florida for the Confederacy was perilous.* General Finegan's army, hovering somewhere be- tween Jacksonville and Lake City, was facing a critical situ- ation. Composed of 1,800 infantry, 450 cavalry, and two batteries it was confronting a well-equipped and well-offi- cered army easily twice as strong numerically and guided by men who knew the country as natives.^ Under the stimu- * N. Y. Herald and A^. Y. Times, February 23, 1864. *N. Y. Times, February 23, 1864; Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln's Com- plete Works, V. 2, p. 442. ' Off, Reds. Retell. , s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 282. Also Gen. Jones' article. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, pp. 76-77. * Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 28, pt. 2, pp. 601-605. Total number of troops present for duty in Mil. Districts of East and Middle Florida (all of Florida east of Apalachicola river) was reported by Gen. Beauregard on December 31, 1863, to be 3,709—1,326 of whom were in East Florida. These were Georgia and Florida troops. The 64th Georgia infantry was ordered from Middle Florida to Savannah, Georgia, on December 28th. The troops were scattered over a vast stretch of country. * Gen. Seymour was a veteran of the Mexican War and a good offi- cer. See accounts in N. Y. Times, March 6, 1864, and in Herald, Feb- ruary 20, 1864. 282 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA lating influence of success partly attained the Union army had already begun its slow march west. Unless Finegan re- ceived reinforcements he could not hope to successfully check the invasion. He expected aid from Southern Georgia and South Carolina. The Georgia and Florida railroad which almost connected Florida's railway system with that of Georgia had a gap of twenty-six miles ^ and was guarded by Federal outposts. These facts made the moving of troops into Florida tedious — and time is the factor which counts most in campaigning. General Beauregard narrowly watched the movements of the Federal army and fleet opposing him along the Georgia and South Carolina coast. Immediately following the sail- ing of the Federal expedition from Hilton Head, S. C, for Florida demonstrations were made by Union forces against Johns island, Georgia, to attract attention away from Flor- ida. So serious seemed the situation that General Colquitt and a brigade of Georgia troops were sent by Beauregard to reinforce General Wise on the coast.'^ Beauregard knew well at the time that the interior of Florida was threatened. The problem before him was to reinforce Florida without haz- arding Confederate occupation of Charleston and Savan- nah.^ On February nth. the Confederate batteries opened tremendously on Morris island as if an attack by assault was in preparation. Federal forces were thereupon shifted to Morris island from Johns island, and, the pressure evi- dently relieved, Colquitt's brigade slipped away for Florida.* Meanwhile General Gillmore had come to Jacksonville and was advising a very cautious program to his subordi- ' Off. Reds. RcbelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 323. * Ibid., pp. 284, 322. ^ Ibid., pp. 109-111. Letters of Beauregard to Jones and Seddon. ^ Ibid., pp. 112, 323; also A'. Y. Herald, February 13, 1864. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 283 nate, General Seymour, in actual command of the expedi- tion then piercing the interior and already beyond Baldwin. " Eight companies of the 54th Mass. ordered to Baldwin. Don't risk an advance on Lake City. Hold Sanderson," he wired on February nth from Jacksonville to Seymour.^ Later in the day he wired : " Concentrate at Sanderson and on the St. Marys if advance meets serious opposition"; and the next day : " Want your command concentrated at Baldwin at once ".' Thus the invasion which Gillmore tried to direct was certainly cautious, almost timid, and finally an out-and-out withdrawal from the neighborhood of Sanderson to Bald- win, nearer Jacksonville. He feared a surprise.^ The opposing troops of Finegan went into permanent camp on February 13th, near Olustee or Ocean Pond — a few miles east of Lake City and fifty miles west of Jack- sonville. Finegan selected a position between two small lakes with each flank protected by marsh and open water. The place was in fact a gap through a swampy bit of coun- try. Through this gap ran the pike and railway to the richer interior. Across the gap the Confederate army threw up entrenchments and awaited the advance of the in- vaders. * While the main body of the Federal army was hesitating to advance deeper into the enemy's country Confederate troops were moving from Georgia into Florida, and Fed- 1 Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 282. ^Ibid., pp. 283-284. ^Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, ;,p. 76-80; articles by Gen. Jones (C. S. A.) and Gen. Hawhy (U. S. A.). * Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 326. Also Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, p. 77. Gen. Jones' article. " The position pos- sessed strength provided the enemy would attack it directly in front, but could be easily turned." 284 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA eral cavalry continued its raiding. On February 14th, Captain Marshall with three companies of the 4th Mass. Cavalry rode into Gainesville — more than fifty miles south- west of Jacksonville — and took possession of food, military stores and cotton valued at $1,000,000. A portion of the food was given to the remaining inhabitants of Gainesville, no private property was destroyed, and the people were told that they would not be disturbed if they kept in-doors after dark. Two days later a band of Confederate light cavalry ar- rived at Gainesville led by Captain Dickison, a remarkably bold, aggressive and successful guerilla chief. The Federal troops barricaded a portion of the town street with cotton bales and attempted with the aid of some negroes to beat off the attack. After several hours of firing the Federal raiders with some loss withdrew from the town and re- treated toward Jacksonville, abandoning the captured prop- erty.^ From Fernandina raiding parties continued to harass the country for a radius of thirty or forty miles — seizing will- ing negroes, burning mills, and gathering " Union " refu- gees and Confederate deserters into Federal lines.^ So far, the operations of the invading military had been highly successful in seizing and destroying property. General Gillmore had left Jacksonville for Hilton Head, S. C, when on February 17th General Seymour — then at Baldwin — sent him the surprising intelligence that he in- tended to proceed at once to the Suwanee river to destroy ' Off. Reds. RehelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 296; A^^. Y. Tribune, February 29, 1864. See also Dickison and His Men, by Mrs. Eliz. Dickison. Uickison's exploits in Florida are comparable to those of Marion and Sumter in South Carolina during the American Revolution. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 360. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 285 the railroad bridge there.^ The river was 100 miles west of Jacksonville. The movement was not in accord with Gill- more's policy. When he heard of it he stated that he was " very much confused ", and that he " had no intention to occupy that part of the state ". ^ He tried to stop the for- ward movement but the news had reached him at Hilton Head, S. C, too late.^ Before his orders reached Florida the Federal army was swung out from Baldwin on its fatal march toward Lake City and the Suwanee. Between it and Lake City was Olustee where the Confederate army was entrenched.* Colquitt's brigade from Georgia had arrived.' " We tell the people of Florida to be of good cheer," appeared in the Tallahassee Floridian. " Don't give up in despair. Don't lend a credulous ear to false or exaggerated rumors. Rally to the defense of your country. Every man should have his arms and equipment in readiness for immediate use. 1 Off. Reds. Rehell, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 284. ' Ibid., pp. 285-6. Yet Gillmore on February i8th said in a letter to Seymour, " a raid to tear up the railroad west of Lake City will be of service, but I have no intention to occupy now that part of the State." * Nicolay and Hay, Lincoln, v. 8, p. 284. " Gen. Gillmore received Seymour's letter concerning his intended advance after he had reached Hilton Head, S. C. Gillmore at once wrote a peremptory order re- straining Seymour's advance and sent it to Florida by a special staff officer — but it came too late to prevent Olustee." * Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, p. 79. Gen. Hawley's article on Olustee. Hawley led the 7th Connecticut in that battle. He says: "At Baldwin a night or two before the battle Gen. Seymour called together six or eight of his officers for consultation. Some were cautious ; others, outspoken ; but it was decidedly the general opinion that it would be impossible to hold permanently out toward the center of the state. . . . Most of us thought that it would be sufficient to at- tempt to make the St. Johns River our main western line, but Sey- mour thought it was his duty to go on. He was and is a brave and honorable patriot and soldier." ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 331. Report Gen. Finegan. 286 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA If a Yankee army ever penetrated into the forests and swamps of Florida it would be a shame if it were allowed to escape, nor will it if our generals and people do their duty." ^ The Confederate force at Olustee consisted now of 4,600 infantry, less than 600 cavalry, and three batteries of twelve guns.^ On the 19th, the head of the Federal army was at Bar- ber's Station on the St. Marys. Just at dusk the order was passed to those gathered around the crackling camp fires to prepare several days' cooked rations for a rapid advance to begin on the morrow. Tough work was ahead.* February 20th. A member of the expedition declared " the day was as beautiful as ever dawned. A clear sky above us, and the savannah that stretched out on either side of the sandy road which wound through pine woods was warm with the golden sunlight pouring through the resinous pine tops and lending to the air a balmy fragrance." * Be- fore the sun was well up the Federal army — 5,500 strong — was moving ahead in column of companies, and soon in two columns, one along the railway, and one by the pike.^ * Quoted from the Tallahassee Floridian in N. Y. Herald, March i, 1864. * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 331. The Confederate force was organized in three brigades as follows: ist Brigade: I9,.h, 23rd, 27th, 28th Georgia Infantry and 6th Battalion Florida Infantry with Chatham Artillery (4 guns) attached; 2nd Brigade: 1st, 32nd, 64th Georgia Infantry, ist Fla. Battalion of Infantry and Bonaud's Bat'alion of Florida Infantry with Guerard's Light Artillery and the Florida Light Artillery attached (8 guns); 3rd Brigade: 2nd Florida Cavalry. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 286, 298. Barber's Station was 32 miles west of Jacksonville on the South Fork of the St. Marys river. P. 303 — Report Col. Hawley — " We had 10 days' supply of hard bread and three days of coffee and sugar." * Oscar Sawyer, A^ Y. Herald, March i, 1864. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 288, 301, 307, 3io, 311, 33"^, 339- THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 287 Along the roadside stood the lofty brown-red trunks of the yellow pines — which rose here and there like the jasper pillars of some vast temple with its votaries moving for- ward through a glowing cloud of incense in dimmed light — for the day was dry and the road was sandy and a film of sand-dust arose which caught the beams of the morning sun where the deep, scented shadows of the great dark wood let the sunlight through. Near mid-day Sanderson was passed. For more than an hour the main body continued its march undisturbed, when it came upon the Federal advance cavalry which had halted on encountering Confederate outposts. Henry's cavalry awaited support.^ The 7th Connecticut Infantry came up slowly and threw out skirmishers. This was more than three miles in ad- vance of the Confederate entrenchments at Olustee. The face of the country was fairly level and free from under- brush — park-like — covered by an " open " pine forest. Less than a mile to the north of both armies lay a number of small ponds and thick " bays " or swamps. To the south was the railroad — parallel with the line of march. Beyond the railroad were more stretches of swamp. ^ The Federal advance guard had encountered the Confed- erate cavalry about mid-day. The 64th Georgia and two companies of the 32nd Georgia were sent forward by Fine- gan to support the cavalry, followed in a few minutes by three more regiments and a battery from Colquitt's brigade. The cavalry was spread out on each flank. Half of the Southern army had been moved forward from its entrench- ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 303, 307, 331. ' Lt. M. B. Grant, C. S. Engineer, says, " The enemy advanced in force . . . one column by the Lake City and Jacksonville road, the other by the railroad." Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 301-339. Confederate Military History, v. 11, p. 65. 288 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA ments/ The Federal army was slowly coming up and in three columns was preparing to go into action. This was the situation about i :30.^ In line of regiments and column of brigades the Federal troops advanced, the cavalry retired, and within thirty min- utes the cracking of rifles and the chud of cannon were sufficiently a roar to indicate that the engagement had fairly begun. Finegan ordered to the front out of the trenches within the space of an hour practically his entire force. The troops came up at double-quick and deftly deployed, the men taking to the protection of the trees, logs, stumps, and unevenness of the ground as much as possible.^ General Colquitt, of Georgia, led the right wing and Colonel Har- rison, of Georgia, the left; and soon both wings, without much plan but under orders of General Finegan, of Florida, who commanded the army, began the work of doubling up on itself the Federal army moving forward in columns of brigades.* The skirmish line of the 7th Connecticut was ordered to retire and uncover the 7th New Hampshire advancing on the Federal right. It did so and the 7th New Hampshire duly unmasked was ordered to form line to the front by the left on the eighth company. "^ A tremendous fire was now concentrated on this regiment in process of military evolu- tion. A portion of the regiment in front went wrong, ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 332, 340, 343, 349. ' Ibid., p. 343. Gen. Finegan said, " the enemy advanced in three columns " ; Lt. M. B. Grant, " The enemy advanced in force . . . the 64th was soon engaged with the enemy who had advanced to this point in three columns, having formed a third column after crossing the branch where the road forks." » Ibid., pp. 332, 340, 343, 349. * Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, pp. 77-78. Gen. Jones explains the preliminary shifting of troops by both sides. "^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 289, 290, 303, 310, 316. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 289 those behind were thrown into confusion, and under a gall- ing fire the 7th New Hampshire broke and ran.^ For the rest of the engagement its morale was gone.^ The 8th U. S. Colored Infantry occupied the front place on the Federal left. After crushing the Federal right wing the opposing fire was deliberately turned on this body of black soldiers. It held its ground for a few minutes and then with a heavy loss in killed and wounded was swept back on the troops in the rear.^ The head of the Northern army had been simply battered in. Barton's Brigade of New York troops now moved for- ward through the broken and flying ranks of the ist brigade, only to be engulfed in the same well-sustained and fairly ef- fective fire.* The hospital corps in the rear of Seymour's army soon had its hands full. " While the roar of artillery and musketry continued without intermission our wounded men began to arrive," recorded a surgeon, part walking, some in litters and others in open ambulance wagons, as it were, first in single drops, then trickling, and after a while in a steady stream, increasing from a single row to a double and treble, and finally into a mass. In a half-hour from the commencement stray shots passing through tall pines ^ Battles and Leaders of Civil War, v. 4. Says Gen. Hawley, who led the Federal right wing, " Suddenly the 7th New Hampshire moving in column 01 companies saw the solid gray line about 250 yards ahead. A heavy fire was opened on us. Col. Abbott misunderstood my order of deployment ; I undertook to correct the error, and the regiment broke." ' Oif. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 289. The regiment reformed and did some service on the Federal right flank and center. 3 Ibid., pp. 312, 314. Also Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, p. 80. Gen. Hawley says, " The black men stood to be killed or wounded — losing more than 300 out of 500." * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 299, 301. 290 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA and breaking them off at the trunk Hke canes admonished us to remove the depot farther to the rear.^ The Federal field artillery rendered little service after the first few minutes of fighting. The horses were shot in numbers and the gunners were picked off the caissons and killed at the guns.^ In Confederate ranks unusual coolness and deliberation was evident. For fifteen or twenty minutes the 6th and 32nd Georgia stood their ground without am- munition and under fire waiting for ammunition to be brought up on railroad cars from the rear.^ The Confed- erate battle line was steadily pushed forward, sweeping back the Federal army which in spite of reverses held its ground stubbornly. With the approach of night — about 4:30 — the firing ceased.* " It was fast growing dark in the pine woods," says Colonel Hawley, of the 7th Connecticut. The Northern troops were in full retreat toward Jacksonville. Daybreak found them 20 miles from the scene of battle.^ The Fed- eral loss was 1,861 killed, wounded, and missing; the Con- federate, 946.* 1 0^. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 299. Report Surgeon Moyer. ^Ibid., s. i, V. 35, pt. I, pp. 31S-19. 3 Ibid., s. i, V. 35, pt. i, p. 349. Also Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, pp. 76-80. General Hawley was impressed with the " daring gallantry of the young aide-de-camp ", Lieut. Hugh H. Colquitt, of Finegan's staff, " who galloped in front of the Confed- erates, waving a battle flag and exhorting the men to stand fast." * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 299, 302. " The fight termi- nated at night," reported Col. Smith (C. S. A.). 5 Ibid., pp. 300, 305, 309. • Ibid., pp. 298, 2)2>7- The details of the casualties are as follows : Federal — Barton's Brigade: 76 killed, 559 wounded, 189 missing; Haw- ley's Brigade: 71 killed, 301 wounded, 215 missing; Montgomery's Brigade: 35 killed, 196 wounded, 85 missing; Henry's Brigade: 5 killed, 47 wounded, 5 missing; Hamilton's Brigade: 16 killed, 49 THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 29I The retreat was well conducted but rapid. A rear guard was thrown back. The Confederate cavalry was timid and what might have been turned into a rout by aggressive tac- tics became the orderly withdrawal of a shattered army. Colonel Caraway Smith commanding the Confederate cav- alry claimed that the danger of ambuscade prevented a pur- suit in the darkness.^ The battle of Olustee was confined entirely to the open pine woods and an old field more than two miles in advance of the Confederate entrenchments. Most of the Southern troops came from Georgia. The commander-in-chief was an old citizen of East Florida. A third of the Federal troops were negroes.^ Most of the whites in the Northern army came from New England and New York.^ The ar- wounded, 12 missing — totals. 203 killed, 1,152 wounded, 506 missing. Confederate — Colquitt's Brigade: 43 killed, 441 wounded, 2 missing; Harrison's Brigade: 50 killed, 406 wounded, 4 missing — totals, 93 killed, 847 wounded, 6 missing. ^Uff. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 332. " I sent orders to Col. Smith," said Gen. tinegan, "to press the enemy on his flanks and to continue in the pursuit, but through some misapprehension the orders failed to be executed by him." P. 353, Col. Smith said, " The fight terminating at night and our infantry lines not being perceptible to me through the woods and the face of the country being cut up by swamps, making it very favorable for ambushing under cover of night, I deemed it unadvisable to press forward." Col. Smith was relieved of his command after an investigation because of his action on this occa- sion, pp. 352-6. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, v. 4, p. 80. 2 Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 289-go. ^ Ibid., p. 288. Report Gen. Seymour. The Federal troops were in four brigades as follows : Col. Henry's Mounted Brigade, two squad- rons Independent Mass. Cavalry, 40th Mass. Mounted Infantry, and Elders' Horse Battery of ist U. S. Artillery (4 guns) ; Hawley's Brigade, 7th Conn., 7th New Hampshire, 8th U. S. Colored; Col. Bar- ton's Brigade, 47th New York, 48 h New York., 115th New York — all infantry; Col. Montgomery's Brigade, 54th Mass. Colored, 1st N. C. Colored, Hamilton's Battery of 3rd U. S. Artillery (6 guns), James' R. I. Battery (6 guns) — total, 5,500 men and officers and i5 guns. 292 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA tillery fire on both sides, though heavy, did comparatively little damage, " judging from the marks on the trees " near their tops/ The Southern troops took advantage of natural cover as the Virginians under Washington in Braddock's army had done a hundred years before. The Federal army was slightly superior in numbers and very much superior in equipment. General Gillmore's estimate of the battle given after the close of the war is probably a just summing-up. " We know since the close of the war," he said, that there was no disparity in numbers and we knew at the time that the results were a decisive defeat upon the field of battle and the frustration — as well by the loss of men as by the loss of prestige — of a carefully-digested plan of campaign. General Finegan had only about 5,000 men in that battle. Gen- eral Seymour, 5,500. Our losses were 1,800 men in killed, wounded, and missing. . . . Indeed our forces appear to have been surprised into fighting or attempting to fight an offensive battle in which the component parts of the command were beaten in detail. The enemy did not fight behind entrench- ments or any kind of defenses." ^ This is a reflection on Seymour. His plan of battle might have been improved on, but certainly some of his troops proved pretty poor stuff to match against an aggressive and skillful enemy. ^ The Federal dead and most of the wounded were left on the field, as well as five field guns, 1,600 small arms, 400 sets of accoutrements, and 130,000 rounds of small arm ammu- ^ Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 341. 2 /^j^;^ p 290. '^ Ibid., pp. 290, 304, 316, 318, 341. See also accounts in A''. Y. Herald, February 27, 28, March i, 1864; iY. Y. Times. M?rch i, 1864; account from Lake City Columbian (Confederate account) in N. Y. Times, March 6, 1864. Sawyer's account in the Herald for March ist, is the best press account. Sawyer was with the army. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 293 nition, the latter damaged by being thrown into a nearby pond. The cannon, accoutrements, and small arms were distributed among the Confederate troops. The damaged ammunition was sent to the ordnance bureau at Savannah, Georgia, to be made over.^ Olustee was a bloody check to the 1 Jnion cause in Flor- ida. It did not result in the withdrawal of the Federal army from the East Coast, but rather in confining Federal lines to Jacksonville, Fernandina, and St. Augustine — from which points small raiding parties slipped out to desolate and harry the country.^ Six days after Olustee, Confederate lines had been pushed to within a dozen miles of Jacksonville.^ This expedition to Florida had failed in both its political and military objects — not so completely in the latter as in the former. The Northern press hostile to the Lincoln administration did not let the disaster pass without unfavor- able comment — in fact, some journals criticised before the disaster. " Of course no military purpose took an army into Florida," stated the New York World, "as the conquest of Florida would do no more to put down the rebellion than would the occupation of Yucatan or Coney Island. The object is political. Florida has been marked out as one of the rotten borough states which are to help to make Mr. Lincoln President." * The New York Daily News alluded to the "Florida Tragedy"^ (Olustee) and held Mr. Lincoln " responsible ". The Herald stated that the Florida expedition was undertaken to bring the state back 1 Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 342-343. 'Ibid., pp. 19-23, 30-33, 35-38, 364-371, 374-376, 381-384, 393-398, 419- 423, 426, 427-444, etc. ' Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 333. * N. Y. World, February 13, 1864. * Townsend Library (Columbia University), v. 42, p. 115. 294 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA into the Union in order that Mr. Lincohi might have three more delegates for him in the nominating convention and Mr. Hay might go to Congress.' The Richmond (Va.) Examiner referred to the slaughter of negro troops at Olustee and stated that some of them had been promised farm lands in Florida for their services in conquering the state. ^ In the Federal Congress the Joint Committee on the Con- duct of the War presented an optimistic view of what happened in Florida ^ — for a regular part of the game of war and pcditics is to minimize reverses or twist them into victories. Secretary Seward with his characteristic optimism believed that " the defeat of General Seymour at Olustee in Florida was a surprise and a disaster, but it was no more than that ; it drew neither serious consequences nor strategic embarrassments after it." * Secretary Gideon Welles of the navy department jotted down in his diary, February 27th: Seward told me, in a whisper, that we had met a serious re- verse in Florida. It is not mentioned in the papers. This suppressing a plump and plain fact, already accomplished, be- cause unfortunate, is not wise. The Florida expedition has been one of the secret movements that lave been projected, I know not by whom, but suspect the President has been trying a game himself. He has done such things, and, I believe, al- ways unfortunately. I may be wrong in my conclusions, but his Secretary, John Hay, was sent off to join the forces at Port Royal and this expedition was then commenced. Admiral Dahlgren went off on it without orders from me, and had only ' A^. Y. Herald, February 23, 1864. * Richmond Examiner, March 12, 1864; also A^. Y. World, February 18, March i, 1864; N. Y. Times, February 13, [864; February 28, 1864. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 292. *" Diary," Seward's Works (Baker Ed.), v. 5, p. 120. THE OLUSTEE CAMPAIGN 295 time to advise me he was going. Though he has general directions to cooperate with the army, he would not have done this but from high authority.^ The immediate results of this expedition to Florida were about as follows: the capture, confiscation, stealing, or destruction of cotton, lumber, timber, turpentine, forage, live stock, food, clothing, and military supplies to the amount of more than $1,000,000; the recruitment of a few score negroes for the black regiments ; the capture of a few score Confederate soldiers and eight cannon; the failure to reconstruct the state government on a basis of loyalty to the tinion ; the loss of about 2,000 men in a bloody battle ; the hasty retreat of the invading army.' But the " Union bent " politicians of East Florida did not give up with Olustee. Nothing daunted them. Like Dickens' Mark Tapley, they found pleasure in misery, and like Mr. Micaw- ber, they awaited for something to " turn up ". A full delegation went from Florida to the Republican convention at Baltimore in the summer of 1864.* ^Diary of Gideon Welles, v. i, p. 531. * Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 275-408. 3 N. Y. Tribune, June 6, 1884. Delegates, all from East Florida, as follows: Buckingham Smith, St. Augustine; Jno. W. Smith, Jackson- ville; C. L. Robinson, Jacksonville; J. S. Sammis, Jacksonville; Philip Fraser, Jacksonville; Paran Moody, Jacksonville. CHAPTER XII The Last Year's Fighting The result of the fighting at Olustee forced the Federal troops in East Florida back to the three fortified towns on the northeast coast — Fernandina, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine. By the first of March, 1864, 8,000 Confederate troops from Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Flor- ida were strung out in a north-and-south line along the banks of McGirts creek, ^ twelve miles west of Jackson- ville. General Beauregard was in Florida personally di- recting the construction of a line of formidable works, three miles in length, built of " huge logs firmly fastened and covered with earth ". McGirts creek was a tortuous and deep moat for this barricade. The fortifications fol- lowed the course of the creek, a stone's throw to the west. The northern and southern flanks of the line were well protected by almost impassable swamps and sloughs.^ 1 Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 368. Report of Gen. Patton Anderson (C. S. A.) commanding the District of Florida. '^ Ibid., pp. 401-2. Gen. Gordon (U. S. A.) wrote after personally inspecting the works : " The log part was six feet wide at the bottom and three feet at the top. They were proof against field artillery. The stockades were composed of timbers from 12 to 16 inches thick with loop holes two feet apart. Their base was protected by ear h thrown up from a ditch which ran along the whole line of works. There was a salient or re-entering angle at about every 150 yards. Two batteries in the rear completely commanded the railroad, and in addition to being very strong were most elaborately finished, hav- ing a sharpness of outline almost equal to masonry. This line ex- tended one and one-half miles, when a new line began. Across the 296 THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 297 Eight miles in the rear, powerful stockades and entrench- ments stretched about the east, north, and south of Bald- wm. By the first of April, 1864, the works were complete. They were constructed under the direction of a skilful en- gineer (Beauregard) and seriously embarrassed Federal occupation of Northeast Florida. Two weeks after their completion a change of policy rendered most of this labor useless. Brigadier-General John P. Hatch, of the Union army, who commanded the Department of the South, began to withdraw troops from Florida. General Beauregard, in- formed by spies of this, was forced to withdraw Confed- erate troops from Florida as the immediate pressure there was relieved. The Southern forces in Florida were hurried to Savannah and into Virginia. The Confederate troops remaining in the state by the advent of the summer of 1864 were not sufficient to man these breastworks before Jacksonville and at the same time combat at other points the mroads of Federal raiders. By the middle of Alay, 1864, two-thirds of all Federal and Confederate forces in East Florida a month earlier had left the state. ^ For the rest of the war Florida was no more the scene of extensive movements by large bodies of soldiers. The state was harassed by a dismal series of dirt road north of the railroad the works were of the same class as those described, except that the stockades had platforms and em- brasures for field pieces. The works at that point were most solidly constructed and beautifully finished." ' f !' ^'"^'i ^'^''^■' '• '' ''■ ^^' P*- '' P- 371- Confederate spies re- ported that between April 8 and May 9 more than 9,000 troops left Jacksonville by transport. The course of the corresponding Confed- erate withdrawal was as follows: April 14, nth S. C. ; i6th 59th Va • 16-17, _i8th S. C, a siege train, and 26th Va. ; 19. Colquitt's Brigade of Georgia troops; 21, Gamble's Battery; 23, 4th Ga. Cavalry; 29, 64th Ga. Infantry; May 2. Naval Volunteers; 4, 5th Ga. Cavalry; 7, 1st Ga. Regulars. The destination of these troops was Savannah 298 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA forays : night marches, surprises, captures, skirmishes, burnings, pillagings, robberies, murders, strokes and coun- ter-strokes in active guerilla warfare, with now and then a skirmish which partook of the character of a formal battle. In East, West, and South Florida the only plan followed by the Federal army was to harry and desolate the country wherever and whenever possible. Detachments of mounted troops moved often under cover of night and usually sought cotton, cattle, and personal effects. The Confed- erate plan of resistance — if plan it can be called — was to dog the course of a superior force with skirmishing from cover; or to attempt by strategy and aggression to over- whelm smaller bodies. This last phase of the war presents a hideous and hope- less spectacle. The early glory, glamor, and promise of the struggle have faded. People know now the significance of the prayer " Good Lord deliver us from battle and murder, and from sudden death ". Marauders move with the shadows. " Hark, in the crackling brushwood There are feet that tread this way. There's rapine, fire, and slaughter From the mountains down to the shore; There's blood on the trampled harvest And blood on the homestead floor." ^ As military operations in Florida lacked the size and definite co-ordination of an organized campaign, a brief chronicle of the principal movements and engagements will furnish, probably, the clearest and fairest statement of how the war was fought to a finish in Florida. March i, 1864. A Federal column of cavalry and light artillery advances from Jacksonville toward McGirts creek. * Dc Bow's Review, September, 1866. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 299 After five hours of feeble skirmishing with trifling loss in wounded on each side it retires to Jacksonville/ March 10. Palatka — a village on the west bank of the St. Johns fifty miles south of Jacksonville — is occupied by four Federal regiments supported by several gunboats. No opposition is encountered. The Federal troops fortify their position.^ March 12-13. The Federal gunboat Columbine pro- ceeds up the St. Johns into Lake George where it captures without opposition the steamboat Sumter with passen- gers and crew.^ March 13. Confederate cavalry attack Federal out- posts near Palatka, capturing two and driving in the others.* March 31. A second skirmish occurs near Palatka with firing at long range. Confederate light cavalry forms a slender but fairly effective cordon about the town." April I. The Federal steam transport, Maple Leaf en route from Palatka to Jacksonville, is destroyed by a Confederate torpedo. She sinks in twelve minutes with a loss of four men. The narrows of the St. Johns river are ' Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 33. ^ Ibid., p. 22; N. Y. Herald, March 17, 1864; N. Y. Times, March 17, 1864. ^ Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 374-6. Reports of Brig-Gen. T. Seymour and Col. W. H. Barton (U. S. A.), commanding expedi- tion. N. Y. Tribune, Apr. i, 1864. The Tribune refers to the capture of several other steamers on the Central Florida lakes on this same expedition, among them the " Hattie " with several hundred bales of cot' on aboard. Official reports do not contain these details. It is pos- sible that graft entered into the disposal of property captured on raids. * Oif. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 383-384. Reports of Gen. Hatch and Col. G. V. Henry (40th Mass.), U. S. A., commanding Fed- eral troops in engagement. ^ Ibid., pp. 378-9. Report of Col. W. B. Barton (48th N. Y.), com- manding. 300 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA thickly planted with torpedoes by Confederate engineers working under cover of night/ April 2. The 40th Massachusetts Cavalry and two regi- ments of negro infantry move out of Jacksonville west to Cedar creek. Colonel Guy V. Henry commands. Severe skirmishing follows. The Federal forces are driven in with eight wounded. The Confederate loss is not recorded.^ April 1-2. A Federal detachment moves from Palatka south to Fort Gates, skirmishing with Confederate out- posts, plundering, and taking horses and cattle. A detach- ment of the 5th Georgia Cavalry is surprised by the Fed- eral troops and nine men are captured without violence. April I. Late at night Confederate cavalry surprise and capture three mounted pickets of the 40th Massachusetts Cavalry.^ April 16. The Federal steam transport Hunter is blown up by a torpedo near the wreck of the Maple Leaf. She sinks immediately with valuable quarter-master's stores. One man is drowned.* April 16. Federal troops begin to evacuate Palatka. They burn and otherwise destroy what they cannot carry away, and take up a new position at Picolata — on the east bank of the St. Johns and twenty miles nearer Jackson- ville. The site of Palatka is again occupied some weeks later.'' April 26-May 6. A Federal expedition supported by 1 Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 380-381. Reports of Brig- Gen. J. P. Hatch (U. S. A.) and of Capt. E. P. Bryan (C. S. A.), who placed the torpedo. Rpt. Secy. Navy (U. S.), 1864-5, p. 301. * Off Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 383-4. Reports of Gen. J. P. Ha'ch and Col. G. V. Henry (U. S. A.). ' Ibid., pp. 381-383- * Ibid., pp. 387-388. Report Gen. J. P. Hatch (U. S. A.). ^ Ibid., pp. 387-388. Rpt. Secy. Navy (U. S.), 1864-5, p. 303. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 301 gunboats moves from Jacksonville southward, along the east bank of the St. Johns to Lake Monroe. Two schooners loaded with cotton are taken at Smyrna, a few furloughed Confederate soldiers are captured in their homes, and the country traversed is plundered of its horses, mules, cattle, and cotton. No opposition is encountered. The success of the movement encourages plans for a larger expedition into South-Central Florida.^ May 6-y. A Federal expedition of negro infantry and Union Florida cavalry (white) enters Tampa bay on board Federal gunboats before daylight, May 6th. At daybreak the town is surprised. " The appearance of Tampa is desolate in the extreme," wrote the officer com- manding. " There are very few men in the place — hardly one able-bodied man between eighteen and fifty years of age." The town is pillaged. Private citizens are arrested at the town " hotel ". Three are shot " while trying to es- cape ". The fortifications about Tampa are burned or broken-up. The Federal troops depart on the gunboats. Practically no opposition is made by the irregular Confed- erate cavalry in the vicinity.^ May p. The Federal steam transport Harriet Weed is destroyed on the St. Johns by a torpedo. Six of the crew go down with the vessel. This is the third steamer de- stroyed on the St. Johns in forty days.' ' Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35. pt. i, pp. 388-389. Report of Gen. Wm. Birney, U. S. A., commanding the expedition. A''. Y. Tribune, May 18, 1864. The Tribune states that the expedition captured more than S.ooo cattle, a large number of horses and mules, and more than $1,- 000,000 worth of cotton. This is doubtless a heavy exaggeralion. Report Secy. Navy (U. S.), 1864-5, pp. 310-16. 2 Ibid., pp. 389-391- Reports of Brig.-Gen. D. P. Woodbury and Col. Fellows (2nd U. S. Colored Infy.), U. S. A. ' Ibid., p. 392. Reports of Brig.-Gen. J. P. Hatch, U. S. A., and Maj.-Gen. P. Anderson, C. S. A. Also p. 117, Rpt. Maj.-Gen. S. Jones, C. S. A. Also account in N. Y. Tribune, May 18, 1864. 302 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA May ip. Confederate cavalry under Dickison surprise and capture the Federal garrison of sixteen men at Welaka — on the east side of the St. Johns south of Palatka.^ May 21. Confederate cavalry under Dickison surprise and capture the Federal post at Saunders — near Welaka — w^ith garrison of forty-one men. The more important Federal post at Volusia is threatened.^ May 21. A Federal relief expedition of 700 infantry on board armed transports sets out from Jacksonville at eleven o'clock in the evening. Its destination is Volusia.^ May 22. The Federal relief expedition is put ashore opposite Palatka and begins its march toward Volusia. The gunboats are ordered to send up rockets if menaced with serious attack. Confederate scouts concealed in the woods are watching the movements of the Federal troops. Captain Dickison picks out twenty of his best riflemen and one battery of the Milton Light Artillery. Under cover he follows the three Federal gunboats until after dark, and at a favorable point opens fire with the artillery and rifles — concentrating on the steamer Columbine. " After the sec- ond fire from our battery she became disabled," he records. " We continued to pour canister and solid shot while our sharp-shooters kept a constant and well-directed fire until she became unmanageable and grounded. . . . Her colors were shot away and her white flag was hoisted. The en- gagement lasted forty-five minutes. After the engagement several jumped overboard and swam to the opposite shore ' Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 393-396. Reports of Brig.- Gen. Geo. Gordon, U. S. A., and Maj.-Gen. Sam. Jones, C. S. A. There is some contradiction in the details of these reports. * Ibid., pp. 393-396; A'^. Y. Herald, June 3, 1864. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 394. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 303 but most were drowned." The loss on the Columbine is found to be twenty killed. Sixty-live are taken prisoner — among them the wounded. Most of the killed and wounded are negro soldiers of the 35th Infantry. The other two Federal gunboats — Houghton and Ottawa — are damaged by the artillery but escape toward Jacksonville. No one is injured in the Confederate command.^ May 2j. Long-distance skirmishing occurs between Jacksonville and Camp Finegan, to the west. No one is injured. " I have not men enough to spare any without more gain than Florida pines," records the Federal com- mander.^ June 2-j. A Federal expedition, 2,500 strong, moves in two columns by night from Jacksonville toward the forti- fications along McGirts creek. Three of the eight regi- ments are black. The small Confederate force retires with- out resistance and making a detour attacks the Federal force in the rear. The latter retreats to Jacksonville. The loss is a few wounded on both sides.^ June 15-20. A Federal raiding expedition of blacks and whites moves from Jacksonville to Trout creek. The raid- ers plunder and destroy lumber and a saw-mill and collect negroes and some personal booty. They engage a small 1 Naval War Reds., s. i, v. 15, pp. 440-454 (Un. and Confed. Re- ports). Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 393-398. Reports of Brig.-Gen. Geo. Gordon, U. S. A., Maj.-Gen. Sam. Jones, C. S. A., and Capt. J. J. Dickison, C. S. -A..; and Gen. Orders no. 25 (Dist. Fla.), C. S. A. Also account in A'^. Y. Herald, June 3, 1864. Letter from Hilton Head. Rpt. Secy. Navy, 1864-5, pp. 326-37. Mrs. Dickison, Dickison and His Men, passim. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 399. Report of Gen. Geo. Gordon, U. S. A. * Itid., pp. 401-403. Reports of Brig.-Gen. Geo. Gordon, U. S. A. (commanding expedition) ; and Maj.-Gen. P. Anderson, C. S. A. 304 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA band of Confederate cavalry and suffer a loss of one killed and one wounded. The Confederate loss is not recorded/ July 2^-28. The Federal army at Jacksonville makes a determined move against the Confederate fortifications on McGirts creek. It drives the Confederate garrison from the breastworks, burns the railroad-bridge over the St. Marys, tears up a section of railroad track between Cedar Keys and Baldwin, and captures twelve prisoners and a quantity of stores — all with a trifling loss in wounded. The Federal troops occupy Baldwin.^ August S- Federal troops abandon Palatka. Confed- erate cavalry capture without violence eight men of the 40th Massachusetts Cavalry near Palatka.^ August 10-12. Negro troops begin the destruction of the railroad track between Jacksonville and Baldwin. They are attacked by Confederate cavalry near Magnolia. The engagement is not decisive. The Federal loss is one killed and four wounded. The Confederate loss is not recorded.* August 15. Baldwin is evacuated by the Union troops. As the army moves out in two columns the village and for- tifications are set afire. One column proceeds toward Cedar Keys — south; the other, toward Gainesville — southeast.^ August 16. The Cedar Keys column encounters no oppo- sition. " The next morning," recorded the leader, " we ^ Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 410-413. Reports of Brig.- Gen. Birney, U. S. A.; Lt.-Col. A. H. McCormick, U. S. A., and Maj.- Gen. Jones, C S. A. ' Ibid., pp. 419-423. ^Reports of Brig.-Gen. Wm. Birney and Lt.-Col. A. H. McCormick, U. S. A. Also see account in N. Y. Times, August 8, 1864. ' Oif. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 36. * Ibid., p. 426. Report of Brig.-Gen. J. P. Hatch, U. S. A. * Ibid., p. 36. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 305 continued our route southward by the road leading through the Sand Hill Lake country — a most interesting and beau- tiful region. We encamped at night at Shake Rug Cor- ner." The expedition ruthlessly plunders and burns. ^ August J/. The column of Federal troops from Bald- win heading southeast make a night march to Starke — a railroad junction. There it sets fire to railroad cars and warehouses full of supplies, and promptly pushes on to Gainesville. The raiders enter that town just after day- light. They begin to pillage the almost deserted homes. Outposts bring information that Confederate cavalry is approaching, and in a few minutes 175 horsemen led by Dickison burst into Gainesville. A savage, scattered fight follows. The Federal force is utterly dispersed. Twenty- eight are killed, five wounded, and almost two hundred taken prisoners. About 125 escape to the woods. The Confederate loss is one killed and five wounded.' September 24. Dickison's cavalry menaces the Federal garrison at Magnolia. The Federal troops throw up en- trenchments.' September 28. A Federal raiding column moves from St. Augustine and Jacksonville southward into Volusia County — east of the St. Johns river. Cotton and cattle are ' Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 429-431. Report of Col. W. H. Noble, U. S. A., commanding expedition. Gen. J. P. Hatch (U. S. A.) said of Noble's report: "I am sorry to state that Col. Noble did not take the route he was instructed to take. His movement was in- tended to be a demonstration against Lake City, to be made on the west side of the railroad. He appears to have kept almost entirely to the east side of the road." * Ibid., pp. 22-23, 427-440. Reports of Brig.-Gen. J. P. Hatch (U. S. A.); Col. W. H. Noble (U. S. A.); Col. A. L. Harris (U. S. A.); Maj.-Gen. S. Jones (C. S. A.); Brig.-Gen. J. K. Jackson (C. S. A.); Capt. J. J. Dickison (C. S. A.) ; Col. A. H. McCormick (U. S. A.). * Ibid., p. 37. 3o6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA sought but very little is found. No armed opposition is en- countered/ October 4-8. Federal raiders again enter Volusia County. They obtain some horses and mules and a few prisoners. Again no armed opposition is encountered.^ October 11-15. ^ small Federal raiding column moves south from Jacksonville, plundering orange groves. Oper- ations are exclusively east of the St. Johns. ^ October 24. A detachment of Federal cavalry and in- fantry (blacks and whites), fifty-five strong, moves out from Magnolia going south. They burn and plunder some of the remaining homes in the neighborhood. Dickison's cavalry attacks them on the flank, killing ten, wounding eight, and capturing twenty-three. " By the protection of Divine Providence," reports Dickison, "all come out safe." * Novejnber 4. The post of Magnolia, west of Jackson- ville is abandoned by the Federal military. Empire Mills on the St. Johns above Jacksonville is also abandoned. Federal troops are concentrated at Jacksonville.^ December 24. Colonel Noble, of the 17th Connecticut, Captain Young, of the 117th Ohio, and Lieutenant Rice, of the 35th Colored Infantry are captured by two Confederate scouts while en route from Jacksonville to St. Augustine." February 5, 1865. Fifty-two men of the 17th Connecti- 1 Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. zi- 2 Ibid., p. 38. * Ibid., p. 38. " Over 300 bbls. were obtained. A part was distributed to the troops in the district and the remainder shipped to Hilton Head." * Ibid., pp. 38, 446-447. Report of Capt. J. J. Dickison, C. S. A. The Federals claim that only three were killed. They admit a total loss in killed, wounded, and captured of 29. Richmond Whig, Nov. 6, 1864. ^ Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 44, pp. 824-825; v. 47, pt. 2, p. 1006. Letter of Brig.-Gen. E. Scammon, U. S. A. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 307 cut leave Jacksonville with forty horses on a raid for cotton. Eighty men under Dickison surprise this detachment at Braddock's Farm, near Welaka. The raiders lose one man killed and one wounded. The entire Federal command sur- renders/ March 7-12. An expedition of negro soldiers and civil- ians moves from Jacksonville south into Marion County. Horses and cattle are taken from owners. Confederate cavalry engage the band, killing two and wounding one.^ March 17. Picolata is definitively abandoned. Its Fed- eral garrison is transferred to St. Augustine.^ March 19. Indecisive skirmishing occurs at Welaka and Saunders in Volusia County.* Forts Barrancas and Pickens were the only points in Florida west of the St. Johns which were held permanently after 1862. Six miles from Barrancas is Pensacola. The town was then practically under Federal guns. This nar- row zone of Federal territory is near the western border of the state. A force varying from 1,800 to 3,000 men was in garrison at Barrancas. The commandant was Brigadier- General Alexander Asboth, a native Hungarian who had served under Kossuth in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. With him were several Slav and Magyar comrades in arms — younger men than he — who held commissions in the Federal army. Three of them were popularly reputed to be the nephews of Louis Kossuth.^ A portion of As- 1 Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 47, pt. i, p. i ; pt. 2, pp. 166, 392. 2 Ibid., p. I. » Ibid., p. I. * Ibid., p. I. ' N. y. Times, Nov. 26, 1864. The officers referred to as Louis Kos- suth's nephews were Col. L. L. Zulavszky, Maj. Ruttsiag (ist Fla. Union Cavalry), and Lieut. E. Zulavszky. The other Hungarians serving under Asboth in Florida were, Capts. Csermelyi, Gaal, Mes- poros, and Rombauer. 208 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA both's force was black, recruited partly from negroes in the vicinity. When not engaged in the barbarous practice of pillaging, Asboth was an urbane, pleasant fellow with a great love for flowers and a keen interest in dogs and fine horses. He and his fellow Hungarians were hated, dreaded, and condemned by the country people of that section on the triple charge of being " furreners ", Yankees, and " nigger lovers ". Certainly Barrancas proved a thorn in the side of West Florida. From it, as from Jacksonville, raiders went forth to lay waste the exhausted country. Night and day Confederate mounted outposts, hardly out of cannon range, watched the trails and roads radiating from Pensacola and Barrancas. The course of military events in Central and West Flor- ida during the last year of the war was as follows : April 2, 1864. A small detachment of the 14th New York Cavalry engage in hand-to-hand fight with a small detachment of the 7th Alabama Cavalry. The Confeder- ate cavalry is routed, losing ten as prisoners and several horses. The Federal loss is three wounded and nine horses.^ May 24. A detachment of the 14th New York Cavalry advances from Barrancas toward Pensacola and meets a detachment of the 15th Confederate Cavalry at the Big Bayou. The Federal force retreats after harmless skir- mishing.^ June 25. A Confederate boat expedition sets out from Milton — a hamlet near Pensacola occupied by Confed- erate cavalry — for the Yellow river to intercept trade be- tween the Federal military and " Union men " (deserters). Two Federal schooners are surprised and captured at the Wff. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 385-387- Reports of Brig.- Gen. A. Asboth and Capt. A. Schmidt, U. S. A. ' Ibid., pp. 398-399. Report of Brig.-Gen. A. Asboth, U. S. A. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 309 mouth of the Yellow river. Another schooner is taken in East bay after a fight in which three men are killed/ July 21-25. General Asboth advances from Barrancas at the head of 1,100 men — blacks and whites. The column leaves Barrancas quietly at night. Its ultimate goal is Baldwin County, Alabama, where spies report opportunity to profitably raid, burn, and cut-off the small detachments of Confederate troops guarding the country. At day- break the Federal troops encounter 360 men of the 7th Ala- bama Cavalry at the " Fifteen Mile House " beyond Pen- sacola. The Confederate force takes refuge in a barricade called " Fort Hodgson " and after a show of resistance re- treats. The total loss is a few wounded on each side. News reaches Asboth of an overwhelming force ahead. He re- tires to Barrancas.^ July I. A Federal expedition from Fort Meyers — South Florida — sails for Bayport, on the west coast of Florida near Cedar Keys. It is composed of the 2nd U. S. Col- ored Infantry and the 2nd " Union " Florida Cavalry (white) — 240 men.' July 6. A Federal column of blacks and whites advances from Cedar Keys on the Gulf into the interior. A few miles from the coast it is attacked by Confederate cavalry and falls back to Cedar Keys with a loss of eight wounded. July 15-20. The Federal raiders from Bayport march forty miles inland, successfully beat off weak attacks by Confederate cavalry, plunder plantations, burn houses, and take or destroy cattle and cotton.* * Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 404-405. (Report Capt. W. B. Amos, C. S. A. * ibid., pp. 413-419. Reports of Brig.-Gen. A. Asboth (U. S. A.). 3 Ibid., pp. 413-419. * Ibid., pp. 405-408. Reports of Capt. H. W. Bowers and Maj. E. C. Weeks, U. S. A. N. Y. Herald, Sept. 10, 1864. 3IO RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA July 20-2p. An expedition of 400 men from the 2nd U. S. Colored Infantry and 2nd Florida Cavalry goes from Cedar Keys on Federal transports to St. Andrews bay. The troops land, march forty-four miles into the interior, burn two river bridges, one large grist mill, eighty bales of cotton, and a quantity of stores, and gathering-up 115 negroes and a few horses, they return to the coast. They encounter no armed opposition.^ July 2p-ji. A Federal raiding party advances from Cedar Keys along the Florida railroad track. It captures 140 bales of cotton, burns the railroad bridge over the VVassas- see river — thirty miles from the Gulf — and tears up the railroad track for a quarter of a mile.^ August /. A Confederate cavalry detachment visits " Gonzalez House " near Bayou Grand at night. Those on the Federal gunboats on Pensacola bay notice the " bright lights " in the house and they open fire. The house is burned.* August 13-14. General Asboth leads a raiding column 1,400 strong of blacks and whites west from Barrancas across the Perdido river into Baldwin County, Alabama. Heavy rains and marshy country delay his advance. He is informed that 5,000 Confederate troops are in Baldwin County and thereupon retires to Barrancas.* August 2g. A strong detachment of infantry, cavalry, and artillery leaves Barrancas by steamer for the nearby town of Milton. The Federal force lands at Bayou Mu- latte, Escambia bay, marches to Milton, surprises the cav- ^ Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 405-6. Report of Capt. H. W. Bowers, U. S. A. 1^ ^ Ibid., p. 405. ' Ihid., pp. 424-425. Reports of Brig.-Gen. A. Asboth, U. S. A. •* Ibid., pp. 426-427. Report of Brig.-Gen. A. Asboth, U. S. A. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 311 airy guard, and captures four troopers. There is a brief and harmless skirmish.^ September i8-Octoher 4. General x\sboth leaves Barran- cas at the head of 700 picked mounted troops — blacks and whites — and several pieces of light artillery. The expe- dition crosses Pensacola bay and moves by Andrew Jack- son's old military road fifty miles to East Pass. Here the raiders take on supplies from their steamer Lizzie Davis, and then march rapidly northeast into Washington and Walton Counties. At daybreak, September 2j, they surprise the village of Eucheanna, plundering homes, gathering up horses and mules, and mak- ing prisoners of fifteen private citizens. From Eucheanna the raiding column heads for Jackson County. News of its approach reaches the town of Marianna — the county seat — several hours ahead of the Federal troops. Preparations are hastily made at Marianna for resistance. A few de- pleted companies of irregular Confederate troops are in and about the town. Old men and boys are armed with what weapons they can secure — shot-guns and squirrel rifles. A barricade is erected at the forking of the two pikes within the town. There about 300 old men and boys await the arrival of the Federal column. The raiders come up rapidly. They sweep aside the bar- ricade with artillery and follow this with a determined charge by the 2nd Maine Cavalry. The Confederate force breaks up. Some flee through the town for the Chipola river beyond. Some take refuge in the Episcopal church near the barricade and continue the fight from its windows. A torch is thrown against the church. It takes fire. As its occupants rush from the burning building they are shot 1 Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i. v. 35, pt. i, p. 442. Report of Brig.-Gen. A. A.sboth, U. S. A. 312 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA down and fall amid the gravestones of the churchyard. Some of the boys are burned to death in the church. At the bridge across the Chipola a desperate resistance beats back the Federal advance. Marianna is plundered. Eighty-one prisoners are taken/ 200 horses, 600 negroes, and 400 cattle. The Federal loss is thirty-nine killed and wounded. The Confederate loss is not recorded. That night the Federal column quits Marianna on its return march to Pensacola. The prisoners and movable booty are carried along.^ October 18. 200 Federal raiders from Barrancas move up the Escambia river seeking timber and lumber. They are attacked from the shore and forced to retreat with sev- eral wounded men.^ October 18. A small detachment of troops from Bar- rancas attacks a band of Confederate cavalry in Milton. The Federal force draws away with a loss of one killed and several wounded. The Confederate loss is not recorded.* October 19-25. Federal raiders operate along the shores of Escambia bay. They meet with no resistance and return with 20,000 brick. ^ October 25. A Federal detachment from Barrancas, 600 strong, of blacks and whites, descends on Milton. It drives out the Confederate cavalry and captures nine prisoners. ^ Concerning the prisoners, see Gov. Milton to Gen. Maury, C. S. A. (Mobile), Oct. 13, 1864; Oct. 17, 1864; G. T. Baltzell from Milton, Nov. II, 1864, Milton Papers. "^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 37, 443-445. Report of Gen. A. Asboth, U. S. A., who was severely wounded. » Ibid., p. 38. * Ibid., pp. 445-446. Reports of Brig.-Gen. J. Bailey and Col. A. B. Spurling, U. S. A. » Ibid., p. 38. THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 313 The loss on each side is a few wounded. A small quantity of lumber and timber is captured/ January i6-2p, 1865. A force of thirty-five men from the Federal blockading fleet enters St. Andrews bay, lands, and proceeds across country to the Chattahoochee river with the intention of capturing or destroying the steamer plying from Columbus (Ga.) to Reeve's Bluff (Fla.). After sundry adventures the raiders fail to destroy the steamer, but capture fifteen prisoners, burn a corn-crib, and carry away forty-one slaves.^ February 8. A Federal column of 400 negroes and na- tive " Union " cavalry moves out of Cedar Keys up the east bank of the Suwanee river. They collect negroes, set fire to Confederate and state commissary stores at several points, and gather up horses, cattle and cotton. At Levy- ville they are attacked by a squad of fifteen Confederate cavalrymen, and lose two wounded. Captain Dickison in East Florida hears of the raiding, and at the head of 145 horsemen, makes a forced march across the country to in- tercept the Federal troops. February /j. At daybreak Dickison's detachment — 145 strong — strikes the Federal raiders — 400 strong (blacks and whites) — at Station Number Four. The fighting is at long range and lasts more than three hours. The Federal force abandons much of its property and retreats toward Cedar Keys. Its loss is five killed, eighteen wounded, and about forty captured. The Confederate loss is two killed and five wounded.^ 1 Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, p. 38. N. Y. Herald, Nov. 8, 1864. Extracts from Mobile Tribune of Oct. 28:h. The 8th Miss, were doing garrison duty at Milton. ^Report Secy. Navy (U. S.), 1864-5, pp. 354-7. ' Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 49, pt. i, pp. 40-43. Reports of Maj. E. C. Weeks, U. S. A. (commanding Federal column) ; Capt. J. J. Dick- 314 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA February 20. A force of several hundred Confederate troops with one piece of artillery attacks Fort Meyers, South Florida. Nine Federal pickets are captured and one picket is killed. Some of the cattle of the Fort Meyers gar- rison are driven off/ February 22-2^. Federal forces from Key West and Fort Meyers are concentrated at Cedar Keys. A descent on St. Marks and possibly the interior of Florida via Talla- hassee is planned. February 28. Federal transports with nearly 1,000 troops arrive off St. Marks bay in a dense fog. They await the naval force which is to assist in the operations. March 1-3. The fleet is mobilized off St. Marks under cover of a dense fog and a landing is begun. ^ March 4. At sunset a messenger reports at Tallahassee that fourteen Federal ships are off St. Marks and that 500 men are ashore. This is the first news. St. Marks is twenty-five miles from Tallahassee. Frantic efforts are made to prepare for resistance. A few companies of regu- lar troops are available. They are rushed to St. Marks. General William Miller takes command at the front. Old men and boys swell the Confederate force to about 1,500. The student cadet corps at the state seminary goes to the front. To reach Tallahassee from St. Marks bay without a long detour through the wilderness it is necessary to cross either the Wakulla or St. Marks river. Confederate troops are strung out along these streams to check the Federal advance. The railroad is watched. The bridge over the East river — between the ison, C. S. A. (commanding Confederate column) ; and Maj.-Gen. S. Jones, C. S. A. 1 Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 49, pt. i, pp. 53-54. 'Report of Capt. Jas. Doyle, U. S. A. ^Report Secy. Navy (U. S.), 1864-5, pp. 351-353- THE LAST YEAR'S FIGHTING 315 village of St. Marks and the Union troops — is destroyed. Guards are placed opposite all fordable points on the rivers, and breastworks are erected opposite the Natural Bridge over the St. Marks. These preparations are made during the night of the 4th and the morning of the 5th. March 5. The Federal force composed of the 2nd and 99th Colored Infantry and the 2nd Union Florida Cavalry (white) — 900 strong — under General Newton, moves for- ward slowly toward the St. Marks river. Confederate skirmishers retire, setting fire to property ahead of the Federal troops — bridges, fences, barns, a grist mill, a saw mill, and an iron foundry. The bridge over the St. Marks river is destroyed. The Federal column, guided by Union men, moves up the river toward the Natural Bridge — twelve miles away — by "an old and unfrequented road." March 6. Just at daybreak the Federal troops make a determined and spirited attempt to force the passage of the Natural Bridge. They become entangled in wide and deep sloughs and are swept by a heavy " cross fire " from the Confederate breastworks. With some loss in dead and wounded they withdraw and slowly begin their retreat toward the Gulf. By sunset the next day they are under the protection of the fleet's guns. The Federal loss in this engagement is twenty-one killed, eighty-nine wounded, and thirty-eight captured. The Confederate loss is three killed and twenty-two wounded.^ The operations about St. Marks in early March, 1865, culminating in the sharp fight at Natural Bridge (called in Florida the " Battle of Natural Bridge"), were practi- cally the closing conflicts of the Civil War in Florida. ^ Off. Reds. Rehell., s. i, v. 49, pt. i. Reports of Brig.-Gen. J. Newton, U. S. A. (commanding Federal troops) ; Maj. E. C. Weeks, U. S. A.; Special Order, no. 49 (C. S. A., Dist. of Florida) ; extracts from Talla- hassee papers. 3i6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA They were the last desperate and successful efforts by the remnant of the fighting population to beat back raiders from half-starved families and desolated homes, and to pro- tect the state capital/ ^ Tallahassee was the only state capital in the Confederacy east of the Mississippi not taken by force of arms during the war. BOOK III POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION " By these recent successes the reinauguration of the national au- thority — reconstruction — which has had a large share of thought from the first, is pressed much more closely upon our attention. It is fraught with great difficulty. Unlike a case of war between inde- pendent nations, there is no authorized organ for us to treat with — no one man has the authority to give up the rebellion for any other man. We simply must begin with and mould from disorganized and discordant elements." — Abraham Lincoln, last public address, April ii, 1865. CHAPTER XIII The End of the War The surrender of the armies of Lee and Johnston brought the struggle to an end. The South was crushed. The conflict had swept over the Confederacy like some hideous flood. A great state, conceived in the excitement of revolution, crumbled in disaster. Its blood and sinew had been sucked under in the maelstrom. " A war had been fought for four years; its scale of magnitude was unpre- cedented in modern times," wrote Pollard in 1866, and the general truth of the observation holds to-day ; " its opera- tions had extended from the silver thread of the Potomac to the black boundaries of the western deserts; its track of blood reached 4,000 miles; the ground of Virginia had been kneaded with human flesh ; its monuments of carnage, its spectacles of desolation, its altars of sacrifice stood from the wheat fields of Pennsylvania to the vales of New Mex- ico." ^ More than a billion dollars of property in the South had been literally destroyed by the conflict.^ A great change had taken place. Weed-choked fields, desolated gar- dens, charred and blasted towns, ravished homes attested the reality of the change. But it is not merely loss of property in a desolated country that clothes with eternal sadness memor- ies of the war. Some things cannot be thoroughly vitalized by even true statistics. That generation of Southern folk * Lost Cause, p. 726. * An estimate based upon the findings of the Joint Select Committee of Congress in 1871, H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. i, pp. 102-212. See figures on cost of the war, Rhodes, U. S., v. 5, p. 188. 7jr 320 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA had moved through the Valley of the Shadow. There are no statistics for such experiences. The palpable tragedy of violent death had befallen the family circles of the South's patriotic not merely twice as frequently as in times of peace, or three times as frequently, or even ten times, but a hundred times as frequently.^ Within the space of four years was crowded the sorrow of a century. Mourning for more than 250,000 dead on battle-field or on the sea or in military hospitals was the ghastly heritage of the war for the South's faithful who survived." These 250,000 came mostly from the courageous, positive, idealistic folk of the Southern States. The majority of the dead were young men. Thousands were mere boys. Verily, " a voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not ". The land lay wrapped in the peaceful languor of a gorgeous spring as the war-drums ceased. Many hopes died forever with the echo of those drums. Many strong men wept like children when they turned forever from the struggle. As in rags they journeyed homeward toward their veiled and stricken women they passed wearily among the flowers and the tender grasses of the spring. The panoply of nature spread serenely over the shallow trenches where lay the bones of unnumbered dead — sons, fathers, brothers, and one-time enemies of the living who passed. It hid the ugly scars of conflict on many a field or river bank or height or lonely forest road made famous by the blood and deathless valor of Americans. Through the * Compare " violent deaths " in census of i860 with estimates of losses in war. * Livermore, T. L., Numbers and Losses, pp. 1-9; Rhodes, U. S., v. 5, pp. 186-188; Herbert in Photographic History of the Civil War, v. 10, p. 148. THE END OF THE WAR 321 Civil War the people of the United States progressed much nearer a common or harmonious conception of what nation- alism was to mean for them. But this progress toward har- mony was made at heavy cost in property, in human en- deavor, in blood, in tears, in mental anguish, in bitter pre- judice long to survive. A like amount of human energy expended could have destroyed and rebuilt the pyramids of Gizeh, or dug five Panama Canals. War at best is a barbarous business. Among civilized men wars are waged avowedly to obtain a better and more honorable peace. How often the avowed objects are the' true objects is open to question. Avowedly the American Civil War was waged that a certain interpretation of the Federal Constitution might triumph. To bring about such a triumph atrocities were committed in the name of right, invading armies ravaged the land, the slave was encouraged to rise against his master, and he was declared to be free. " The end of the State is therefore peace," concluded Plato in his Laws — *' the peace of harmony." The gentle and reasonable man of to-day has not progressed much beyond this concept. Civilization itself probably never begot a single war, but many a war has tested civilization. If war performs any useful function, it is that of sometimes sounding the depths of the law — written and unwritten. Scientifically considered, war, like personal crime, belongs to the realm of social pathology, and many a worthy historian will no doubt endorse the verdict of the mystic, Emerson, that " all history is the decline of war. though the slow decline." Many men of to-day would, if ques- tioned, comment on such a conclusion unconsciously after the words of the Greek philosopher. " War is eternal," wrote Plato, " in man and the State." Most men of to-day, as of yore, find glory in combat, and the fearful dynamic energy unchained in great wars presents to them 322 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA an alluring though ghastly spectacle. Tremendous changes take place rapidly, men and things are put to spectacular hazard, contrasts are accentuated, the com- mon mind is bent completely to the accomplishment of a common purpose at heavy cost — and through it all wind the seductive and traditional paths of glory. Though na- tions are strangled by war, nations are usually born of war, not peace. Though devils become popular heroes by suc- cess in war, hero worship in its finer sense is a cult con- comitant with war, not peace. The American Civil War strangled the Confederacy and gave rebirth to the United States. It brought forth a whole brood of devils and also revealed many a worthy hero to both sections. Seen through the twilight of the receding past a war is apt to take on a character different from the grisly truth. There- fore we have enlightened and eloquent contemners of peace. " We talk of peace and learning," said Ruskin once, in addressing the cadets of the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, " and of peace and plenty, and of peace and civilization, but I found that those were not the words which the muse of history coupled together, that on her lips the words were peace and sensuality, peace and selfish- ness, peace and corruption, peace and death." Hence this man of peace glorified war after no doubt a very cursory examination of the muse of history. Florida had borne its full part in this struggle which strangled the Confederacy. More than 16,000 of its citizens had gone to war — the best men in the state. Approximately 15,000 had served in the Confederate army — 6,700 for the entire war or until disabled or killed ; 6,400 for the last three years of war or until disabled or killed; and 2,000 for the last two years or less.^ More * These estimates are made mainly from Roberston, F. L., Soldiers of Florida, pp. 35-321. Col. Robertson used the Off. Reds. Rebell., THE END OF THE WAR 323 than twelve hundred had served in the Union army/ 1 he voting population in the state in i860 was 14,374.^ Florida troops served in all of the greater battles. More than 1,000 were killed outright on the field of battle. More than 5,000 were wounded, and many of these died of their wounds. Disease swept away as many as bullets. At least 5,000 Florida soldiers were dead by the spring of '65 as a result of campaigning.^ Some regiments were reduced to little more than squads. The 2nd Infantry began in 1861 with company and regimental rolls, and other miscellaneous sources, to construct his regimental rosters and histories. The troops enlisted during 1861 numbered 6,762. Practically all re- enlisted for the war or were conscripted for the following year. The regiments of 1861 were as follows : ist, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Infy., with re- spectively 1,288. 1,270, 1,089, and 1,060 men and officers; ist Cavalry, 905; three batteries of artillery, 331; nine "independent" or unat- tached companies (state militia). Most of these companies entered Confederate service in 1862 when the state militia was disbanded. 1862: 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Infy., 1,193, 1,032, 1,066, and 1,149 nien and officers respectively; 2nd (Fla.) and isth ("Confederate") Cavalry, 1,266 and 473 strong respectively; three batteries of artillery, 295 strong; one independent cavalry and one independent infantry com- pany, in all, for 1862, 6.477 (enlisted for war). 1863-4: 9th, loth, and nth Infantry, 722, 1,220, and 460 respectively; 5th Cavalry, 763; and ist Infantry Reserves, 331, with 8 or 10 inde- pendent or unattached companies of 20 or 30 men each. Total enlist- ments for 1863-4, 3.657. Many men enlisted during the last two years of war who Lad enlisted during the first two years and had been sent home wounded or ill. Thus there is considerable duplication. Simply adding up the regimental and company rasters of Confederate organi- zations, we find that from Florida is a total of 12,792 infantry, 3,688 cavalry, and 626 artillery — in all 17,106. This is too high because of duplication; 15,000 is a very conservative estimate. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. iii, v. 4, p. 1269. Fla. furnished 1,290 three- year white volunteers. * Greeley, American Conflict, v. i; see also Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. iv, V. II, p. 648. * An estimate based on Robertson, op. eit., passim, and numerous references to Florida troops in Off. Reds. Rebell. 324 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA 1,274 men. Only sixty-six surrendered at Appomattox. The 5th Infantry began in 1861 with ahiiost eleven hun- dred; fifty-three laid down their arms at Appomattox — and so on.^ The others were dead, disabled, deserters or prisoners. The actual destruction of property within the state was enormous. The assessed value of real and personal prop- erty, exclusive of slaves, shrank from approximately $47,- 000,000 in i860 to $25,000,000 in 1865 — a decline of 47 per cent. Among the states east of the Mississippi, only South Carolina and Alabama surpassed Florida in the pro- portional decline of property values. In addition to this, the freeing of the slaves of Florida destroyed approxi- mately $22,000,000 in values.^ " The loss of property is universal," declared a citizen of Florida in summing-up the situation about him. All have suffered. Thousands have been reduced from afflu- ence to poverty. The loss of life, who can estimate? There is scarcely a Southern home that is not clad in mourning for some cherished member of the household. Districts of coun- try larger than areas of states have been rendered desolate by the hostile armies of invasion. The hope of Southern inde- pendence so fondly cherished by many has been lost forever. Political power and influence have passed away and the proud statesman of the South cannot exercise the rights of citizen- ship. What more could the bitterest enemy ask or desire ?" ^ Mr. Lincoln, soon to rest well from his arduous labors, referred with characteristic poise and humanity to the situ- ' Robertson, F. L., op. cit., pp. 79, 136, etc. * Based upon report of Select Committee, 1871. H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd s., no. 22, v. i, pp. 160-161. The proportional decline of property values — exclusive of slaves — was as follows : Ark., 53 per cent ; S. C, 36 per cent; Fla., 47 per cent; Tex., 31 per cent; Miss., 30 per cent; Ga., 23 per cent; N. C, 18 per cent; Va., 12 per cent. ^ Letter of E. C. Cabell, of Florida, in De Bow's Review, Jan., 1866. THE END OF THE WAR 325 ation in which the nation found itself in 1865. " Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained," he said: Neither anticipated that the cause of conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God ; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assist- ance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The pray- ers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. . . . With malice toward none; with charity for all, with firm- ness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds ; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations. When news first drifted into Florida that Lee had sur- rendered it was not credited. Telegraph wires were down in most directions and news traveled slowly and through devious channels.^ General Sam Jones at Tallahassee issued a statement to his troops telling them to pay no heed to wild rumors of disaster probably put in circulation by the en- emy.^ Then followed Johnston's surrender, and slowly the truth came through. " We were slow to believe it," stated one citizen in later years, " but finally had to accept the in- ' Oif. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, p. 409; v. 49, pt. 2, p. 682. ' Jones, Our Women in War-Time, chap. " Closing Scenes in Flor- ida." The author states that she has in her possession this statement of Gen. Jones to his army. 326 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA evitable "/ Official dispatches were received from John- ston himself confirming rumors of what had transpired. It became necessary for leaders of the little army in Florida to prepare for the inevitable. Some advocated a continu- ation of hostilities in the form of guerilla warfare. But General Jones and those with him in policy won the troops over to a more reasonable point of view, and all prepared to lay down their arms and go home.^ " I was startled yesterday by a cry from one of the little black boys of ' Yankees ! Yankees ! ' " writes Mrs. Long, and I found myself running with the rest of the children to the front to see Gen. McCook and staff enter to take posses- sion of our little city [Tallahassee]. This Raw-Head-and- Bloody-Bones that had been threatening us for so long made a very modest appearance ; respecting the humiliation of our people by leaving his cavalry some four miles distant.' Brigadier-General McCook came under orders from Major-General J. H. Wilson to receive the surrender of those Confederate forces in Florida under the com- mand of Major-General Jones. " Upon your arrival at Tallahassee," read the orders, " you will take all necessary steps to carry into effect the terms of the convention ar- ranged by General Sherman and General Johnston." He was specially charged to seize all " agitators " and was to compel all editors of newspapers to publish their papers in the interests of peace and good order. He was to discoun- tenance all public meetings and to protect public property.* Setting out from Macon, Georgia, on May 5th with five 1 Richardson, S. P., Lights and Shadows of Itinerant Life, p. 179. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, pp. 409, 419, etc. * Long, Florida Breezes, pp. 380-381. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, p. 602. THE END OF THE WAR 327 companies of the 2nd Indiana and 7th Loyal Kentucky Cavalry, McCook reached Tallahassee on the loth.^ Gen- eral Jones, commanding all Confederate troops in Flor- ida, had been for some weeks in communication with Brig- adier-General Vogdes (U. S. A.) at Jacksonville — first, concerning the Sherman-Johnston truce, and later, after news of Johnston's definitive surrender (April 26th), con- cerning terms of capitulation for his own force.^ Florida was included in the Federal military Department of the South. Vogdes was the commander in Florida, but under General Gillmore, who was the head of the department.^ Jones had formally offered to surrender on certain terms to Vogdes.* That officer had hesitated and sent to Gill- more for instructions. Meantime McCook had arrived in Tallahassee and the surrender was officially made to him. Vogdes was angry. He considered McCook's action a piece of uncalled-for interference. ° May loth, the formal surrender of Confederate forces in Florida began at Tallahassee. McCook then proceeded to St. Marks. There Fort Ward was occupied and two small Confederate gunboats appropriated. At noon. May 12th, the Union flag was raised over Fort Ward, saluted by the crash of cannon. At Tallahassee, on the 20th, amid cere- 1 Off. Reds. RebelL. s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, p. 943. ^ Ibid., s. i, V. 47, pt. 3, pp. 318-319, 409, 866. 3 Ibid., p. 538. West Florida — that part of the state west of the Apalachicola river — belonged to a different military department from that part east of the river, until the order of June 7, 1865, when the state of Florida became a department with headquarters at Talla- hassee. It was in the Military Division of the Tennessee. Gen. A. A. Humphreys was in command. On June 27, Florida became part of the Division of the Gulf, with Gen. J. G. Foster in command. See p. 668; V. 49, pt. 2, p. 964. * Ibid., p. 409 ; v. 49, pt. 2, p. 682. • Ibid., pp. 322, 409, 420, 444, 485, 494. 499, 538 ; v. 49, Pt. 2, p. 932. 328 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA mony and acclaim, the flag of the Union went up over the state house/ The parolling of Confederate soldiers was accomplished rapidly. The military of the Confederacy melted away. The armed strife was over. Four years before in this same little town of Tallahassee wild shouting had burst forth when Florida had gone out of the Union, and now thou- sands were turning their faces toward home, realizing that their cherished cause had left " naught but grief and pain for promised joy ". But many were not sorrowful. De- feat is bitter, but " hope springs eternal in the human breast ". Defeat had not " made ' all our sacred things profane ' ", wrote Pollard in 1866. " The war has left the South its own memories, its own heroes, its own tears, its own dead. Under these traditions sons will grow to man- hood and lessons sink deep that are learned from the lips of widowed mothers." ^ The war had, in fact, created a tremendous and glorious tradition which some even then were vaguely and proudly conscious of. The army life had hardened thousands to misfortune and misery so that they took a lost cause very much as they did a lost breakfast. And, finally, it must be borne in mind that the mass of Con- federate veterans were simple, poor countrymen whose hearts looked up at the very thought of getting home again. Thus, many a veteran, surrounded by misfortune, was probably more merry than sad. General McCook received the surrender in Florida of about 8,000 Confederate soldiers. 6,000 of them were par- oled at Tallahassee. The Confederate property acquired at the state capital consisted of some 5,000 stand of arms, 40 ^ Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, pp. 747, 949. 'Report Gen. Mc- Cook. Long, Florida Breezes, pp. 380-381. Jones, Our Women in JVar- Time — " Last Scenes in Florida." A''. Y. Times, June 16, 1865. * Lost Cause, p. 751. THE END OF THE WAR 329 cannon, 2,000 sets of accoutrements, 10,000 rounds of ar- tillery ammunition, 121,000 rounds of small-arm ammuni- tion, 63,000 pounds of lead, 2,000 pounds of nitre, 170,000 pounds of bacon, 300 barrels of sugar, 7,000 bushels of corn, 1,200 head of cattle, and a quantity of other supplies/ Small forces of Confederate and state troops surrendered and were paroled at different points within the state during the next month — at Baldwin, Waldo, Lake City, Tampa, Bayport, and Bronson.^ The terms of capitulation ex- tended to all troops in Florida were essentially the same as those of Sherman to Johnston. The officers retained their side arms, baggage and horses. Those privates who had horses were allowed to take them away.^ '' Many of the horses and mules were exchanged for corn and forage," reported McCook, " and others were loaned to citizens subject to the order of the Federal authorities ".■* The Federal army of occupation arrived in time to pre- vent much of the Confederate government's property in food and cotton being seized by the people. Over the South generally when it became known that the Confed- eracy had fallen people sought Confederate store houses. Mobs broke them open and appropriated the property." 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, pp. 932, 944. N. Y. Times, June 6, 1865. 2 Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, pp. 507, 514; v. 49, pt. 2, p. 984. ^ Ibid., s. i, V. 49, pt. 2, p. 944. * Ibid., s. i, V. 47, pt. 3, pp. 444, 494. See certificate of parole, pp. 485-486. ' Ibid., p. 875. Gen. Jones to Gov. Allison, May 9, 1865. " So many- lawless people in various parts of this military district [Florida] are taking possession by violence of the Government property of every description that I have to request that you will call out such militia forces as is necessary in every county where there is Government property. Under the Military convention agreed upon by Gen. John- ston and Maj.-Gen. Sherman the property may be appropriated to re- 330 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA If the average citizen thus engaged reasoned, his mental processes were no doubt simple — probably thus : What was the Confederacy's was once the property of the Southern people and will now become the property of a hostile gov- ernment; I need the food and cotton and I hate the hostile government and the rest of the Yankees ; therefore I will get what is mine while I can. Much of the tax-in-kind or " tithe " cotton, the property of the one-time Confederacy, had never passed out of the hands of the planters. Some people held Confederate bonds secured by cotton. Taking Confederate cotton presented an extra-legal method of making good their securities.^ " People apparently honest in other respects seem to think it entirely legitimate to steal cotton," wrote McCook from Tallahassee.^ Federal treasury agents were scouring the country for Confederate cotton. With the aid of the military these officials enforced the confiscation of such property.^ 5.460 bales were seized by them in Florida during the first few months following the war's ending,* which at the prevailing market price of cotton then represented more than $800,000 gold. " I got back to Apalachicola (Florida) in the sum- lieve the wants of the needy. ... In the meantime it is our duty to carry out the Convention in good faith and protect the public prop- erty," etc. See also p. 499. ^ See case of Asa Johnston vs. Benj. D. Wright, Executor, Florida Reports, v. 12, pp. 478-96, for some references to this point of view. * Off. Reds. Rebcll., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, p. 944. ' Ibid., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, pp. 739, 943. " A memorandum of all cotton in and about Tallahassee, etc. . . . was taken with the names of claim- ants, where, when, and by whom stored. Also the marks on the cotton. As soon as the schedule can be made it will be forwarded to the War Department." Report of Gen. McCook. Also v. 49, pt. 2, p. 931. Also N. Y. Times, June 16, 1865, and Aug. i, 1865. Correspondent of Times refers to " quantities " of Confederate cotton at R. R. depots. * H. Misc. Docs., 44th C, ist S., no. 190, p. 10. THE END OF THE WAR 331 mer of 1865," stated a veteran of the Confederate army. ■ I was employed by Epping, Watson and Company as out- door clerk. Very soon U. S. treasury agents in their search for Confederate cotton became very obnoxious. There was much rascality. Cotton sold at a high price. Everybody was stealing, so I saw no harm in getting in the swim too. All overweight of bales we reserved for ourselves. By the end of the season I had seventeen bales to my credit." ^ Cotton buyers from the North were glad to see the Govern- ment dispossessed. A speculative filip was given to reviv- ing business. Thousands of bales in the hands of private owners were tediously collected at Florida seaports. In such an atmosphere of competition and confusion scound- rels found ample opportunity. Many of the newly-ap- pointed civil officials of the United States Government proved to be shameless grafters. The thievery practiced by them — treasury agents and marshals — became so notor- ious that it was openly condemned by their more honest or unsuccessful brother officials. Treasury agents and mar- shals seized property for the non-payment of taxes, and then sold it to themselves at prices which they wished to pay-' The Federal military took over the management of tele- graph lines and railroads within the state and for a time directed their operation.^ Repairs were made by the gov- * Personal interview by me with a citizen of West Florida. His statement of conditions was in substantial accord with testimony of others. * Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, pp. 276, 581, etc. N. Y. World, May 4, 1865. ' Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, p. 581. N. Y. Times. Aug. i, 1865. " The Jacksonville and Tallahassee and the Fernandina and Cedar Keys R. R. is in the hands of U. S. Marshal Remington in a pro- ceeding ' in re ' for confiscation. The marshal is running the train for the accommodation of the military and the people." 332 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA ernment and charged to the roads/ The people of Flor- ida were informed by proclamation that they were at lib- erty to carry on their trade as usual, and to purchase sup- plies where they wished. Farmers were encouraged to bring their produce into the towns. Merchants desirous of opening stores were required to take the prescribed oath of allegiance and to conform to the sundry regulations of the Federal treasury department. Lawyers, physicians, and ministers of the Gospel were required to take the oath, and were counseled by the military to use their best efforts to bring the people back to a hearty support of the United States Government. " The habit of speaking of the Gen- eral Government as Federal," ran an order, " and placing it in antagonism to the so-called Confederacy, as two inde- pendent and recognized powers, is calculated to mislead the people and must be discontinued." ^ By mid-summer the national postal department had tri-weekly mails circulating over the state. ^ Actual government in Florida had come to be a matter for the military alone, with the paternalism characteristic of such rule. The state government soon ceased to exist. Upon the surrender of General Jones, Governor Allison appointed five commissioners to proceed to Washington for an interview with the President personally on the political relations of Florida to the Union.* He asked General Wilson for pass- * H. Rpts., 39th C, 2nd S., no. 34, p. 190. The Ala. and Fla. R. R. Co. was, at the end of 1866, $41,177.72 in debt to the U. S. =* Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, pp. 538, 623. ' N. Y. Times, Aug. i, 5, 1865. * Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, p. 748. The commissioners were D. L. Yulee (ex-U. S. Senator and secession leader), J. Wayles Baker (ex-Confederate States Senator), M. D. Papy, H. G. Live, and J. G. L. Baker. Their formal object was declared to be to make " known to the Executive Authorities of the United States the steps in progress for harmonizing the government of this state with the THE END OF THE WAR 333 ports to Washington. The governor also issued a proc^.a- mation calHng the members of the legislature to assemble in extraordinary session, June 5th, and calling for an elec- tion of a governor on the 7th.^ The loyal Union element in Florida quickly showed its hostility to any such easy and reasonable political pro- cedure as this foreshadowed. " A friend from Talla- hassee informs me," wrote a locally prominent Union man to President Johnson on May 21st, "that the late acting rebel Governor has proposed to Gen. McCook to wheel the state back into the Union line just as she stands with her rebel officers and crew. I know this is not your policy." ^ Nor was it. Johnson and a dominant Northern public opin- ion would purge Southern governments by destroying them. General McCook, at Tallahassee, was undecided as to how to act toward the state government. " Shall I permit the Legislature to meet or request him [the Governor] to with- draw the call ? " he asked of General Wilson at District Headquarters in Macon, Ga. He sent this query on the same day that Governor Allison requested passports for his commissioners to Washington.^ The reply which came was summary : " You will not recognize the so-called Governor or any officers purporting to act under his orders. . . . Should they not desist from exercising their usurped power constitution of the United States, and of conferring generally with the public authorities of the Federal Government concerning our af- fairs." See also Executive Order and copies of various letters, Milton Papers, May 12, 1865. Gov. Allison addressed letters to Gov. Vance, of North Carolina, Gov. McGrath, of South Carolina, and Gov. Brown, of Georgia, notifying them of his appointing a commis- sion and suggesting that they follow Florida's example. 1 Proclamation of Governor, Milton Papers, May 13, 1865. * Harris to Johnson, Key West, May 21, 1865, Johnson Papers. ' Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, pp. 747-48. 234 RECONSTRUCTION JN FLORIDA you will arrest them and send them under guard to this place." ' General Gillmore, in general orders of May 14th, declared the acts of the governors of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to be null and void and they themselves guilty of sundry acts of treason against the United States.^ On May 24th, martial law was declared by military proclama- tion to be the only law existing in Florida. All proceedings at law, or acts of the Confederate government, or of the government of Florida were declared null and void. Any person who should attempt to enforce any measure of these governments would, if apprehended, be tried and punished by military commission.'* The election of a governor and the meeting of the legislature were sternly forbidden by McCook.* Governor Allison abandoned the idea of sending representatives to Washington.'' Thus the commonwealth government as organized under the Confederacy passed away. However, the local officials throughout the state — judges, clerks, justices of the peace, and various county and town officers — were advised by the military commanders to continue for the present in office and to guard the public archives and other records in their possession. Few arrests were made by the military for political of- fenses. The only prominent cases in Florida were those of Mr. Yulee (ex-U. S. Senator), Mr. Mallory (ex-Secre- tary of the Confederate navy), and Governor Allison.® 1 Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, p. 538. Milton Papers, May .6. 1865. ' Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, p. 498, General Order 63. * Itid., p. 5eer^:L2>. * Itid., p. 546. * Milton Papers, May 19, 1865. * It was generally believed that Jeff. Davis would try to escape through Florida. Rumors of his presence in Florida were afloat some weeks before his capture elsewhere. See Off. Reds. Retell., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, pp. 405, 706, 715. THE END OF THE WAR 335 These men had openly counseled at the end of the war loyal and immediate compliance with the orders of the Federal Government/ They were treated, however, as dangerous men, arrested, and imprisoned in Fort Pulaski, Georgia." In October, 1865, Provisional-Governor Marvin, of Florida, made application to the President for their par- don. Of Yulee he wrote: " He is President of a railroad company whose interests are suffering for want of his supervision and care " ; of Mallory : " He has the gout badly which the dampness of the prison exasperates "; and of Allison he stated : " He is not a bad man ". The Fed- eral Judge Advocate General was thoroughly exasperated with the governor's homely reasoning. "These suggestions for clemency," he declared, " totally ignore the criminality of these men." ^ The pasts of Yulee and Mallory were probed into by agents of the Federal government. On December loth, 1865, General Asboth, at Pensacola, wrote Secretary Stan- ton : The Tallahassee correspondent of the Nciv York Herald, while urging upon President Johnson that the clemency already granted to several prominent Southern leaders be extended also to Mallory, Yulee and other distinguished rebel gentle- men of Florida, says in behalf of Mr. Mallory " that he was very anxious at the beginning of the war to prevent disruption between the people of the South and the Government of the 1 Yulee to Merrick, May 30, 1865, Johnson Papers; Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, V. 47, pt. 3, pp. 546, 581, 620, 630, 645; V. 49, pt. 2, p. 747. A^. y. World, Nov. 10, 1865. * Yulee was perhaps the worst treated of the three. His case reached the attention of President Johnson. See Yulee to Merrick, May 30, 1865, Johnson Papers. » Rpt. of Judge Advocate General Holt, Nov. 23, 1865, Off. Reds. Re- bell., s. ii, V. 8, p. 862. 33^ RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA United States, and was bitterly assailed in his own state as liaving prevented the capture of Fort Pickens when it might have been taken at any time." These statements are all false. While in command in West Florida I visited Tallahassee, and found in the State archives the most treasonable dispatches sent by Mallory to the Florida State Convention in January, 1861.1 If embittered Northern politicians could have worked their will, Mallory, Yulee and probably Allison would have been tried and executed for treason. " Atonement is yet to be made," stated the Judge Advocate General, " for the hundreds of thousands of lives." He believed that " pun- ishment is yet to be visited on the rebellion," and he con- cluded logically that " it would seem that the original con- spirators who excited and organized the movement should be first arraigned and tried. To this class Yulee and Mallory unquestionably belong. The experience of the world has shown that great crimes never have been and never can be repressed without punishment." ^ A calmer and juster policy was followed, however, and after several months of imprisonment Yulee, Mallory, and Allison were liberated. " In my intercourse with the citizens and surrendered soldiers of this Florida command I found only the most entire spirit of submission to my authority, and in a ma- jority of instances an apparent cheerful acquiescence to the present order of things," wrote General McCook from Talla- hassee; yet the Federal military in Florida quickly put a muzzle on a free expression of opinion in print or other- wise. Although McCook had been instrumental in destroy- ing the state government he declared that he " had no col- lision with any of the authorities except the ecclesiastical ".® 1 Asboth to Stanton, Dec. 10, 1865, Off. Reds. RebelL, s. ii, v. 8, p. 833. ' Ibid., p. 864. ' Ibid., s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, p. 944. THE END OF THE WAR 337 While in Tallahassee he saw fit to threaten the pastor of the Episcopal Church with severe punishment if he did not pray in future for the President of the United States. Mc- Cook records : " I thought it my duty to Christianize him if possible and succeeded in convincing him of the error of his ways by a communication. He prayed for the President of the United States that afternoon." ^ It does not take much effort to realize the amount of internal cursing in such enforced praying. In Quincy " the little Captain issued an order that no rebel should preach unless he took the oath of allegiance and prayed for the President of the United States," records a certain obstreperous Baptist divine. " I was the only preacher then present in the town. Colonel Livingston, a true Methodist, came to me and advised me to take the oath and let us have preaching. I told him that I did not feel like it and did not want to do it. Saturday afternoon came and the Colonel called again. At last I consented and we went around again to the Captain's office. I informed him that I had come to take the oath but I would do it with a mental reservation." ^ One Southern Episcopalian in Tallahassee was sent to the guard-house because he had made remarks construed as treasonable. He complicated matters by saying that " this is a peace that passeth all understanding ".^ Government in Florida was, in fact, for the time a mili- tarism pure and simple — and some of the native whites got into trouble because they could not or would not realize the situation. Federal troops were distributed over the state. 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. ii, v. 8, pp. 862, 945. N. Y. Times, June 16, 1865. * Richardson, S. P., Lights and Shadows of Itinerant Life, p. 183. * Long, Florida Breezes, p. 381. 338 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA By the middle of June each town and village had its com- pany or squad of soldiers.^ The policy at first was to es- tablish white garrisons in Florida. " I think should it be necessary to garrison any of these points, it would be well to employ at least temporarily white troops," wrote General Vogdes. " It should be borne in mind that Florida presents many facilities both in the nature of the country and in the character of the inhabitants for guerilla warfare." ' Such a policy as the foregoing was not that put into actual operation. Most towns and villages had their negro or mixed garrisons before many weeks had passed.^ " A careful examination and mature consideration of all the information in my possession leads me to the opinion that sound policy requires the mixing of the kinds of troops, white and colored, in all the garrisons of the interior," an- nounced the same General Vogdes just three weeks after he had advised white garrisons.* Negro troops were not nec- essary to keep order. Their presence was meant to impress the native white with the thorough-going character of the social revolution which had been wrought.^ 1 Off. Reds. Rebel!., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, pp. 580, 597. The 3rd and 34th U. S. Colored Infantry and the 17th Conn. Infy. (white) furnished garrisons throughout Central and East Florida by the end of May. At Apalachicola, Pensacola, and other point in West Florida the 82nd Colored Infantry and i6ist N. Y. Infy. (white) were in garrison. Orders were to place one company in each village and town. In some cases five or six companies were in a town. Gainesville and Talla- hassee were the most important garrisons in the interior. See v. 49, pt. 2, p. 867. 2 Ibid., p. 419. Vogdes to Burger, May 6, 1865. 'Ibid., pp. 581, 622; V. 49, pt. 2, pp. 867-868. Long, Florida Breezes, p. 382. * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, p. 581. Vogdes to Burger, May 27, 1865. * See reference to Southern white's feeling in Richardson, ojy. cit., p. 179. " And last but not least we were put under martial law and THE END OF THE WAR 339 As the state government had been aboHshed, the pres- ence of some sort of troops was very necessary to preserve the public peace. ^ Federal soldiers were under strict and definite orders to refrain from plundering or unduly inter- fering with the affairs of the inhabitants.^ Most of them behaved well. Some were insolent. The most common of- fense of the negro soldier was stealing chickens and live' stock. ^ The commanders of Federal troops were in many cases eminently fair-minded men, placed in a difficult situa- tion, and soon longing to be out of it all and at home. In addition to standing for the absent majesty of the civil law in suppressing vagrant lawlessness, an important function of the Federal military soon developed in adjust- ing or attempting to adjust the interests of white employer and black employee. Emancipation became an acknowl- garrisoned and ruled by a company of free negroes. The little cap- tr.in was a man of white skin but his heart was blacker than the negroes that he commanded. This was the darkest shadow, or I might say, the darkest night that ever passed over my life." * Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, pp. 580, 622; v. 49, pt. 2, pp. 731, 850. Gen. Asboth reported May 11, 1865: " On the 5th instant . . . sev- eral hundred citizens of West Florida would assemble at Milton with the intention of returning to their allegiance, and that some lawless parties had threatened to break-up such a meeting. I ordered Col. Woodman and the District Provost-Marshal to proceed with 200 men to that place to prevent any disturbance," etc. May 20th — Asboth to McCook : " The raiders made a demonstration against Cambellton upon Wednesday last, numbers, about 100." Also A^. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865; N. Y. Tribune, Aug., 1865. Regulators in East Florida again reported to be active. " Victims are Union men and rebel deserters. One man who had been a valuable scout for the Union army during the war was found hung to a tree near Lake City." Flaridian, Nov., 1865. Violence in Jackson Co. Company of Federal Infantry ordered to scene to put down disturb- ance; N. Y. Herald, Dec. 30, 1865. ' Off. Reds. Rebell, s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, p. 1075. * Floridian, 1866-7, passim. 240 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA edged reality in the South with the surrender of the South- ern armies. General Gillmore, commanding the Depart- ment of the South (S. C, Ga., and Florida), issued, on May 14th, 1865, an "Emancipation Order", and before the end of the month it had gained general circulation through- out the District of Florida/ Many of the slaveholders in this state called together their negroes and told them that they were free. Some of these ex-slaveholders were slow in comprehend- ing the extent of the social revolution." To the planter with a crop in the ground the practical, immediate ques- tion was, how free is the one-time slave? Was there any lawful way of compelling the black to obey orders and stick by his work ? One fact soon became evident : the ex- masters must do none of the compelling. The Federal mili- tary, however, threw its influence on the side of keeping the negro on the plantations. In these early efforts of the military to adjust the labor question we have the genesis of the Freedmen's Bureau's labor policy and the Black Codes. None of the early orders issued by the military inter- fered with the right of the black to hire himself to whom- soever he pleased. General orders of May 24th declared that " no rules or regulations will be adopted interfering with their hiring themselves to whom they may be inclined. It is recommended to them to remain with their late mas- ters. In no case will they be allowed to remain in idleness at the expense of the Government. . . . Commanding offi- cers will see that late slaves are made acquainted with all their acquired rights ; will urge upon them to work for 1 N. Y. Tribune, June 20, 1865. ' A''. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865. An excellent discussion of social and economic conditions in Florida, dated July 12. Also A'^. Y. Tribune, June 20, 1865. THE END OF THE WAR 34 1 planters near their homes in order to secure the coming crop." ' To protect the negro, General Vogdes counseled written contracts between negroes and planters stating the wage and the work to be performed. The United States provost- marshal was the official charged with drawing up such con- tracts. " By mutual agreement among the employees," certain of their number (negroes) were to be chosen super- intendents with authority to enforce order and discipline, the more important cases to be referred for settlement to the nearest provost-marshal.^ This popular election of bosses was an asinine provision. In reality the United States provost-marshal became the temporary guardian of the negro. ^ When they learned that they were free, many thousands of the approximately 70,000 * Florida negroes deserted their homes to fiock into the Federal military camps and into the towns."^ Summer-time had come, "baptizing time," water-melon time, berry time. The weather was charm- ingly warm. They were free, and in truly 19th-century scientific spirit they sought to break with the past and to " test their freedom ". Responsibility lay lightly on their shoulders. They shed husbands, children, wives, and other dependents with an ease and rapidity which makes even a modern divorce court in comparison seem a conservative ^ Off. Reds. Rebell., s. i, v. 47, pt. 3, p. 623. Gen. Order no. 22, May 24, 1865. 2 Ibid., p. 624. * For instance, see N. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865. * Floridian during 1867 gave results of special census, 7i,66y blacks. 'A''. Y. Tribune, June 20, 1865; A'. Y. Times, Aug. i, and June 16, 1865; N. Y. Herald (June or July), 1865; Long, Florida Breezes, p. 381; Jones, Our Women in War-Time ; references in Freedmcn's Bureau Reports, passim. 342 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA institution. Their curiosity prompted them to seek knowl- edge of that boon which kind Fortune had granted them — • great personal freedom. Their presence about barracks and camps became an an- noying burden to the Federal authorities. " There is only one thing that can be done with the negroes," angrily wrote a certain adjutant-general lately from the North. "We have no provisions for them. Turn them out ; they can return to their former masters — or go where they please. Under the laws of the United States they are free men and our in- structions are to treat them as free men." ^ After a taste of freedom many of the blacks, induced probably by lack of food and shelter,^ returned to the plantations where they had been slaves. Some rhymester of the times caught the poetic conception of the situation : 1 never knew the old plantation Was half so dear a place for me As when among that Yankee nation The robbers told me I was free; And when I looked around for freedom (We thought it something bright and fair) Hunger, misery, and starvation Was all that met us there. How often when we used to shiver All through the long cold winter night, I used to study 'oout my cabin, The hearth all red with pinewood light.^ The older house servants were inclined to remain at home where they belonged in an apologetic attitude toward " Ole Miss an' Ole Marster at this here carrying on ". " De 1 Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 49, pt. 2, p. 801. * This seems to have been the situation generally over the South. For Florida, see the Freedmen's Bureau Reports and A^. Y. Tribune, June 20, 1865. » Moore, Rebell. Red., v. 8, p. 27. , THE END OF THE WAR 343 Yankees might er waited till we axed 'em for freedom," said some in aristocratic aloofness. " Anyhow it come ter us; we aint gone ter it ". This was true.^ Although many negroes left plantations and homes and " celebrated " with evident show of satisfaction, there was at first not much offensiveness on their part. " Some fami- lies were disturbed by the sudden departure of their house servants," and agriculture was threatened, but generally the two races were at peace. A correspondent of the Neiv York Times, journeying through the state at this time, noticed at every railway station " large numbers of blacks — healthy, good-looking negroes, the larger portion females decked in gayest attire and in a style that would throw most ridicu- lous caricatures in the shade ".' At every warehouse he noticed " quantities of cotton ready for shipment by return trains, and some of it bore the ' C. S. A.' of the exploded Government ". He entered the fallen capital, Tallahassee, and " at the modest little churches ", he records, I noticed an assemblage of quite a number of carriages, indi- cating the vicinity of a rural aristocracy, and inside I listened to a good old-fashioned sermon and saw an assemblage of ladies and gentlemen. ... I learned that the planters in the vicinity are generally irreconciled in the new order of things and believe that it will be impossible to succeed by free labor. Cotton, they say, can never be profitably cultivated by free labor ; " the negroes," they say, " will not work it, and the whites cannot." The " negroes will prefer to cultivate corn and potatoes and live easy." Many are endeavoring to sell out, and are offering their plantations at prices which indicate their belief that the prosperity of the country is at an end.* ' Long, op. cit. ' A^. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865, letter of July 12th. » A^. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865. 344 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The correspondent of the New York Tribune at Jackson- ville summarized on June 12th, 1865, the situation in Flor- ida as follows : 1. There are but few persons in the state of any class who are not anxious that peace should continue. I do not think that there is an armed rebel in the state. 2. Emancipation has been promptly, and in many cases cheerfully, acquiesced in. 3. But few of the freedmen have anything like a correct idea of the boon of liberty, but they are very teachable. The influence of a Northern man is almost boundless over them. 4. The late masters have at best the glimmering idea of the situation of the colored man, etc. They welcome Northern men among them and treat them with the utmost consideration. 5. The present crop will not materially suffer in conse- quence of Emancipation. 6. Severe flogging with the whip and paddle has not entirely disappeared. 7. A few instances of shooting and other acts of violence have occurred, and may yet occur. 8. The late plantation-masters generally have no ability to promote the social and moral elevation of the colored people, and they will remain in statu quo until put under other in- fluences. 9. Nine-tenths of the ex-slaves are on plantations working for wages, and will be paid. 10. Great changes will take place next Christmas.^ The foregoing is a typical moderate or conservative esti- mate of Southern conditions in 1865 as seen by the North. Two points are here worthy of particular notice: i, that observations on the negro should occupy such large space in a summary of conditions at the war's termination; 2. evi- dent belief that the interests of the black would suffer as * A''. Y. Tribune, June 20, 1865. THE END OF THE WAR 345 long as the Southern white continued to exert influence over him. " To abandon the exercise of arbitrary power and adopt the appeal to reason will test the virtue of the best of the slave-holding aristocracy," ^ wrote another Northern correspondent from Florida. On the race ques- tion, the Northerner at that time reckoned at a low figure the " virtue " of the ex-master. He was apt to believe that the institution of slavery had distorted the Southerner's moral outlook. The Southerner was also logically subject to patronizing suspicion because he had rebelled against his government and might be still plotting dark treason. Equity and justice for the negro as well as enlightenment on all public questions must come from social experi- mentors. selfish politicians, and crack-brained theorists from afar. Public consciousness North in 1865 was fallow for the development of an exacting, revolutionary, and de- structive reconstruction program to be foisted on the South. ' A'. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865. CHAPTER XIV Political Reorganization The reorganization of fallen governments by presi- dential direction was the first phase of Reconstruction in the one-time states of the vanished Confederacy. The war had wrought profound change in the South. Bleed- ing, starved, burned, desolated, scarred almost beyond recog- nition, that section exhibited the fearful spectacle of what civil conflict can produce. The reconstruction of govern- •ment there was to involve even greater political change than the war had brought. The old regime was past. A new period was beginning in 1865. It is a fact not without a certain melancholy pathos that this inevitable rebuilding must inevitably take place in an atmosphere of prejudice and bitterness. Slavery had been destroyed, but sectionalism had not been destroyed. The passionate condemnation of the slaveholder by the North- ern moralist in 1861 had given place to a patronizing sus- picion of the ex-rebel by the Northern patriot in 1865. It is not germane to this discussion to inquire into the justice or soundness of such suspicion. By perfectly clear histori- cal process it entered into public opinion — and reconstruct- ing the South involved public opinion North as well as South. A powerful element in the North demanded the impos- sible — demanded that the " ex-rebel " be penitent. Peni- tence of those who had supported the Confederacy was somehow considered necessary as proof of their patriotism, 346 POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 347 and patriotism, strangely confused with loyalty. The " ex- rebel " was not penitent, however resolved he might have been to keep the peace and the law. Those Southern whites who belonged logically to the old regime found it difficult to adjust themselves quickly or gladly to the new. The misfortunes of the present made people recall with eagerness the pleasantness of the past. It is usually so. Hence the rapid rise of many traditions. Some Southerners of poetic temperament, maybe, con- cluded sadly that the peculiar goodness, peace, and plenty of Southern life had disappeared with the fall of slavery. "■ They turned to the recent past. Their imaginations pic- tured for them a fair and far-away region with broad and blooming fields, so rich that the rest of the world was the South's debtor; so peaceful that the people there were naively trustful of human nature and jails grew musty from long disuse; so beautiful that the sweetest songs of the nation tell of their placid expanse. They pictured these fields as well-tilled and ever expanding beneath the kindly sky, " sun-steeped at noon and in the moon nightly dew fed ", watched over by a wise and urbane and happy aristocracy and worked by contented negroes. They con- ceived a society where simple life and a genuine democracy had bound the white race together — rich and poor, regard- less of culture — with flexible bonds, and made of it one, commanding, dominant caste, proud of race — a society where simple faith and equitable law mitigated slavery and purified politics. Was it all a dream? The critical cynic can well say so. There is plenty to sneer at in such traditions, which are but fond memories glorified and changed by poverty and ' See, for instance, the long letter in A'^. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865, from Florida. 348 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA sorrow. Certainly the breath of a rude change has meta- morphosed their Utopia into the semblance of a dream, yet the vision might be made a superb one, and to this day it supplies many a pettifogging politician South with some- thing beautiful to talk about which his constituents believe in and will not scoff at because they love it. It is almost a religion with them. Some say they are narrow and pro- vincial. Certainly they show a strong affection for the Old South, and this sentiment, based upon the idealization of things that to a stranger seem hardly worth while, exalts their provincialism. They love the traditions of their land because the traditions are theirs. The South is not unlike one big neighborhood. Until recently few people from the old world and from distant states had come there with other traditions. Much is still the same as in the past. The towns and villages are still mostly shady, quiet centers of wholesale barter, politics, and litigation for a riding, driv- ing country-side. The wooded hills which pioneer and slave once trod rise little changed to-day, but shrouded in tradition, before the eyes of their children and grand- children. The fields which slave and freemen cleared long be- fore the war still perennially fail to make folks rich, though tilled now only by freemen. The sun and the moon and the stars still look down on cotton and corn and cane and forests of dark green pines and rivers that wind their lonely, slumberous way toward the tropics and the sea. But pro- found change is slowly taking place. It began after the war with Reconstruction, and gathers momentum with the years. " The old order changeth, yielding place to new, and God fulfils himself in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world." A time-honored social system has long ago been mod- ernized. Wage slavery and lawlessness have partly taken the place of chattel slavery and comparative peace. An in- POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 349 dustrial revolution grips the section. The new South as a grafted limb, has sprung from the sturdy stump of the old. Maybe it will retain the virtues of the old tree with some of the faults eliminated. The change was new in 1865 and many believed the good old times forever dead. Some looked for homes across the sea, in Brazil and even in more distant lands. When the tumult of military camps passed in 1865 the nation entered almost automatically upon the inevitable ex- perience of readjustment to the revolution. This readjust- ment included political reconstruction South. Reconstruc- tion compassed before it ended the political elevation of the negro. Was this last fact an inevitable result of the war? It is the central theme, certainly, in the history of Reconstruction, although the negro as voter and office- holder played no part in the episode of presidential reor- ganization immediately following the war. Yet even at this time (1865) conditions which two years later produced the ugliest aspect of Reconstruction were in the making. The negro had powerful champions in the North (Charles Sumner, Salmon P. Chase, Thaddeus Stevens, etc.), who saw his latent possibilities as a voter. Peace had come nomi- nally with the disbanding of Southern armies, but reason had by no means displaced passion as a dominating force in national councils. The great principles of former years were no longer live issues. The Union was saved ; seces- sion was practically repudiated ; the negro was free. But to safeguard these very triumphs radical leaders were al- ready advising that the revolution be carried forward and the negro given political rights. This was the sentiment which, as an undercurrent, insidiously spread over the critical North, blighting ultimately the efforts at loyal polit- ical reorganization South which began when the long roll ceased to beat in 1865. 350 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Mr. Johnson began his presidential career by taking-up the policy of Mr. Lincoln where the latter had left off. The Southern states were in a condition bordering on political and social chaos. In the midst of this confusion the admin- istration set about reorganizing state governments and pre- paring the recalcitrant commonwealths for re-entry into the Union. Certain leaders began vaguely to formulate plans for building in the South a strong wing of the Union-Re- publican party. With the re-establishment of Federal au- thority, there was a corresponding increase in the number of Federal offices South at the disposal of the administra- tion. The filling of these offices was a first step in reor- ganizing government. Recognition was given to party men. Florida was the least important Southern state for the seeker of votes or office-seeker, but it constituted an integral part of United States territory, and when in the future it should become once more a state in the Union its politi- cal possibilities were apparent. The attempt to reconstruct Florida during the Civil War proved a flat failure but re- sulted in launching there after a fashion the Union-Repub- lican party. A few hundred " loyal men " was the party's following in 1865. Federal office-holders were the leaders. During the war Florida's few Federal office-holders had quarreled among themselves. Soon after Mr. Johnson became Presi- dent this difference of opinion became more pronounced. Outsiders from the North offended native " loyal men " because they, the outsiders, received most of the govern- ment's favors. Mr. Chase while Secretary of the Treas- ury had built up a faction of special treasury agents and their friends. When Mr. Chase became Chief Justice of the United States he did not lose touch with his political hench- men because he never lost sight of the Presidency POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 351 for himself. He made a tour in the South during the late spring and early summer of 1865. In Flor- ida he visited Fernandina and Key West, conferred with his political friends, and wrote Mr. Johnson num- erous letters concerning the fitness of the black for the ballot.^ His visit caused uneasiness to the opponents of the treasury faction of Federal office-holders. A prominent figure among these opponents of Chase's influence was Har- rison Reed, chief postal agent of the national government for Florida.* Reed was destined to become Republican governor of Florida. He was the appointee of Montgomery Blair of the post-office department. He proved a steady supporter of Johnson and had unofficially represented Flor- ida at his inauguration.^ On June 26th Reed wrote Blair, in part, as follows : I wish to bespeak your immediate and earnest assistance to rescue Florida from the hands of Chase and Lis corrupt agents now holding lucrative position under the Government. His late visit to this state was for no other purpose than to revive the efforts to secure this state for his future purposes and against the policy of the Administration. As you know I in- curred his hostility and that of his corrupt tools for venturing to expose and arrest the plans started two years ago for the same purposes. On my return here a few days since I was made aware that it would not be safe for me to oppose Mr. Chase, and yesterday I was privately advised that he had made sure of all the patronage necessary to control the state, includ- ing the military governor, soon expected, and that I could have distinguished favor if I would cease to oppose his nefar- ious plans. He has advised his friends here to organize the colored men and prepare them to vote, and that their action * Chase to Johnson, May 21 and 23, 1865, Johnson Papers. ' N. Y. Evening Express, June 14, 1865. ' Inauguration Program, March 30, 1865, Johnson Papers. 352 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA will be sustained by the Supreme Court — holding that there is no legal power to deny suffrage to any citizen. Secret organ- izations of blacks and non-resident whites or outsiders im- ported here as Treasury Agents have been commenced. These, however, are of little account and could do no mischief unless under the patronage of the Government. The intention is to override the resident white citizens on the plea that they are all disloyal. The agent who made overtures to me is a man sent by Chase, and one of his family associates — his vice- general here — is L. D. Stickney, who has drawn thousands from the Treasury fraudulently,' and who still holds the office of Tax-Commissioner, though indicted in Washington for a part of his frauds. Chase took him on board his revenue- cutter and went round the Gulf bespeaking for him the favor of the military authorities, and arranged to rebuild the Fer- nandina and Cedar Keys R. R. by military authority and then turn it over to Stickney for the benefit of the Ring. It will take $500,000 to rebuild the road, and it will be of no use to the Government for military purposes. But what I deem necessary is that you should prevent any further appointments of officers for the state in this interest. There is a loyal ele- ment here which deserves notice, but thus far every appoint- ment is from abroad, and with two or three exceptions all have been made under this corrupt dynasty. We want a mili- tary governor in the interests of the Administration, and not one who will seek to place the control of the state in the hands of the enemies of constitutional government. I tried to in- duce Randall to take the place, but failed. I am told that Judge Marvin, late of Key West, now of New York, would like the place, and believe he would be a good man. But, for God's sake, don't let the President send any man in Chase's interests.^ Blair turned this letter over to Johnson, scribbling on the back of it, " This is from a reliable source. The Chase ^ Reed to Blair, June 26, 1865, Johnson Papers. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 353 [faction?] he speaks of should be squelched outright. They are now the only disunionists and really have danger- ous conspiracies on foot." On June 9th, J. George Harris, a Federal office-holder at Key West, wrote President Johnson : " Chief Justice Chase was here — as you know — a few days ago. He as- sured me and others of the perfect understanding between you and himself — that you perfectly understood each other, etc. ... I could not refrain from the conviction that the Chief Justice was looking to the vote of Florida one of these days." ^ The military or provisional governorship was the most important Federal appointment which was to come in the near future for Florida. Several persons began at an early date to hang out their lines for this prize. Mr. J. George Harris, of Key West, who claimed to be a personal friend of Johnson, sent to the President a petition signed by sev- eral Federal office-holders of South Florida — the district judge, the district attorney, the collector of customs at Key West and others. This petition strongly endorsed Harris for military governor. " You cannot be more astonished at the letter addressed to you by Judge Boynton and others naming me for the military governorship than I was when they brought it to me," naively wrote Harris. " I assure you that this has been entirely unsolicited by me and yet I feel it my duty, etc., etc." ^ Another letter reached President Johnson on the gover- norship about the same time. It named C. L. Robinson.' ^ Harris to Johnson, June 9, 1865, Johnson Papers. * Harris to Johnson, May 22, 1865, Johnson Papers. Harris was a native of Tennessee, where he evidently had known Johnson before 1864. He did not get the governorship, but obtained a position in the Boston Navy Yard, See Harris to Johnson, Dec. 28, 1865, Johtwon Papers. * Mitchell to Johnson, July 10, 1865, Johnson Papers. 354 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA He was an East Florida Unionist, of Northern origin, forced to flee from Jacksonville during the war because of his pronounced loyalty to the Union. His endorsement came from the State of Maine. Colonel Lemuel Wilson, an- other East Florida Unionist, was named in the newspapers as a possibility.^ The one-time supporters of the Confederacy in Florida were at this time politically passive. The sentiment of the class was more that of forced resignation to conditions than of voluntary and happy acquiescence in conditions. In sentiment practically all might be described as ex-slave- holders. Only a fraction had held slaves, but this fraction included most political, religious, and business leaders.^ The ex-Confederate wanted civil government re-established as soon as possible. He realized that reorganization would come from without and not within, and that his role would not be a commanding one at first. ^ However, when it be- came known that ex-Judge Marvin sought the provisional governorship a number of former slaveholders of Florida were active in his behalf. Marvin's candidacy was announced to the President by Judge Philip Eraser, of Florida and New Jersey — through the agency, probably, of Attorney-General Speed. Eraser was another Union man forced to leave the state during the war. To j:his gentleman Marvin wrote a letter stating that he would accept the ofifice of provisional governor if it were tendered him, but refusing to solicit it. Yet he took occa- * A^ Y. Times, July 22, 1865. * Census of i860 gave 5,152 as the number of "slaveholders" in Florida, supra, chap. iii. ' Finley to Johnson, Nov. 18, 1865; Chase to Johnson, May 21, 1865, Johnson Papers. N. Y. Tribune, Aug. — , 1865 ; letter of Aug. 10 from Jacksonville in A''. Y. Times, Nov. 17, 1865. The foregoing, writh other more general facts, supports this generalization of Florida. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 355 sion to state that Fraser might use the letter in any way he saw fit. In support of the Marvin candidacy the heads of the leading marine insurance companies of New York sent to Johnson a petition/ They had known Marvin by reputa- tion as an admiralty judge at Key West. In Florida several ex-slaveholders — one-time Confederates — drew up a Mar- vin petition, signed their names, and sending it to New York obtained the signed endorsement of certain well- known citizens : A. A. Low, George Opdyke, W. H. Grin- nell and others. This double petition reached Johnson.^ Judge Fraser and Charles A. Peabody, of New York, were both in communication with Attorney-General Speed con- cerning Marvin and the governorship. Speed transmitted their letters to Johnson.^ In order to solicit the President's attention in this ap- pointment, two delegations set out from Florida for Wash- ington. One was composed of East Florida Unionists pledged for the support of no particular candidate;* the other of ex-slaveholders, strongly in Marvin's interest.^ In addition to these two delegations, David S. Walker, a one- time Whig and slaveholder, was sent to Washington to pray ^ Petition, July 6, 1865, Johnson Papers. Ten companies were repre- sented in this petition. * Petition, July, 5 and 6, 1865, Johnson Papers. 3 Peabody to Speed, June 27 ; Fraser to Speed, June 29, 1865, John- son Papers. * N. Y. Times, July 22, 1865. The delega'ion was composed of C. L. Robinson, Jno. W. Price, Judge Fraser, Buck. Smith, Sam. McLin, Lemuel Wilson, Harrison Reed, Parker Moody, Sam. T. Day, and J. N. Johnson — all of East Florida. ' Wood to Johnson, July 5, 1865, Johnson Papers. N. Y. Herald, July 10, 1865. Brooks of Apalachicola and Hopkins of Tallahassee (a Confederate veteran) were members of the Marvin delegation to W"ashington. 356 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA for a " provisional government ". In what interest he stood is not clear. " The people of Florida have sent me to you with a memorial praying for a provisional govern- ment and asking for a conference on Florida affairs," he telegraphed Johnson from Chattanooga, Tennessee, on July I2th.^ " Delegation of Union men of Florida are on their way to Washington. We desire that action concerning the appointment of a military governor be deferred till our ar- rival," had telegraphed C. L. Robinson from Hilton Head, S. C, on July 3rd.' This delegation contained at least two men who were looking for the appointment. They were joined in New York by Judge Fraser, who was at that moment the silent agent of Marvin's interests. He slyly kept his peace until after Johnson had acted. ^ Before either Florida delegation or Walker reached Washington, Johnson appointed Marvin provisional gov- ernor — July 13th.* He was in many ways a man admirably fitted for the place. A jurist by profession and long train- ing, a scholar of no little accomplishment, a calm and delib- erate thinker, a man of unblemished reputation in public and private life, a resident of Florida for twenty-five yea; with intimate knowledge of the commonwealth's affairs from long and successful experience in the public service — he held the respect of the people of Florida and combined well those qualities necessary at that time for his work.' * Johnson Papers. * Robinson to Johnson, July 3, 1865, Johnson Papers. * Committee from East Florida to Johnson, July 19, 1865, Johnson Papers. This delegation as a body endorsed the appointment of Mar- vin when made. * An. Cyclo., 1864-65. For comment on Marvin and military gover- nors South see A''. Y. Herald, July 16, 1865 ; also Cox, Three Decades of Legislation, pp. 419-20. 5 For resume of the public career of Marvin see Marvm to Fraser, Jime 27, 1865, Johnson Papers. Marvin was appointed District Judge POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 357 During the war he had been a Unionist. After the war he had the support of the leading ex-Confederates. Marvin came South with General Foster, the newly- appointed commander of the military department of Flor- ida. The two — civil and military heads — discussed the work before them, which was to be in truth reorganization by the co-operation of citizens, the Federal military, and Federal civil officials.^ One of the first official acts of the new governor on reaching Florida was to restore by proc- lamation the property which had been confiscated by the Confederate government, and to suspend until further notice the advertised sale of property which had been con- fiscated by the Federal government. The latter property United States treasury agents were preparing to sell at auc- tion on August 7th." The governor's order was a check to plunder-hunting politicians and bore heaviest on the Chase faction of treasury agents and their friends. After announcing by proclamation what his policy would be as the civil representative of the Federal government,^ by President Jackson in 1835. By some critics he was pronounced the first authority in America on Marine Law. See Senator Doolittle's speech, Cong. Globe, 39th C, ist S., (1865-6), pt. i, p. 313. * N. Y. Times, August 17, 1865. * An. Cyclo., 1864-5. All owners of property confiscated by the Fed- eral government who were embraced in the President's Amnesty Proc- lamation of May 29 or who had been specially pardoned by the Presi- dent were to have their property restored on filing proof of owner- ship with the governor. Marvin had obtained from the U. S. Attorney- General an order restraining the sale of confiscated property. A^. Y. Times, Aug. 17, 1865, letter from Florida. U. S. Marshal Remington had been active in confiscating in East Florida, particu- larly in the neighborhood of Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Fernan- dina. Many plantations and some town property were embraced in the list to be sold. See also N. Y. World, May 4, 1865. For discussion of confiscation in the South see Rhodes, U. S., v. 5. " An. Cyclo., 1864-5. 358 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Marvin traversed the state and in speeches that were re- markably simple, logical, and withal forceful, he pointed out what he considered the necessary point of view for the ex-slaveholder, the necessary change in the approaching political reorganization, and the necessary future position under the law for the negro/ He preached the prompt acknowledgment of the abolition of slavery, the annulment of the secession ordinance, the repudiation of the war debt, and the admission of blacks as witnesses and litigants in the courts. To the native white he counseled an acceptance in good faith without question of the clear issues of the war. To the black he counseled the acceptance of the white man as political and social superior. " As citizens before the law the f reedmen must in all respects be our equals," he said at Quincy, September 5th. " Furthermore, persons of color must be admitted as wit- nesses in all courts of civil jurisdiction. . . . You keep the negro out of the courts and what chance has he for justice? And," he added significantly, '" the North is very powerful, even after the war, and has strength enough to enforce its decrees." ^ In his message to the constitutional convention a few weeks later Marvin stated that " unless the negro finds pro- tection in courts of justice he becomes the victim of every wicked, depraved, and bad man whose avarice may prompt him to refuse payment of just wages or whose passions may excite to abuse or mal-treatment." ' * Sen. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 26, p. 203. A^. Y. Tribune, August, 1865, letter of Aug. loth ; TV. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865. " Gov. Marvin took the bull by the horns, going over ihe state and explaining to the people what he expected of them." For an estimate of Marvin's speeches see N. Y. Daily News, Oct. 27, 1865 ; A^. Y. Evening Post, Oct. 3, 1865; and An. Cyclo., 1864-5. * Speech, N. Y. Evening Post, October 3, 1865. » See Message, A^. 7. Herald, Nov. 8, 1865. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 359 At Marianna, speaking to the negroes, he said : There has been a story circulatea in Middle Florida that on the first day of January next the land and mules will be taken from your former owners and divided among you. Such a story, I suppose, you have all heard. Have you ? Speak out if you have and tell me. (" I'se hearn it! I'se hearn it!" say all.) Well, who told you so? (An answer: "The soldiers.") . . . I want you to understand me. The President will not give you one foot of land, nor a mule, nor a hog, nor a cow, nor even a knife or fork or spoon. (A voice: " Dar, ole man, you hear dat!") ' Marvin's speech-making served a useful purpose in pre- senting to the people of Florida the immediate and domi- nating points in the Reconstruction policy of the national government. Any important measures which a state con- vention might enact to adjust Florida's constitution to that of the restored Union must be in substantial harmony with the national government's program ere the state would be restored to the Union or relieved from the burdens of semi- military rule. Marvin was the intelligent, positive, and withal, popular agent of the national administration. By proclamation he named the loth of October as the day for the election of a state convention which was to " draw up a constitution Re- publican in form and adapted to the new order of things," in brief, to politically reorganize." " I have now visited the 1 Speech at Marianna, Sept. 27. N. Y. Daily News, Oct. 27, 1865; also see Sen. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 26, p. 206. * Sen. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 26, pp. 203-5; A*'- Y- Herald, Sept. 18, 1865. The Proclamation of Gov. Marvin, Aug. 23, 1865, stated that only " loyal " men could participate in the election. The qualifications for voting were — white male 21 years of age and upward, one year's residence in Florida, six months in a certain county, and subscription to President Johnson's Amnesty Oath or proof of special pardon by 360 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Eastern, Western, and Middle portions of this state," wrote the governor, " and conversed freely with the people. There is a disposition among them in every part of the state to co- operate in the establishment of a state government. . . . The people have not asked me to re-establish the municipal authority of the courts, sheriffs, justices of the peace, etc. Peace and order have been preserved in the several counties by the provost marshals." ^ The registration of voters and the election to the con- vention were conducted by Federal military and civil offi- cials. All white citizens of age who subscribed before the proper authorities to President Johnson's Amnesty Oath or who possessed a special pardon from the President might be enrolled as voters. Registration seems to have been con- ducted with a reasonable amount of honesty and diligence. The election was fair and uneventful. The issues before the people were clear-cut and definite ; namely, whether the black should be admitted to the courts; and whether the war-debt of the state should be repudiated.^ The vote cast was less than half the normal vote of Florida five years the President. The Amnesty Oath could be taken, stated the Procla- mation, before any civil or military official of the state or Federal government qualified to administer oaths. The state judges of probate were directed to distribute poll books and appoint three inspectors of election in each precinct. The Federal commander of the military in the state would provide for the distribution of poll books through the hands of his soldiers. U. S. transports would touch at Cedar Keys, Apalachicola, Pensacola, Fernandina, St. Augustine, Manatee, Tampa, Enterprise, and Key West to carry delegates to the nearest possible point to Tallahassee. All delegates to be elected were declared in ad- vance by this proclamation to be pledged for the abolition of slavery. The proclamation called for the election of 56 members. The repre- senta'ion was to be by county according to population. The greatest number for any county was four. See also An. Cyclo.. 1864-5. ^ Sen. Docs., 39th €., ist S., no. 26, pp. 203-6. »A'. Y. Herald,, Nov. 8; A^. Y. World, Nov. 3, 1865. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 361 earlier (before the war) ^ and the men elected to the con- vention, with but few exceptions, had supported the Con- federacy." " In every instance the friends of the negro were defeated," wrote the Florida correspondent of the New York Herald. " The election as a whole was a formal declaration that the negro should be a social, civil and politi- cal outcast." On the 25th of October the convention assembled in Tallahassee to revise Florida's constitution and to formally acknowledge the results of the war.^ Marvin's message, read before the body at its opening session, presented a definite program and reiterated his views.* The first im- portant action of the convention was to declare by unani- mous vote that the ordinance of secession was "annulled".'"^ Several days later the convention reluctantly decreed by vote of twenty to fourteen " that neither slavery nor in- voluntary servitude was to exist in this state ".® There 1 Sen. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 26, pp. 206-7. A'^. Y. World, Jan. 4, 1866. Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule in Florida, p. 9. The number of votes cast was 6,707; the number of persons qualified to vote was 8,512. » ;V. Y. World, Nov. 3; A^. Y. Herald, Nov. 8, 1865. "Old politicians are laid on the shelf. Only one member of the Secession Convention of '61, etc. . . . Mr. E. D. Tracy, of Nassau County, elected Chairman. . . . He had never before occupied a prominent position in either state or National affairs. . . . Quite rusty on parliamentary rules and gets mixed up." Also see An. Cyclo., 1864-5. ' An. Cyclo., 1864-5. * Sen. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 26, p. 209. N. Y. Herald, Nov. 8, 1865. * A^. Y. World, Nov. 10, 1865. This action was taken Nov. 28, the fourth day of the session. An. Cyclo., 1864-5; Laws of Florida, Con- vention of 1865, Ordinance. ^ N. Y. Times, Nov. 17, 1865. The convention was influenced in its action on this question by a letter from Seward to Marvin. See N. Y. Herald, Nov. 2, 1865. 362 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA was not much debate over this question, although one mem- ber is credited with the statement that he voted for the or- dinance only because he had sworn to do so ; that he be- lieved slavery " right " and would re-establish it " to-mor- row " if he had the power/ The repudiation of the war-debt — contracted while Florida was out of the Union — proved to be a subject very difficult to adjust. The war had obviously freed the slave and crushed the governments founded on secession, but it had not necessarily destroyed the value of securities issued by the state while in another political system. Treasury notes to the amount of $1,800,000 and bonds for $300,000 constituted the war-debt. The finance committee proposed to scale down the notes toward their approximate value when issued, and to pay at this lower figure. They advised paying $1 gold for every $10 in notes outstanding; and the payment of the bonds in full." Marvin counseled unqualified repudiation. The debt was an honest debt and there was bitter opposition to repudia- tion. The governor also counseled the extension of civil rights in the courts to the negro. These two questions — re- pudiation and the negro's civil rights — engrossed the atten- tion of the convention. Other matters were of subordinate interest.^ ^ N. Y. Times. Nov. 17, 1865. ^ N. Y. World, Nov. 17, 1865. The Finance Committee declared that the debt was an honest debt and should be paid. The advocates of repudiation claimed that to pay the debt would be to enrich a crowd of dishonest speculators who had bought up the notes and bonds at a very low figure. ' N. Y. Herald, Nov. 19, 1865; A'. Y. Times, Aug. 25, 1865. Benj. Truman stated that Marvin told him that the convention was decidedly against admitting nf^gro testimony in the courts and that some dele- gates came pledged to vote against it. At several poin'.s in the state, political meetings had been held before the assembling of the conven- POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 303 Some of the members were looking forward to election to the legislature or other political offices, and therefore refrained from following a very positive policy. Both re- pudiation of the war-debt and the extension of civil rights to the black encountered opposition/ Finally the conven- tion shifted for a time the burden of repudiation in decid- ing by a vote of twenty-five to twenty-one to lay the ques- tion of repudiation before the people in the election to fol- low. The voter was to mark " pay " or " no pay " on his ballot." By a vote of twenty-six to nineteen the negro was given the right to testify in all criminal and civil cases in which one of his color was concerned. He could sue and be sued in court but was not allowed to serve on juries.^ The ballot in the new constitution was granted by unani- mous vote solely to " white males ", and in a sort of obiter dictum the body declared its unqualified disapproval of any project for enfranchising the negro.* Matters stood thus on the eve of adjourning sine die, when a telegram from President Johnson to Governor Holden, of North Carolina, was laid before the convention. It urged repudiation as a prerequisite for re-admission to the Union. Its influence was sufficient to decide the conven- tion. By a vote of thirty-three to nine the war-debt was repudiated.^ tion, at which meetings resolutions were adopted on the questions of repudiation and the negro. For example, see Florida Times, Oct. 5, 1865 (published by H. Reed, a Northern man), for an account of a meeting in Lake City of " loyal " men, that declared for repudiation of debt and abolition of slavery. » A^. Y. Times, Nov. 17, 1865. * A''. Y. Herald, Nov. 19, 1865. Action taken Nov. 2nd. « .V. Y. Herald, Nov. 23, 1865. * .V. Y. Times, Nov. 17, 1865. * A^ Y. Times, Nov. 26, 1865 ; An. Cyclo., 1864-5 ; Laws of Florida, Convention of '65, Ordinance no. 6, passed Nov. 6. 364 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA On November 7th the convention adjourned/ This body had revised the commonwealth constitution to conform once more with that of the United States, had acknowl- edged the obvious political and social change wrought by the war, had granted the black the protection of the courts, and had clearly announced its hostility to negro enfranchise- ment.^ The opponents of repudiation attempted to have the constitution submitted to popular vote for acceptance or rejection. A majority was sufficiently wise to defeat the project. The convention had fully complied in essential points with the indirect dictates of the national administration.^ A minority had all along outspokenly opposed and criticised what was termed " Presidential dictation ", but this minor- ity was not sufficiently bold or sufficiently strong to mater- ially influence the outcome.* One observer of the Florida convention wrote : " In my observation of twenty-five years among legislative bodies it has never been my lot to witness an assemblage where there was so little asperity of feeling or excitement, or where there was manifested a deeper or more earnest desire for the public weal. . . . The conven- tion did its work fairly and squarely." ^ However squarely the convention might have met and dealt with the issues, its record is that of a body determined to go only so far as necessity forced it in acknowledging some results of the war. The constitution provided for a ' A^. Y. Tunes, Nov. 26, 1865. ' See interesting editorial comment, A''. Y. Times, Nov. 21, 1865. * See letter of Sevi^ard to Marvin, A^. Y. Herald, Nov. 2, 1865; An. Cyclo., 1864-5; N. Y. World, Nov. 3, 1865, editorial comment. * See criticism by Gen. Finley, Finley to Johnson, Nov. 18, 1865, Johnson Papers. ^ N. Y. Times, Nov. 26, Dec. 25, 1865. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 365 white man's government. The state apportionment for representation in the legislature was the same as under the slavery regime, a negro counting three-fifths of a white man. An ordinance adopted concerning vagrancy bound the black to a condition which his Northern friends defined as '' semi-peonage ".^ The suffrage was restricted to " free white male persons of 21 years or more, and none others ". Was this a liberal constitution? ^ Historically considered it zvas liberal. It did not extend the suffrage to the black, and became to Charles Sumner and other Radicals in the North the work of a pretended convention — a constitution which, after recognizing the abolition of slavery, and therefore the citizenship of those who were once slaves, proceeds actually to decree their disfranchisement; and Senators are expected to recognize such an instrument as a Republican form of gov- ernment — an instrument which begins by the denial of equality to nearly one-half of its citizens.^ The convention fixed November 29th as the day for the election of a legislature, governor, and members to the Fed- eral Congress. In this election, as in the one preceding, the ex-slave-holding class controlled the situation.* Only about 4,000 votes were cast — less than the number polled for delegates to the constitutional convention. '^ 14,000 had been the voting strength of Florida in 1861. Some * Laws of Florida, convention of '65, ordinance no. 4, Nov. 4. * See comment, jV. Y. Times, Nov. 17, 1865. ' Cong. Globe, 39th C, ist S., 1865-6, pt. i, p. 313. * An. Cyclo., 1864-5. ^V. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865. Benjamin Truman stated, " At the last election the significant thing was the fact that the straight-out Union candidates for Congress were defeated and the men elected cannot take the Test Oath," et£. ''An. Cycle, 1864-5. 366 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA men in Florida were still excluded from the benefits of the Amnesty Proclamation of May 29th; and many who could vote were not sufficiently interested to go to the polls. More than 8,000 were registered. Only one-half of those who could vote, therefore, had actually cast their ballots. The Union-Republicans of Florida exerted small influence on this election. David S. Walker, an Old-Line Whig and an ex-Confed- erate, was chosen governor without an opposing candidate. '^ Ferdinand McLeod, of West Florida, another ex-Whig, was elected to Congress — and it was declared at the time that he could not take the Federal Test Oath." The legis- lature was composed of ex-slaveholders and veterans of the Confederate army. They were good men — among the most substantial and reliable citizens of Florida — but the Radi- cals in the North condemned them. " I wish to call your attention to the actual state of things there" (Florida), said Charles Sumner before the United States Senate, as it is represented to me by thoroughly competent witnesses. [Reading] " The election has been held and, as you may ex- pect, rebels elected. The legislators are four-fifths rebel offi- cers, from Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan down to a corporal. Gen. Barney has not yet obtained his pardon. The people of 1 Wallace, Carpetbag Rule, p. 17: "The Old Whigs seem to have had an understanding that they would not vote for a Democrat, as they charged the Democrats v^rith having brought on the war, and as David S. Walker had been one of the most popular leaders of the Old Whig party he became the candidate by general consent, the Democrats being anxious to get back into the Union by the help of either friend or foe." " A^. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865. W. W. Kelly was chosen Lieut.-Gov. ; B. F. Allen, Secretary of State; J. B. Galbrai h, Attorney-General; L. G. Pyles, Comptroller ; C. H. Austin, Treasurer ; T. T. Long, Judge of Suwanee Circuit ; E. A. Putnam, Judge of East Circuit. See An. Cyrlo., 1864-S. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 367 Florida are more hostile than they ever have been. They were surrendered too soon." ^ Governor Marvin's observations indicate no such danger as Sumner professed to see. The governor wrote to Secre- tary Seward : " What is very remarkable is that as a gen- eral rule the most zealous original secessionists accept the results of the war in a better spirit than the original Union men who got dragged into it against their will." " Benjamin Truman, who was in Florida during December, 1865, in his report on the temper of the South, declared that the rank and file of the disbanded Southern army — those who remained in at the end — are the backbone and sinew of the South. . . . To the disbanded regiments of the rebel army, both officers and men, I look with great confidence as the best and altogether most hopeful element of the South, the real basis of reconstruction and the material of worthy citizenship. On a thousand battlefields they have tested the invincible power of that Government they vainly sought to overthrow, and along a thousand picket-lines and under the friendly flag of truce they have learned that the soldiers of the Union bore them no hatred and shared with them the common attributes of human- ity Around the returned soldier of the South gathers the same circle of admiring friends that we see arovmd the mil- lions of hearthstones in our own section, and from him they are slowly learning the lesson of charity and brotherhood. I know of very few more potent influences at work in promot- ing real and lasting reconciliation and reconstruction than the influence of the returned Southern soldier.^ * Cong. Globe, 3Qth C, ist S., 1865-6, pt. i, p. 313. ' Sen. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 26, pp. 203-6. ' Sen. Ex. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 43. Report of Truman, April 9, 1866. Truman was in Florida from the 7th through the 20th of De- cember, 1865. 368 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Governor-elect Walker was not an aggressive man, and in no sense an irreconcilable. He was a quiet Southern gentleman of Central Florida with a well-deserved popu- larity for his moderate views. He was experienced in politics, had held slaves, had openly opposed secession, and like thousands of other ex-Whigs, had gone with his state when the crisis was past in 1861. He came into office in. troubled times. Vindictive and ignorant politicians North stood ready to exaggerate into something sinister every trouble that might afflict the badly-demoralized South. Civil law in Florida was partially restored by military proclamation late in November. All civil officials of the state and localities were thereupon directed by the provi- sional governor to resume the functions of their offices. The military reserved to itself the jurisdiction of the more serious offenses, such as murder, rape, incendiarism, riot- ous assemblage, highway robbery, etc.^ On December ist, President Johnson restored the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.'^ There was comparative tranquility in Florida during the autumn of 1865. A Southern correspondent of the New York Herald concluded that " there has been less trouble in Florida between citizens and United States sol- diers, and with freedmen than in any other Southern state, and the state of feeling is better than in any other South- ern state ".^ A survey of conditions in the South at this time supports this conclusion. What is the explanation? Some of the 1 A^ Y. Times, December 25, 1865 ; A''. Y. World. Jan. 4, 1866. ' Executive Proclamation, McPherson, History of Reconstruction, p. 15. Also, N. Y. Herald, Dec. i, 1865. For a disparaging view of the restoration of civil rule in Florida, see A'^. Y. Daily News, Dec. IS, 1865. » A^ Y. Herald, Nov. 15, 1865. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 369 obvious causes of peace were: i, the popularity and wisdom of Governor Marvin; 2, the moderate counsel and course of the older leaders in Florida — mostly ex-Confederates;' 3, the absence of an urban population and many Federal office- holders ; 4, the course taken by the public press. The jour- nals of Florida had systematically taught prompt compli- ance with the terms of the conquering power. " Now as a general thing," wrote a keen and bitter observer from the North in Florida, the editors in the South are almost as disloyal and contemp- tible, and almost as malign and mean as the ministers of the Gospel. I am happy to do Florida editors justice to say that they are far ahead of their brothers in the South, with a few honorable exceptions. All over the state, with but one excep- tion, the editors have pursued a manly, vigorous course. They are loyally and patriotically at work, and their rusty little col- umns teem with noble sentiments. There are 10 papers in the state. Seven have cuts of the American flag at the head of the editorial columns, while no other paper in the South that I know of, except the Savannah Republican, has such. I called upon the Jacksonville papers a few days ago, and also on the Lake City papers. To-day I called on the editors of the Talla- hassee papers and found them to be fair-minded, upright men. They understand their position fully. . . . Really, Florida towers above her sister states. . . . Too much praise cannot be given Provisional-Governor Marvin. Florida has stepped forward and bravely accepted the issues of the war. . . . No- where in this state is seen the staggering indolence and filth ' N. Y. Times, Aug. 17, 1865, for the opinion and advice of Yulee; N. Y. Daily News, 1865 (Townsend Library, Columbia Univer- siiy). letter of Mallory to Chas. E. Dyke (editor of Floridian), Nov. I, 1865; N. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865; An. Cyclo., 1864-5, resume of Walker's ideas; Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, chapts. 1-3; Yulee to Mer- rick, May 30, 1865, Johnson Papers. 370 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA (among the freedmen) that is so painfully noticeable in Georgia and Alabama. ... I find more bona fide loyalty and earnest- ness in Florida than in any other state which I have yet visited. Of course at present there is very little love manifested for the Union or enthusiasm at the overthrow of the Confederate Government.^ As a matter of fact society was a long ways from being in a settled or peaceful condition. To the keen observer painful symptoms of social mal-adjustment were evident by the autumn of 1865. Hostility between blacks and whites was beginning to show itself.^ Many negroes were still roving over the country, stealing and generally refus- ing to work.^ Negro soldiers were garrisoned in the towns and villages, and more than once their presence proved un- fortunately exciting to the more choleric portion of the white population.* Wild ideas began to lay hold of the 1 N. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865. - Tallahassee Floridian, 1865, passim. A gin-house was burned near Marianna which precipitated conflict between blacks and whites. A company of 7th U. S. Infantry was ordered to the place to put down disturbance. N. Y. Times, Oct. i, 1865. Frequent reports that negroes were being enticed on board ships in Florida waters and taken to Cuba to be sold as slaves, tor this reported kidnaping see Sumner's speech in U. S. Senate, Cong. Globe, 39th C, ist S. (1865-6), pt. i, p. 313. N. Y. Herald, Dec. 3, 1865. Fight between blacks and whites at a local election in Lake City. Negro troops in garrison attempt to stop the trouble and make it worse. One negro killed. ' A''. Y. Times, Dec. 25 and 27, 1865. In his report to the Times,. Truman stated, " The freedmen in Florida are getting on well. Flor- ida had about 6o,coo colored at the outbreak of war. About 20,000 were urged or sold into slavery during the war from neighboring states. As is the case everywhere there is much suffering among the blacks." See memoranda on number of slaves in Florida in 1861 from Milton Papers (no date). These gave the number at a little more than 51,000. Gamage to Johnson, Oct. 30, 1865, Johnson Papers. *N. y. Herald, November 15; A'. Y. World, November 10; A''. Y. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 371 African's mind that the property of his late master would be given him on or about the first of January, 1866/ In some places experiments already had been made in giving the ballot to the black in local elections.^ Some native whites seemed bent on exerting undue physical control over the black in spite of the clear issues of the war and the state of public opinion North. ^ Men and women who had Times, December 25, October i, 1865. Carriage to Johnson, October 30, 1865, Johnson Papers. Laws of Florida, Convention of 1865, Resolution No. 6, Nov. 6, praying the President to remove negro troops from the state that " good order and peace may be preserved, etc." Camage wrote to the President : " The freedman, I find, and especially where negro troops are stationed, lazy, idling, thievish, and impudent. There is really danger of an insurrection that would surprise you if you were aware of it raised principally from the secret admonitions of colored troops," etc. By the end of December (1865), there were only three regiments of Federal troops in the state — 7th White and 34th and 99th Colored Infantry. Benjamin Truman stated that there were "hardly enough troops in the state. The colored troops have been acting very badly." 1 Speech of Marvin, A^ Y. Daily News, Oct. 27, 1865 ; N. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865. " Christmas will soon be here," stated Marvin, " and everyone of a timid mind in this section of country believes that the ' niggers are going to clean us out,' or at least a great many think that there will be attempts at insurrection. ... I do not think so." * Chase to Johnson, May 25, 1865, Johnson Papers. " An election for mayor, councilmen and other officers was held (at Fernandina) . . . the blacks and whites voting. When I arrived I was asked to swear in the mayor-elect, Mr. Mot, a French gentleman of great intellectual- ity, etc. ... Of course I complied and had the honor of administering the oath of office to the first mayor of Fernandina." It was commonly reported that the Mr. Mot in question had been a tutor in Chase's family and owed his presence in Florida to a treasury appointment by Chase. Both he and Chase were interested in the negroes voting. See also N. Y. Times, July 2; N. Y. Evening Express, June 14, 1865. ' See order of Gen. Asboth at Pensacola, N. Y. Herald, Sept. 8, 1865. A^. y. Tribune, Aug. — , 1865, letter of Aug. 10 from Jackson- ville, affirming the intention of some whites to substitute a system of 372 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA followed the fortunes of the Confederacy did not embrace with joy the end of their dreams in that direction. " In the breast of nearly every man you meet a conflict is rag- ing. Old ideas, old convictions, revered customs, tradi- tional habits and everything relating to business, social and civil life is uprooted and scattered." ^ Also, the political status of Florida in the Union was still undetermined. What would be the final judgment of the North on Reconstruction? Some people expected, no doubt, a broad and statesmanlike view by the victorious section. But a section in order to have a statesmanlike view must have at least a statesman whose word is heard and heeded. Opposition to the United States was at an end in the South, we know now. The South had been broken on the wheel. The great cause of difference had been re- moved. A Florida Unionist presented this idea when he de- clared: "Slavery, the prolific source of all our woes, is dead. The cause of that embittered feeling to which I have alluded is past; let the feelings of bitterness pass with it. If maintaining the institution of slavery was an offense deserving punishment, God knows the punishment of the late slaveholder is equal to the offense, however great its enormity." ^ But in spite of these sad sentiments and possible political difficulties, inevitable after a great civil war, the economic situation in Florida was improving. Business began to peonage for the system of slavery abolished by the war. Truman in the A''. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865, declared that there were " two classes of fanatics in regard to the negro. One would elevate the black at the expense of the white man. The other begrudges the black his free- dom and seeks to annihilate him because of his emancipation." * A^. Y. Tribune, Sept. 5, 1865. * Letter of E. C. Cabell in De Bow's Review, Jan., 1866. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 373 " pick up " during the late summer of 1865. The cotton crop was abundant even with the uncertain condition of labor/ Much cotton that had been hidden away during the war came to light after the close of hostilities. This with the confiscated cotton of the late Confederate govern- ment served as a substantial initial basis for trade.* " Shortly after the close of hostilities in 1865 there was tremendous activity in the cotton business along the Chatta- hoochee," stated a one-time cotton clerk in Apalachicola. " Probably as many as 200,000 bales were shipped out of Apalachicola in the summer and fall of '65. ... St. Marks shipped 50,000 bales during the summer and fall of '65." ^ A filip was given business. Lumber mills were being repaired and rebuilt. Men began again to " get out timber " from Florida's forests and raft it down the creeks and rivers to the sea.* Merchant ships once more came and ^ A'^. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865. Truman stated : " Agriculture is in a good condition. The chances are that this year's crop will be the largest in Florida's history. . . . Five times as much cotton has been raised as was calculated by commercial men North and South. Thou- sands of bales are piled up all along the railroad awaiting transpor- tation." * A'^. Y. Times, Aug. 17, 1865 ; Oct. i, 1865. It was estimated that 30,000 bales of cotton were in the state at the time of the surrender. Since surrender (till October) more than 6,000 bales were sent from Jacksonville. Large cotton business was being done at Apalachicola and St. Marks. A Jacksonville correspondent estimated the number of bales in Florida at end of war at 50,000. ' Conversation with Wm. Trimmer, of Escambia County, Florida. This estimate of the amount of the cotton sent from St. Marks and Apalachicola is too high. * A^. Y. Times. Aug. 17, and Oct. i, 1865. Lumber and timber were coming into Jacksonville in small quantities. 400,000 feet of sawed lumber, 1,000 sticks of timber (pine), 1,000 sticks of cedar, 1,000 bar- rels of tar, and 250 barrels of turpentine were shipped from Jackson- ville during the first four months after surrender. See also A'^. Y. Tribune, Sept. 5, 1865. 374 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA went unmolested from the recently deserted harbors/ The owners of the depleted and disorganized railways sought capital for repairs and new equipment to meet the revival in business." Merchants brought in new stocks of goods from the North. ^ In Florida there were unmistakable in- dications of economic revival accompanying political re- organization. By the end of 1865 the blacks had become to a consid- erable degree the wards of the national government under the tutelage of United States marshals and Freedmen's Bureau agents. Negroes were also undergoing political in- struction. Their initial education in this regard was gleaned from the gossip of military camps,* from the con- versation of Northern philanthropists and politicians, from Freedmen's Bureau agents, and from secret societies. The last were potent means for organizing the negroes and de- veloping their latent possibilities as future electors. 1 The blockade of Southern ports was removed by Proclamation of the President May 22nd, to take effect after July i, 1865. McPherson, History of Reconstruction, p. 9. * N. Y. Times, Oct. i ; Dec. 25, 1865. Says one report, " Since the road has been opened to Quincy the company has been compelled to refuse freight destined for that station, the warehouse being filled to the utmost capacity and the side-tracks with loaded cars, etc." * N. Y. Tribune, Aug., 1865, letter of Aug. 10 from Florida; iV. Y. Herald, Nov. 8, 1865. " Warehouses packed with cotton awaiting shipment of goods from the North. Those with sufficient capital are engaged in cotton speculation. The smaller fry are buying small stocks of goods and starting in business," etc. * N. Y. World, Nov. 10, 1865. " Gen. Grant's order disbanding negro troops was received with unusual satisfaction. Their presence has galled and irritated the whites, while they fostered insolence and idleness among the negroes, etc." N. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865. Truman wrote from Florida : " The greatest source of trouble (with the freed- men) is the colored soldiers. They incite the freedmen to a commis- sion of crime, etc." Also Gamage to Johnson, Oct. 30, 1865 ; Reed to Blair, June 26, 1865, Johnson Papers. For a defense of black troops, see Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, p. 19. POLITICAL REORGANIZATION 375 By mid-summer of '65, treasury agents and military offi- cials had succeeded in establishing chapters of the " Union League of America" at several points within Florida.' In October, soon after the arrival of T. W. Osborn in Florida, another secret political and benevolent society for blacks was launched — the " Lincoln Brotherhood ". Osborn was probably founder and head of this organization. It spread rapidly throughout the northern portion of the state. The parent group was in Tallahassee. Initiation into these secret societies was made sufficiently mysterious to favor- ably impress the black with their importance and satisfy his longing for some sort of hoodooism. Amid the rattle of gun-locks, the giving of solemn oaths, and a sufficiency of mumble-jumble, the candidate stood in a dim light and swore fealty to the Union-Republican party and the United States constitution.^ The native whites looked askance upon these societies. They were primarily political organizations. Their pro- jectors, white men from abroad, deliberately aimed at the political control of the state in the future by means of the negro vote. It did not take much perspicacity to see the drift of things. The Southern whites, as a class, were ^ Chase to Johnson, May 21, 1865, Johnson Papers. " Nor do I know- that I have mentioned the fact that everywhere throughout the coun- try colored citizens are organizing Union Leagues. I found them in a greater or less degree of advancement in nearly every place. They must exert a great influence on the future of the class they represent, and not a little bit on the character of the states in which they exist. They form a power which no wise statesman will despise." This letter from Chase was sent from Fernandina after the writer had visited o'her states, and therefore referred to no one state, but Reed's letter to Blair (Johnson Papers, June 26) indicates that Florida was in- cluded. See also A'^. Y. Tribune, Sept. 5, 1865. For facts concerning Union Leagues in general, see Fleming, Doc. Hist. Reconst., v. 2, chap. 7. ' Wallace, Carpet-hag Rule, pp. 42-43. 276 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA positively opposed to negro enfranchisement. The secret societies were utilized to teach the negroes that they had grievances against the ex-slave-holding class. The black was taught that it was necessary to be independent of his former master ; that his former master wished to re-enslave him. The seeds of suspicion were planted and cultivated. In many cases the foregoing accusation regarding re-en- slavement was true. But while many might have wished for the old regime, few were fools enough to think that slavery could or would be revived. In arraying race against race, the record of the Lincoln Brotherhoods and Union Leagues was damnable and gen- erally at wide variance with the advice of the higher Fed- eral military officials, Governor Marvin, and even General O. O. Howard of the Freedmen's Bureau. The latter on his visit to Florida in October, 1865, extended to the negro different counsel.^ » N. Y. World, Nov. 17; A^. Y. Herald, Nov. 19, 1865. At Tallahassee Gen. Howard spoke to the freedmen in the negro Methodist Church. He advised them to be polite and respectful to the white people; to make contracts with their former masters ; and to " stick up " to those contracts. CHAPTER XV The Freedmen's Bureau and Public Opinion Unfortunately for hopes of social tranquility the Fed- eral government during the early autumn of 1865 definitely established in Florida a special tribunal for the blacks. This new tribunal was the Freedmen's Bureau, created by Federal statute of March 3rd, 1865, as a branch of the United States war department/ It proved to be a higher tribunal than any state court, when the blacks' interests were involved. Its original objects were three, as sug- gested by its full name, " Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen. and Abandoned Lands." ^ Primarily it existed for the protection of the Southern negro and to help that lately liberated class find itself in American society. The war department announced that the work of the Bureau will be the promotion of productive industry, the settlement of those so lately slaves in homes of their own ; the guarantee of their absolute freedom and their right to justice before the law as set forth in the proclama- tions of the President and the laws of Congress ; the dissem- ination of virtuous intelligence ; and to aid in permanently establishing peace and securing property.' * U. S. Statutes at Large, v. 13, pp. 507-509 1 on July 16, 1866, the Bureau was continued for two years and details of administration elaborated by statu' e, v. 14, pp. 174-79- ' See Peirce, P. S., The Freedmen's Bureau (Un. of Iowa Studies), for the best account of the Bureau in the entire South. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, Circular no. 2, July 24, 1865. 377 378 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The negro was in need of protection when dealing with unscrupulous whites, Northern or Southern. He was also in need of some aid in earning a living under the new regime of freedom, mainly because that regime began with Southern society poverty-stricken, demoralized, and shaken to its very foundations. But it is very probable that state courts could have and would have given this aid wisely; and it is extremely doubtful if the Bureau in Florida ex- tended the desired protection and the needed aid judi- ciously or honestly. The institution was an arm of the Federal government designed in good faith to bolster up temporarily society in the South — particularly black society — amid the demoralization following the war and after the downfall of that much-maligned and ancient institution, chattel slavery. The Bureau was founded in the assump- tion that the Southern black unaided would not obtain jus- tice from the Southern white. In its operation it affords an example in American history of arbitrary, bureaucratic government from a remote center — a form of political ata- vism suggestive of ancient Babylonia or modern Russia. In September, 1865, Thomas W. Osborn, late of the Union army, was appointed chief assistant-commissioner for Florida.^ His appointment marks the official beginning of the Bureau's existence within the state. For three months previous to this date the army had been the medium of the national government for rendering aid to destitute people in Florida — blacks and whites — distributing gratis during these months several thousand rations.^ Three months after its establishment in Florida the Bureau was in more or less effective operation over the entire state. The general plan of organization comprised ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S.. no. 70, p. 79, Sept. 13, Circular no. 4. » Ibid., pp. 275-6. THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 379 the distribution throughout the state of sub-commissioners of the Bureau, each of whom was entrusted with the super- vision of a " sub-district " composed of several counties — from two to four, according to size and accessibihty.'^ Each of these sub-district chiefs had subordinate to him in each county and principal town a " civil agent " to " attend to details ". Each sub-assistant commissioner was required to report monthly, or oftener, to state headquarters in Tal- lahassee, and to forward there all appeals from his deci- sions or those of his civil agents. Each commanding offi- cer of a military post was constituted, ex-officio, sub- assistant commissioner for the " surrounding district ", " which arrangement," said General Foster in June, 1866, " unites more completely the full benefits of military and Bureau administration." ^ The sub-assistant commissioners were all officers or ex-officers of the Union army. The civil agents were local judges, justices of the peace, discharged Federal soldiers or " citizens of character and influence who were willing to perform the duty "} Osborn appointed the probate judges in each county agents of the Bureau, and in the counties of Nassau, Co- lumbia, Alachua, Marion, and Jackson he called upon the judges to appoint in his name as civil agents the county clerks and justices of the peace. Governor Marvin advised these local officials to comply with Osborn's order by serv- ing. Some of them did so.* Here we have a suggestion of co-operation between Fed- * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 275. The state was at first divided into five districts. An officer from headquarters (Talla- hassee) traversed the state to explain to the people at large the objects of the Bureau. * Sen. Ex. Docs., 3gth C, 2nd S., no. 6, pp. 43-44, Oct., 1866. * Ibid., p. 44. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 70, pp. 86-88. 380 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA eral officialdom and local officialdom, but like honor among thieves it did not extend far. Radical investigators in Florida from the North condemned the local civil officials because " their prejudices and other personal qualities " produced " moral incapacity " to treat the negro " with fairness as freeman "/ The service was unpopular with native whites and sometimes entailed insults and petty per- secutions.^ By June, 1866, the work of the Bureau in Florida was being done by the assistant commissioner and four staff officers at Tallahassee, thirteen sub-assistant commissioners located at various points in the state, six " civil agents ", four clerks (in Tallahassee), eight hospital nurses, a state surgeon and physician, a state superintendent of education for freedmen, and fifty-one school teachers. By October, 1866, the number of civil agents had been in- creased from six to twenty-four. Several of the civil agents received definite salaries from the war department. The others were remunerated by fees charged for services rendered.^ Thomas W. Osborn — the first chief of the Bureau in Florida — was a man of considerable energy and executive ability far above the average. He had served during the war as an officer in the 24th Massachusetts Infantry and had campaigned in Florida.* He went from the army into the Bureau service and retired from the latter on June nth, 1866, succeeded by General J. G. Foster. ° Os- ^Sen. Ex. Docs., 39th C. ist S., no. 27, pp. 128-129. Maj. C. H. Howard, special inspector. 2 Ibid., 2nd S., no. 6. p. 44. ' Sen. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 2nd S., no. 6, p. 44. * A^. Y. Tribune. Dec. 29, 1863; Jan. 23, 1864; N. Y. Times. Jan. 23. 1864. * Sen. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 2nd S., no. 6, pp. 43-44. THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 38 1 born was destined to be a powerful politician in Florida. As Bureau agent he made friends readily among the South- ern planters and at first received commendation and praise from the local conservative press/ He addressed himself at once to obtaining from the Fed- eral treasury department records of " abandoned and con- fiscated " property ; to the restoration of this property to rightful owners when possible and convenient; to relieving suffering among indigent whites and blacks by granting them food and medical attention; and to extending to the negro the paternal protection, direction, and care of the Bureau. On September 9th he announced in the newspapers of the state that application for the restoration of abandoned property should be addressed to him after obtaining from the commander of the nearest military post a written ap- proval of the claim and proof that the petitioner had sub- scribed to the Federal Amnesty Oath. All deeds, mort- gages, and other documents bearing upon the claim of abandoned or confiscated property in Florida were then to be submitted to Chief Osborn at Tallahassee.^ Numerous claims were in time sent to this central office and there settled satisfactorily.^ The treasury agents who 1 N. Y. World, May 31, 1866. Letter from Jacksonville. iV. F. Times, June 25, 1866, letter of Benj. Truman, Fernandina; Florida Union, Feb. 3, 1866; N. Y. Daily News, Jan., 22(?), 1866 (Townsend Library). ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 47, 85, and 280. Sp. Ord. no. 5, Oct. 31, 1865. " All property in Apalachicola held by officers of this Bureau is restored to owners," etc. Also H. Ex. Docs., 38th C, 2nd S., no. 18. •■' H. Rpts., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 30, p. 15. Rpt. of Dec. 31, 1867, stat- ing that the total number of pieces of town property restored to owners was 26 and that the number of such pieces of property still held was 299. H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 70. 382 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA had taken over abandoned and confiscated property in 1865 were slow in relinquishing to the Bureau agents the control of this property.^ The work of the Bureau as an institution of charity and social control lay within certain numerous fairly distinct spheres of activity: namely, i, the issuing of rations to indigent and destitute blacks and whites; 2, the main- taining of an orphanage for blacks, an insane asylum, a hospital, and crude free medical dispensaries for the pest stricken ; " 3, the aiding of negro land-seekers in locating and homesteading tracts of Federal land;^ 4, the organ- izing, partly supporting and superintending of negro edu- cation; 5, the regulating of written contracts for labor between white employer and black employee; 6, the over- seeing of the Freedmen's savings banks in Jacksonville and Tallahassee; 7, the encouraging of the black to be more conventional in his or her marital, sexual, and parental re- ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 280-85. Bureau-agent Webster was sent in January, 1866, to Pensacola to take over the control of property from Treas. Agt. Ricks, but the titles to the prop- erty were not obtained from Ricks. Osborn stated that this was the third time that he had made such a demand, each time " for one reason or another" Ricks refusing lo surrender necessary descrip- tions of properties. Simon Conant, Bureau agent, was sent into East Florida in the autumn of 1865 to take over the remaining property seized for non-payment of Federal taxes. The Treas. agts. were ab- sent and the transfer not made. See provision in Federal statute, July 16, 1866, concerning abandoned property, sections 4 and 5, U. S. Sta- tutes at Large, v. 14, pp. 174-9. ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70; 41st C, 2nd S., no. 142, pp. 18, 24. One Bureau hospital was maintained in Florida. The report ot Feb., 1870, gives force employed as two physicians and six nurses. 653 negroes were treated in this hospital (at Magnolia) during the year 1868-9. * H. Ex. Docs.. 40th C, 2nd S.. no. 57, p. 18; also 39th C, ist S.. no. 70. THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 383 lations;^ 8, the furnishing to the negro of a perfectly free and always willing tribunal (the Bureau Courts) for the successful adjudication of his civil claims and penal mis- fortunes. The institution also educated the negro in party politics, but this function can hardly be considered within its legitimate sphere as an institution of government. This was the Bureau's legal scope. What was the meas- ure of its actual activities? At the close of the war the negro population of Florida was above 65,000 — practically all liberated slaves. Two- thirds of this population was segregated in the half-dozen cotton counties of North Central Florida." Here the duties of the Bureau were heaviest. The simplest and most direct aid which it rendered the inhabitants of Florida was the granting of rations. Dur- ing the two years following the close of the war hundreds of indigent blacks and whites called upon the Bureau for food. 92,191 rations were given gratis between June ist, 1865, and May ist, 1866.^ It is not possible to estimate ^ H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 108-11. See Gen. Ords. no. 8, Aug. II, 1865, presenting certain marriage rules for freedmen. Men 21 and women 18 were eligible for m.arriage. All who wished to marry must show evidence of not being married or of being separ- ated for at least three years. Churches and civil officials were allowed to grant permits of marriage for 50 cents each. All ministers of the Gospel and civil officials were authorized to solemnize marriage and to issue marriage certificates for $1.00. All such certificates to be sent to the Bureau. ^Religious organizations were empowered to dissolve marriages of freedmen. Elaborate rules were drawn up setting forth the duties of husbands to "former wives" and the rights of wives and children, etc. ' See Census of 1870 (unreliable) ; H. Ex. Docs., 39th C., ist S., no. 70. A special state census of 1867 put the number of blacks at 71,665. Population increased from immigration during 1866. See Floridian during 1867; also Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. ii, p. 301. ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 275-6; N. Y. Times, June 13, 1866, Gen. Steedman's Report. 384 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA accurately the extent of this aid. General Howard reported in March, 1867, that 500 destitute whites and 1,000 blacks were dependent for a living for five or six months of the year upon the Bureau. He estimated that 45,000 rations per month were called for.^ A ration was estimated to cost twenty-five cents. The Federal government paid for the supplies through the Bureau. The funds came either in direct Federal ap- propriation or from the sale and rent of abandoned and confiscated property. The total expenditure by the Flor- ida Bureau in Florida from November ist, 1865, to Novem- ber ist, 1866, was $15,589.62. Its income for these twelve months was $18,949.00.^ 1866 was its busiest year. There- fore we can conclude that the total expenditure of this insti- tution among Florida's 70,000 negroes and few hundred helpless whites was not large. It rendered good service in filling hungry stomachs, in caring for a few orphans, sick people and insane ; and in ministering unto the pest-stricken. A negro orphanage was maintained at Fernandina in the confiscated home of General Finegan.^ A hospital with a staff of several physi- cians and nurses was established near Jacksonville.* Pest houses were kept up in various towns and villages of the state. Small-pox was raging in localities among negroes during 1865-66. The Bureau by a systematic campaign of ' Sen. Ex. Docs., 40th C, ist S., no. i, p. 2. * Sen. Ex. Docs.. 39th C, 2nd S., no. 6, p. 47. * Ibid., p. 47; Sen. Ex. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 27, p. no. The orphan asylum at Fernandina is spoken of as " a lovely spectacle of genuine philanthropy." * H. Ex. Docs., 39lh €., ist S., no. 70, p. 47. At Magnolia, 20 miles above Jacksonville, on the St. Johns river. The hospital was estab- lished in March, 1866; H. Ex. Docs., 41st C, 2nd S., no. 142, pp. 18, 24. THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 385 vaccination against the disease rendered a good service to society. At a few points in the state small primary schools for negroes had been established before the Bureau entered Florida. In Fernandina and Jacksonville negro schools vv^ere opened during the war.^ Florida was less advanced in educating the negro than most other Southern states. This lack of progress did not disturb the Southern white. Even the enlightened planters did not welcome academic ideas from the proselyting, patronizing newcomer from the North or the politically-minded negro preacher. In Tallahassee the Bureau inspector of freedmen's schools reported on January ist, 1866, that he had found five negro schools gathered together and taught by negro preachers. He reported also a school of " interesting girls " at the same place taught by a " Mulatto woman of education " who said to him, " I intend to make ladies of these girls ".^ The American institution of learning is in truth capable of a great deal. Small negro schools were at the same time in operation in Fernandina, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Lake City, and Gainesville. Some white women of Fernandina conducted a " sewing school " for blacks and a negro orphan asylum which by January, 1866, had fifty-five inmates.^ Thus it is 1 Moore, Rebel!. Red., v. 6, p. 61. N. Y. Tribune, Aug. 17, 1864; A''. Y. Times, Jan. 23, 1864. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 337. J. W. Alvord was the inspector of schools. His report is dated Jan. i, 1866. ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 276. Fernandina had two negro schools, 330 pupils, and five teachers ; St. Augustine, two schools, 250 pupils, and four teachers ; Jacksonville, three schools, 530 pupils, and four teachers; Lake City, one school, 310 pupils, and two teachers; Tallahassee, one school, 208 pupils, and two teachers. This made a total of 10 schools, 1,918 pupils, and 21 teachers, reported Dec. 31, 1865. ^86 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA seen that educational and cha -itable work among Florida's blacks had already begun before the Bureau was fairly es- tablished. One of the first things which it accomplished was the organization over the state of numerous schools for blacks supported partly by local contributions, partly by the state, partly by Northern charity,^ and partly by Federal funds. In October, 1865, General Foster, commanding the mili- tary department of Florida, appointed Chaplain H. H. Moore (white), of the 34th United States Colored In- fantry, state superintendent of education for Freedmen.^ Assistant-Commissioner Osborn immediately directed all sub-assistant commissioners of the Bureau to report to Moore as soon as possible the number of negro children between five and fifteen in their respective districts; the number and character of the schools already established; the school-house accommodations; the means for boarding and lodging teachers ; the disposition of the whites toward negro schools ; the ability and willingness of the people, black and white, to pay teachers, etc. — in fact all reason- able information germane to the question of wisely estab- lishing negro schools.' The Bureau's educational efforts produced some results. By the end of January, 1866, 21 black schools were reported at 14 points employing 33 teachers and enrolling 1,868 pupils of all ages.* Six months later 38 schools were re- ' Philanthropic work among the negroes in the South Atlantic states (the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida) was carried on by the following organizations : American Alissionary Assn., Boston Educational Com- mission, Freedmen's Relief Assn. of N. Y., American Tract Society of Boston, and Educational Societies founded in Philadelphia, Chi- cago, and Cincinnati. See H. Rpts., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 30, pp. 20-22. ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. yo, p. 85. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 85, Circular no. 7. * Ibid., pp. 283-4. The distribution was as follows : St. Augustine, THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 387 ported employing 51 teachers and enrolling 2,662 pupils. Twenty of these 38 schools were state institutions. Twenty- nine of the 51 teachers were sustained by the New York branch of the Society for the Protection of the Freedmen.^ The Bureau directed and controlled this educational work — state, Federal, and private. The state legislature on January nth, 1866, provided by law for a negro school system of its own.^ By October, 1866, twenty-five common schools for blacks had been established by the state. L. M. Hobbs, an ex-chaplain of the 3rd Colored Infantry and Federal provost-marshal at Tallahassee, was appointed by Governor Walker state superintendent of negro schools.* Hobbs's successor — an- other ex-chaplain of the Union army — became superin- tendent of Bureau schools; and in this way was the direc- tion of the two systems — Bureau and state — linked to- gether.* Gradually the Bureau schools were absorbed into two schools, four teachers, 150 pupils; Fernandina, three schools, six teachers, 280 pupils; Jacksonville, three schools, six teachers, 240 pupils ; Colony, one school, one teacher, 28 pupils ; Lake City, one school, two teachers, 300 pupils ; Gainesville, one school, two teachers, 280 pupils; Palatka, one school, one teacher, 85 pupils; Marianna, one school, one teacher, 80 pupils; Pensacola, one school, one teacher, 75 pupils; Lieut. Cessna's Plantation, one school, one teacher, 20 pupils; Belle Air (near Tallahassee), one school, one teacher, 40 pupils; Midway, one school, one teacher, 20 pupils; Plantation near Tallahassee, one school, one teacher, 30 pupils; Tallahassee, three schools, five teachers, 240 pupils. ^H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70. ' Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, chap. 1475. 3 TV. Y. Evening Post, March 16, 1866, Hobbs' letter; N. Y. World, April 21, 1866, Tallahassee letter; H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, p. 8, testimony of Hobbs before the Reconstruction Commit'. ee in Wash- ington, Feb. 28, 1866. *E. B. Duncan, H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 46. 388 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA the state system, although the Bureau was the paramount authority during the period of miHtary rule, 1866-68/ The state levied a poll tax of $1 on every adult male negro for the support of negro schools. Few paid the tax — some failing because they could not pay, and many because they would not. The total amount of taxes assessed by the state on negroes during 1866 was only $22,935. $7,- 828 of this amount was the poll tax for common schools, and only a fraction of it was ever collected. During the year 1866 the state government issued warrants to the amount of $2,792.88 for the payment of teachers in negro schools.^ These warrants were paid out of general reve- nue. The fraction of the negro school tax actually paid was turned in by planters for their workmen. Experience demonstrated that negroes were not dis- posed to have their names recorded on the tax rolls, even for purposes of their own education. Paying taxes was a process which they neither understood nor appreciated. Many had no money to pay when called upon. More en- lightened people do not readily pay taxes — particularly poll taxes — for that which they think they will obtain without paying. With Florida negroes tax paying was discour- aged because /' restless agitators now told them," stated Comptroller Beard, in 1867, " that the state is without such government as they are bound to respect, that it is an illegal concern having no legitimate powers." ' ^ In February, 1870, ^2 Bureau schools were reported employing 39 teachers and enrolling 1,507 pupils; also 20 Sunday-schools with 55 teachers and 1,168 pupils, H. Ex. Docs., 41st C, 2nd S., no. 142, p. 24. At this time the number of negro pupils enrolled in state schools was about 3,000. See An. Cyclo., 1870-71; Herbert, Why the Solid South? p. 167. 2 Rpt. State Comptroller Beard, Aug. 5, 1867. * Rpt. State Compt. Beard, Aug. 5, 1867. See also Floridian, Aug. •9, June 14, July 16, 1867. THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 389 For five years the Bureau continued to oversee negro schools and to act as the agent for steadily decreasing Northern charity. The teachers in negro schools were both blacks and whites/ The latter were generally social outcasts. From the larger plantations came applications for teachers.^ Osborn reported early in 1866 that in Flor- ida negro schools " were flourishing ", that there was some opposition by whites to their establishment, and that the great need was teachers.^ L. M. Hobbs, superintendent of negro schools, wrote in March, 1866: There is great demand for schools on plantations, not only by freedmen but by former masters. They say that it is as much to their interest as to the freedmen's that the freedmen be educated ; that as free laborers they will do better by being able to read and write and will be more contented if they can have schools on their plantations. Many planters have offered to pay one-half the expenses of schools if they are successful in raising cotton this year.* Thousands of ex-slaves wished " book-learning " and strove for a little while to acquire it. They labored with an eagerness and hopefulness and helplessness, usually, not without pathos. The Southern whites interpreted the ne- groes' efforts as but a passing spasm of curiosity founded upon a desire to ape the more enlightened whites and to test freedom somehow by piercing the mysteries of the printed ^ Atnerican Freedman, Oct., 1866. Article on Southern Education. See also various reports of Freedmen's Bureau in Florida. ^ H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 284; A''. Y. Evening Post, March 16, 1866. ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70. * N. Y. Evening Post, March 16, 1866, le'ter from Hobbs to Pres. Shaw of N. Y. Freedmen's Relief Assn. Also personal conversation of the author with ex-Gov. Bloxham in Tallahassee. 390 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA page. The Southern whites did not take the matter very seriously/ The more ignorant they were the more they re- sented the blacks' mad search after the alphabet. Strangers in the land — from the North — were heavily impressed with what they saw. Many of them made hasty, optimistic and thoroughly asinine or dishonest generaliza- tions and prophecies about the bright cultural outlook for the negro. Such optimism continues to this day. The black was described to doting enthusiasts North as a man of un- common parts — with acquisitive and reasoning faculties far above the Southern white, and with an enthusiasm for learning, probably unparalleled in the history of the human race. " The great movement is among the children of the usual school age," declared one admirer. Their parents, if at all intelligent, encourage them to study. Your officers [U. S.] add their influence, and it is a fact not always true of children that, among those recently from bond- age, a school-house, however rough and uncomfortable, is of all places the most attractive. A very common punishment for misdemeanors is the threat of being kept home from school. The threat is, in most cases, sufficient,^ A Federal treasury agent in Florida found " the colored children evincing a spirit and disposition to learn " that he had never witnessed " even in the white schools of the North; and not only evincing the disposition, but actually learning. That is something that has impressed me most profoundly everywhere in the South." ^ An interesting and for several years favorable aspect of ' Radicals testifying before the Reconstruction Committee or writing home exaggerated the bitterness of the Southern white. For ins'ance, see the testimony of Ricks and Hobbs, H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30. ' Ibid., pp. 22-23. * H. Rfits., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, p. 2, testimony of J. W. Ricks. THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 391 the national government's influence on the blacks of Flor- ida is furnished by the career of the Freedmen's Savings Bank. When the negro became a considerable element in the Federal army during the Civil War the safe-keeping of the pay and bounty money of this class became a matter of philanthropic concern to Northern negrophiles. Why ex- isting Caucasian banks could not minister unto the negro it is difficult to understand. At any rate to meet the sup- posed exigency military savings banks were created at Norfolk, Va., and Beaufort, S. C, which were centers of mobilization at that time for negro troops.^ The close of the war and the consequent emancipation of the negro increased and made more actual the necessity of some reliable agency to meet the black's financial and social wants. In response to this demand Congress incor- porated in March, 1865, the Freedmen's Savings Bank and Trust Company, a sort of financial supplement of the Freedmen's Bureau.^ The institution was designed to perform for a particular class — a desperately poor and ignorant class — the import- ant function of a savings bank. Its purpose was declared to be " to receive on deposit such sums of money as may from time to time be offered therefor by or on behalf of persons heretofore held in slavery in the United States, or their descendants, and to invest the same in the stocks, bonds and treasury notes or other securities of the United States." ' Branches of the bank were established during March, 1866, in Jacksonville, and during the following August in Tallahassee.^ Deposits from $1 up were received. At- ' Sen. Rpts., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 440, pp. 1-2. ' Statutes at Large, v. 13, pp. 510-513, March 3, 1865. » Sec. 5. * H. Misc. Docs., 43rd C, 2nd S., no. 16, p. 85. W. L. Coan was Bank Manager in Jacksonville, and Wm. Steward in Tallahassee. 392 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA tractive bank books were issued to negro depositors and the Bureau agents encouraged the blacks to put their sur- plus earnings in the bank/ The Florida branches were soon doing a general banking business — making loans on various sorts of notes, on cotton, lumber and even real estate. Some of the men associated in the local management of the institution in Florida were unmitigated scoundrels,^ but this fact did not prevent it from doing a useful work in the state among the negroes. Colonel Sprague reported to General Howard on October ist, 1867, that the two Florida branches were in a " flourishing condition " and that the rental of buildings occupied by both branches was " paid by the Bureau in compliance with orders ".^ The bank was in reality a part of the Bureau's system. Two and a half years later, 1870, the Congressional committee investigating General Howard reported that the influence of the bank on the black was " very beneficial ".■* When in 1874 the Freedmen's Bank failed the Jackson- ville branch had $39,400.00 on deposit from some i ,608 de- positors — mostly negroes — and the Tallahassee branch $30,610.35 from 766 depositors.^ These poor people lost a large part of their savings and no doubt had their pristine faith in banks and the goodness of the new regime badly shaken. ^ Floridian, Feb. 15 and 19, 1867. See reference to bank in Minutes of Republican Club of Jacksonville. For the bank elsewhere, see Prof. Fleming's Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama for an ad- mirable account of the institution there ; also, his Doc. Hist, for the whole South. * One, Stonelake, was chairman of the bank's " Advertising Com- mittee" in Tallahassee, Floridian, Feb. 19, 1867. For charges of dis- graceful frauds of Stonelake in selling painted sticks to negroes, see Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, p. 40. ' H. Rpts., 41st C, 2nd S., no. 121, pp. 47-48. * Ibid., p. 486. ' Sen. Rpts., 46th C, 2nd S., no. 440, pp. 22, 41. THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 393 But memories of misfortune do not linger long in the Ethiopian's head. The failure hardly produced demoral- izing distrust even among the comparatively few who were the victims. The negro as a freedman was expected to be- come master of his own wealth. The Freedmen's Bank encouraged the ex-slave to put his earnings in a safe place presumably, and enabled him to realize an interest on his money. Practically, therefore, the plan tended toward in- culcating thrift, and though the plan ended in disaster, yet it became for a short time under the Bureau's oversight a / potent instrument for teaching economic values to the black. Another attempt to protect the economic interests of the negro — and in some ways the most important function of the Bureau — was the direction and management of the written contract system for labor. Thousands of such con- tracts between blacks and whites were entered into in all parts of Florida during 1865-68. They were made usually under the eyes of a Federal agent, and thus very profoundly did the Bureau touch the active agricultural and industrial life of the commonwealth. What was the character pf these contracts? How did the system work out? The avowed policy of Osborn (the first Bureau chief of the state) was to leave the amount of the wage to the law of supply and demand, after, however, fixing carefully a minimum of food to be furnished in advance by the white landlord. This minimum was four pounds of bacon, one peck of meal, and one pint of syrup or the equivalent per week per laborer. The male head of a family might make a contract binding his wife and those children old enough to labor but legally under age. The contracts stipulated or implied the hours of work to be performed each day, the days of labor, the food to be advanced, and the wage or 394 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA share of the crop to be paid. The planter usually allowed the laborer one-third of the crop which he might cultivate and his food and lodging till the crop was made. In saw- mills and in turpentine orchards and distilleries the stipu- lated return was in cash or supplies. A Bureau agent gen- erally witnessed the making of these contracts and for this service he charged a small fee which was paid by the land- lord.^ On September 21st, 1865, Osborn ordered all sub-assistant commissioners of the Bureau to report to him the number of freedmen in their respective districts; approximately the number laboring under written contracts ; the average wage or share of the crop received by the laborer; the degree of contentment apparent; the attitude of white employer toward negro employee; and the disposition of the negroes to loaf, congregate in towns, and steal. Officials were di- rected very positively by Osborn to discourage the blacks from collecting in towns, at military posts, at railway sta- tions, or in isolated communities. " It should be constantly borne in mind," ran the order, " that the labor of the freed- men is most profitable to himself as well as to the employer where the labor can be made to yield the largest returns, which, as a general rule, is on plantations or in the lumber business." ^ Bureau officials were cautioned against giving railway transportation to blacks, and were to bend all energies toward inducing them to make written contracts — docu- ments which in the magnified vision of the blacks' new mas- ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 85-90, 283. jV. Y. Times, June 13, 1866. Gen. Steedman states that in " Fernandina District Maj. Shearer of 7th Ohio who acts wihout pay gets $5.00 for each contract." Also Rpts. of Gens. Steedman and Fullerton, Johnson Papers. ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 79-80. - THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 393 ters, the Bureau agents, became personal Magna Chartas for the members of the liberated race. Later state law on the subject — so howled-down by the Northern Radicals — was in substantial accord with the Bu- reau's labor system, in fact, grew out of it. Florida sta- tutes announced that written contracts must be made when black labored for white. Would the state or the Bureau see that the contracts were keptf The state government would punish for the breach of contract; the Bureau prac- tically would not tolerate such action if the offender were a negro. The assistant-commissioner reported in December, 1865, that the "freedmen generally decline to make contracts for the ensuing year until after New Year." ^ This condition of affairs was due to the strange African belief prevalent over the entire South among the blacks that on New Year, 1866, a general division of property would be made. When the expected division was not made and the Florida legis- lature enacted its stringent " Black Code ", negroes became less restive and over the length and breadth of Florida written contracts were entered into with a new zest.^ The system excited opposition among the whites. " There is some dissatisfaction with the Freedmen's Bu- reau. There is a large class of lawless men in this state who are restive under the restraints of military rule and feel impatient that it is not removed," reported General Foster in March, 1866.^ " The prevailing opinion is that 1 H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70. * Ibid., p. 27y. " Where the freedmen worked well," stated Osborn, " wages received were good and where they have for any cause worked badly, wages have been small ; but the freedmen usually ac- cept the result as a natural consequence of a summer of idleness and commence this year with a determination of procuring better pay for doing more work." ' H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, p. 8. 396 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA the General Government should not interfere in that matter at all; that it should be left entirely to the people of the State," testified a Federal agent from Florida before the Reconstruction Committee. They [Southerners] say they understand the negro better than we [Northerners] do; that they can manage him better; and that the government has not any right whatever to interfere in the matter. They evidently desire one of two things in the matter ; to so control the negro that he will be in a condition of semi-slavery or peonage or else to make the free-labor sys- tem an utter failure in order to show that their own peculiar notions about the subject are correct.^ By the advent of summer (1866) the reports of various Bureau agents on contracts were reassuring. "The negroes are working diligently," wrote Colonel Sprague in July. Sprague had then just completed an extended tour of in- spection among the plantations, his journey including the towns of Jacksonville, Starke, Waldo, Gainesville, Bron- son, and Cedar Keys.^ " The contract system is good," he continued. " Justice is being done the freedmen as laborers." The agent from Lake City reported : " Many planters assure me that the contract system is better than the slave system." Later he wrote: "The planters want peace." * General Steedman inspected the Bureau's work in Florida and stated in June, 1866: "The freedmen are at work and are liberally compensated." * The written contract labor system although cumbersome began favorably,^ and might have worked out well to the • H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, p. 9. ' H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, pp. 87-88. * !bid., p. 10, April 28, 1866. * N. Y. Times, June 13, 1866. ^ See references to favorable conditions in H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 275, 283-4; 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, p. 11. Report of Gen. Steedman, N. Y. Times. June 13, 1866; Johnson Papers, 1866. THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 397 end if the negro and the Bureau agent had not attempted to dictate to the white landlord/ The high price of cotton in 1865 induced planters to offer good wages," which fact encouraged the more greedy laborers backed by Bureau officials to try for even better wages. The average wage for a first-class hand was a share in the crop — equivalent to about $150 per annum, in addition to food and shelter. In the sawmills and turpentine orchards the wage was $25 to $30 per month and no food advanced.^ There were not enough laborers in Florida to perform adequately the work of the state.* Three out of four plant- ers wanted more workmen. One planter near Tallahassee offered to pay the fines of all negroes confined in the county jail if he might work them on his estate at good wages. Some prisoners were released to him under these condi- tions.' The reports of the Bureau, the news in local Con- servative journals, the talk of politicians, the letters North from Florida — all indicate the prevalence — possible super- abundance — of opportunities for remunerative labor, and this conclusion casts discredit upon the statement of Gen- eral Howard, head of the Bureau, who in March, 1866, de- clared that in Florida more than $10,000 per month was needed for the distribution of free food alone. ^ ' For an instance of attempted dictation with the Bureau's help, see H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 281-2, 232. See also criti- cism of Bureau in Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, pp. 40-41, and Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. i, p. 319. * Sen. Ex. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 27, p. 48. • H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 278. ♦ Floridian, Jan. 11, Feb. i, Feb. 19, 1867. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 278-9. • Sen. Ex. Docs., 40th C, ist S., no. i. The South was less pros- perous in March, 1867, than in March, 1866, due partly to a short cotton crop. Howard called for a total appropriation by Congress of $1,508,750, "to meet the extreme want occasioned by the failure of the crop." See also Gamage to Johnson, Oct. 30, 1865, Johnson Papers. 398 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Colonel Flint, Federal commander at Tallahassee, de- clared that frequent well-grounded complaints against the blacks had reached him, charging them with deliberate vio- lation of contracts, with idleness, vagrancy, theft, and sometimes " violence upon the persons of whites ". Exor- bitant wages were demanded by them, " and," Flint con- tinued, " insolence and refusal to do what they agree to do follow. Combinations exist among the blacks to force the payment of high wages. They exult in the change which has taken place in conditions — now say they are the mas- ters." ' Labor contracts constituted only one of the many matters which became the source of troublesome differences among blacks and whites. " Both classes are far from being ac- customed to their new relative positions," stated Bureau Agent Mahoney in Lake City in July, 1866. Mahoney afterwards became an active Republican politician. " The whites are very apt still to expect and exact the deference and respectful submission formerly observed toward them by the blacks," he said, while the latter, imbued with very extraordinary ideas about their freedom, consider themselves fully on a level with their former masters, and seldom fail to show that such is their opinion. Hence many little collisions of almost hourly occur- rence, which though trifling in their nature at present, may, by repetition, become a source of standing disagreement be- tween the two races. . . . On the other hand, the small town politicians of 1861 are politicians still, and though less loud now than then, still love to speak of the down-trodden South and her wrongs, which sentiments find a ready echo in the hearts of the younger men of the country.^ ^ H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, p. 77- ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 82-83. THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 399 Another agent stated that he would feel no security in Florida if the military were withdrawn. " I would have no fear of the intelligent planters," he said, but there are the bar-room loafers, previously slave-drivers and overseers, and who are called " piney woods men " — men who, as the old settlers have said to me, have escaped justice in other states and have settled here. Then there is a class of boys of nineteen or twenty years of age, who would put a bowie knife or bullet through a Northern man as they would through a mad dog.^ The larger planters, belonging mainly to the class that ruled the South before the war, were somehow more amicably disposed toward the Bureau and the Federal mili- tary than were the majority of the native Southern whites. The vision of the aristocracy was a broader one than that of the poor white. The disastrous outcome of the war had discredited this upper class. It received the hardest treatment at the hands of the North, yet its influence was the most powerful single factor in the South for peace and harmony. Its control over society was less felt than in the olden times, but in 1865-66 it exercised in Florida certainly a restraining influence. A new and lower stratum of the Democracy had come to the surface in the South — • a stratum less rich, less fine, narrower, more apt at conflict than at compromise. The President of the United States was a fair example. " There have been cases of ill-treatment and dishonest dealing on the part of planters with freedmen," stated Os- born, " while we also find noble treatment on the part of others. For instance, Colonel R. H. Gamble and Colonel J. J. Williams each employed 125 hands last year, and Colonel Gamble has paid upwards of $12,000 for their labor and is ' H. Rpts., 39th C. 1st S., no. 30, p. 8. Testimony L. M. Hobbs. 400 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA still indebted to them, while Colonel Williams aside from what he has paid now holds $10,000 in cash subject to the orders of his laborers." ^ The aristocratic ex-Confederate, who had fallen from comfortable affluence to poverty, readily entered into fair written contracts with his negro laborers, kept his end of the bargain, and showed a spirit of kindly conciliation in co-operating with the Freedmen's Bureau. But "the people at large," stated Florida's Bureau head, " show a spirit of dislike or hatred for the freedmen that is hard to account for. The feeling among the little planters, lawyers, and members of the present legislature, the croakers, and the other small fry is contemptible." ^ The assistant commissioner (Osborn) professed that he would disabuse the minds of the blacks of erroneous ideas in regard to the new relations of white men and black men; that he would impress upon them that the only possible means of obtaining a livelihood was by honest and con- tinuous industry. " The usual remedy for vagrancy, breaking contracts, and other crimes will be resorted to," he announced in general orders, the freedmen and other persons of African descent having the same rights and privileges before military and civil courts that the white citizens have. . . . Every person should labor in ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 280. Both Gamble and Williams were aristocratic Southern planters who had supported the Confederacy. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 275. There is testimony to the contrary. A man from Florida was asked by the Reconstruction Committee "what class of white people in that State [Florida] in your judgment are the most inimical to the blacks?" He replied: " The wealthiest class — those whom we formerly termed ' the upper grade' — lhe upper crust. The poorer class of whites are not so un- favorable to the black man as those formerly known as the wealthier class." H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, p. 2. THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 401 some capacity to earn his bread and support his family. . . . I also believe that the broad principles of demand and supply should, in every community, govern the price of labor, or in other words, that labor is a commodity in the market and the possessor of it is entitled to the highest market value, and that any restriction on the price of labor beyond this has a tendency to injure the best interests of employer and employee alike. I have, too, everywhere where the influence of the Bureau ^was brought to bear directly upon the freedmen, en- deavored to treat them as men endowed with common sense. ... I have endeavored to stand in the gap made by a life- time's education of one party upon the prejudice engendered by a slave-holding community and the ignorance naturally re- sulting from the condition of slaves in the other party. The freed-people of Florida need no sympathy above other people, but they require justice at the hands of the white people and of the government.^ Did the blacks obtain this justice? When Assistant-Commissioner Osborn made the fore- going declaration of worthy principles and fair play he himself was playing an active part in organizing Lincoln Brotherhoods (secret political societies) among the blacks and in teaching them loyalty to the Republican party.^ Why? Osborn afterwards reached the United States Sen- ate by negro votes. For ^bvious and historical reasons his political activity was very positively objected to by most native whites. His official position as local chief of the Bureau accentuated their objections. If the Republican * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, pp. 277-8. * Wallace, Carpetbag Rule, p. 42. See Also H. Rpts., 41st C, 2nd S., no. 121, pp. 47-8, for reference to political aspect of Bureau's activity. Col. Sprague stated that he had registered 15,441 blacks in Florida to 11,151 whites, and that he had "taken measures for their [black's] quiet instruction through the medium of sub-assistants in their rights and duties under the Reconstruction Acts." 402 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA party had been the purest and most patriotic organization in history, still the Southerner then would have been sus- picious of it. Would the negro obtain justice from his Southern white neighbor or the Bureau rise in the esti- mate of the Southern white under these circumstances? The Bureau in Florida began well. " You will fail to find in Florida the abuses in the Bureau which exist in Vir- ginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina," stated Benja- min Truman in May, 1866. " There are some in'discreet men connected with the Bureau but no downright swindlers, I think." ' It soon found itself in antagonism to the native white population. This was due in part to preju- dices and class conflict beyond the control of government and in larger part to the lack of judgment and lack of hon- esty among Bureau officials. The sentimental attitude of these men toward the black — due perhaps to a genuine but unfortunate optimism — ex- asperated the Southern whites and did not teach the negro wisdom. Colonel Sprague, in February, 1867, then chief of the Bureau in Florida, called the attention of General Howard to the manner in which Emancipation Day had been kept by the freedmen. " In all the principal towns of the State they assembled in large bodies. Processions paraded the streets bearing Unit'.i States banners. Meet- ings were held and addressed by agents of the Bureau, and the day ended in dances and suppers." This celebration so impressed the assistant commissioner that he declared it to be " one of the strongest evidences of the freedmen's appreciation of his position irrespective of labor." ' Par- ading and feasting were construed as evidences of social progress and were encouraged by the Bureau agent. The 1 N. Y. Times, June 8, 1866. > Rpt. of Sprague, A''. Y. Tribune, Feb. 20, 1867. THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 403 law-abiding Southern whites feared the disorder which ac- companied such demonstrations.^ Colonel Sprague was a good military officer and a man evidently fair in his intentions. Some of his subordinates were neither. Colonel Flint of the Federal garrison at Tallahassee realized the situation when he wrote : " A sound discretion in selecting officers, both civil and military, to fill various offices would materially aid in bringing about a more harmonious and prosperous condition of affairs. Unfortunately the important and delicate duties have some- times devolved upon persons of weak minds, contracted views, and strong prejudices." ^ Flint could have included in his indictment some refer- ence to official stealing. One function of the Bureau was to furnish rations to the destitute — bacon, meal, syrup, peas, flour, potatoes, rice, etc. These supplies were shipped to various local agents to be distributed by them as occasion arose. This offered an opportunity for graft and stealing, and the opportunity was utilized. Some agents stocked little stores (shops) with rations and sold them for their personal benefit. Others engaged in cotton planting and paid the black laborers with Bureau rations.^ On the east coast, south of St. Augustine, an attempt was made to es- tablish a negro colony under white leadership. The leader operated a sawmill. The laborers were paid with Bureau rations.* In Central and West Florida, W. J. Purman, M. L. Stearns and several other local Bureau agents were ac- cused of devoting to their own use Bureau rations." ^ See, for instance, the testimony of Judge Sam J. Douglas before Cong. Committee, H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, p. 294. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, pp. 77-78. * H. Rpts., 41st C, 2nd S., no. 121, pp. 446-456; Wallace, op. cit., pp 40-41. * H. Rpts., 41st C, 2nd S., no. 121, pp. 449, 486. ^ Wallace, op. cit., pp. 40-41. 404 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA A negro active as a Republican politician in Florida dur- ing Reconstruction has written thus : Instead of a blessing it [the Bureau] proved the worst curse of the race. The Agents of the Bureau were stationed in all the cities and principal towns of the State. They overruled the local authorities with the arbitrary force of military power. . . , The National Government sent provisions to the state to be distributed to such of the freedmen as were struggling without means of subsistence to make a crop. This meat and flour was placed in the hands of these agents for distribution, who appropriated it at their discretion and frequently more largely for their own benefit, than that of their wards. The commissioner of the Bureau for this State in company with a retired army officer carried on a large plantation on the Apa- lachicola until General Steedman was appointed to examine and report upon the condition of the Bureau's affairs, when in anticipation of his visit to the state his interest was suddenly transferred to his partner, who after gathering and disposing of the cotton crop and all the available stock on the place gathered himself up and left without paying his rent." ^ A gentleman of Florida, a Southerner, who was an active business man during the Reconstruction period, judging the period in retrospect summed-up his views of the Bureau thus: The freedmen were in a destitute condition after the war, and to better their condition the Freedmen's Bureau was estab- lished to extend all kinds of aid to the negro. It probably did more harm than good, demoralizing the blacks and putting an incentive on laziness, besides putting a powerful lever in the hands of unscrupulous agents for the perpetration of fraud and the organization of the blacks into political factions for their leader's support. Too much freedom was given the Bureau agents in handling the funds. There was one agent ^ Wallace, op. cit., p. 41. THE FREED MEN'S BUREAU 405 who came to Pensacola to establish a school for blacks. He was an honest man, I think. I had some dealings with him in regard to the land, and I noticed what broad lee-way was given. He practically consulted no one regarding his expen- ditures — just sent in his bills to department headquarters.^ The state government and the Bureau were in conflict before the end of the first sixty days of the reorganized government's existence. Colonel Osborn declared that he wished the supremacy of the civil government recognized, yet on February 26th, 1866, he issued an order forbidding the use of whipping post and pillory.^ The state admin- istration was warned that the application of certain statutes in the Black Code would not be tolerated by the Bureau. The tribunals of that institution aggressively opposed what they interpreted as abuse of the negro by civilians and local officials. They insisted upon no difference in treatment, before the law, of blacks and whites. Negroes formed the habit of running to the Bureau agents with complaint, and in some localities the whites were sharply called to account, lectured on justice and honesty, fined, and incarcerated.^ The state assistant commissioner ordered that Bureau offi- cials apprehend all landlords who should unjustly turn blacks out of homes occupied by them.* The state legislature in January, 1866, as one of its first acts, petitioned the President of the United States to transfer the affairs of the Bureau entirely to the Federal military in garrison." The legislature claimed that the * Conversation with Mr. Edward Anderson, of Pensacola. * Fla. Union, Feb. 3, 1866. On Nov. 15, 1865, Circular no. 9 had stated, " stripes or other corporal punishment will not be adminis- tered to any person over 15 years of age except by authority of a court of law." H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 70, pp. 86-87. ' H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 232, 282, 285. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 88, Cir. no. 10, Dec. 31, 1865. * Walker to Johnson, June 13, 1866, Johnson Papers. 4o6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Bureau's affairs had been conducted with neither good judgment nor economy, and that the belief had been spread among the blacks by its agents that the land of the former masters would be divided among the one-time slaves/ This was a serious indictment, but was not taken seriously by the Federal government. In truth, the institution condemned by the state would have had to be a very perfect and soft-mannered institution to have avoided offending the Southern whites, particularly those directly interested in the Conservative government, state and local. The Bureau offered a tribunal for the black above and outside of the state courts.^ Its personnel was largely of newcomers from the North. Its authority rested upon Federal bayonets. Yet it was not the military au- thority back of the Bureau or the patent fact that most of its officials were " Yankees " and " scalawags " that con- stituted fundamentally the casus belli between it and the state government. The legislature had expressly petitioned that the " military " be given control. It was a " Yankee chaplain " who framed the negro school law — part of the Black Code — for the first Conservative assembly.^ The first superintendent of negro education for the state was a " Yankee " ex-chaplain, the appointee of Governor Walker, a Conservative ex-Confederate. So was the second super- intendent. Many of the teachers in the state schools for blacks were from the North. A few highly-respected citi- zens of Florida in 1866 were lately from the North — some having served in the Union army and supported the Repub- lican party. Blind Southern prejudice was hardly the prime cause for the Bureau's unpopularity. ' Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, Resolution 2, Jan. 11, 1866. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57. » H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, p. 8; H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 70; A'^. Y. Evening Post, March 16, 1866. THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU 407 In final analysis, that which constituted the basis of ob- jection by Conservative Floridians to the Freedmen's Bu- reau was its existence in the state as a quasi-civil institution not amenable to the government of the state; showing posi- tively political tendencies hostile to the Conservative party which strenuously sought then to govern the state ; exhibit- ing a disposition to forbid and prevent the operation of certain laws; rudely interfering, here and there, in the eco- nomic relations of white employer and black employee;^ and by the teachings of its agents bringing the local gov- ernment into disrepute among the blacks as well as menac- ing the future existence of what Conservative whites were prone to consider necessary social laws. " The Freedmen's Bureau," stated in 1866 the superin- tendent of negro schools, " operated very much like the father's rod over the door in keeping the boys straight. The boys behave themselves because they know the rod is there rather than because they have felt it much, and so with the Bureau. The people will treat the negro well and give him a fair chance when they know they have to do it." " The foregoing characteristics, evident before the end of 1866, made the Bureau veritably obnoxious to those who sought to restore the authority and dignity of the state gov- ernment and the full supremacy of a respected civil and criminal law — to say nothing of the unwritten law. ' H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no 70, p. 283. See communication from Bureau Agent Hamilton at Marianna. ' H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, p. 11. CHAPTER XVI The Problem of Conservative Rule The convention which met during the autumn of 1865 had for its task the adjustment of the commonwealth's constitution to the political change which came with the restoration of Federal authority. The legislature which on December i8th assembled in Tallahassee at the call of this convention attempted by the enactment of law to adjust actual government to the revised fundamental law and the immediate needs of society. The most disturbing factor in the situation was not change in the organs of government, nor the necessity of making civil law subserve harmoniously the ends of mili- tary orders. That which disturbed law-makers South and philanthropists North was the unsettled civil and political status of the Southern negro. The blacks then composecf about one-half of Florida's population. In attempting to adjust this new question of negro citizenship, the legis- lature enacted laws of a peculiar character. Florida's course was practically the same as that of other Southern states. Because these laws — generally known as Black Codes — furnished the Radical in the North much political capital, an examination of their spirit and letter should oc- cupy an important place in the history of Conservative rule (1865-7). Their enactment was considered by the North the most significant development South during the first year of peace. The spirit of the laws furnishes an insight into the spirit of the society that was to undergo recon- struction. 408 THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 409 The immediate problem of conservative rule was to make peace and order possible under normal civil government. The larger problem was to meet this need of the hour with- out clashing with the military, without giving free rein to narrow local Southern prejudice, without encouraging meddlesome political reformers North, and at the same time without unduly offending the saner folk in the victor- ious section. The assembling of the legislature in December, 1865, marked the end of Governor Marvin's task as a reorganizer under commission from the President. His work had been proficiently done. The state government had been reconstructed under his direction. It was not until the i8th of January, 1866, however, that the President formally ordered him to relinquish to Governor-elect Walker and the legislature the direction of the new government. Marvin's parting injunction to the assembled legislators contained the recommendation that laws be passed binding negroes to contracts made by them and providing for their arrest and forced labor on state farms or in state work- shops if they broke their contracts.^ Marvin was origi- nally a Northern man and a stout defender of the Union in Florida during the war. He advised measures which when adopted later by ex-Confederates were considered at the North as deliberate attempts by the disloyal Southerner to thwart the results oi the war and the objects of a pa- triotic national government. The opening address of Walker, the newly-elected gov- ernor, was mild. He fully acknowledged the obvious results of the war. "The logic of events had proven that secession * Marvin's Address, Dec. 20, 1865. Report of Committee on Recon- struction, H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, pt. 4, p. 13. He also said that poor children without parents " should be apprenticed until they are 21 years of age." 4IO RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA was wrong," he said — and then he passed from the settled issues to the still unsettled problem — the negro. " They are free," he said, " but they are no longer our contented and happy slaves with an abundant supply of clothing for themselves and family and the intelligence of a superior race to look ahead and make necessary arrange- ments for their comfort. They are now a discontented and unhappy people, roving about in gangs." He ventured to touch the haunting question of black enfranchisement. " Each of us knows that we could never give an honest or conscientious assent to negro suffrage," he said. " There is not one of us who would not feel that he were doing wrong and bartering his self-respect and his conscience. ... It is better, a thousand times better, that we should remain out of the Union." ^ At this date the Southern Conservative realized the ultimate goal sought by the Northern Radical. That same unalterable quantity, " the logic of events " which Governor Walker had declared to be the only reliable test for political truth, was finally to force Florida not only to extend the suffrage to the negro but also to remain for more than two years " out of the Union ". Walker's attitude on negro suffrage was not that of an irreconcilable. Governor Marvin had stated in his opening address to the constitutional convention : " It does not ap- pear to me that the public good of the state or of the nation at large would be promoted by conferring at the present time upon the freedmen the elective franchise. Neither the white people nor the colored people are prepared for so radical a change in their social relations." ^ The correspondent of the Nezv York Times, a North- 1 H. Rpts., 39th C, I St S., no. 30, pt. 4, pp. 15-20. * Sen. Docs., 39th C, ist S., no. 26, p. 210. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 411 erner, writing from Tallahassee in July, stated that " no one can go among the negroes on the plantations and through the rural districts of the South and consider their immediate physical and mental necessities without a feeling that the immediate enfranchisement of this long oppressed people would be like putting upon the naked and famished the frills and ruffles and spurs of royalty, while withhold- ing food and raiment necessary for existence." ^ However, Chief Justice Chase, high in national councils, had written from Florida in the spring (1865) that local experiment had been made in negro voting and that the sal- vation of the country depended upon the enfranchisement of the black.^ Charles Sumner was ready to " shudder at " the opposition in Florida to negro suffrage.^ Following the example set by the convention and obedi- ent to the veiled orders of the national administration the assembled legislature speedily ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.* On the same day the legislature called upon the governor to have the negro troops removed from the state. ^ Such a request was not without dry humor. The governor had no con- trol over negro troops and little influence in Washington. The body then turned its attention to more difficult ques- tions. Its action in constructive legislation during this session was based to great extent upon a report prepared ' A''. Y. Times, August i, 1865. * Chase to Johnson, May 21 and 23, 1865, Johnson Papers. * Speech of Sumner on conditions in Florida, Cong. Globe, 39th C, 1st S., pt. I, p. 313. * McPherson, Political Manual, 1866, pp. 24-25. Ratified Dec. 28, 1865, " with the understanding that it does not confer on Congress the power to legislate on the status of the freedmen in this state." Marvin had feared trouble in obtaining the necessary ratification, see Sen. Docs., 39th C, 1st. S., no. 26, pp. 213-14. * Laws of Florida. 14th Assembly, Resolutions 16, 10 and 20. 412 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA by a special commission, created by Governor Marvin at the suggestion of the constitutional convention.^ The com- missioners were three ex-slaveholders of Central Florida — C. H. Dupont, A. J. Peeler, and M. D. Papy — and they laid their report before the legislature. They pointed out the necessity of expanding the state judicial system to meet the need of social control produced by the abolition of slavery. They recommended therefore the establishment of county criminal courts. The abolition of slavery had removed from the black the restraining influ- ence of the master and had left nothing permanent in its place. The ex-master saw the necessity of bringing the ex- slave more fully under the operations of the municipal law. Heretofore there had existed in each slave-holding house- hold an unofficial tribunal peculiarly adapted to the investi- gation and punishment of minor offenses. Such tribunals were now extinct. The legislature was advised to create different ones in their stead and to make such modifications in existing statutes as would give full effect to the criminal code. The circuit court as then organized, embracing a dozen or more counties in its jurisdiction and holding its sessions at stated terms weeks apart, was ill adapted to deal expeditiously with the innumerable minor offenses of the black (or the white) — and hence the proposal that county criminal courts be created was very reasonable.^ The next question considered was one of different im- port and more serious nature. It was a question of prin- ciple, viz., should in future the laws make a distinction be- tween blacks and whites. Under the slavery regime such a distinction had existed between whites and "free blacks".* • Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, pp. 28-36, the full report. • Report of Commission, Wallace, pp. 28-36. • See J. C. Hurd, Law of Freedom and Bondage, v. 2, pp. 1-218, for a summary of the state law and court decisions relating to slavery THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 413 Were the lately liberated slaves to be considered in the category of the former " free blacks ", or were they to be considered persons in every respect on a plane of legal equality with the whites? Difference of opinion on this question showed the gulf that existed between the conservative Southerner and the Radical in the North. The determination of the South- erner to put the lately liberated slave in the position of the fonr:er "freti negro" created political capital for the North- ern negrophile, who professed to believe that the process of emancipation did not stop in merely severing the relations of master and slave, but that it extended further and so operated as to raise the entire race to a plane of perfect legal equality with the white. At this point a question logically presents itself. Before the abolition of slavery what was the position under the law of the free negro in Florida? He belonged to a class designated by the courts and the legislature as " free per- sons of color ". He possessed no political rights whatever, but he did possess certain civil righs. He could purchase, hold and convey property and transmit it to his heirs. He could sue and be sued in the state courts.^ He might law- in all states and territories until the Civil War. A distinction in law between whites and free blacks was universal in the South and existed to a limited extent in the North. The revised Constitution of 1865 in excluding the blacks from the suffrage and from the jury box and witness stand in civil cases, and in apportioning representation in the legislature according to the three-fifths rule of slavery, continued this d'stinction. Const, of 1865, Arts. 6, 9, and 16, H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, pt. 4, pp. 20-31. 1 "A free person of color being liable to be sued, it follows as a nec- essary consequence that he is entitled to all the means and opportunity of making and presenting his defense which are permitted and al- lowed other suitors, except where he is restricted by the force of some express statutory regulation." Davis vs. Administrators of Elliott, Florida Reports, v. 5, pp. 260-268. 414 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA fully move from place to place in the state freely and ac- cording to his own volition. He enjoyed the advantages of the writ of habeas corpus. " A free negro as well as a free white man," stated Chief Justice Thomas Baltzell, in 1859, " must be entitled to the benefits of the Habeas Corpus Act both according to its language which is broad and general and still more according to its spirit. If it were otherwise, that wretched class would be altogether without protection from the grossest outrage and their personal liberty would be an unsubstantial shadow." ^ Yet the law required every free black to have a white " guardian " appointed by a judge of probate.^ He could not lawfully keep or use firearms or buy them, or powder, lead, shot or even spirituous liquor without the consent of this guardian.^ He was forbidden to purchase or have poisonous drugs under any circumstances.* He was for- bidden to use abusive or provoking language to or lift his hands in opposition to any person " not a negro or a mu- latto ". He could be a witness in the courts only when " slaves, free negroes or mulattoes " were involved. In case of an execution against him, "without payment in five days " he might be " sold as a slave ".^ He could be law- fully " whipped " for committing offenses which entailed ' Clark vs. Gautier, Fla. Rpts., v. 8, pp. 360-69. ' Laws of Florida, 1847-8, chap. 155. All free negroes and mulattoes above the age of 12 years were required to have a guardian " who shall have power to sue for and recover all such sums of money as are or hereafter may be owing to such free negro or mulatto, and shall have the same control over such free negroes or mulat'oes as is possessed by guardians in other cases." See also Clark vs. Gautier, Fla. Rpts., v. 8, p. 369; Davis vs. Administrators of Elliott, v. 5, pp. 260-68. ' Laws of Florida, 1856, chapts. 794-95. * Ibid., 1843, chap. 12. ^ Clark vs. Gautier, Fla. Rpts., v. 8, pp. 360-369. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 415 no such punishment for the white man/ He could be ap- prehended for vagrancy and " sold as a slave " for a limited period.^ He was required to pay a small special capitation tax, and if he failed to pay this, he was liable to be sold as a slave till by labor he paid up the debt.^ The free negro constituted, in fact, a class midway, as regards personal freedom, between the slave and the white man, and the white man strove to restrict both the size and the activity of this class. " Their immigration to this state is prohibited, with directions to the justices of the peace to transport them beyond the state," declared the state su- preme court in 1859.* The free negro population of Florida was insignificant in 1861 — scarcely 1,000 souls." With the arrival of eman- cipation in 1865 all negroes became free negroes. The class had increased sixty fold. From an interesting anom- aly it now loomed up before the Southern whites as the most serious social reality that they as a body had ever faced. An important question for the legislature to consider in 1866 was the finding of ways and means the least dis- turbing to the public welfare for restraining the law- breaker and the criminal. Were blacks and whites to be subject to the same sort of punishment? In deciding such a question wisely legislatures should consider the racial or ethnic characters of the peoples under consideration, the de- ' Laws of Florida, 1847-48, chap. 139. * Clark vs. Gautier, pp. 360-9. * Laws of Florida, 1842, chap. 32. * Clark vs. Gautier, pp. 360-69. See Laws of Florida, 1826, Ann L., p. 81 ; 1832, Ann. L., p. 143 ; 1854-5, chap. 646. * According to the census of i860 the free colored population of Florida was 932. Of this number more than 600 were mulattoes. See Census, vol. on population, p. 54. 4i6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA gree and direction of their enlightenment, and the historic relationship of classes. Few laws are sound for all peo- ples at all times. " To degrade a white man by corporal punishment " then was to make a bad member of society, usually, and a dangerous political agent. To fine and im- prison a Florida negro in his pecuniary and intellectual condition at that time was " to punish the state instead of the individual ".^ There was also a certain practical reason for a difference in punishment for blacks and whites. To fine and im- prison a petty negro offender would mean his withdrawal from work in the fields. To whip him was a more speedily terminated interruption and less damaging to the white planter. Historically, also, it was the way in the South for punishing recalcitrant " free blacks ". It seemed there- fore wise to leave to the discretion of the court the inflict- ing of fine and imprisonment or whipping and the pillory for the committing of certain offenses. The commission next proposed restrictions on the right of the black to carry fire-arms. They pointed to the law of Indiana on the subject and stated " that it is needless to attempt to satisfy the exactions of fanatical theorists. We have a duty to perform — the protection of our wives and children from threatened danger and the prevention of scenes which may cost the extinction of our entire race ".^ The draft of a bill entitled " An Act to Establish and Enforce the Marriage Relations between Persons of Color" was laid before the legislature by the commission with the statement that it was necessary for the whites to improve the moral condition of their lately liberated slaves. Hitherto this matter had been left to the moral sense of master and * Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, p. 32, Report of Commission. » Ibid., p. 33. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 417 slave — " and may in truth," added the report, " be said to have been the only inherent evil of the institution of slav- ery as it existed in the Southern states." Finally, state regulation of negro labor was proposed " in order to save the blacks from the ruin which inevitably awaits them if left to the tender mercy of the canting hypoc- risy and mawkish sentimentality which precipitated them to the realization of their present condition "/ The recommendations of the commission were followed by the legislature and a code was enacted which established county criminal courts " and extended the civil jurisdiction of the justices of the peace; ^ which defined a negro as a person of one-eighth or more negro blood in his v.eins;* which embodied the principle of dififerent laws for the dif- ferent races ; and which embraced, in addition, the follow- ing points. In the first place, the courts were given the right to sub- stitute whipping and the pillory for all crimes punishable by fine and imprisonment.^ This enactment made provision for a difference in punishment between black and white. In another statute the courts were declared open to all with- ^ Wallace, op. cit., p. 34. * Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, chap. 1465, passed Jan. 11, 1866. The judges in these courts were to be appointed by the governor. The courts were to have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts in trial of the following offenses: "assault, assault and battery, assault with intent to kill, riot, affray, larceny, robbery, arson, burglary, malicious mischief, vagrancy, and all misdemeanors and offenses against re- ligion, chastity, morality, and decency — provided the punishment did not affect the life of the offender." ' Ibid., chap. 1477, passed Jan. 12. The justices were given exclusive and original jurisdiction in all suits for the collection of debts, dues, etc., where the principal did not exceed $100. * Ibid., chap. 1468, Jan. 12. * Ibid., chap. T466. 41 8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA out distinction of color or previous condition/ The taking of agricultural fixtures'or products from the freehold with- out the owner's permission was declared larceny and a matter for criminal action by the state." This offense had been formerly the subject for civil suit only. The negro thief at that time was not a remunerative individual to pro- ceed against in civil suit. To raise revenue for the state government a general property tax of one-half of one per cent was authorized, and a capitation tax of $3 on all males between the ages of twenty-one and fifty-five years. If the capitation tax was not paid, the delinquent might be seized and hired out by the county officials to any one who would pay the tax. It is clear that the last provision would bear very directly on the often penniless and improvident negro.^ Those laws which made up what became popularly known as the " Black Code " were as follows : an act con- cerning ordinary crime ; an act concerning sexual morality ; acts concerning indigency, vagrancy, and apprenticeship; an act concerning labor contracts ; and an act establishing schools for negroes. Four classes of offenses w^ere made punishable by death; namely, the inciting of insurrection among any portion of the population, the rape of a white female, the adminis- tering of poison to another, and burglary.* Plotting mur- der, highway robbery, incendiarism, malicious trespass, the wilful killing by poison or otherwise of livestock belong- 1 Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, chap. 1474. ' Ibid., chap. 1474. 3 Ibid., chap. 1501, Jan. 16, 1866. This property and capitation tax law and another statute (chap. 1503) constituted the financial measures of this session of the legislature. The property to be taxed included all real estate, stocks, bonds, capital employed by merchants, traders, steamship companies, etc., all live stock, household furniture, etc. * Ibid., chap. 1466. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 419 ing to another, selling cotton or other agricultural product without the permission of the producers, the carrying of firearms by any blacks without license, the intrusion by white or black on any assemblage or in any railway car of the other race, the forming of any military organization without authority of law, the wanton injury of public or private property, etc., were in detail made punishable by fine and imprisonment or whipping and the pillory — at the discretion of the court. Concerning vagrancy, a statute declared that any person without means of support should be required to give bond to the state for future good behavior and industry. Failure to give bond involved a penalty of a term of labor for the county or for any one who might hire the offender from the county.^ Another statute required the adult children of destitute parents to provide for the support of their parents. If after a hearing before a county court or justice of the peace the law was not obeyed, then the wages or other source of income might be appropriated and paid to the parents by order of the court. ^ For the protection of the young, any parent or guardian was given the right with the approval of a judge of pro- bate to bind out for a term of years as apprentices his or her children under sixteen years of age. If a child (minor) were over sixteen years of age then his or her written con- sent was necessary before becoming an apprentice. The children of vagrants were ipso facto at the disposal of the county as apprentices.* 1 Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, chap. 1467. Those persons appre- hended for vagrancy were entitled to jury trial. The jury might sub- stitute whipping for forced labor. Minors apprehended for vagrancy were subject to the law governing apprenticeship. * Ibid., chap. 1476, Jan. 11. ' Ibid., chap. 1471, Jan. 14. The person taking children as appren- 420 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA As to the marital relations, a statute gave all negroes living together as man and v^ife when the law was passed nine months to make up their minds as to whom they in- tended living with in the future. Means were provided by the law for the easy and speedy registering of the marriage bonds before any officer of the state, the county, or muni- cipality. Failure to comply with these regulations subjected the offender to punishment for adultery.^ The attempt to regulate by law the labor of the black was in some respects the most vital aspect of the entire code. According to the statute all contracts with " persons of color " were required to be in writing before two competent witnesses. One copy was to be kept by the employer and the other filed with some judicial officer. If the black broke the contract he would be subject to arrest and the same punishment as a vagrant: whipping, the pillory, or forced labor for the county or for any one who would hire the offender from the county. If a white broke his con- tract he would be subject to civil suit for damages." The act establishing schools for freedmen made the sys- tem distinct and separate from any which might exist for whites. The appointment of a general superintendent was entrusted to the governor and the senate. A capitation tax of $1 upon all negro males between twenty-one and fifty- five years of age was levied for the support of these schools, and under penalty of fine and imprisonment " any white person " was forbidden to teach the freedmen without a license from the state.' tices covenanted to teach them some art, trade, or husbandry, and also the elements of reading and writing — and at the expiration of their time of service as apprentices to give " him or her a new suit of clothes, blankets, and shoes." 1 Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, chap. 1469. The law provided for $1,000 fine or imprisonment for any one found guilty of fraud in the issuance of marriage licenses. ' Ibid., chap. 1470, Jan. 14. ' Ibid., chap. 1475, Jan. 16. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 421 The foregoing, in digest, constituted Florida's '' Black Code " of 1866. The primary object of these laws was to force the black to conform to certain existing conditions of morals and industry. The manner in which he should con- form, it is needless to say, was imposed by the white race, who could to some extent control the black race if it could enforce the law. The principle of different laws for differ- ent races was adhered to mainly because the existence of this principle was then an historical fact in Florida. By actual wording, the statutes concerning labor contracts, marriages, the carrying of firearms, and certain public schools appertained to negroes solely. Rape was a statu- tory crime only when perpetrated on " white women ". The laws strove to keep the two races apart. They pro- vided for the punishment of any white woman who should co-habit with a negro man, and a like punishment for the negro man ; ^ for the establishment of a distinct and separ- ate public school system for negroes; and for the punish- ment of any person of either race who should intrude him- self on an assemblage or into a railway car of the other race. This legislation contained no reference to the ir- regular sexual activities of white male and black female — an interesting omission in light of the efforts made to draw clearly the color line. The law-makers were worldly wise enough to know that some ideas drafted into law would be impossible to enforce and of no practical effect. Nowhere do written laws prove more futile than when applied to some sexual questions. The black was left free to move about and acquire land and other property as he saw fit, provided that in so doing he did not break his contract, neglect his family, or lapse into vagrancy. 1 Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, chap. 1468, Jan. 12. The punish- ment was $1,000 fine or three months' imprisonment or both at the court's discretion. 422 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Were these laws put into active and actual operation — enforced? Were they substantially just to the negro ?^ The laws concerning marriage, vagrancy, apprenticeship and contracts were fairly successful, with other forces, in producing the effect desired — which was to induce the negro to return to more systematic life and labor.^ Much of the legislation was never widely operative, partly be- cause there was no need — the menace of the law proving sufficient for the evil — and partly because the Federal mili- tary and particularly the Freedmen's Bureau threatened to interfere and did interfere in the execution of the law. " For instance," writes an intelligent negro who lived in Florida at the time, " the law prohibiting colored people from handling arms of any kind without a license was a dead letter, except in some cases where the freedmen would go around plantations hunting, with apparently no other occupation. Such a person would be suspected of hunting that which did not belong to him and the arms would be taken away from him." ^ The statute upon which this pro- ' See comment of John Wallace, an intelligent Florida negro, in his Carpet-bag Rule, pp. 35-36 : " It is true that some of the laws passed by the Legislature of 1865 seem to be very diabolical and oppressive to the freedmen but . . . many of the laws we know now were passed to deter the freedmen from committing crime. . . . The law regard- ing contracts between whites and freedmen was taken advantage of by some of the whites and the freedmen did not get justice. But the great majority of whites carried out their contracts to the letter and the freedmen did as well as could be expected under the changed conditions." For contradictory evidence see testimony of Hobbs, Supt. Negro Schools, H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, pt. 4, pp. 8-9. ' N. Y. Times, June 8 and 25, 1866, letters of Benj. Truman from Florida. N. Y. World, A-Iay 31, 1866, letter of Russell. Some of the negro women now refused to go into the fields because such was not the custom of " white ladies ". Russell remarks that the black was "very imitative". See also evidence of Truman before Reconstruciion Committee, Washington, April 5, 1866, H. Rpts., 39th C. ist S., no. 30, pt. 4, pp. 136-140. ' Wallace, op. cit., pp. 35-36. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 423 hibition rested was pronounced by the Conservative state attorney-general unconstitutional. The governor upheld him, the assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau insisted upon the repudiation of the law/ and the statute became practically a dead letter. However, written contracts according to law were en- tered into, negro children were apprenticed, vagrants were apprehended and lodged in jail or put to labor in the fields, and the Freedmen's Bureau was aided by probate courts in settling the marital difficulties of negroes. It is undeniable that these laws put the black in a posi- tion inferior to the white. That was in part their object. " White citizens would resist any legislation that would ap- pear to put freedmen on equality with whites," stated a Pennsylvanian in 1866, who was at the time superintendent of negro schools for Florida." His conclusion was not un- founded on fact. But this inferiority did not put the negro at the mercy of the white man — unless there was deliberate and criminal collusion between oppressor and the courts of justice. The inferior position of the black made it impos- sible for him to bring political pressure to bear upon the personnel of the courts, which were entirely in the hands of the other race. Florida's Black Code, as a part of Southern legislation on the negro during 1865-66, hurt the cause of the Conser- vatives in the nation.^ The cry was raised so vehemently at the North that the negro was being re-enslaved with * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 40, passim. * N. Y. Evening Post, March 16, 1866, letter of L. M. Hobbs to Presi- dent of N. Y. Freedmen's Relief Association. This is in substance corroborated by Hobbs' testimony before the Reconstruction Com- mittee, H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, pt. 4, pp. 7-1 1. •'' See Dunning, Reconst. Polit. and Econ.; Rhodes, U. S., v. 5. Cox in his Three Decades of Legislation says of the passage of these laws, " Thus was Florida launched on a sea of trouble ". 424 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA malicious and cunning intent by the ex-Confederate element South that the query naturally arises — to what extent was the accusation true? What was the spirit back of these laws? We have reviewed briefly their letter and have seen that their execution was not drastic. Speaking for Florida as well as for the entire South, it should be observed that at least three fairly distinct opinions have been pronounced. Those hostile to Southern institu- tions declare that the " Black Codes " were deliberate and diabolical attempts to remand the negro back to slavery by means of legal subterfuge, in defiance of the results of the war. Those persons of considerable Southern bias are inclined either to express no opinion at all or to place the laws among the genuinely good and wise codes produced by a kindly interest in the future welfare — spiritual, moral, and physical — of the ex-slave. Those persons of harder nature, harder heads, perhaps, and more coolly-distant viewpoint pronounce them cold-blooded but not diabolical attempts to bring economic and social order out of semi-chaos in order that life might be safer, saner, and more settled. They see no conscious attempts to contradict the results of the war or to persecute the negro. Actual conditions and not sentimental vindictiveness pro- duced the Black Codes. It is worth while to consider the following facts in explaining the evolution of this legisla- tion in Florida. The Federal military commander for Florida in July, 1865 — six months before the meeting of the legislature that enacted the "Black Code" — had issued orders " To preserve order, to diminish the evils of va- grancy, and to provide for the well-being of the commu- nity ". Negroes were domiciled by these orders with former masters. The whites were required to support the aged, the infirm, and young children — the latter practically as apprentices. Blacks who disregarded contracts would be THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 425 punished by the military.^ On August nth, elaborate mar- riage rules had been issued by the Federal military for the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to force domestic regularity and responsibility upon the negro." A study of the legislation on the race question in Florida during this period — and of the efforts to apply the laws — induces the conclusion that the ultimate goal in theory and the limited effect in reality was to put the state much in the place of the former master — to socialize, as it were, the control of a class through the courts and officers of the law; but at the same time to give the negro vastly greater per- sonal freedom than formerly. The Black Codes are a sadly late suggestion of what might have been accomplished without the hell of four years' devastating war. At the same time they then constituted a cause and a hint of com- ing trouble. Did fear of negro insurrection influence the legislature? We have the record of that body and the drift of current opinion on which to construct an answer to any such query. ^ Order no. 9, July 3, 1865, of Gen. Newton, N. Y. Times, Aug. i, 1865. This was modified later. Circular no. 8, Oct. ro, 1865, from the War Department, stated that " officers and agents of this Bureau are regarded as guardians of orphans and abandoned minors of freedmen within their respective districts, and state laws with regard to apprenticeship will be recognized as long as they make no distinction on account of color " ; and that children might be apprenticed to " some good trade. . . . The binding of an apprentice shall be before the county court and recorded as provided by law." H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, p. 56. These instructions also dealt with paupers, vagrants, and criminals in a positive spirit. * Ibid., pp. 108-111, Gen. Order no. 8. These orders authorized civil officers and religious organizations to issue marriage permits for 50 cents each, to perform the ceremony and issue the certificate for $1 each, and to dissolve marriages according to certain rules set down. The rules also attempted to regulate the position of a hus- band with more than one wife and more than one set of children, and to provide for the destitute children. 426 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The resolutions of the legislature calling upon the gov- ernor to " use his utmost endeavors to put the state in a complete state of defense against any insurrectionary move- ment of any source whatever ; ^ the direct and repeated references in the laws to possible " insurrection among a certain portion of the population " ; the severe penalty for " inciting insurrection " ; the penalty for raising a military force without authority from the state; ^ the forbidding of the blacks to carry firearms;^ the prior warning of the constitutional convention that " we have a duty to perform in the protection of our women and children, etc.'' ; and the current reports of what the negroes might do if land and mules were not given them * — all indicate that there existed a feeling of vague fear among the whites. Throughout the state during 1866 affairs moved along amid some vague talk of race war and some disorder. ° May I2th, the jurisdiction of the courts was provisionally restored in all cases.® In Fernandina, Jacksonville, St. 1 Ibid., Resolution 17, Jan. 3. ' Ibid., chap. 14&6, Jan. 15. * Ibid., chap. 1466. * For instance, see speech of Marvin, A'^. Y. Daily News, Oct. 27, 1865; N. Y. Times, Dec. 25, 1865 (statement of Truman); Floridian, Aug. 30, Sept. 3, Sept. 17, 1865. ^ A'^. Y. Times, July 27, 1866, Florida letter, " agriculture in a flour- ishing condition, etc." N. Y. Times, March 15, June 8, June 15, 1866, Florida letters. Truman reported " very little crime such as robbery, grand larceny, murder, etc." N. Y. World, July — , 1866 (Town- send Library, v. 6, p. 206) ; A''. Y. Evening Post, Oct. 20, 1866 ; H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70; 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57. 'Governor's Proclamation, Florida Union, May 12, 1866; see also A''. Y. Times, May 21. 1866. The President declared the v^rar " at an end" on April 2 (McPherson, Reconstruction, pp. 15-16). This did not restore civil authority in Florida. Martial law was suspended at the discretion of the military commander. For example, see order of U. S. Marshal Crippen (negro) at Fernandina to justices of peace threatening them with the military, Fla. Union, May 26, 1866. Later several counties were remanded to martial law completely. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 427 Augustine and a half-dozen other locahties ex-Confed- erates and " Union men " quarreled over confiscated prop- erty.^ In Jacksonville and Fernandina blacks and whites came near serious collision over trifling differences.^ Es- cambia, Santa Rosa, Levy, Madison and Alachua Counties were remanded back to martial law because of alleged law- lessness. In Quincy (Gadsden County) a deputy sherifif and three white men were shot from ambush one June night by some negro cotton theives whom they sought to arrest after a jail delivery.'' Near Tampa bay the members of an " armed band " were reported amusing themselves by forcing " Union men " to pay for cattle taken by Union troops during the war.* In Tallahassee " a party of col- ored persons armed with various weapons" collected before the white Methodist Church " and upon being accosted by the marshal of the city and other citizens, fired at the citi- zens with guns and pistols ".^ In Leon County the negroes, believing that they had been enfranchised, elected a mulatto, 1 Florida Union, May 5 and 26, 1866. A^. Y. Herald, June 2, 1866. N. Y. World, May 31, 1866. Senator Sprague, of Rhode Island, was reported to be a heavy buyer of confiscated property in and near Fer- nandina. The sale of property confiscated in Florida from April i, 1865, to Feb. I, 1866, was computed by Secretary of Treasury at $29,- 271.12, H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 47. ' A^. Y. Tribune, June 7; N. Y. World, May 31, 1866. Negroes occu- pied abandoned and confiscated property. Former owners attempted to get physical possession again. The negroes under the encourage- ment of "newcomers" resisted by force attempts to oust them. In Jacksonville the younger white men were inclined to show the blacks "what was what". A race war was feared. See also // Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57. 'A''. Y. Times, June 25, 1866, letter of Benj. Truman. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, p. 89. Rpt. of Gen. Sprague (U. S. A.). •Towns and Watkins vs. City of Tallahassee, Fla. Rpts.. v. 11, pp. 130-134. 428 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Joe Oats, to represent them in Congress. He left Talla- hassee with the cash given him by his poverty-stricken and enthusiastic constituents, spent it somewhere (probably in the neighboring state of Georgia), and then returned and told with frank dishonesty to an assembled host of blacks what he had done for them " at Washington ".^ January 15th, 1866, the legislature declared that Florida had fully complied with all the requirements contained in the President's plan of reconstruction and therefore was entitled to all the rights and privileges of a state in the Union.^ But the " President's plan " was not that of a powerful element in Congress, and Mr. Johnson was at that moment well launched on his desperate and memorable fight with a Radical Congress. He vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill on February 19th.' On March 2nd the Senate adopted resolutions previously passed by the House for- bidding the admission to Congress of representatives from * Wallace, op. cit., pp. 38-39. Joe Oats was a carpenter by trade, a former slave of Governor Walker. He could read and write and before being set free had hired himself from his master. " Several hundred dollars were raised," says Wallace, " and given to Oats, who shortly afterwards was off to Congress. He remained away from Tallahassee until his money was gone, when he wrote back designating the time and place he would return. Oats notified them that if they desired to know what he had done for them while in Congress they must prepare to meet him, as the whites would kill him when they learned what he had accomplished against them. The 20th of May, the day on which Gen. McCook marched his troops into Tallahassee, was set apart for Oats to tell the freedmen what he had accomplished in Congress. At 9 o'clock on that memorable 20' h of May the drums commenced beating and the freedmen to the number of two or three thousand formed in line and marched to Oats' dwelling and sent a committee armed with old cavalry swords and pistols to escort Oats to the place of destination." ^ Laws of Fla., 14th Assembly, Resolution 12. ' McPherson, Reconstruction, pp. 68-72. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 429 the South/ On March 27th, the Civil Rights Bill was vetoed by the President." The Senate passed the Bill over his veto April 6th and the House on the 9th. ^ In July, a bill continuing the Freedmen's Bureau for two years was passed over the President's veto.* " At Washington the Radicals were in full hue and cry against the President, especially since his Washington's Birthday pronunciamento, and he was too old a campaigner to shrink from a fair and square fight for his ideas." ^ Florida felt the effects of the national political embroglio. The outcome of the contest between the President and Con- gress was of vital importance for the state. Resolutions of the legislature and messages from the governor indicated solidarity in favor of Johnson and against Congressional Radicalism.'' The senators-elect from Florida — ex-Gover- nor Marvin and Wilkinson Call, a Florida Unionist and an ex-Confederate respectively — were refused admission to the United States Senate. When Senator Doolittle pre- sented Marvin's credentials (July 19th), Charles Sumner arose and vehemently offered opposition. He took occa- sion bitterly to review what he considered the shocking con- ditions in Florida. He insisted that no decent government could exist there while the negro was refused the elective franchise. The motion to admit Marvin was laid on the table and not taken up again.'' 1 McPherson, Reconstruction, p. 72. 2 Ihid., pp. 74-78. ""Ibid., pp. 80-81. *Ibid., pp. 147-151, July 16. •'' Dunning, Reconst. Polit. and Econ., pp. 62-68. • Laws of Florida, 14th Assembly, Resolution 12 ; N. Y. Times, May 21, 1866. ''Cong. Globe, 39th C, ist S. (1865-6), pt. i, p. 313. See also N. Y. 430 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The supremacy of civil law was never fully realized dur- ing Governor Walker's administration — February, 1866, to March, 1867. On April 27th (1866), General Foster, the Federal commander of the District of Florida, an- nounced that the President's proclamation of April 2nd, which declared the " insurrection " at an end,^ did not re- move martial law. He ordered that all persons under mili- tary arrest be turned over to the civil authorities, except members of the Federal army. He further directed that all post commanders in Florida make no arrests in future on their own responsibility, " except in the absence of the proper civil authorities or upon their neglect or refusal to do their duty." " This meant that the state government was to operate with the sufferance of the Federal military. Foster left no doubt as to this. " Should any case arise," he announced, " where a citizen believes that he has not received justice at the hands of the civil authorities, he may make appeal with the papers in the case to these head- quarters " [military].'^ Alarming reports came from several localities to the effect that Union men were being persecuted by their ex- Confederate neighbors. Stories of rapine, murder, and robbery were garnered up, exaggerated, sometimes fabri- cated to suit the occasion, and then sent to military head- quarters or the Congressional Reconstruction Committee in Washington. " Every other house almost is a drinking Herald, Jan. 20, 1866; iV. Y. IVorld, Jan. 4, 1866 (editorial comment on Sumner's speech); Storey's Charles Sutnner, pp. 309-310; Mc- Pherson, Political Manual, 1866, pp. 107-108. Marvin and Call had been elected to the U. S. Senate against Generals Finley and Anderson, two well-known Confederate leaders. * McPherson, Reconstruction, pp. 15-17. * Gen. Ord. no. 28, H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, p. 9. * Gen. Ord. no. 28. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 431 saloon and there is fighting in every direction," testified a man from Florida before this committee/ Early in June (1866), General Foster ordered all civil officers in Escam- bia, Levy, Madison, Santa Rosa, and Alachua Counties to be arrested and held in custody by the military till the per- sons accused of murdering or having attempted to murder Union men and Federal soldiers should be punished.^ For the remaining months of Conservative rule these coun- ties were nominally under complete martial law. " The more I observe the more I am convinced that the presence of a military force will be absolutely necessary for at least one or two years more, if not for a longer period," complacently stated General Foster in July, 1866. " With- out this military control the condition of the colored people will be nearly as bad as in the days of slavery, and many ex-officers and Northern men now settling and investing capital in this state will be forced to abandon their enter- prise and leave." ^ A member of the Reconstruction Committee demanded of a witness, " What protection would there be for the col- ored people if the troops were withdrawn entirely from the state [Florida] ? " " In the only portion I have any knowl- edge of there would be no difficulty," was the reply, " be- cause there would be a sufficient number of colored people to thrash them [Southern whites] out with a good com- mander. Were there not a majority of them [negroes] their condition would be very bad." * ^ H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, pt. 4, p. 5. ' Gen. Ords. no. 34, June 9, 1866, H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, p. II. ' H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, pp. 12-13. Gen. Foster was the commanding officer in the sub-district of Florida. * H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, pt. 4, p. 4. Testimony of J. W. Ricks before Reconstruction Committee, Jan., 1866. 432 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Although the Federal military never relinquished during Walker's administration its right to interfere at pleasure in the execution of state law, yet the civil officers and courts steadily acquired greater freedom. The President's procla- mation of August 20th, 1866, declared that " Civil author- ity " existed throughout the whole of the United States. General Foster in Florida requested an interpretation of this proclamation. " Does it restore the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus f " he asked. " Does it abolish the supremacy of martial law?" A sharp conflict of authority had occurred in Tallahassee. The civil authorities there and over the state generally were becoming restive. Several Federal soldiers had been ar- rested in Tallahassee and lodged in jail, charged with disor- derly conduct. Foster ordered their release. His orders were obeyed. On November ist, the Adjutant-General at Washington directed him to refrain from interfering with the civil government except where state law conflicted with Federal law. He was to be the judge of any such conflict. The first duty of the Federal military in Florida was con- ceived to be the protection of life and property. Demands came to Congress from Florida that greater Federal pro- tection be extended the negro and the " truly loyal " white there. The passage of the Civil Rights Bill by Congress in March, 1866, was meant to extend through the civil law this desired Federal protection. Primarily it was " de- signed to secure to the freedmen through the normal action of the courts " the same protection against discriminating state legislation that was secured in the Freedmen's Bureau courts. Its enactment was closely watched and sharply com- mented on in Florida. The small town politician, the idle whittler, the planter, the lawyer, the doctor, and the THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 433 preacher all co-operated with the editors of the weekly newspapers in expounding the true character of the Fed- eral Civil Rights Act. Some professed to see in it an at- tempt to give suffrage to the negro. ^ Others gave it less political interpretation. Practically all condemned it as a revolutionary and pernicious piece of legislation. It was not vigorously enforced in Florida. The Civil Rights commissioners were never appointed, and the Fed- eral courts did not exert themselves to set the law in oper- ation.^ Its principal effect was to restrain the state courts from a too rigid enforcement of the Black Code. For instance, when the assistant commissioner of the Freed- men's Bureau threatened trouble under the Civil Rights Act the Conservative attorney-general and the governor united in repudiating the statute forbidding blacks to carry firearms, because " it was not in conformity with the con- stitution " which stipulated that all free inhabitants should enjoy the same rights of person and property.^ Local tribunals thereupon hesitated to enforce this necessary state law. Would the entire Black Code — the labor contract law, the apprentice law, the vagrancy law, the marriage law, the negro school law, etc. — come into conflict with the Federal Civil Rights Law and become inoperative by the ruling of Federal courts backed by Federal troops? Such a possibility was before the people of Florida at this time. LTnion-Republicans and Conservatives in Florida were re- sponsive to the contest over the Southern question then going on in the nation at large. A meeting to organize the " Union Party " was held in Tampa late in April — and there it was proposed to send a delegation to Washington * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 57, p. 10. ~ Ibid., pp. 14, 16. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 40. For the provision in the Con- stitution of 1865 see H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, pt. 4, p. 30, art. 16. 434 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to present to Congress the " real sentiment " of the " loyal men " of Florida. The resolutions called upon all citizens to give their support to those men who during the late war had been "loyal" to the Union, and to repudiate completely the " ex-Confederate " class.^ On receiving news that a national convention of Conser- vatives would meet in Philadelphia in August, Governor Walker appointed a delegation to represent the state. The delegation included ex-slave-holders, ex-Confederates, Flor- ida loyalists, and one officer of the Federal army.^ This was a fairly representative body. All were counted Conser- vatives, although their party affiliations were various. They took their part in the Johnson convention which met in Philadelphia on the 14th of August.^ ' Florida Union, May S and 17, 1866. The central committee ap- pointed at this meeting consisted of C. R. Mobley, W. A. Linly, and W. Mansell, of Tampa; G. B. Allen, of Key West; O. B. Hart (future Rep. Governor), of Jacksonville; Capt. Galloway (U. S. A.), of Pen- sacola, and J. W. Culpepper, of Jasper. It was proposed to send Hart to Washington. The chief Radical newspaper in Florida at the time was the Jacksonville Times, W. H. Christie, editor. Christie was an active politician. See his editorial on the local political situation May 22, 1866. ^Florida Times, July 26, 1866; A^ Y. World, July 31 (?), 1866. (Townsend Library, v. 67, p. 206.) The delega'es were appointed with some respect to the established sections of Florida. West Florida: Benj. D. Wright, O. M. Avery, Geo. Walker, Geo. S. Hawkins, F. F. Pittman, J. L. Dunham ; Middle Florida : J. B. Love, Robt. Davidson, Wilk. Call, J. L. McKibben (U. S. Army), Geo. W. Scott, R. H. Gamble, M. D. Papy, Thos. Randall, A. Hopkins ; East Florida : F. McLeod, T. O. Holmes, J. B. Dawkins, M. Solano, J. S. Maxwell; South Florida : Wm. Marvin, W. C. Maloney, and J. Gettis. ' For the part taken by the Florida representatives see N. Y. Times, Aug. 15, 1866; N. y. Herald, Aug. 15 and 17, 1866; N. Y. World, Aug. 16, 1866. Jas. B. Dawkins was on the Conven' ion's Committee on Organization; Judge Thomas Randall was a vice-president; Benj. D. Wright was a secretary ; and Marvin and Call were on the Committee on Resolutions and Addresses, and Call was on the National Union Ex- ecutive Committee. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 435 Not to be outdone by Conservatives the local Radical leaders came together in Tallahassee on August 22nd and appointed a delegation for the Loyalists' convention in Philadelphia, September 3rd. The delegates were new ar- rivals in the state or new politicians among the natives/ All were white. They attended the Philadelphia meeting and with the others made a demonstration for Congress." Governor Walker, cognizant of the bitter contest cen- tering in Washington, had counseled all in Florida to stand by the President and " show by the beauty of their lives " that Radical accusation of bad purpose in the South was false.^ Radicals were not then looking for beautiful lives in politics and it is doubtful if they would have recorded truthfully the fact had they found any in Florida. The year 1866 drew to a close. A short cotton crop, due to causes beyond the control of man, hurt business in the South and cast discredit upon the labor contract system. Bureau agents divided grudgingly the control of the negro with local judges, justices of the peace, and employers. The legislature met and went through its usual routine of pass- ing necessary and unnecessary laws — depending on the point of view — but the Black Code was not added to. The problem of Conservative rule seemed on the surface to be solving itself. In November the governor transmitted to the legislature the proposed Fourteenth Amendment to the United States constitution, with the recommendation that it be not ratified.* He declared that it would tend to change en- ' A''. Y. Tribune, Sept. 3, 1866. *N. Y. Herald, Sept. 4, 1866; N. Y. Times, Sept. 5, 1866. O. B. Hart was one of the vice-presidents. Fraser and Robinson occupied committee positions. » A^. Y. Times, May 21, 1866. *An. Cyclo., 1866. 436 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA tirely by undue consolidation the character of the national government/ This measure combined two clearly distinguishable parts. I, It proposed to transfer to the Federal government the guardianship of the individual citizen's civil rights and thus to place the Civil Rights Act, passed in March, beyond the reach of the Federal Courts. The real object was to take out of the hands of Southern electors the power to decide what were or were not the civil rights of the black as a free man. 2, It sought to base representation in the national Congress not upon population per se, but upon voting popu- lation. " The number of representatives due to a state is ex- pressly made to depend [in the Constitution] on its popula- tion," stated Governor Walker, *' while it is expressly re- mitted to the state's own discretion to say who among its citizens shall constitute the voters and electors." He would have representation remain " as our fathers fixed it, on the census and not the suffrage." Taking up the section of the proposed amendment which would disfranchise all who " engaged in rebellion " after having taken the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, he de- clared it unjust because it sought to punish a certain class of citizens not more guilty than others. " Look around you and see how many persons will be left in office after this amendment is adopted," he said. " Most of the persons thus to be punished have already been pardoned by the President. I hold that no power on earth can justly go behind the President's pardon." ^ The governor with pardonable fatuity would not ac- * For opinions of conservative Florida press on proposed Amend- ment, consistently condemnatory, see Lake City Press, Oct. 13, 1866; Tallahassee Flortdian, Oct. 15, 1866; Jacksonville Union, Oct. 13, 1866. • Message in N. Y. Times. Nov. 22, 1866. THE PROBLEM OF CONSERVATIVE RULE 437 knowledge that the nation was no longer moving " as our fathers fixed it ". Congress was vindictively engaged in being progressive by following out policies springing from a revolution in American constitutional ideas. The pro- posed amendment was a political measure meant not only to protect the black but also to help clinch negro suffrage upon the South, to suppress the natural leaders of the Southern people, and thus to strengthen the grip of the national Union-Republican machine. The senate and house committees concurred in the gov- ernor's recommendation, and both upper and lower cham- bers by unanimous vote refused to pass the bill ^ — Decem- ber 1st and 3rd, 1866. " We are willing to make any organic changes of a thor- oughly general character and which do not totally destroy the nature of the Government," stated the assembly in re- fusing to ratify the proposed amendment. On the other hand, we will bear any ill before we will pro- nounce our own dishonor. We will be taxed without repre- sentation ; we will quietly endure the government of the bay- onet ; we will see and submit to the threatened fire and sword and destruction, but we will not bring as a peace oflfering the conclusive evidence of our own self-created degradation.- Winter came upon the land, with its somber color and sad change. Men discussed politics and eagerly speculated on the result of the contest at Washington between Execu- tive and Congress. The time had nearly arrived when the experience of a worse reconstruction was to begin for the unfortunate commonwealths of the South. * Floridian, Jan. 25, 1867. Flack, Adoption of the Fourteenth Amend- ment, pp. 193-4. 'An. Cyclo., 1866. CHAPTER XVII The Beginning of Radical Reconstruction The swift and passionate rejection of the proposed Four- teenth Amendment by Southern legislatures irritated the North and strengthened the Radicals in Congress. Yet it is extremely doubtful if this rejection had decisive effect upon the political destinies of Florida or any other South- ern state, for the reorganized Southern governments were already condemned by powerful politicians in the domi- nant national party ere this new evidence of Southern way- wardness was manifested. Furthermore, the rejection of the proposed amendment did not cause Union-Republicans North to desire negro enfranchisement South and the elimi- nation of the old native white leaders South. They de- sired these things before the Fourteenth Amendment was voted down. In fact the amendment was proposed in order that these twin desires might be attained. Any other inter- pretation of the situation in light of present knowledge is fantastic. Radical reconstruction was inevitable after the spring of 1866 — probably inevitable from the hour Lincoln passed away. Andrew Johnson succeeded to the place and policy of Lincoln but not to that leader's popularity or power. The record of national politics during 1866 clearly indi- cated that on the Southern question — which was the burn- ing question then confronting the nation — the new Presi- dent had no influence over Congress, except possibly a bad influence. In the legislative branch of the national govern- 438 BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 439 merit a hostile majority was sufficiently strong ere the summer of 1866 to override constitutionally the opposition or restraint which the Executive attempted by veto; and this majority was well organized in both the Senate and the House. It was aggressively hostile toward Mr. Johnson personally, and toward his reconstruction policy South it was positively vindictive. Under the leadership of such men as Thaddeus Stevens in the House and Charles Sumner in the Senate, the faction of the Union-Republican party opposed to the President was committed to a plan of recon- struction drastically different from the executive plan in- herited from Lincoln and then in process of operation. For more than a year the nation had been at peace ; and yet the one-time Confederate states, with the exception of Tennessee, were still out of the Union as far as participa- tion in the general government was concerned. Congress would keep them out till it worked its will. " Our present relations with the general government afe certainly of a strange character," declared the lower house of the Flor- ida legislature in commenting on the situation. We are denied representation even when we elect a man who has never in fact sympathized with armed resistance to the United States, and who can in good faith take the oath. We are at the same time subject to the most onerous taxation; the civil law of the State is enforced and obeyed only vv^hen it meets the approval of the local commanders of the troops of the United States ; the Congress of the United States enacts laws making certain lands subject to entry at a small cost by the colored portion of our population and denies the like privi- lege to the white man by restrictions amounting to a prohibi- tion. We are, in fact, recognized as a State for the single and sole purpose of working out our destruction and dis- honor.^ ' An. Cvclo., 1866. 440 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA However much the critic might condemn the pitiless and unscrupulous political warfare which the Radical party began to carry on in 1866 against the whites of the South- ern states, he must acknowledge the positive strength, the acuteness, the sureness with which the leaders of Recon- struction Radicalism carried forward their policy, step by step, disregarding and adding to the written constitution, disregarding precedent, disregarding often honesty, and or- dinary decency in political practice. If oneness of aim is a good thing in itself, then there is much good even from a hostile viewpoint in the Reconstruction record of Congress. It was positive and consistent in at least one important respect — in adhering to the principle that practically the end justified the means. The end was the capture of the South for the Radical party. The Conservatives there were suspected of being disloyal. On December 13th, 1865, the Federal Senate and House concurred in appointing a " joint committee to inquire into the condition of the states which formed the so-called Confederate States." ^ This action laid the foundation for that Congressional program which cul- minated in the Reconstruction laws of 1867. The main committee was divided into sub-committees for the purpose of more expeditiously obtaining information. Senator Williams, of Oregon, and Representatives Washburne, of Illinois, and Rogers, of New Jersey, collected evidence bearing on political conditions and popular sentiment in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Only three persons from Florida testified before the " Reconstruction Committee ". They were J. W. Recks, collector of customs at Pensacola — lately from the North ; Wm. H. Marvin, provisional gov- ernor of Florida; and the Reverend L. M. Hobbs, state 1 H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, pt. 4, p. i. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 441 superintendent of Freedmen schools and one-time chaplain in the Union army. Marvin's testimony was so sane and so fair to the white people of Florida that he was allowed to depart without finishing what he had to say. Recks and Hobbs were examined at length. They had evil things to say about their neighbors. " What do you find to be the present temper and spirit of the people of Florida to the general government," was asked of Hobbs, February 28th. 1866. Ans. : " It is bitter ; much more so now than it was three or four months ago. . . . They talk treason in the streets without any concealment." Ques. : " How do you explain this change that has taken place in their feelings, or expressions of them?" Ans. : " I consider it because of the leniency manifested by the present administration ; first, in extending the privilege of amnesty, and second, in re-establishing the civil government, throwing the afifairs of the State, the administration of the law, in the hands of probate and circuit judges, leaving the military to have control only of some cases where capital pun- ishment, or some punishment of that kind, can be inflicted ; also the general opposition that has grown up within the last three months to the negro having civil rights, the right of sufTrage, etc." ^ A month earlier, January 22d, 1866, Recks had given his views to the committee. " Have you noticed any change in the sentiments and feelings of the people since you com- menced to reside in Florida? " he was asked. Ans. : " No material change that I know of for the better. . . . They have a bitter aversion to what they term the Yankee — that is, a Union man ; it does not matter whether he comes from the extreme east or extreme west, if he is true ^ H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, pt. 4, p. 8. 442 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to his adherence to the national government. They have treated me with a great deal of courtesy, but at the same time in this inherent spirit." Ques. : " Were you there at the time that the Legislature were elected ?" Ans. : " Yes, sir." Ques. : " State, as far as you know them, what side they took in the rebellion." Ans. : " They were rebels during the war, in the Confeder- ate service, some of them, I think, with the rank of Captain, and at heart to-day they are as good rebels as they ever were." Ques. : " Have you heard the question of negro suffrage dis- cussed there among the people ?" Ans. : *' I have. They perfectly abhor negro suffrage." Ques. : " From your knowledge and observation of that country, what is necessary to be done in order properly and fairly to reconstruct the State in justice to the State and the Union?" Ans. : " My policy may, perhaps, be a little too severe. I would pin them down at the point of the bayonet so close that they would not have room to wiggle and allow intelligent colored people to go up and vote in preference to them." ^ Radicals in Florida wrote many letters to Radicals out of Florida describing atrocities against negroes and Union men and expressing positive judgment on the " spirit " of their Southern neighbors. Southern whites w^ho refused to become Radicals were accused of being disloyal at heart. Charles Sumner was the eager recipient of stich epistles, which he took occasion to give wide publicity. The commanders of Federal troops stationed throughout the South watched for evidences of disloyalty and through the regular reports became an in- formation bureau for Radical leaders in Washington. ^ H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, pt. 4, pp. 1-5. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 443 Colonel Sprague, commanding in Jacksonville, reported on April 30th, 1866, that the conduct of the people within his jurisdiction " toward the general government is pacific from necessity but their feelings are strong and revenge- ful ".^ The following day, May ist, Lieutenant-Colonel Flint, post commander at Tallahassee, reported : " I believe that Union citizens cannot freely express their love or ad- miration for our country or government and approval of the policy adopted without incurring the displeasure and sometimes the actual enmity of their neighbors, the South- ern people." ^ On July 17th, Lieutenant Grossman, post commander at Lake City, reported that, " the 4th of July passed without the slightest attempt on the part of citizens of this vicinity to celebrate the day," ^ while on August 28th, Flint reported : " The temper of the people remains as previously reported, as far as can be judged. The only report received since the 15th (that from Cedar Keys) ex- presses the belief that the people in that vicinity may be as disloyal to the government as they were three years ago. This may be, and probably is true of a considerable class of the community not only in Cedar Keys but throughout the State." ■* On September 20tb. Brig^adier-General Foster, in command of the entire " District of Florida," reported : " The state of feeling toward the government and Union and Northern men has not improved since my last report and there have been indications that the old, bitter feeling engendered by the war still rankles in the hearts of the old secessionists, and that it will find vent as soon as a favor- able opportunity offers." ^ Such reports and opinions as the foregoing came thick and fast from every Southern ' H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 56, p. 91. » Ibid., p. 78. ' Ibid., p. 84. " Ibid., p. 80. ' McPherson, Reconstruction, p. 308. 444 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA State during 1866. As a rule, verdicts of disloyalty and treason were unsupported by the citation of facts, and the facts when cited have the peculiar flavor of lies. The whites of Florida were cognizant of the adverse re- ports concerning them. " We are passing through our political wilderness and are being bitten by fiery serpents," declared Governor Walker in commenting on the situa- tion.^ " Let us constantly remember," stated he in an ad- dress to the people, April 27th, 1866, that every lawless act any individual in our State may commit and every indiscreet expression that may be uttered is imme- diately exaggerated and published broadcast over the Northern States with a view of making it appear that the President is wrong and his enemies are right. We are passing through a fearful ordeal. The eyes of the world are upon us ; therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ^ Before the end of 1866 the Conservative leaders in Florida had reason to be uneasy about the state's future political fortunes. The existing government stood con- demned by Congress, and the President was unable to re- strain that body from doing with Florida as it saw fit. The Federal Supreme Court was hopefully looked up to in the South as a possible means for checking the career of the national legislature. In Florida, hopes were publicly ex- pressed that the court would somehow intervene. The de- cisions in the Test Oath cases were hailed with satisfaction by the most powerful newspaper in the state. ^ The effect of these decisions in theory was to deny the constitution- ality of Federal legislation which would deprive those one- time Confederate citizens who had returned to their alle- ' Rerick, Memoirs of Fla., v. i, p. 300. * An. Cyclo., 1866. * Floridian, Jan. 4, 25, 1867. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 445 giance of the rights enjoyed by all citizens of the United States/ When the full and developed program of Radical recon- struction was taken up in Congress for consideration — the " Military Bill " — the forebodings of Florida's pessimists in public opinion were coming perilously near realization. The sure tendency of Congressional policy for a year was now unmistakable. " Does it mean what it seems ? " ob- served the Floridian. " It is absurd to believe that the United States Supreme Court will uphold it." ^ Experi- ence proved that fear of what the Supreme Court might do exerted no appreciable control over Congress. Disregard- ing warnings concerning the judiciary and contemptuously, defiantly overriding the executive, the national legislature with brutal directness and great efficiency proceeded to draft into statute law the ideas of its leaders concerning what was to be considered legal and thorough reconstruc- tion. The Conservatives of Florida with sinking hearts and bitter feeling watched the passage of the Military Bill through Congress. " Taking the measure altogether it is about as bad as anything could be," observed the Floridian. Sherman's Senate Bill was bearable, since it left to the State the option of acting or not ; but this bill is not simply bearable, it is execrable. It embodies the vengeful and worst passions of the worst radicals in the dominant party. . . . What we most dread is the influx of traveling politicians and agitators whose mission will be to stir up strife between the races, and thus precipitate collision and bloodshed.^ 1 The cases in question were : Ex Parte Milligan, Cummings vs. Missouri, and Ex Parte Garland, the last two being the Test Oath cases. Wallace, v. 4, pp. 2,. 277, 333. For criticism, see Dunning, Reconst. Polit. and Ec, p. 89. ' Floridian, Jan. 15, 19, 1867. • Ibid., Feb. 26, 1867. 446 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA When the " Military Bill " passed Congress over the President's veto, the receipt of the news in Florida brought forth this observation from the Floridian: We are placed in a sort of purgatory, neither in Heaven nor Hell — a kind of betweenity. But it is too grave a matter to jest about. It is ex post facto. It prescribes penalties for an offense not known when the offense was committed, and there- fore is legislation backward. It undertakes to make operative the provisions of a constitutional amendment not yet adopted.^ The Jacksonville Union announced : " It would be in our judgment a most lamentable matter to see the Southern States yield in despairing apathy to the crisis that is upon them. Their cause is the cause of constitutional govern- ment." - What could the people of Florida do except yield? They had no means to effectively oppose Congres- sional reconstruction. The first Reconstruction Act or " Military Bill " became law on March 2nd, 1867. This piece of legislation reduced ten Southern states to military appendages; virtually ab- rogated civil government there ; declared that " any civil government that may exist " in these states was " provi- sional only " ; grouped the ten states into five " military dis- tricts " ; directed the President to appoint an army officer not lower than a brigadier-general to command each dis- trict ; directed this district commander " to protect all per- sons in their rights of person and property, to suppress in- surrection, disorder, and violence " ; provided for vigorous, effective, and arbitrary rule through " military commis- sion " ; and set forth the terms upon which Congress would consider the admission of such a state to a share once more * Quotation from Floridian in A''. Y. World, Mch. 6, 1867. » A^. Y. World, Mch. 6, 1867. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 447 in the national government when in the future the people of the state should see fit to comply with the will of Con- gress. These terms were in brief: i, a state constitution extending the suffrage to all males twenty-one years old and upward, irrespective of race, color, or previous con- dition; 2, the ratification of the 14th Amendment by the legislature elected under this constitution. The law ex- pressly excluded most Southern leaders from taking any part whatever, either as voter or delegate, in framing and adopting the constitution.^ On March 23rd, the Supplemental Reconstruction Law was enacted, providing ways and means for carrying into effect the first statute; namely, the division of the states into registration districts, the registering of voters, the manner of holding the elections for the constitutional conventions, the manner of voting on the constitutions framed, and the transmission of the instruments to Congress.^ These two laws laid the foundation certainly for ruthless political re- construction. That was their object, and the object was to be attained. The people of Florida took the revolution calmly. Led by wise counsel they accepted the inevitable with good grace. "Take it calmly," advised the Tallahassee Sentinel. " The memories of the past and the hopes of the future counsel a self-possessed, dignified, quiet acquiescence in the measure adopted for our humiliation and punishment." * The Quincy Commonwealth: " Plenty of time for action by the Southern people." * The Floridian: " It is not to be decided on the impulse of sentiment or the suggestion of ' See text of act, McPherson, Reconstruction, pp. 191-2. * Text of act, ibid., pp. 192-4. ' Quotation in N. Y. World, Mch. 15, 1867. * Quincy Commonwealth, Mch. 8, 1867. 448 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA selfishness but it is to be met as one of the gravest issues that has been submitted to a people who are brave and have been free. We shall wait a few days until we ascertain how he [the President] construes the powers with which it [the Reconstruction Law] invests him." ^ The most disturbing factor in the uncertain future for the mass of whites in Florida was the impending fact of negro enfranchisement. Were the state government and the local governments to be delivered to the negro, backed as he was by the power of the United States? That was really the question then before the practical politician. The opinion of the Floridian was that there should be no apprehension if the Southern white began in time to assume the political leadership of the black. " The whites constitute the class from which the freedmen get their living. By acting with promptness and common-sense every freedmen can be made to vote the Conservative ticket." ^ Within a month after the enactment of the second Re- construction Law the prospective policy of Conservatives in Florida seemed clearly marked out. It contained two ob- vious principles, namely, the ready acquiescence in Con- gressional reconstruction, and the control of the negro voter by Conservative Southern whites. Ex-Senator Mal- lory, in a speech delivered in Pensacola (March 28th), strongly advised prompt submission to Congress in good faith.^ United States Senator-elect Call, still in Washing- ton waiting to be admitted to the Senate, wrote : In my opinion we should submit without opposition to Con- gress and conform to its requirements. No practical benefits can be gained by resistance. . . . This Congress represents the » A^. Y. World, Mch. 15, 1867. ' Floridian, Mch. 29, 1867. » Floridian, Apr. 9, 1867 ; N. Y. Herald, Apr. 8, 1867. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 449 strength and will of the Northern people. . . . We should realize that these are questions that concern us no longer, as over them we have no control. ... In my judgment, the only thing to consider is whether we will be dragged by the chains of relentless destiny or whether we will be co-workers with it in forming and giving direction to its policy.^ William Archer Cooke, writing from Monticello (Jeffer- son County), declared that "it is absurd to look to the Supreme Court for redress." The negro, he said, should be led by the Southern whites." Ex-Governor Marvin ex- tended like advice in an " Address to the People of Flor- ida." He prophesied that the efforts of Mississippi to get redress from the Federal Supreme Court would prove un- successful. Radical leaders were powerful and popular in the North. Any action of the Supreme Court, he thought, would not control Congress. His advice to the whites of Florida was to give up all idea of combatting Congress, to organize, to obey cheerfully and quickly Federal law, and to make ready to lead the enfranchised negro.^ Such was the tenor of advice extended to the people by their best leaders in this crisis when their government was destroyed at the hands of Congress, when the lately en- slaved w^ere given equal political privilege with the late masters, when the natural leaders of the people were dis- ^ Floridian, Apr. 12, 1867. * Floridian, Apr. 23, 1867. * Floridian, Alay 17, 1867. See also Marvin's views in issues for May 10 and Sept. 17. The latter contains a letter from the ex- governor to Dyke, editor of the Floridian. Marvin was then living in New York. His clear foresight is shown by this letter. He said that eventually it would be very bad for the blacks if they should combine politically as a race and form a party on the basis of color. They might carry the coming elections, he said, but in the end they would surely lose out, after antagonizing the whites not only in Florida but in the North as well. The truth of these views is obvious to-day. 450 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA franchised. Congress succeeded in putting the " Bottom rail on top". And why? The preamble of the first Re- construction Act set forth the alleged reason. *' Whereas no legal state governments or adequate protection for life or property now exists in the rebel states," it runs, " and whereas it is necessary that peace and good order should be enforced in said states until loyal and republican state gov- ernments can be legally established," etc. Did conditions in Florida make it necessary that the state be subjected to the operations of such a drastic law? Certainly the year 1866 witnessed the sure beginning of a rapid and generally peaceful rehabilitation. The amount of lawlessness in Florida then does not seem to have been abnormal or particularly serious. Three factors indicate peace and returning prosperity: i, heavy immigration of poor home-seekers into Florida; 2, the presence of numer- ous business men from other sections of the country who came into Florida and invested money there; 3, the favor- able reports of military commanders distributed over Florida. These reports though damning the lack of patriot- ism among the whites usually closed with the statement that peace reigned and that the people were quietly at work. Would these conditions have existed then if in Florida there had been no " adequate protection for life or property?" As to immigration, both whites and blacks began to come into Florida during 1866. The black immigrants were more numerous than the whites. The East Florida Banner of January 2nd, 1867, stated: "A thousand freedmen have passed through this city during the past week on their way to Florida and the west." The Floridian of January nth: " The tide of immigration is unprecedented. . . . Nearly every day brings trains and wagons through our town [Tallahassee] from South Carolina . . . Two train-loads . . . from Southern and Western Georgia." The Columbia BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 451 (S. C.) Telegraph of January 13th: " Freedmen are leav- ing this city in such numbers as to excite alarm. They are chiefly bound for Florida." The Orangeburg (S. C.) Times: " Many freedmen are seeking new homes in Florida and elsewhere." The New York Times, February 28th (report from Charleston, S. C.) : " Great exodus of freed- men. . . . 50.000 souls have left the State. . . . Some of the emigrants have gone to Florida." The report of Col- onel Sprague at Jacksonville in New York Tribune, Febru- ary 20th : " Freedmen are still arriving from South Caro- lina and Georgia seeking labor and many entering land under the Homestead Bill." The Federal law of June 21st, 1866 opened for entry in 80-acre lots all national lands in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. By October of the following year 2,012 homestead claims aggregating more than 160,000 acres had been entered in the Florida Federal land offices. The " House Committee on Freedmen's Affairs " reported that during this time more than 2,000 families acquired " homes in Florida " and that '' in other Southern states less progress has been made ".^ The comparison of census figures indicates heavy increase of negro population between 1860-67. The Fed- eral census of i860 gave the black population 62,677. The special state census of 1867 showed 72,666, an increase of sixteen per cent in seven years. Immigrant aid societies helped whites and blacks to move to Florida. The American Aid and Homestead Co. of New York furthered in some fashion an extensive scheme of two Northern business men, Hunt and Gleason. They sought to establish a colony in Florida for the culti- ' H. Repts., 40th C, 2nd. S., no. 30, p. 16. For further information concerning negroes on Federal lands, see H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70, passim; 40th C, 2nd, S., no. 57, t>assiiu. 452 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA vation of tropical fruits/ Gleason later became lieutenant- governor of the state. In June, 1866, he reported: " We have traveled upwards of 1,500 miles in the most unsettled portions of the State. . . . We were everywhere hospitably received. . . . An emigration from the North would be welcomed by a large majority of the people." ^ A few planters of Florida imported negro labor from neighboring states and gave their support to plans for bring- ing in white labor from Europe.^ " Florida does not want black but white immigrants," announced a local journal early in 1867. Bread does not grow on trees. We want our unoccupied lands taken up and developed by those who will cling to them, and not by those who will labor for a little while and then become paupers, vagabonds and thieves, living upon the industry of others, to be hunted like untamed savages. In the county in which we write [Leon, the most populous in Florida] there is comparatively a scarcity of labor. Why? Not because there is not labor enough, but because hundreds will not work. The idlers squat about the piney woods, in the towns, and by the roadside, and it is no injustice to say that the great majority of them live by killing stock and general thieving.* There was plenty of work at good wages in Florida,^ business was reviving, and the freedmen labor was not ' Floridian, Jan. 11, 1867; A^ Y. Times, June 25, 1866. * TV. Y. Times, June 25, 1866. * Jefferson Gazette, Aug. 31, 1866, — organization "Jefferson Aid Assn." to assist immigration. Floridian, Jan. 4, Feb. 12, 15. May 10. 1867, — organization and activity of " So. Land and Immigration Co." Laivs of Florida, 14th Assembly, passim. * Floridian, Feb. i, 1867. * Rpt. Agr. Dept., 1867-7, p. 84. Wages in Fla. were considerably higher than in any other Southern state east of the Miss., the average wage for Fla. being twelve per cent above the average for the South. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 453 meeting the demand. " I think they [whites] would be pleased," stated one man, " to have them [negroes] out of the way and to have Chinamen coolies, or anybody else to do the work." ^ In April, 1866, Colonel Sprague reported from Jackson- ville : " The general condition of the country coming under the jurisdiction of this post is prosperous. The freedmen are working faithfully and industriously. There is a large class from the North who are seeking investments in lands and sawmills. The citizens belonging to the city are labor- ing to obtain a living and to collect what little remains of their property after a desolating war." ^ In June, Captain Smith, posted at Mellonville, reported : " Everything works harmoniously." ^ The year 1866 witnessed the revival in railroad exten- sion interrupted by the war. The existing roads were in too poor a physical condition to handle the revival in traflEic. The war had bankrupted all of the companies. Along with plans for reorganization in face of defaulted payment on bonds went plans for re-equipping the roads and extending them. " The railroad is the grand thing just ahead," stated a letter from Pensacola. " An outsider hearing so much indistinct talk about it might suppose it an accomplished fact." * At Marianna in West Florida a number of busi- ness men of that section met during February, 1867, to dis- cuss the projects of extending the railway from Quincy to the Apalachicola river and of building a road from St. An- drews bay north into Georgia.^ Similar meetings took 1 H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, pt. 4, p. 4. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 56, p. 91. * Ibid., p. 90. * N. y. Ev. Post (Townsend Lib., V. 71, p. 338) Pensacola letter. ^ Floridian, Feb. 22, 1867. 424 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA place in other parts of Florida. Such incidents are worthy of a place in an account of reconstruction because they in connection with increasing demand for labor, increasing immigration, and increasing land entries by home-seekers indicate that peaceful economic rehabilitation had begun before the Federal Congress turned government topsy- turvy in order that there might be " adequate protection " for life and property in Florida. The first Reconstruction Act was promulgated by the war department through general orders on March nth, and on the 28th the Supplemental Act was promulgated in similar fashion.^ The first act provided for the division of the South into five military districts. Florida was included in the " Third District ", composed of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. This division, as set forth in the law, was formally consummated through Execu- tive order of March 2nd.- On March 15th, the Presi- dent placed Major-General John Pope in command of the Third District.^ On April ist. Pope began his administra- tion in Florida through General Orders No. i, in which he " merged the District of Key West " into the " District of Florida " and placed Colonel J. T. Sprague of the 7th In- fantry in command. The headquarters of the District of Florida (a sub-district of the third Military District) were established at Tallahassee.* " The civil officers at present will retain their offices until the expiration of their terms of service," announced Gen- eral Orders of April ist, which inaugurated military rule, so long as justice is impartially and faithfully administered. It is hoped that no necessity may arise for the interposition of the military authorities in the civil administration, and such * Sen. Ex. Docs., 40th C, ist S., no. 14. * Ibid., p. 5. » Ibid., p. 5. * Ibid., p. 93. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 455 necessity can only arise from the failure of the civil tribunals to protect the people, without distinction, in their rights of per- son and property. The real object in instituting this military regime was in- dicated by that clause of these general orders that declared : " It is clearly understood, however, that the civil officers thus retained in office shall confine themselves to the per- formance of their official duties and whilst holding these offices they shall not use any influence whatever to deter or dissuade the people from taking an active part in recon- structing their state government." As Florida had never thoroughly passed from under the guiding hand of the Federal military since the war's close, the transposition to military rule in the spring of 1867 did not cause much confusion or excitement. " In Florida everything is quiet," reported General Pope on April 7th.^ But indications of a pretty thorough-going political change were soon evident. The negroes of Florida under Radical white leaders immediately began to experiment in politics. On March 14th, more than a week before the passage of the Supplemental Bill in Washington and before Congres- sional reconstruction was formally inaugurated in Florida, some negroes of Jacksonville met in the negro Baptist Church, chose a ticket for the city elections, and adopted resolutions which began : " Resolved, That we have become bona-fide citizens of Florida and of the United States, that there is now no distinction between the white man and the black man in political matters," etc.^ ^ Sen. Ex. Docs., 40th C, ist S., no. 14, p. 95. ' Floridian. Apr. i, 1867. The election did not take place when scheduled. It was postponed by military order, — see Floridian, Apr. 2, 9, 1867. In May the " City Council " chose a new mayor on the "advice" of Col. Sprague. Negroes did not take part in this, — Floridian, May 21, 1867. 456 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA In another part of the state, Pensacola, negroes partici- pated in the city elections, April ist. Three days before, March 28th, a mass meeting of blacks and whites had taken place in Pensacola's plaza/ Ex-Senator Mallory, J. D. Wolf — an ex-officer of the Federal army — and Hayes Satterlee — an aged negro — had addressed the meeting. Here were grouped skillfully three of the fairly distinct social elements in Reconstruction politics : the ex-Confederate, the white newcomer from the North, and the negro. All the speakers advised amicable co-operation between the races, and ad- vised the blacks not to break with the Southern whites. But other influences were at work. Negroes were called together in secret meetings by Radical white leaders. The report was spread that if the Republican candidate won, the stores in town would be thrown open and all loyal men in town would be invited to take what they wished. This was a tempting prospect to any man. To most of the negroes it was exciting. Those near Pensacola hearing the good news came into town to be present when the free distribu- tion should take place. The Conservative ticket carried the election. Thereupon a mob of negroes, massed in the neighborhood of the town plaza, threatened disturbance. Federal troops were hurried from Fort Barrancas to keep order.^ This was a good beginning for Conservatives, but it was a dangerous beginning and proved to be about the first and last Conservative victory under military rule. These initial political experiences were sufficient to show some men the difficulty which confronted those who would essay to make Conservatives of the blacks. Before taking up the progress of the campaign another political incident * Pensacola Observer, Mch., 30, 1867; N. Y. Herald, Apr. 8, 1867. - Floridian, Apr. 9, 1867 ; A''. Y. Herald, Apr. 17, 1867 ; conversation of the author with Mr. Edward Anderson of Pensacola, who was a Conservative leader. BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 457 typical of these times might be mentioned. It was May 20th, " Emancipation Day " for Florida, the day on which General McCook in 1863 had issued general orders an- nouncing freedom. At Tallahassee since an early hour flocks of negroes had been coming into town. By nine o'clock the streets were crowded. Soon a procession of blacks formed at the camp of the Federal troops, and with music booming and flags flying at its head the assembled host began its march down " Main Street ". First came the " Benevolent Societies ", then came the " Independent Blues ", and following, the unofficial crowd in long line. The managers of the parade wished only men in line but were unable to keep the women out. " The sisters would crowd in." About eleven o'clock the procession arrived at Bull Pond, a mile out of Tallahassee. A negro preacher rose "to open the meeting with prayer ". Political resolutions were of- fered at the end of the prayer by a sergeant of the Federal army. They were declared adopted by " the committee " without submitting them to the meeting. Many of the open-mouthed, thick-lipped auditors had no conception what resolutions were. The first speaker of the day arose, James Taylor, negro. He was a fair specimen of his class. His spirit seemed to swing back to the remote land of his ancestors. The spell of Africa was upon him and he spoke with the native elo- quence of his race. Most of his auditors, hardly above voo- dooism, would feel the spell. He said that a short time ago he heard something like a clap of thunder and then he saw something like a flash of lightning, and then he saw the " stars and stripes " coming, which proclaimed freedom. His auditors crooned approval. The white people, he continued, " talk about living in harmony, and yet are always talking about one race being exterminated if they 458 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA did not preserve harmony. Before they [the negroes] should vote for such people let the colored race be extermin- ated." He told his fellow blacks to vote for the "Yankees," who had given them " their privileges ". " You should be thankful to God first and the Yankees next," he said, and continuing, " the country had tried rebels two years, and the freedmen had not gotten justice," in proof of which he said that his wife had a suit in the courts now and the " nasty, stinking law-officer was trying his best to swindle her out of her property." More black orations of similar quality followed. In- justice borne, future votes, and general invective against the native white were their burthen. Finally, a white man was speaking — some carpet-bagger. Slavery, he said, had been swept away and the blacks were as good as whites. In Charleston the authorities had given the " colored man " the right to ride on the street cars. For the edification of the crowd he related what was termed " an instance of a Southern man in New York," pointless but illustrative of a sinister tendency. The Southern white man it seems was taken by a friend to church and when he got there he found a negro in the man's pew. The Southern white man said, "Why, how is this? You've got a negro in your pew." " But," replied his friend, " he's worth $50,000." " Oh! " exclaimed the Southerner, " introduce him to me at once." (Received with shouts by the crowd of blacks.) The speak- ing was followed by " a dinner " managed by the secret societies who fed a host of blacks already beginning to roar because of liquor. The late afternoon was consumed with more radical speeches, firing of guns, pulling of razors, and near the end of the festivities a barber-politician. Green Davidson, attempted " riding through the crowd." His efforts ended in a " grand fight ".^ * Taken from an account in Floridian, May 21, 1867. The Floridian BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 459 Other political picnics and rallies similar to this occurred in many other localities of Florida during the golden, swel- tering summer months of 1867. The outlook was gloomy for those wishing peace. Soon after inauguration of the congressional plan of reconstruction, Conservative leaders in Florida began to try for the political control of the negro. They were suspected and generally unpopular among their ex-slaves. Their method was to speak at negro meetings, where by threats and persuasion they tried to counteract the influence of Radical leaders, who drew their inspiration and funds prob- ably from the North. The Southerner was a poor mixer with the blacks. To move with them socially was against his training and against his instincts. Negro mass meet- ings were often gotten up by white Conservatives. In Pensacola Hayes Satterlee, an aged negro who es- poused the cause of his one-time master, called upon those of his race " to come out of the shade into the pure air." This was his text for an attack upon the secret political so- cieties which were attracting so many blacks. In the old negro's invocation " to come out of the shade into the pure air " we have a resume of a large part of Conservative stump speeches during 1867. The attack on Lincoln Brotherhoods and Union Leagues was bitter and sustained.^ In Tallahassee, on April 12th, Mr. Hogue and Mr. Papy, was a Conservative journal, but in comparing i's account with that of a similar event by an intelligent black who took part, John Wallace, we find the same features emphasized ; see Wallace, Carpetbag Rule, p. 39. Also compare with Rpt. Col. Sprague on negro Emancipation Day procession, A'^. Y. Tribune, Feb. 20, 1867. * Another negro, Wm. Martin of Lake City (a free negro under slavery) in an "Address " to those of his own race advised against breaking with ihe Southern whites and particularly aga'nst being made " political slaves of — mere tools to be used when wanted and then cast aside — and therefore I say to you keep aloof from the secret societies — let politics alone," etc. — Floridian, June 25, 1867. 460 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA prominent ex-slave-holders, spoke to an assemblage of blacks, and promptly at the conclusion of their remarks in- temperate and offensive speeches were made by several negroes/ On the 20th, again in Tallahassee, a mass-meet- ing of blacks was addressed by Governor Walker and Judge Mcintosh. The public square was filled with negroes. Some people feared violent contact between the races, but the white speakers were heard with respectful attention. However, at the conclusion of the advice and warning by the state's chief executive and a well-known judge, resolu- tions were adopted which declared : " We cherish no ill-will against our former masters, but the freedom-loving people of the North deserve our thanks for our freedom. Re- solved, ... to identify ourselves with the Republican Party." ^ In Quincy, April 17th, blacks and whites met, and men of both races spoke — the white speakers being Judge Dupont, chief justice of the supreme court, and two well-known planters. Colonel C. B. Love and Colonel R. H. M. Davidson, all ex-slave-holders.^ In Tallahassee an- other mass-meeting took place on the 27th. Judge Douglas of the supreme court and Mr. Wescott, attorney-general, spoke.^ During the month of May similar mass-meetings of blacks and Conservative whites were held in Ocala,"^^ Lake city," Monticello,'^ Jacksonville, and Gainesville.® * Floridian, Apr. 15, 1867. 2 Floridian, Apr. 23, 1867 ; N. Y. Tribune, Apr. 30, 1867 ; N. F. Herald, Apr. 30, 1867. ' Quincy Commonwealth, Apr. 23, 1867. * Floridian, Apr. 30, 1867. ^Quotation from E. Fla. Banner, Floridian, May 3, 1867 — about 1000 present. ^ From Florida Times, Floridian, May 7, 1867; also May 21, 1867. Meeting was Apr. 26. Eight negro speakers. Tone conciliatory, but all for Repub. party. Resolutions condemned Pres. Johnson. '' Floridian, May 7, 1867. Meeting Apr. 30. 8 Rpt. of Col. Sprague, A^. Y. Tribune, June 13, 1867. He stated BEGINNING OF RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 461 Crowds of negroes attended these meetings. The inter- est of blacks in secret societies, religion, and political dis- cussion was beginning to interfere with work on the plan- tations. At a Lake City meeting the local Freedmen's Bureau agent publicly advised the negroes to send delegates to represent them at future political rallies, as it was un- profitable for all to come. ^ Much of the violent and incendiary talk by negroes at this time was probably the talk of those who wished to as- tonish and who were in love with the sound of their own voices. Green Davidson, a notorious and robust negro fire- eater of Florida, would sometimes take up a collection in his hat from his white hearers — ex-masters mostly — after a particularly fiery and revolutionary speech directed against them. But back of it all was an ugly and insolent spirit of opposition to the white man who refused to mingle with the blacks on terms of social equality. On the other hand, a good deal of talk by Southern whites was not seriously meant at first. Threats of eco- nomic retaliation, of turning the negro away from work if he did not vote the right way, were far more easily made than executed. Would the Bureau and Federal military allow such retaliation ? Could the white employer afford to "turn off" his negro employees? Who could take their places? The more enlightened and shrewder blacks saw into the situation. " It is difficult to say what course the white people of the state will take to control the negro vote," wrote Colonel Sprague.^ At the time that this observation that at Jacksonville 2.000 blacks assembled; Gainesville, 2,000; Lake City, 3,000; Tallahassee, 5,000. ^ Floridian, May 7, 1867. * N. Y. Tribune, June 13, 1867. 462 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA was made the whites, as we have seen, were attempting this control by attacking in public speech the secret societies, by advising co-operation between black and native whites, by vague promises of just treatment and political rights, and by vague threats of economic retaliation for those who should support the Radical party. The Conservative did not promise the negro the ballot. The Radical did promise it to him and drilled him to use it. It might be well to turn attention now to this question of Radical political organi- zation which went rapidly forward while the state was under militarv rule. CHAPTER XVIII Registration and the Organization of Local Parties, 1867 The paramount power in the state from March 15th, 1867, to July 4th, 1868, was the Federal military. Post command- ers ruled while the Congressional plan of reconstruction was being applied. Local civil government weakly existed as the every-day instrument of record and litigation, but completely subject to the military.^ Federal courts were in session ^ and the post-office department continued to deliver mails, although the number of post-offices was reduced from 181 to 85 before June, 1867.^ Four days after Gen- eral Pope assumed command he instructed all post com- manders " to report as soon as practicable any failure of civil tribunals or officers to render equal justice to the peo- ple, and whilst not interfering with the functions of the civil officers," they were directed to give particular atten- tion to the " manner in which such functions are dis- charged." * The legislature did not meet. The governor did not attempt to enforce the law. No elections were al- lowed by the military. Vacancies in office were filled by military appointment.^ Only a few removals from office * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 1st S., no. 342, pp. 114-131; Floridian, Apr. 26, May 10, June 14, 1867. ' Floridian, June 14, 1867. » Rpt. P. M. Gen., 1867-8, p. 38. * Sen. Ex. Docs., 40th C, ist S., no. 14, pp. 108-9; Gen. Ord. no. 4, 3rd Mil. Dist., Apr. 4, 1867. ' Ihid., p. 128, Sp. Ord., no. 20 (Appt. of justice of peace in Her- 463 464 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA by the military were made in Florida, and the officers were minor ones.^ The Republican Club of Jacksonville tried to force Gov- ernor Walker's removal but failed.^ At the head of this arbitrary government stood General Pope, stationed at Atlanta, Georgia. Under him was Colonel Sprague in Tallahassee. Under Sprague were the post commanders from lieutenant to lieutenant-colonel, stationed in every town in Florida. The will of the commander was backed by the troops composing the garrisons. The military brooked no embarrassments from action of the courts. "No civil court," stated general orders of August 2nd, 1867, " will hereafter entertain any action whatever against officers or soldiers or any person for acts performed in accord with orders from the military authorities or by their sanction."^ Shortly after, August 19th, general orders directed all judges to submit on demand all papers in any case to military headquarters on pain of arrest and trial before military commission if they did not comply. The same day the same power similarly ordained that " grand and petit jurors and all other jurors for the trial of cases civil or criminal or for the administration of law " * be taken exclusively from voters registered under the Reconstruction Acts — which meant that for the time nando, Fla.) ; p. 135, Sp. Ord., no. 40 (Appt. of member city council at Apalachicola to fill vacancy caused by death.) H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 342, p. 122, Sp. Ord., no. 27 (Appt. mayor, council and marshal for town of Gainesville), p. 126, Sp. Ord., no. 238 (Appt. cir- cuit judge to fill vacancy caused by death) et£., An. Cyclo., 1867, proclam. of Gov. Marvin, June 18, in regard to vacancies in civil offices. ' For instance, Suwanee News, Oct. 9, 1867. 2/oMr. Repub. Club, May 2, 1867. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C., 2nd S., no. 342, p. 109. * Ibid., p. no. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 465 many of the largest property-holders and most respected whites in Florida could not sit on juries or take any part whatever in the deliberation of courts. Florida did not suffer much material hardship from military rule. The people were more or less used to it by 1867. Federal officers generally stood for a certain sort of law and order and peace. When it became apparent that the negroes of Central Florida were attending night meet- ings under arms, orders were promptly issued forbidding them under severe penalty from congregating at night with arms in the counties of Leon, Jackson, Calhoun, Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, and Tay- lor.^ To keep whiskey from aggravating any trouble be- tween blacks and whites during the July 4th celebrations, all bar-rooms were closed by military order from July 3rd to July 6th.- Military courts supplanted the civil courts when the civil tribunals were distrusted.^ In more ways than merely keeping order did General Pope desire his soldiers to be instruments for bringing to pass a thorough application of Congress's plans. Soldiers sat on registration boards; a few appointments and re- movals were made in civil office by military orders ; officials opposing reconstruction were threatened by post command- ers ; state printing and advertising were withheld by military orders from those journals opposing Congres- sional reconstruction ; * and finally, the division of the state ' Gen. Orel, no. 30, An. Cyclo., 1867; Floridian, June 28, 1867. "" An. Cyclo., 1867. ' Sen. Ex. Docs., 40ih C, ist S., no. 14, p. 93, Gen. Ord., no. i (Fla.) Apr. I, 1867, pp. 108-9, Gen. Ord., no. 4, Apr. 4, 1867. H. Ex. Docs., 40th C., 2nd S., no. 342, Gen. Ord., no. 7, Jan. 11, 1868; Gen. Ord., no. 10, Jan. 15, 1868. * H. Ex. Docs., 4Cth C, 2nd S., no. 342, p. 131, Gen. Ord., no. 22, Feb. 2, 1868. 466 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA into election districts by General Pope had about it certainly the traces of sharp political practice. The first large task of the military commander was ac- complishing the registration of prospective voters under the Reconstruction Acts. By order of April 8th, General Pope began the work. The thirty-nine counties were grouped in nineteen registration districts or " divisions ". In each " division " was a registration board of three per- sons appointed by Pope on the advice of state commander Sprague. " It is desirable that in all cases registers shall be civilians, where it is possible to obtain such," ran the orders of April 8th. Colonel Sprague was authorized to appoint one or more " supervisors of registration ", whose business it should be to visit the various points where regis- tration was being carried on, to inspect the operations of the registers, and to assure themselves that every man entitled to vote has " the necessary information concerning his political rights ".^ General instructions were issued to registers on June ist. They were directed to proceed to register all male citizens of the United States within their jurisdiction, twenty-one years old and upwards, irrespective of color or previous condition, who should subscribe to the required oath. " You will cause the fact of your appointment to be made known throughout the district by all means within your reach," stated the instructions — " hand-bills, letters, notices posted in public places, such as election polls, post-offices, cross-roads, taverns, stores, etc." The registration boards were directed to visit " each and every election precinct in each and every county," spending in each precinct the "num- ber of days necessary to complete the registration." In proceeding to register they were " to read distinctly to the ' Sen. Ex. Docs., 40th C, ist S., no. 14, pp. 107-110. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 467 person or persons to be registered the oath prescribed by law and printed on the books of registration." Each person to be enrolled must sign " a separate copy in the book," and having taken " the prescribed oath " in the presence of the registers must receive a signed and numbered registration certificate.^ Special instructions were issued by Pope to the Florida boards on June 17th. They were forbidden to register any one-time Federal or state official who " afterwards en- gaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States or gave aid and comfort to the enemies thereof." The in- structions included among such proscribed persons members of Congress and all local officers down to and including " mayors and intendants of towns and citizens who are ex officio justices of the peace." ^ The work went forward slowly. Negroes and soldiers often sat on the registration boards. The " Iron Clad Oath " was required of those performing the functions of registrars or " registers ". Ex-Confederates could not take it without perjuring themselves and therefore most native whites were not eligible. The registration boards moved from place to place within their counties.^ Registration in Florida began July 15th and continued till September 20th.* The man who supervised and directed it was Colonel Hart, of Jacksonville, a Southerner and one-time " Union man ". He was appointed superintendent of registration on June 13th by General Pope.^ In order ^ Sen. Ex. Docs., 40th C, ist S., no. 14, pp. 1 19-120. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 342, pp. 106-107. ' For examples of how board was expected to work, see notice of Board of Registration for Putnam Coun y, Floridian, Aug. g, 1867. * An. Cyc'o., 1867; Gen. Order, no. 21 extended the registration period from Aug. 20th to Sept. 20th ; see Floridian, Sept. 6, 1867. ' H. Ex. Docs., 40lh C, 2nd S., no. 342, p. 122, Gen. Ord.. no. 43; An. Cycle, 1867. 468 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to be registered the individual was required to answer satis- factorily practically any questions that the registrars wished to ask him. The boards exercised the power of going be- hind the oath and throwing out an applicant on his record as they understood it.^ The object was to register only the " truly loyal ". The registrars were directed by the military to see to it that the civil officials of the state did not discourage " the people " in taking an active part in " Reconstruction ". The names of all such officers " dis- couraging Reconstruction " were called for at military^ headquarters.^ Furthermore, General Pope paid each re- gister so much per head for those persons registered by him. "The object of graduating the pay of registers." stated Pope, " is to make sure that the entire freedmen's vote will be brought out ". Pope prepared to crush South- ern whites with negro majorities.^ The Freedmen's Bureau aided the registration boards in lining-up the negroes for enrollment.* When the order was published which divided Florida into nineteen election districts a useless protest went up from the Conservative journals.^ The state was in process of being " gerrymandered " by the matching of counties and the apportionment of representation.^ To certain counties where the black vote would be overwhelmingly ' Floridian, Sep. 20, 1867. For a general discussion of this question in the South see Rhodes, v. vi, pp. 79-82. ^ An. Cyclo., 1867; Gen. Ord., no. 41, July 19. ' H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 1st S., no. 20, p. 40. * H. Rpts., 41st C, 2nd S., no. 121, pp. 47-48 statement of Col. Sprague. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C. 2nd S., no. 342, pp. 1 14-16, Gen. Ord., no. 74, Oct. 5, 1867. Floridian, Oct. 15, 1867. See Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, PP- 49-50. He points out that five of the less populous counties (white) were excluded from representation. 'Floridian, Oct. 8, 1867. Editorial on "Skillful Gerrymandering". See charge of Conservatives against Pope, An. Cyclo., 1867. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 469 greater than the white, counties were added where the white vote would be greater than the black, but not great enough to overcome the lead of the black vote in the con- solidated counties composing the district. Such an arrange- ment made effective use of actual negro majorities. Alto- gether, nine counties which might have sent up delegations to the constitutional convention elected by whites were added by General Pope to black counties, and thus their Conservative strength was absorbed as ink in blotting paper. The paper in turn became black. If county lines had been respected and as many as twenty per cent of the whites disfranchised, twenty-nine of the thirty-nine counties might have remained under white control, and a bare majority of delegates chosen would have been the choice of Con- servative white electors. In the assigning of representation to districts, General Pope gave preference to those districts certain to be con- trolled by the negroes. For example, the 13th District (Bradford and Clay counties) with a population of about 4,500, mostly whites, was given one delegate; while the 4th District (Gadsden County), population about 7,500, mostly negroes, was given three delegates. The result of registration rendered much gerrymander- ing unnecessary. The figures stood 11,148 white voters and 15,434 black.^ This meant that less than 10,000 Con- servatives faced more than 16,000 Radicals. About thirty per cent of the whites had been disfranchised or had refrained from registering.^ The bulk of the negroes were regis- ^ Floridian, Oct. 8th, 1867; An. Cyclo., 1867; N. Y. Tribune, Oct. 7th, 1867. The Tribune's figures are slightly inaccurate. In the 2nd, 5th, 10 h, 13th, i6th, 17th, i8th, 19th, dists. the whites had a majority. These districts were assigned 10 of the 46 representalives to be sent to the convention. ' This estimate is based on an average of male adult inhabitants ac- 470 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA tered at an earlier date than the whites. The majority of the latter held off until the last few days. When the result of registration was known Conservative leaders advised: "vote for a delegate to a convention but do not vote for a convention.'" ^ According to the Supple- mental Reconstruction Act of March 23rd, no convention would be held unless a majority of the registered voters " shall have voted on the question of holding such conven- tion ". ^ The problem was to comply with the Congres- sional policy and at the same time defeat it. With Radical registration more than 5,000 ahead of Conservative, there was indeed a slim chance to confound Congress by taking it at its own word. In the summer of 1867 two Radical politicians — Daniel Richards, white, of Illinois, and William U. Saunders, black, of Maryland — appeared in Florida.* They were commonly reputed to be representatives of the Republican national committee sent to the state to lead in the local organization of the party.^ Their actual relations with the national committee are not clear. Richards had been in Florida shortly after the war as a Federal treasury agent. ^ The two men soon assumed a leading part in Republican politics cording to the Census of 1867 which gave the white popula ion of Florida as 81,892, but did not distinguish between men, women and children. 1 Floridian, Aug. and Sept., 1867, passim. ' Floridian, Sept. 6;h. 1867. By this date 10,500 blacks had regis- tered and 5,100 whites. The registration books closed Sept. 20th. • Floridian, Oct. i8th and 25th, 1867. * Text of Act, see also Gen. Ord., no. 74, 3rd Mil. Dist. Oct. Sth, H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 342, pp. 114- 116. * Floridian, Feb. 11, 1868. Wallace, Carpet-bag Rule, pp. 44-45; Rerick, Memoirs of Fla., v. i, p. 303. • H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, Rpt. of Comit, (in Fla.> on Eligibility. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 471 within the state. They were particularly prominent in the organization of Union Leagues among the negroes — found- ing new chapters and binding together the whole, chapter by chapter, into a fairly compact political organization/ Another man was soon associated politically with Rich- ards and Saunders. He was an ex-officer of a negro regi- ment and with his regiment had come into Florida as an invader during the war. At the close of hostilities he had settled at Fernandina, East Florida. He wore green spec- tacles, took a great interest in the negroes, delivered on oc- casions rather pulpitish political speeches, called on the name of Jesus from the stump, and was at his best when hurling what was termed " oratorical Billingsgate " at " rebels " and the " poisonous breath of slavery ". This might have been a bad pun, for the man was Liberty Bill- ings, of New Hampshire — tall, slender, black-haired, rough, unscrupulous, hard-fisted in affairs, and thrifty in politics. Billings was at first popular with the negroes. He kissed black babies, spoke often of God, and did his best to stir up strife between the races. ^ That which characterized Billings, Saunders, and Rich- ' Wallace, op. cit., p. 45. Wallace implies that Richards and Saunders founded the first chapters of the Union League in Florida. Both Harrison Reed and Judge Chase spoke of Union Leagues 18 months before this, — see Johnson Papers, Rerick, Memoirs of Fla., V. I, p. 303; Floridian, June 3, 1867 — reference to the founding of the Union League in Jacksonville. Floridian, Apr. 16, 1867, — The Leagues " exist under our very noses and we are told that if we had a list of parlies belonging to them, the list would surprise us," etc. Floridian, June 28, 1867, — " Secret societies are being organized in every county," etc. Floridian, Apr. 26, 1867,—" Union Leagues are formed in a dozen counties with a view of making a strict division in politics and colored citizens have already formed clubs here (Tallahassee) and in St. Augustine, Key West, Palatka, and Pensacola." * See Reference to Billings in Floridian, Feb. 18, 1868; Wallace, op. cit., pp. 45 and 63. 472 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA ards was their fondness for extreme views. They were very radical. Billings was almost Stevenesque in his cantankerous bitterness toward Southern whites and most existing institutions of the South. A more moderate or conservative faction of the Repub- lican party was that grouped about the Republican Club of Jacksonville. The club was organized during March, 1867, in the business office of Colonel O. B. Hart — the Federal chief registrar and one-time " Union-man " of East Florida. It grew steadily. At the end of six weeks some 200 of the most substantial citizens in Jacksonville and the vicinity were enrolled — Northerners and Southerners.^ The club was alive and doing. It met twice a week, sent its representatives to different points within the state to take part in the negro mass-meetings," called on the Fed- eral military to investigate alleged violence and injustice to blacks,* proffered advice to the commander of Federal troops in Florida, intrigued for the removal by the mili- tary of certain civil officials of the state,* and finally engi- neered the first real state convention of the Republican party in Florida.^ Speaking from a knowledge of after history this organi- zation had among its members most of the brains and in- fluence at the party's disposal in Florida. Two future Re- ^ See Journal of the Union-Se publican Club of Jacksonville, MSS. Florida Historical Society, Jacksonville. The Club was organized, Mch. 27, 1867, at the business office of Col. O. B. Hart. Hart was chairman of this first meeting. C. L. Robinson, H. Bisbee, Jr., J. C. Greely, and N. C. Dennett were among those associated in founding the club. * Journal of Union-Repub. Club, Apr. 25, 1867. ' Ibid., May 30, 1867. * Ibid., Apr. 8, 11, and 18 and June 13, 1867. * Ibid., May 2, 1867. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 473 publican governors were members of the club — Reed and Hart. On issuing a call for a state convention at Talla- hassee, the Jacksonville club after long discussion pointedly- refrained from calling a " Radical Union-Republican " convention.^ It dropped the word " Radical ". The inci- dent is suggestive of its character. Certainly it was less radical than the Billings, Saunders, and Richards faction. A third element of the Republican party in Florida was the group led by Colonel T. W. Osborn. It included most of the Freedmen Bureau agents and the negro secret order known as the Lincoln Brotherhood." Osborn was a pro- ficient politician who did not indulge in radical tirades. He has been discussed in a foregoing chapter. He was the official head of the Freedmen's Bureau in Florida until June nth, 1866,^ and was Head Master of the Lincoln Brotherhood, In the foregoing we have the three political factions which at the time, 1867, made up the local Republican or- ganization — Billings, Saunders, and Richards with the Union Leagues; Hart, Robinson, Reed, and others of the Jacksonville Republican Club with some capital and busi- ness prestige ; and T. W. Osborn with the Bureau and the Lincoln Brotherhood. In estimating the strength of Republican organization in Florida, the other factors to be considered are the Federal military and the Federal postal, customs, judicial, and in- ternal revenue ofificials.* Also the Supplemental Recon- ' Journal of Union-Republican Club, May 9, 1867. * Wallace, op. cit., pp. 42, 45. Wallace is practically the only source substantiating this statement. An Osborn faction certainly existed. Osborn was an active Bureau official ; see H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 1st S., no. 70; 2nd S., no. 6; N. Y. World, May 31, 1866, etc. * H. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 2nd S., no. 6, pp. 43-44- * United States Official Register, 1867. Exclusive of Bureau agents 474 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA struction Act of March 23rd provided for registration boards composed of those who could take the " Ironclad Oath." This requirement effectually barred most Conser- vatives from participating in revising the voting lists. The vast work of registration fell to negroes, Southern loyalists or " scalawags ", the Federal military, and carpet-baggers.^ These men when dishonest " doctored " the lists. When honest, they were inclined toward spreading very decidedly Radical and not Conservative ideas. By these various agencies the Republican or Union- Republican party was destined to bring into effective use and hold in line the negro vote. " Let us do nothing to con- fuse their [negroes'] minds," cannily wrote Colonel Hart, later state superintendent of registration, "but do all in our power to keep them full and firm in their present faith." " The faith was Republicanism. Results showed that Radical politicians were at work and were laboring effectively. " When we look around us we see loyalists straining every nerve to get the entire negro vote. To this end they are working day and night. . . , Night after night they have meetings and musterings, har- anguings and sermons, singing and praying, all looking to political results," stated the Floridian.^ The Republican state convention called by the Jackson- ville Republican Club assembled in Tallahassee on July there were 132 Federal office-holders in the state at this time, besides 17 individuals and 3 R. R. corporations who were mail con ractors with the Federal Postal Dept. The distribu ion of the offices was as follows: 80 postmasters; 43 customs officers and assistants; one in- ternal revenue assessor; one register and one receiver of Fed. lands; two district judges; two district attorneys, and two U. S. marshals. ^ See discussion of Col. Sprague's policy, Floridian, Apr. 26, 1867. * Floridian, July 2, 1867. • Floridian, June 28, 1867. I ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 475 iith.^ Thirty counties were represented. 125 delegates were recorded as present." About one-half of the number were negroes. It was the first real state-wide convention of the Republican party in Florida and was justly termed " a mixed multitude ".^ The object of Radical leaders was to bring together into more coherent shape on local matters the various factions of Republicans and to " impress " the blacks. The political text of most of the convention speakers, black and white, was the dishonesty, extravagance, and injustice of the Conservative state government. The state tax rate was attacked, the action of the legislature in appropriating funds for Confederate widows and orphans was violently de- nounced, and resolutions were passed calling on General Pope to revoke the law ; and finally the state treasurer was accused of misappropriating school funds.* The truth in any of the charges is not apparent now, and probably never was apparent. The organization of the convention accentuated that fac- tional alignment already discernible among Republicans.^ The committee on nominations failed to agree on a perma- nent chairman. It brought in two reports. The majority * Journal Un.-Reptib. Club, May 2, 1867. Floridian, July 2, 9, and 12, 1867. Col. Hart proposed that in each county, county mass meet- ings be held and political organization perfected. * An. Cyclo., 1867; Floridian, July 12, 1867. This estimate of the number of delegates is high and probably inaccurate. * Floridian, July 12, 1867. * Floridian, June 14; July 16 and 26; Aug. 9, 1867. An. Cyclo., 1867. Before and after this convention the Conservative and Radical news- papers had engaged in more or less violent controversy over state finance. * The Jacksonville Times and the Florida Union, both Radical sheets, had for some weeks been engaged in a war of words which indicated hostility between the native loyalists and Northern Republicans. See also Reed to Blair, June 26, 1865, Johnson Palmers. 476 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA proposed T. W. Osborn, chief of the Bureau and a North- ern man; the minority, Colonel O. B. Hart, of the Jackson- ville Republican Club, a Southern loyalist. In the debate which followed the submission of the two reports, Liberty Billings bitterly and loudly opposed Hart. He said that Hart was a Southern man and had lived too long in the atmosphere of slavery to be trusted. Only a Northern man, he said, could undertsand the true spirit of " liberty and Unionism ". These sentiments were vociferously ap- plauded by the negroes. On the putting of the question to a vote Hart was defeated nineteen to twenty-eight. He left by the next train for Jacksonville.^ " The finale of the contest for chairmanship of the late convention at Tallahassee characterized the convention to its close," observed the Times, a Radical journal of Jack- sonville. " Two opinions or policies are distinctly enun- ciated — the one appreciative of and admitting the loyal ele- ment to an equality in the work of reconstruction; the other, ignoring that element in toto." " " Already the birds of passage so long on the wing have staid their soaring to and fro," cynically stated the Conservative Floridian, "and with accordant swoops would fain settle themselves on the prey scented from afar." ^ The " birds of passage " referred to were Northern men who came into the state seeking political office or political favors from the Federal government or from negro voters. Most of them arrived between 1865 and 1868 as Federal officials, would-be planters, merchants, or professional men. Some were in no sense " birds of pas- sage," having come South after the war not primarily for * Floridian, July 12, 1867. ' Florida Times, Aug. 8 — The Bureau and Lincoln Brotherhood were declared to be working against the " Hart interests." ' Floridian, Sept. 6, 1867. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES ■ 477 politics or temporary jobs, but rather to make homes where business and professional opportunities non-political seemed most promising. Circumstances soon encouraged such men to enter politics, and not infrequently they became as bad as " birds of passage ". In examining the careers of political leaders during the Reconstruction period we find that at least twelve North- erners played prominent parts as Republican leaders in Florida, namely, Reed of Wisconsin, Purman of Pennsyl- vania, Richards of Illinois, Jenkins of New York(?), Dennis of Massachusetts, Osborn of New Jersey, Gleason of Wisconsin, Alden of Massachusetts, Hamilton of Penn- sylvania, Billings of New Hampshire, and Stearns and Bis- bee of Maine. All of the foregoing except Richards came into the state before 1867 and therefore before the blacks were enfranchised by act of Congress.^ Eight of the fore- going. Osborn, Billings, Alden, Stearns, Bisbee, Jenkins, Dennis, and Hamilton, were ex-officers of the Union army, and five of them had entered the state before 1866. Nine of the twelve were hona-Ude citizens of Florida by the spring of 1867. Some had families and some had none. ^ Reed, first Repub. Governor, arrived in Fla. in 1862 as Tax Com- missioner: H. Ex. Docs., 38th C, 2nd S., no. 18; Reed to Blair, Johnson Papers. Purman came to Fla. in 1866 from Washington (City) as Fed. officeholder: H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22 (Ku Klux), V. 13, p. 149. Richards came to Fla. in 1865, and Jenkins in 1865: Florida Union, Feb. 22, 1868. Dennis came to Fla. in 1866: (Ku Klux), V. 13, pp. 267, 270. Osborn came to Fla. in 1865: Floridian, June 23, 1868. Gleason came to Fla. in 1866: Floridian, July 7, 1868; Fla. Reports, 1868, ouster case of Lt. Gov. Gleason. Alden came to Fla. in 1865 or 6 (?) : Floridian, Nov. 3. 1868; N. Y. lVor!d, Nov. 3, 1868. Hamilton came to Fla. in 1864: (Ku Klux), v. 13, pp. 281. 285; Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 35, pt. i, pp. 298, 337. Billings came to Fla. in 1863 with the army: Off. Reds. RebelL, s. i, v. 14. pp. 232, 238-9, 860-61. S' earns came to Fla. in 1865 or 6: (Ku Klux), v. 13, P- 75- Bisbee came to Fla. in 1865: Rerick, Memoirs of Fla.. v. i, p. 441; (Ku Klux), V. 13, pp. 305-8. 478 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The prospective triumph of a radical Congress during 1866, and its definitive triumph the year following in en- franchising the blacks through the Reconstruction Laws, developed the white wing of the Radical party South. Backed by negro votes it could amount to something locally. The native white Republican of Florida — termed by oppo- nents " scalawag " — found at first that leadership of the negroes was largely in the hands of the late arrivals from the North, for very actually, " From New Hampshire's green mountains, From Old Nantucket's strand, From Lake Ontario's fountains, And Huron's golden sands, From Old Wisconsin's River And famed Iowa's plains, They were there to deliver The state to negro chains. " They love the spicy breezes That blow from Afric's shore, A scent that so well pleases. Who would not long for more? Thick lips and coal-black faces The gifts of God are shown; They'll take these dusky races And mingle with their own. " Should those whose souls are lighted From wisdom from On High Wait still to be invited Before they hither fly? When offices are waiting And plunder is to reap? Not at the present stating. When carpet-bags are cheap." ^ The record of the Republican convention at Tallahassee showed unmistakably a split in the party's ranks. The » " The Song of the Carpet-Bagger," N. Y. World, Sept. 30, 1868, with slight changes. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES ^yij Radical papers of Jacksonville — the Times and the Union — confirmed the truth by their editorials.' A fight was on between *' scalawag " and " carpet-bagger ". Numerically neither class was large. Less than 500 Northern Repub- licans and maybe 1,500 " scalawags " is a safe estimate.' The Conservative white wished each class to destroy the other. He considered the average " Yankee " South a meddlesome interloper spreading pernicious social doc- trine and bent on selfish gain from politics. He did not see in him merely a new neighbor (as he would to-day) needing help to get on his feet, seeking probably an honest living, and wishing friends among his own race in a strange land. He detested the native white Republican about as much as he did the " Yankee ". In him he saw not simply an old Southern neighbor who might honestly and respect- ably differ from Conservatives on political questions — as, for instance, Democrat had differed from Whig before the war — but a turncoat, a " disgraceful nigger-lover " who was recreant to his race and who sought political prefer- ment at any cost. " All men have the undoubted right in our country to think and act for themselves on all political questions," de- clared one Florida " scalawag " in publicly defending his position. He might have added : " But they do so now at their peril, South and North ". What he did add was : " In ' FJoridian, Sept. 6, 1867. * An estimate based upon the following estimates and discussions : Floridian, Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, 1867; A^^. V. Hera'd, Dec. 2, 1867 (Jacksonville letter) ; H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, p. 219; Judge Long said in 1871 that previous to the last election (1870) it v/as calculated that "about 400 or 500 Northern men" were "Republi- cans" and "about 1500 or 1600 Southern men." The white wing of the Republican Party was more numerous in 1869-70 than in 1867. Only 1220 white votes (about 1000 were Republican) were cast in the election of 1868. 48o RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA defending the exercise of this right one who is in the minor- ity may be as sincere and upright in the belief he entertains as his neighbor who happens to be in the majority." ^ This is a platitude and meant nothing vital here. The fact that the scalawag and carpet-bagger were often leaders " in the majority " composed mainly of blacks had something to do with their being assailed so hotly by fellow whites who were " in the minority ". When the majority became tyrannical and corrupt the minority became correspondingly more bitter and uncompromising. Many a worthy " Yankee " who settled in the South after the war was received coldly by his Southern white neighbors. The Florida carpet-bagger was about right when he testified before the Reconstruction Committee in 1866: "They [Southern white Conservatives] have a bitter aversion to what they term a Yankee ; that is a Union man." ^ This was part of the war's heritage. A new- comer from the North was usually persona non grata. To be reputed a Republican was to be reputed an enemy of the Conservative white, and therefore in the eyes of many Conservative whites, an enemy of the white race. Now when politics complicated matters, when white men came out openly in the South as the henchmen of the Radi- cal Republican party and the political intimates of the black, condemnation by the Conservative was swift and lasting. Previous coldness became social ostracism. " I have lived here seven years," stated Republican Judge Archibald of Florida, " and my family have lived here for the same length of time and I don't remember of ever being ^ Floridian, Jan. 4, 1867, Open letter of Jno. W. Price, who had been a " Unionist " during the war. 2 Testimony of Jno. W. Recks, Fed. Customs Collector, Pensaccla, before Reconstruction Committee, H. Rpts., 39th C, ist S., no. 30, p. i (Florida) ; also see H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, p. 133. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 481 invited into a Southern gentleman's house. The social relations are entirely disconnected. It is a deliberate plan to ostracise Northern people who express any sentiments in politics favorable to the Republican party." ^ Sometimes in the midst of personal misfortune and trials, when help and sympathy of neighbors were desired and needed, the Northerner found himself and his family pathetically alone. " My wife was very ill for many weeks," said one ex-carpet-bagger to me. " And she was burning up with fever and the white neighbors did not come to see her, except one lady with a kind heart. They left us to the niggers. And when the worst had happened and it was time to carry her to the grave only me and the niggers followed the coffin." ^ The terms " carpet-bagger " and " scalawag " were loosely applied and loaded with opprobrium and contempt. " Most of the carpet-baggers that I know anything about were a dirty set — unscrupulous and pandered to the ne- groes. They mixed with blacks on terms of social equal- ity," ^ stated a Conservative years after, and the record of Reconstruction substantiates his judgment. " They call me a carpet-bagger," stated an inoffensive gentleman from Massachusetts. " The term applies to those who come down here and sympathize with the Re- publican party. They call me a carpet-bagger and I have ' Sen. Rpfs., 44th C, 2nd S., no. 611, p. 277. Archibald was from III. The mass of testimony contained in this document and in the H. R{>ts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, supports the generalization that Northern Republicans were socially ostracised. 2 Personal interview of the author with a one-time carpet-bagger of Escambia Co., Fla. 3 Personal interview of the author with a Conservative of Pensa- cola. What was said to the author was in substance repeated in Mari- anna, Quincy, and Tallahassee by other gentlemen who had lived through the period in Fla. They presented the conservative point of view years after. 482 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA not the least disposition to run for an office and gave them to understand plainly that I did not want any office ; that I had all the political honors I wanted in the North. I was Chairman of the Board of Selectmen in the town of Mai- den." ^ But this honor did not lift him above suspicion with some of Florida's ignorant. He hung an American flag over his front door after marching in a Republican pro- cession and next morning received a note saying: "Take your God-damn Yankee flag and go to Hell." ^ This is not a very fit sentiment but the times were not very fit times. " I am a carpet-bagger," scribbled some passing satirist in depicting the situation in the South. " I've a brother scalawag — Come South to boast and swagger With an empty carpet-bag, To rob the whites of green-backs And with the blacks go bunk And change my empty satchel For a full sole- leather trunk. I'm some on constitution For a late rebellious stale; And I'm some on persecution Of disloyal men I hate; I'm some at nigger meetings When white folks aint about; And some among the nigger gals When their marms don't known they're out." ■' The white Conservatives sought the control of the negro vote, and leaders urged whites to register. Registration was declared to be the duty of every white man. " It is the only way to save the state. It is his duty." * Specu- ^ Testimony of John T. Abbott of Jacksonville before the Senate Committee (U. S.) on Privileges and Elections, 1876, — Sen. Rpts.. 44th C, 2nd S., no. 611. pp. 299-300. ' Ibid., p. 299. * A^ Y. World, Sept. 30, 1867—" The Carpet-Bagger." ^Madison County Messenger, Aug. 9, 1867; Floridian, June 21, 25, 28, 1867. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 483 lative estimates of Conservative and Radical strength in the coming elections were anxiously indulged in. Most of the whites of Florida were Conservative. Before many months of military rule had passed it was evident that most of the negroes were strongly Republican. The Census of i860 gave the number of whites as yy,y4y; blacks, 62,677. By a special state census of 1867 the figures stood — whites, 81,994; blacks, 72,666.^ Many of the native white loyalists of Florida became Republicans — " scalawags ". The size of the latter class was variously estimated from 1,000 to 2,000 voters.^ On the other hand, the disfranchising clause of the Military Bill would greatly reduce Conservative registration. It was commonly estimated that one-fifth of the native whites would be disfranchised.^ These condi- tions made the prospective voting strength of the Radicals several thousands greater than that of the Conservatives. Yet by controlling the negroes in a populous county or two the Conservatives could win. Following the Union-Republican convention in Talla- hassee the Southern whites began by counties to organize the " Union-Conservative party " on a basis of the Recon- struction Acts of Congress.* A county convention was held at St. Augustine on July 22nd, and another at Talla- hassee on August 24th. At the Tallahassee meeting reso- lutions were adopted which declared that " what the coun- try needs is peace." The people were asked to come to- gether to restore the state government on a platform inde- pendent of either great party, and based solely on the Re- * Floridian during 1867 (Census reports were published from time to time). Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. i, p. 301. » H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, p. 219. ' iV. Y. World, Sept. 30, 1867. For a general discussion of dis- franchisement under the Mi'itary Bill see Rhodes, U. S., v. 6, pp. 79-81. * St. Augustine Examiner, July 27, 1867; An. Cyclo., 1867. 484 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA construction Acts as a finality. Some of the clauses of these resolutions were taken verbatim from the letters of General Pope, the Federal military commander of the Third District. The spirit of the convention v^as one of quick and ready compliance -with the will of Congress. To the Radical who would make reconstruction a purging and punitive process, there was something exasperating in this. Blacks and whites were present in the convention hall.^ It was here that A. J. Peeler, an ex-slaveholder, made his opening speech in this locally memorable campaign for the control of the black as a voter. He was an effective stump speaker and what he said epitomizes picturesquely some of the views of the Conservatives. Referring to the Union Leagues, he said to the blacks on this occasion : There are some of you who are members of these Leagues. How did you join them? Was it at a meeting like this in broad, open daylight ? No ; it was when owls were hooting from the trees in the swamps and bats had left their holes, that away ofT in some obscure nook or corner, under lock and key, you were made to swear to a long riggamarole of stuff that you did not understand, and then, after swearing to it, you were told that you would be guilty of false swearing if you did not keep your oath. . . . They [" Yankees "] say that they set you free. Well, then, be free. They are afraid to trust you. Why do they skulk about in the dark unless they know their cause will not stand the light? . . . What have these Radicals done for you since they set you free? In the first place, they have made you pay three cents a pound on cotton, when they knew that you would have to sweat in the hot sun and make it in cotton fields. If you raise four bales of cotton, the tax is $50.00.^ ^ Floridian, Aug. 27, 1867. 150 black and white "delegates" were present. The convention met in the county court house, which was packed with spectators. Thos. Randall was chosen president of the body. He was said to be a brother of the Postmaster-General. ' Flnridian, Aug. 30, 1867. Peeler opposed the policy of Benj. Hill ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 485 Mass-meetings participated in by negroes and white Con- servatives were held at Crawfordville, Waukeena/ Monti- cello, and Tallahassee * — all in the most populous portion of Central Florida. Whites and blacks spoke. The whites reiterated promises of equal political rights for the two races. The blacks not infrequently became violent in their talk — " impudent ", the Southerner calls it — and announced what was termed " Wendell Philips Doctrine ", which was that the property of the one-time masters belonged really to the one-time slaves.^ Few white Republicans spoke in these meetings. Peeler was a prominent figure in this Middle Florida stumping contest. At Monticello he said : "Uncle, who is Governor of Florida?" (pointing to a tall col- ored man in the crowd). "Don't know, Sir." "Who is President of the United States?" (Many voices: "Don't speak.") "Yes, speak and answer the question." "Don't know, sir." "Have you registered?" "Yes, sir." "Going to vote?" " Yes, sir." " My friends, that man has answered for nine-tenths of you. There is not one in ten in this vast crowd who could have answered better. There is Gen. Whitfield and Squire Gadsden, among the best and most intelligent men in the South, who are not allowed to vote. . . . There are three reasons why, if you support Radicals, you cannot get employment here of Georgia. He began his speech on this occasion with a criticism of Hill's ideas. For the Federal cotton tax, see Sen. Ex. Docs., 39th C, 2nd S., no. 2, p. 5. The increase by Congress of the tax on raw CO' ton from 2 to 3 cents per pound and the continuation of the tax called forth strong remonstrance North and South. Particularly was it protested against by the governors of some of the Southern states and the N. Y. Chamber of Commerce. * Floridian, Sept. 3 and 10, 1867. Meetings were Aug. 31, Sept. 2nd. ^ Floridian, Sept. 17, 24. 1867. ' As for instance at the Waukeena meeting, Sept. 3, 1867. 486 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA another year. ( i ) Men cannot carry on their farms as they have been doing and pay the taxes. Jim, would you be in favor of hiring a man who was in favor of taxing you till you were ruined? (2) In supporting Radicals you are the sworn enemy of the Southern whites of this country. Would you hire a man on your plantation that you knew to be your sworn enemy?" "No, sir" (in the crowd). "Neither will the whites. You secret-league men take care of your crop for the balance of the year, for you will need it to take you some- where else. (3) In supporting the Radicals you are in favor of robbery. It is the promise of robbery (by confiscation) that has carried every man of you into the secret leagues. Will the whites hire and give support to men in favor of such things? . . . " We know what you are talking and doing. You are drill- ing over the country. You say the Bureau ordered you to organize and drill so as to be ready to get your rights this winter. What rights do you want? The property of the whites ? You intend to fight for it, do you ? . . . Whenever you get ready strike the blow, and you will see the hell of ruin into which your Radical teachers have brought you." The reference to " drilling " and " striking blows " was not entirely metaphorical. The blacks were beginning to go to secret meetings under arms.^ Floridian. June 28, 1867. Gen. Order, no. 30, An. Cyclo., 1867. During the spring and summer of 1867 lawlessness and ugly behavior among the negroes distinctly increased. For instances : Rape of a white woman by black near Calahan Station, East Florida, N. Y. World, Oct. 5, 1867, extract from Fernandina Courier; negro mob breaks windows of Yulee house at Fernandina, Gainesville "New Era" Sept. 21 ; shooting affray between blacks and whites, Floridian, Aug. 9, 1867; violent entry of a white school house in Leon County by a party of blacks in search of a black who was known as a " con- servative " in politics, — Madison Messenger, Aug. 9, 1867 ; party of blacks try to force entry into the house of a white woman in Madison County to get her son who had " insulted one of their number " ; negroes in Madison County resist in a body attempts by a deputy sheriff to arrest one of them, Madison Mess., Aug. 9. ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 487 Peeler continued: What is the interest of both blacks and whites ? One cannot prosper without the other, and whatever is injurious to one is injurious to the other. The whites complain that they are making nothing. Indeed, they cannot and pay the taxes upon them. [He referred to Federal taxes.] You say you work all the year and at the end have nothing. Do you know any poor men in the country who have land and stock? They work much harder than you do. Their wives and daughters make homespun — all wear homespun — spun through the week — wear home-made shoes ; and yet there is not one in ten who can pay his debts. They don't go to town half as often as you do. They once could raise their meat — had milk and butter all the year ; but now since " freedom " their cows are killed, their hogs are gone. They find it hard to live. You also complain that, after working all the year, you have little or nothing at the end of the year. I will tell you why. You plough in $8.00 or $10.00 high-heel boots and wear store clothes good enough for Sunday. Your wives and daughters sit or lie about the doors of your cabins, dressed in calico, wearing gaiter shoes with red tops, that cost $4.00 to $5.00 a pair.^ The black was not uneasy then over such prosaic eco- nomic details as shoes and cotton. Nor did the possibility of losing his job throw him into a panic of Conservatism. He was interested in politics and " gittin' his rights ". Conservatives came together in a state convention at Tallahassee on September 25th and 26th. The meeting was a sad warning of the party's future. Only five coun- ties were represented — Leon, Wakulla, Columbia, Jefifer- son, and St. Johns. The number of delegates was small but not confined to Southern whites. Some negroes were present. The permanent chairman. Major Van Ess of St. * Floridian, Sept. 17, 1867. 488 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Augustine, had been an officer in the Federal army during the late war.^ The native whites were not exhibiting interest in regis- tering. From Walton County, West Florida, came the re- port: "I fear this class (negroes, carpet-baggers, and, scalawags) will control the county unless a greater interest can be awakened." " What is true of Walton is true of most of the counties in the state," announced the Floridian:' At the end of the first week of August the blacks had re- gistered in Jackson County twelve to the whites one; in Leon, eleven to one ; in Jefferson, ten to one, and so on. ' Why? Contemporary local opinion was that " the whites do not register because they are disgusted with Reconstruc- tion and have given up the fight," "* and " because of the general impression that from the power given the registra- tors, who are bitter partisans, they will be denied the right of registering." ^ Many whites were too busy wringing a meager living from exhausted farms to give much time to politics. Others were deterred by a respectful sympathy with those disqualified by Federal law from voting; for hun- dreds of the best citizens in the state were disfranchised. Others disliked the personal contact with crowds of negroes at the points of registration, or haughtily refused to ap- pear before a board on which sat former slaves.*^ ^ Floridian, Sept. 27, 1867; An. Cyclo., 1S67. ' Floridian, Aug. 9, 1867. The date of the report from Walton Co. was July 30. ' Floridian, Aug. 9, and Sept. 17, 1867. * Floridian, Sept. 24, 1867. * Floridian, Sept. 20, 1867. * Floridian, Aug. 2 and Sept. 2, 1867. For ins^^ance a letter from Quincy stated : " They [whites] cannot see the efficacy of their now mingling in this dirty work, as they consider it, or that any good will result from their making any issues or stand against the radical inter- lopers among them. But I do not think the masses of the people real- ORGANIZATION OF LOCAL PARTIES 489 Was it lack of public spirit, and the existence of race prejudice, pride and sentimental sympathy for the disfran- chised that forced the whites on toward losing control of the state — an impasse that the thoughtful man shuddered over If the Conservatives were lethargic, their opponents were the opposite. With increasing aggressiveness they pushed on their campaign. Their most prominent " stumper " was Liberty Billings. He and his friends had joined the Os- born faction in beating Colonel Hart and the Southern loyalist element at the state convention. Now he, the negro Saunders, and the ex-treasury agent Richards made a tour of the central and western portions of the state. Mass- meetings of negroes in Pensacola,^ Ouincy,^ Tallahassee,' and Lake City,"* listened to the violent and aggressive talk of Billings and his associates. The issues in the campaign as presented by Radical leaders were sweeping and not burdened with con- structive details. The " freedmen " must unite in driv- ing the Southern white from control of the govern- ment ; the government must be made over in such a fashion that the " freedmen " would have their rights. Radical meetings were often in negro churches. Religion and politics were strangely blended by the negro during Reconstruction. At Quincy, Billings declared that " Radi- ize the nature of the political contest soon to be enacted in their midst. The people seem averse 10 meetings of any kind and appear rather dis- posed to leave the track open to the Radicals," etc. ' Floridian, Sept. 6, 1867 (Billings might not have spoken at Pensacola). * Floridian, Oct., 8, 1867. Billings declared here that the " principles " of the Republican Party v^rere " homesteads for negroes and equality." * Floridian, Sept., 24, 1867. * F'oridian, Sept., 6, 1867. Union-Republicans met also at Tampa, see Floridian, Sept. 13, 1867. 490 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA calism was right, but conservatism, sin." At the same meeting another white Radical speaker declared that the colored people could get along better without the whites than the whites without the colored people. " Nothing is thought of the inter-marriage between races in Canada," he said (received with great applause by the negroes). It was such talk as this that developed a sinister aspect to the social question involved in Reconstruction. " Billings is no fool," observed the Floridian. " The present speaking tour is for his own interest." ^ His object was to control personally the constitutional convention by becoming popular and powerful among the negroes. ^Floridian. Oct., ii, 1867. CHAPTER XIX The Constitutional Convention of 1868 By order of General Pope the election in Florida of members to the constitutional convention was held during the days of November 14th, 15th, and i6th/ The registra- tion boards sat during the first week of October for the final revision of registration lists.^ Some names had been added and some stricken off. The registrars became elec- tion officers or " judges " at the polls in the election which followed. As each man deposited his ballot the judge " checked in ink " the name of the individual voting from the list of registered voters which lay before him. Each voter was required to subscribe to an oath and establish his identity in the presence of judges of election ere he was al- lowed to deposit his ballot. The ballots were collected at the county seats and consolidated returns sent in to registra- tion headquarters in Jacksonville by the judges of election.* Beyond the important fact that most of the election officials were pronounced and bitter Republican partisans, this ar- rangement seems to have been fair to all. * An. Cyclo., 1867. During the few weeks immediately preceding the election mass meetings of Radicals and Conservatives were held in various counties over the State to nominate delegates and perfect or- ganizations for the elections. See Floridian, Nov. 5 and 12, 1867. * In this revision of registration lists 766 white voters were added and 655 blacks, making the total registered vote 28,003. Compare with table in Rhodes, v. 6, p. 83. * Report of Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 105; An. Cycle, 1867, Circular 8. 491 492 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The result at the polls was 14,503 votes cast, of which 14,300 were for a convention. The total number of regis- tered voters was 28,003. This meant that 501 voters more than a majority had taken part in the election.^ The de- cision, therefore, at the polls — though dependent on a close margin — was for the assembling in constitutional conven- tion of those persons elected. The Federal law stipulated that in each state if the majority of the registered voters cast their ballot the result of the election was to stand.' Congress had as yet not seen fit to repudiate this law. The mass of the whites had refrained from voting. Only 1,220 white votes were cast, of which 203 were against the convention's assembling.^ One individual had endorsed his ballot : " I don't give a damn whether the convention is held or not." * If all Conservative whites had voted, the net result would not have been different. The Conserva- tive party had succeeded neither in making Conservative voters of the negroes nor in otherwise preventing them from voting the Republican ticket. The totality of regis- ^ An. Cyclo., 1867; Wallace. Carpetbag Rule, p. 49; N. Y. World, Dec. 14, 1867. The World's figures vary slightly from other sources. Wallace varies from An. Cycle's figures. * McPherson, Reconstruction, p. 193, Sec. 3. ' A''. Y. Tribune, Nov. 19 and 29, 1867 ; Floridian, Nov. 19 and 26, 1867. The Floridian presents the following analysis of the vote in Duval County. " Of the white voters 35 or over I/2 are residents here of less than 5 years; 11 are residents of more than 5 years; and only 8 are Southern born. Fourteen of the Northerners are Federal offi- cers; 10 ex-officers in the United States Army; 3 or 4 deserters from the Confederate army; and 3 or 4 those who furnished supplies to the Confederate army for war purposes. It is proper to say that some voted because of personal friendship to Col. Hart, protesting against the whole scheme. None of the Jews voted and but one or two negroes free before the War." Editor Dyke obtained these figure-i from the Charleston Mercury of Nov. 19. * Floridian, Nov. 19, 1867. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 ^gT^ tered white voters was too small to have carried the elec- tion against the negro alignment. " The result of the election in Florida is marked and sig- nificant in the extreme," stated the Savannah Republican shortly after the result was known. It is characteristic of the public mind even in that state which has been relatively undisturbed by social outrage and excite- ment. The white Republicans in the State number about 2,000, including the native Union element, . . . and about one- half of them are said to have voted in the election. . . . The Billings Radicals elected but 13 delegates to the Convention, the Straight Republicans 31, and the Conservatives 2.^ Forty-six delegates were actually returned in this elec- tion. Eighteen of them were negroes, and three of these negroes were citizens of other states. Of the twenty-seven whites, one or two were Conservatives, fifteen or sixteen Radical carpet-baggers from the North, and ten or twelve Southern loyalist or " scalawags ".^ ^ Quotation in Floridian, Dec. 3, 1867. See also letter from Jackson- ville, A'. Y. Herald, Dec. 2, 1867. * Florida Union, Nov. 30, 1867; Wallace, op. cit., pp. 49-50; Rerick, Memoirs of Fla., v. i, p. 103 (inaccurate figures) ; N. Y. Times. Dec. I, 1867; Floridian, Nov. 19, 1867; Report Secy. War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 93. The delegates elected were as follows: ist Dist. (Escambia and San'a Rosa Cos.) Geo. W. Walker, Conservative, seat contested and not ad- mitted; Geo. J. Alden (Carpet-bagger), Lyman W. Rowley (Radical, came into Florida from North before War). 2nd Dist. (Walton and Holmes Cos.) J. L. Campbell (Conservative). 3rd Dist. (Washington, Calhoun and Jackson Cos.), W. J. Purman (Carpet-bagger) ; L. C. Armistead ; E. Fortune (negro); Homer Bryan (negro), .fth Dist. (Gadsden Co.) W. M. Saunders (negro) ; Dan. Richards (Carpet- bagger) ; Fred Hill (negro). 3th Dist. (Liberty and Franklin Cos.) J. W. Childs (Carpet-bagger). 6th Dist. (Leon and Wakulla Cos.) T. W. Osborn (Carpet-bagger) ; Joe Oats (negro) ; C. H. Pearce (negro) ; J. Wyatt (negro) ; Green Davidson (negro) ; O. B. Arm- strong (negro). 7//t Dist. (Jefferson Co.) J. W. Powell; A. G. Bass; Robt. Meacham (negro); Anthony Mills (negro). Sth Dist. (Mad- 494 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA What were the obvious characteristics of these delegates chosen by the newly enfranchised? The subtler side of their personalities is probably now beyond the reach of the investigator engaged in historical research. They have left little record behind them. Several of the negro members were unlettered — unable to read or to write. Two or three of the blacks had evil reputations, and would have done better in jail than in legislative halls. Of the whites, the native Union or loyal- ist element was made up of men of no particular reputation — good or bad — and of mediocre enlightenment. The car- pet-bag or Northern element — composing about one-third of the delegates — contained some men of considerable intel- ligence and passable education. The most cultured member of the convention, probably, was Jonathan Gibbs, a negro. Gibbs was a tall and slightly-built black with a higlT fore- head and a color indicating mulatto origin. His voice was clear and ringing. He possessed some of the qualities of a born orator and a genuine sentimentalist. He was not a native of the South. Born in Philadelphia, educated at Dart- mouth College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he was a fairly successful type of an intelligent black subjected ison Co.) R. T. Rambauer; Major Johnson (negro); Wm. R. Cone. gth Dist. (Hamilton and Suwanee Cos.) Thos. Urquhart (negro) ; W. J. J. Duncan. loth Dist. (Taylor and Lafayette Cos.) J. N. Krim- minger. nth Dist. (Alachua Co.) Wm. J. Cessna (Carpet-bagger) ; J. T. Walls (negro) ; Horatio Jenkins, Jr. (Carpet-bagger), uih Dist. (Columbia and Baker Cos.) S. B. Conover (Carpet-Bagger) ; Auburn Erwin (negro). 13th Dist. (Bradford and Clay Cos.) J. C. Richards (Conservative). i4tli Dist. (Nassau, Duval and St. John Cos.), N. C. Dennett (Carpet-bagger) ; J. C. Gibbs (negro) ; Wm. Bradwell (negro); Liberty Billings (Carpet-bagger). 15th Dist. (Putnam and Levy Cos.) J. H. Goss ; A. Chandler (negro); W. Rogers; E. D. Howse. J6th Dist. (Sumter and Hernando Cos.) Sam J. Pierce. i/th Dist. (Hillsborough, Polk and Manatee Cos.) C. R. Mobley. i8th Dist. (Valusia, Orange, Brevard, and Dade Cos.) David Magelle. igth Dist. (Munroe Co.) E. L. Ware. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 4^5 to the influence of American theological training and New England culture/ Gibbs had been sent into the state from the North for philanthropic work among the negroes.^ He soon entered politics and was ere long rubbing shoulders with cantankerous and thieving ignorance. If he had con- tinued preaching in the North — for he was a Presbyterian divine — he might have missed political experience, but also might have been spared the sad gastronomic end which was his. He died before the end of Republican rule, osten- sibly from eating too heavy a dinner. It was rumored that he was poisoned by fellow Republicans.^ In contrast to Gibbs were such negroes as Emanuel For- tune, a barely literate negro shoemaker who belligerently insisted on making speeches when the occasion did or did not offer itself ; * Green Davidson, a violent barber-poli- tician, given to incendiary talk about social equality between the races and political rights; Joe Oats, a mulatto of intelli- gence, of rascally practice, and of suave tongue ; Robert Meacham, a mulatto, an intelligent though troublesome man, and a living example of the shame of the South. His white father had been his master. Robert was reared as a domestic servant. Like many of the house servants he be- came a preacher.^ After the war he made a local reputa- tion as a marital auxiliary among his people, boasting that he had married 300 couples since " freedom drapt ". '^ An- ^ H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, p. 220. Letter of Solon Robinson, N. Y. Tribune, Feb. 10, 1868. Wallace, op. cit., passim. * H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 221, 223. According to his testimony he came into Florida in 1867. ' Wallace, op. cit., p. 299. * See various newspaper reports of Convention's proceedings. Also H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 95. * Floridian, Jan. 21, 1868; H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 101-9. * Floridian, Feb. 5, 1867. 496 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA other black preacher was Charles H. Pearce, Bishop Pearce he was called — a power in prayer meetings and politics, popular with the women, said at the time to be a citizen of Canada, and later convicted in court for accepting bribes as a legislator.^ " Colonel " William U. Saunders, known as the " Baltimore negro ", an ex-barber, proved to be the most prominent negro politician in the convention as well as one of the shrewdest and withal most dangerous men there. He was reputed to be a citizen of Maryland." A type of Southern loyalist or ''scalawag" was William R. Cone. From his own history, which he took occasion to relate rather proudly, he had been lacking in definite prin- ciples during the late war. He had avoided as long as possible enlistment in the Confederate army and at his first opportunity had deserted.^ The history of J. N. Krim- minger, white, of North Carolina, a delegate from Alachua County, was similar. He too had been a deserter.^ As a class, the carpet-baggers were intellectually the best men among the delegates. W. J. Purman, Thomas W. Os- born, and Horatio Jenkins were leaders of this class. The last two were ex-officers of the Union army.^ Most of the Northerners had been in the state for a year or more and were hona-Ude citizens of the commonwealth. Daniel Richards and Liberty Billings were exceptions. Richards is described by a contemporary Republican as a " sort of » N. Y. Herald, Feb. 19 and 20, 1868; Sen. Rpts., 44th C, 2nd S., no. 611, pt. 2, p. 387; H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 165 and 299. * Wallace, op. cit., pp. 44, 54, 60. * Floridian, Jan. 21, 1868. * H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 176-7- * Ibid., pp. 144-5; Floridian, June 23, 1868; Florida Union, Feb. 22, 1868. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 4.^7 Uriah Heep specimen of Northern carpet-bagger of moder- ate ability and elastic conscience "/ All in all, these prospective constitution makers bade fair to be rather a motley assemblage, even to an optimist. Crass ignorance, inexperience, aggressiveness, vulgarity and a mixture of colors were their most protuberant character- istics. Seven of the eighteen negro members were ministers of the Gospel. It was patent that average enlightenment and honesty were more than balanced by stupidity and dis- honesty. In this supreme council elected under Federal supervision to fashion the state's political destinies, fair- ness and experience were deeply shadowed by prejudices and ignorance. Florida's government was degraded at the hands of the United States. Unable to accomplish anything at the polls and having failed legally to kill the convention proposition by refrain- ing from voting, the Conservative leaders attempted as a dernier ressort to hold up the assembling of the body by preferring charges of fraud at the election. General Pope had been succeeded by General Meade as commander of the Third Military District." It was hoped by Conservatives that Meade might revoke the orders of his predecessor. Charges of fraud in " gerrymandering " the state into un- fair election districts, and of irregularity and fraud in vot- ing were laid before the new commander, Meade, by a committee sent to Atlanta from Florida for that purpose.' Meade telegraphed Grant for advice. Grant in reply from ' Wallace, op. cit., p. 54. ' Rpt. of Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 74, assigned to Third District, Dec. 28, 1867 ; An. Cycle, 1868. Pope was not popular with the whites of Florida. * Rpt. of Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 86, Meade to Grant, Jan. 15, 1868. An. Cyclo.. 1868; A^. Y. World. Jan. 23. 1868; A^ Y. Times. Dec. I, 1868 — Meade's report. Judge Douglas of the state supreme court was the committee. 498 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Washington told him to use his discretion. Meade decided not to interfere/ Had there been fraud in the elections? Were the Con- servative charges honest? The entire election machinery v^as in the hands of the Republican party. At the polls in Tampa, in Bayport and in Lafayette County came reports that ballot-boxes had been tampered with to insure Repub- lican victory. In Jackson County Conservatives testified that crowds of negroes from Alabama had been brought into the state to vote, and did vote.^ To-day no good docu- mentary evidence is extant demonstrating that fraud was ^ Sen. Ex. Docs., 40;h C, 2nd S., no. 30, pp. 7-18. A^ Y. World. Sept. 5, 1868, letter from Tallahassee; A^ Y. World, Nov. 4, 1867, dis- cussion of false registration in Florida. Meade's message to Grant on Jan. 15 was as follows : " Gen. U. S. Grant: The Governor of Florida has laid before me and endorsed the same a petition numerously signed asking that the order of Gen. Pope calling together the Constitutional Convention on the 20th be suspended for a period sufficiently long to enable me to decide on the questions raised by them invalidating the election of the members. The points raised are the violation of the election laws by Gen. Pope: I. In the manner of districting the state; 2. In the registration there- of; 3. In the conduct of the elections. There is no time for me to deliberately examine these points, but there is prima facie evidence justifying me in the belief that perhaps, according to my judgment, the Reconstruction laws have not been strictly adhered to, at least there are grave questions raised. Under this view I am disposed to postpone the meeting of the Convention for thirty days, but in this as in all cases refrain from acting until advised that you do not dis- approve my proposed action." Grant replied immediately by telegraph : "Act according to your own judgment about postponing the Conven- tion". Meade refused to postpone it but the next day (Jan. 17) tele- graphed Grant practically asking him to withdraw any power which he (Meade) might have in the matter. Accordingly, Grant replied (Jan. 17) : " Gen. Pope having practically settled the matter complained of by his action before you assumed command of the Third District, it is deemed judicious not to interfere with the meeting of the Conven- tion at the time ordered by him but leave the whole m.atter to Congress for its final action ". Rpt. of Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, pp. 86-88. ' Floridian, Dec. 24, 1867. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 ^g(^ resorted to. There was irregularity. Daniel Richards and William Saunders, for instances, were both elected as dele- gates from Gadsden County where they had spent only a few days of their lives.^ J. W. Childs was sent from Franklin County while evidence indicates that his home was in Baker County.^ Liberty Billings was returned from Nassau County, although a few months before he had sub- scribed to an affidavit that he was a citizen of New Hamp- shire.^ The result of the election brought out an expression of public intention from the Conservative Floridian very dif- ferent from that which followed the passage of the Mili- tary Bill nine months earlier. " We have accepted a hard situation within the last three years," it said, " but this is a situation which we will not accept. A pure African gov- ernment for the State of Florida will not he accepted hut will he disputed and contended against zvith every pozver that God has given us." * The contrast is sharp between the foregoing and the pronouncement of the leading Republican journal in the state. " The people of Florida have decided in favor of a convention," announced the Radical sheet. " Those who tried to defeat it as well as those who labored to secure a convention are deeply interested in the work to be per- formed by that body. It is expected of the delegates that they will carry out the Congressional policy in the true spirit." ' The constitutional convention was ordered by the mili- ^ Report of Committee on Eligibility, Wallace, op. cit., p. 60. ■^ H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S., no. 22, v. 13, pp. 291-3. * Rpt. of Comit. on Eligibility. * Floridian, Dec. 17, 1867. ^ Florida Union, Nov. 30, 1867. 500 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA tary commander to assemble on Monday, January 20th, in Tallahassee/ Several days before that date delegates began to come into town. Most of these early arrivals were negroes. Liberty Billings, Daniel Richards, and William U. Saunders were particularly active at this time. These men were the leaders of the " most Radical " Republicans in Florida, and the mass of their following was black. They rented a boarding-house in Tallahassee and procured a team of mules and a vehicle of some sort. As the negro dele- gates arrived in Tallahassee they were met at the railway station, put into this carry-all, and hauled to the hospitable free boarding-house of the schemers. Planning to control the convention by dictating its or- ganization, Billings and his associates came together in a preliminary meeting or caucus on the Saturday (January i8th) preceding the Monday on which the main body was to convene. In this caucus — at which twenty-eight dele- gates were present — the " Billings men " were organized and prepared to act as a body when the convention should open formally on Monday. Daniel Richards was named for president." On January 20th, the convention formally began its ses- sion in the capitol building.^ Only twenty-nine delegates of the forty-six elected were present.* Some demanded delay till all had arrived, but the radical majority willed otherwise and rode rough-shod over the minority. Robert Meacham, negro, of Jefiferson County, was chosen tempor- 1 An. Cyclo., 1868. ^ Florxdian, Feb. 11, 1868; see also account in Wallace, op. cit., pp. 47-48. ' H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. i, Proceedings of the Florida Convention. * Report Sec. of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 93, cipher telegram, Meade to Grant. H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. i. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 501 ary chairman. A committee of five was appointed at once to nominate permanent officers for the convention. Three of the five on the committee were black. Amid exciting and incendiary speeches for '' equal rights, education, and the ballot-box," the first hours of the afternoon passed. The radical committee on nominations submitted its re- port, which was at once adopted. Daniel Richards, white, was elected thereby president, and thirty other officers and employees were installed.^ About four-fifths of the num- ber were negroes. Richards, on taking the chair, said : " Let us insure to all who have not forfeited their rights by treason or rebellion a common interest in our laws, our government, and our institutions." ^ This statement was a definite declaration against those Southern whites for the moment disfranchised by act of Congress. It was a suggestion of what might be the solution of the suffrage question in the new constitution. The Florida Union had stated almost two months before that " perhaps the most difficult question is to decide who will be given the suffrage." " The bottom rail was on top," and those persons who controlled the convention were determined to keep it there in the future. On the second day, January 21st, an ordinance was passed unanimously forbidding the sale of property for debt, suspending the collection of all taxes, and releas- ing from custody all persons held to labor for the non-pay- ment of taxes — but not forbidding a laborer to collect wages due him from his employer.^ It is obvious this or- dinance was passed in the interest of the negro. It was a revolutionary measure but thoroughly consistent with the ' H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. i. * FJoridian, Jan. 21, 1868. ' Floridian, Jan. 21, 1868. 502 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA convention's character. W. C. Purman, carpet-bagger, op- posed its passage. His opposition marks the beginning of open contest in the convention between radical Republicans and w^hat might be termed moderate Republicans.^ Seventeen committees v^ere appointed by President Rich- ards on January 22nd, the third day. On all of the im- portant committees w^as either Saunders or Billings with enough negro allies to control. On the important com- mittee on privileges and elections sat both Saunders and Billings. This committee was composed of " three per- sons only, all of whom were charged by moderate Republi- cans with being ineligible to seats in the convention." ^ Almost immediately the committee on privileges and elections brought in a report which denied to the conven- tion the power to pass on the eligibility to seats in the con- vention of those elected. Purman opposed the adoption of this report. The contest over eligibility had begun. It was the issue which split the convention. The radical ele- ment desired the question of eligibility left alone because several of its leaders might lose their seats if their qualifi- cations were seriously probed into. Richards, the presi- dent, was said to be still a citizen of Illinois; Saunders, of Maryland ; Billings, of New Hampshire ; and C. H. Pearce, of the Dominion of Canada.^ Therefore " the President ' Floridian, Jan. 21, 1868. For six months the 'Radical Party in Florida had been broken into hostile factions. The campaign for registration and for election to the convention demonstrated this. The contest between Moderate and Radical Republicans in east Florida was bitter. In Jacksonville " each crowd alternately call meetings and abuse and blackguard the other crowd. Many torch-light and drum proces- sions, etc. Not much difference in the ultimate designs of either fac- tion," Floridian, Nov. 12, 1867 (letter from Jacksonville.) * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C. 2nd S., no. 114, p. i ; Floridian, Jan. 28, 1868. * Rpt. of Comit. on Eligibility. Wallace, op. cit., p. 60. Billings had been in Florida since 1864 and Richards had come into Florida in 1866 but had gone out of the State. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 ^03 ruled that no question could be entertained touching the eligibility of members, and it was impossible to obtain a two-thirds vote, which was necessary under the rules adopted, to sustain an appeal from the chair, especially as he allowed the parties interested to vote upon the subject." ^ Richards and his friends were aggressive. They demanded of the state treasurer that all public monies be turned over to the chairman for the use of the convention. The treas- urer refused and the radical chairman then forged an order from the military commander to force obedience to his demand. The state official still refused to act. The more conservative men, such as Purman, Osborn, and Jenkins, resented the high-handed and exclusive con- trol exercised by Billings, Richards, and the negroes. A few Radicals expelled from the convention would leave that body in control of the " Moderate " Republicans. At this time the two factions were almost evenly balanced, with three or four delegates in doubt. The first week of the convention's session was taken up with boisterous and disorderly speech-making, debate, and parliamentary squabbling barren of useful results. The hall was filled not only with gesticulating delegates, but with gesticulating employees and lobbyists as well, admitted to the floor to make demonstrations for the Richards and Billings faction. By the end of the week the convention was hopelessly split into two factions. One faction — the more conservative — was composed of all white delegates but three and of one or two negroes, and bore the title of " Op- position ", " Johnson Party ", or " The Lobby ".^ The man spoken of as the dominating personality among mod- erate Republicans was Harrison Reed, Federal post-office * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2 S., no. 114, p. i. ' A^. Y. Tribune, Feb. 8, 1868; N. Y. Herald, Jan. 28, 1868; Floridian, Feb. 4, 1868. 504 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA agent for Florida. He was not a member of the conven- tion but was present in Tallahassee, where he was alluded to as " Johnson's agent "/ The other party or faction had practically all the ne- groes — sixteen or seventeen — and three white men. It was slightly in the minority, but well organized and in control of the committees. The arbitrary rulings of Richards, president, hindered the Opposition.^ Most attempts at constructive work by the Radicals were held up by the Opposition with its menace of more votes. Constitution- making was forgotten in the contest over which faction should rule. The legitimate work of the convention was at a dead-lock. The fight was one between nearly a white faction and a black faction ; between Radical or Congressional Republi- cans and Conservative or Johnson Unionists ; and to some extent between those politicians who held Federal office and those politicians who did not hold Federal office.^ The technical difference between the factions was the question in Florida of the eligibility of certain members to seats in the convention. The fundamental difference was the ex- istence in national politics of a bitter feud among Repub- licans. At that moment in Washington Radical Republi- cans were preparing to drive President Johnson from office by impeachment. ' Letter of Solon Robinson, N. Y. Tribune, Feb. 8, 1868. * N. Y. Herald, Jan. 23, 1868. The Convention was governed by the Rules of the National House, with slight alterations. H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 3. Richards ruled that no question touching eligibility could be enter- tained ; that the majority had no appeal from his rulings; and he refused at pleasure to yield the floor to the Moderate faction. ' H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, pp. 4, 9. Of the 22 Moder- ate Republicans and Conservatives 13 were ex-officers of the Union army. Osborn was Federal Register of Bankruptcy; Hart, who en- tered the Convention late, Supt. of Registration ; Purman, Bu. Agt. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 186S -05 Was it race prejudice that made the " Johnson Party " at Tallahassee so nearly a white man's party? While there is a tendency for men of the same color to cling together in time of contest among peoples of various colors, we find in this case that those individuals who opposed the black party in the convention, at a later date harmoniously and inti- mately associated politically with negroes. Most of the whites there were elected by black votes. By the last of the month affairs had reached a critical and' irritating stage. " The Hall is more like a gladiatorial arena than a sober convention of delegates to form a con- stitution for a state that is almost in a condition of anar- chy," wrote Solon Robinson to the New York Tribune.^ The Radical faction claimed that threats were openly made by the Conservative Johnson office- holders that no constitution should be made or business done until the organization of the Convention was broken up. Con- servative Republicans, both in and out of the Convention, began to caucus day and night, with the leading rebels freely ad- mitted to their councils, to devise ways and means to over- throw the Radicals. The principal hotel in the city was opened freely to the delegates who would act with them, and who were all poor — many of them had not money enough to pay their board bills with. Whiskey flowed free as water. Money was used in abundance to corrupt the delegates, which was like tendering bread to a starving man.^ Stormy weather swept over Tallahassee and vicinity. Clear, cold days followed. Ice and frozen mud lay in the town's unpaved streets. Flowers died from the snappy nip of the winter atmosphere, and people sought warm inter- iors. The hotel corridor and the '' parlors " of boarding- houses were lively with the talk of politicians, black and 1 A^. Y. Tribune, Feb. 8, 1868. ' Ibid. 3o6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA white, dickering over the doings in the convention cham- ber. When the winter sun sank below the horizon and the semi-tropical sky of that latitude gave forth the strange sheen of a short, cold twilight, cotton-field and woodland, lake and brook, town and outlying homestead became serenely engulfed for a few moments in the weird opales- cent glow that moves on eternally somewhere just ahead of a clear winter night. The restless, motley crowd on the main street of Tallahassee did not linger. White rowdies clad in jeans and " chawin' and spittin' " ; an occasional " lobbyist " from the North, bored-looking, well-groomed and seeking scrip or concessions; negro wenches decked in finery, reeking in cheap cologne, and seeking men; negro bums and politicians seeking women ; and Federal soldiers seeking treats — all moved happily and thankfully into the glow of cabin, bar, billiard-parlor, or cheap hotel. This was now part of legislating. Tallahassee had never seen the like before, but it was to be worse shocked ere Recon- struction had run its course. Toddies circulated as freely as gossip among men seated before blazing fire-places with their " fronts roasting and their backs freezing ". " Damn these Southern houses," said the man of the North think- ing wearily of home and a more honorable past. " God- damn these Northern Radicals," said the Conservative who could not vote. January 29th the committee on privileges and elections brought in its second report. A more or less violent and foolish debate of two days' duration followed.^ Each fac- tion seemed afraid to put the matter to a vote. Money had been spent by lobbyists, and leaders did not know who might purposely vote wrong when the issue came. On the vote might hang the character of Florida's government in the immediate future. The issue was therefore important. ^ iV. Y. Tribune, Feb. 10, 1868. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 507 Finally several men counted as possible moderate Re- publicans were reported to have gone over to the Radical wing. On the night of January 31st, N. C. Dennett, of Jacksonville, was called home by a telegram saying that his wife was dying. The Radicals claimed that they had a majority.^ They took advantage of their chance. The re- port on eligibility was promptly put to vote, and the whole matter was laid on the table till March ist. By that date it was expected that the convention would have finished its labors and dispersed. The body then adjourned till Feb- ruary 4th. ^ The conservative Opposition had lost hope of control. They determined to break up the convention or force a compromise by withdrawing. Such action would destroy a majority quorum, as only forty delegates had qualified at Tallahassee. Accordingly eighteen members seceded in a body. They went to Monticello, a neighboring town, where they began work as a sort of independent constitutional convention.^ Here they were joined by three delegates who had not qualified at the original convention. Constitution-making in Florida had reached a ridicu- lous impasse. Neither body could muster a majority of the 1 Robinson in N. Y. Tribune, Feb. 20, 1868; N. Y. World, Feb. i, 1868. Dennett had been elected in opposition to what was known as the Hart or Moderate Republican ticket in East Florida. At the time of the election Dennett was known as a Radical Republican but in the Convention he identified himself with the white or Moderate Republi- cans. See Floridian, Nov. 26, 1867. Gen. Meade states that 40 delegates were present in Tallahassee. See Rpt. Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 93 — Meade to Grant, Feb. 12, 1868. * Floridian, Feb. 11, 1868; A^". Y. Tribune, Feb. 10, 1868. The move to adjourn came from the Moderate men. The Radical leaders at- tempted to defeat it but several of the negroes voted wrong. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd. S., no. 114, p. 2. Wallace, op. cit., pp. 67-74. Rpt. Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 93. Accounts differ in detail. 5o8 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA delegates elected. Twenty-one sat at Monticello ; twenty- two, at Tallahassee; but forty-six had been elected.^ The "Rump Convention" in Tallahassee petitioned Lieu- tenant-Colonel Flint, of the Federal military, to seize four- teen of the leading seceders and bring them back by force if necessary to the state house. Flint refused to act.^ The abbreviated body left in Tallahassee, undismayed by irregularities, decided to continue in session and transact business, regardless of the fact that it contained only twenty-two members, less than a majority. One of its first acts was to vote $50,000 in state scrip to pay its expenses.'^ The pay of members was to be $10 per day and mileage at the rate of 40 cents per mile. The salaries were to begin not on January 20th, when the delegates began their labors, but on December 28th, the day of the promulgation of Gen-^ eral Orders No. no formally calling them together. This meant twenty-three days pay before the convention con- vened.* $15,000 were appropriated for printing alone — but William U. Saunders managed to retain v$ 10,000 of the amount for himself.^ The clerks, messengers, porters, and pages were paid from $10 to $20 per day. The ac- counts of the negro, Paul Crippen, financial agent, were so confused that later it was impossible to tell for what much of the money was expended. $14,861 was paid out by Crippen.*^ " Such a system of extravagance," stated a Re- publican committee of investigation, " if persisted in will ' Rpt. Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 93. * Floridian, Feb. 11, 1868. * Such action was authorized by the Reconstruction Law of March 23, 1867, Sec. 8, — McPherson, Reconstruction, p. 193. * //. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 2. ^ H. Misc. Docs., 40' h C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 8, Report of Committ. of Investigation. Wallace, op. cit., p. 53. « Ibid. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 ^09 not only bring the State to the verge of bankruptcy but will impoverish its citizens, prevent immigration and forever retard the growth and prosperity of the State." ^ February 8th the " Rump Convention " adjourned for one week, having adopted a constitution, the most notable features of which were: i, the barring from public office of all who had in any fashion supported the Confederacy; 2, the disfranchising of all who had " given aid or com- fort " to the " Rebellion " after having held office under the state or the United States.^ The constitution is said to have been made in Chicago and brought into Florida by Daniel Richards, president of the convention.^ It was laid before General Meade in Atlanta by Delegate J. H. Goss, a scalawag and one-time deserter from the Confederate army.* The " Rump " then organized itself into a nominating convention and chose from its members present a full state ticket : governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, member of congress, and superintendent of education.® The " seceders " returned in a body from Monticello to Tallahassee on the evening of February loth — " not wish- ing a day should elapse without the convention being in session." *' Near midnight they quietly slipped into the convention chamber in the state house and proceeded to organize.^ To assure a majority they induced the military 1 Wallace, op. cit., p. 53. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 109, — " History of Constitu- tional Convention " by Richards and Saunders. Wallace, op. cit., pp. 359. 366. Constitution, Art. 6, Sec. 3; Art. 15. ' Wallace, op. cit., p. 57. * A^. Y. Herald, Feb. 7, 8, 11, 1868. Wallace, op. cit., p. 57. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 2. * Ibid., pp. 2, 3. ' Ibid. 5IO RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA to arrest two members of the other faction, drag them from beds, and bring them to the hall/ Twenty-four delegates were then present. Forty-six had been elected originally to the convention. A protest against Daniel Richards was adopted by unani- mous vote, and Richards was declared deposed as presi- dent.^ Thomas W. Osborn, ex-army officer, nominated Horatio Jenkins, Jr., for the vacant place. He was elected.^ Thirteen of the twenty-four members present were ex-army officers. The newly-organized convention then proceeded to discharge from service those persons em- ployed by the " Rump ".* The next day news spread through the town and into the surrounding country. Negroes crowded the streets. Secret societies were active. Wild talk was indulged in. A mob of blacks under white leaders threatened to attack the reconstituted convention.*^ Federal troops stood guard near the state house." Several of the Radicals deserted their faction and came over to the Opposition ensconced in the capitol building. The Opposition could now command an absolute ma- jority.^ It proceeded to adopt a constitution fashioned in * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 109, p. 2. This was denied by the other side, see Doc, no. 114. ' H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, pp. 3-4. Four of the twenty-four were negroes, two having been brought into the hall by the military. ' Florida Union, Feb. 22, 1868. H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd .,.,. no. 114, p. 4. * Floridian, Feb. 11, 1868. Wallace, op. cit., pp. 57-58. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 2. * Wallace, op. cit., p. 59, Appendix, pp. Z7'^-72> \ H- Misc. Docs., 40th 2nd S., no. 114, pp. 2, 7. '' N. Y. Herald, Feb. 11, 1868; N. Y. Times, Dec. i. 1868; .Y. Y, World, Sept. 5, 1868. Twenty-nine members were present. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 ^^ Monticello. It was a fairly liberal document, patterned somewhat after the constitutions of Vermont and Missouri and including all salient demands in the Congressional plan of reconstruction/ By it blacks and whites would be granted the suffrage on equal terms — no class being pro- scribed politically for previous condition or " rebellion ". Local offices with few exceptions would be filled by ex- ecutive appointment ; county courts continued ; a new sys- tem of circuit courts created ; and specific limitation put on the county representation in the legislature.' No county could have more than four representatives in the assembly. This last provision — the limitation of county representation — was a vital part of the proposed constitution. For Florida, at that time, its incorporation as a part of the fundamental law was of peculiar moment. The limitation would pre- vent the few populous negro counties from .completely dominating the government and Africanizing the state. The situation was a desperate one. The men who con- trolled the making of this instrument — Republicans — un- doubtedly planned deliberately to keep the balance of power in the hands of whites. This provision of the proposed constitution was bitterly attacked before General Meade and Congress by a com- mittee of Radicals from the " Rump Convention ". " By the apportionment provided for in said constitution ", stated the protestants, " less than one-fourth of the regis- tered voters will elect a majority of the state senate, and ,ss than one-third will elect a majority of the assembly. 6,700 voters in the rebel counties elect as many senators as 20,282 voters elect in the Union counties." This was sub- ' See comments in N. Y. Herald, Feb. 15 and 16, 1868. ' See Constitution, H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114. Arts. I, VI, and XVI. CI2 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA stantially true. '" It grants suffrage to and removes all dis- abilities from the vilest rebels and haters of the Govern- ment," continued the protestants, " and permits them to be elevated to places of power and trust without regard to the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, and disfranchises thou- sands of the colored voters." ^ This was a silly lie. Re- publicans themselves branded it as a " wilfuU and malicious falsehood ".^ The constitution was the joint product of moderate Re- publicans in the convention and certain native white Con- servatives (not Republicans) who had no place there. ^ The " Opposition ", " Johnson Party ", or " Seceders " had the sympathy and support of Governor Walker and the native whites throughout the state. What was of more immediate importance, they had the sympathy of the Federal military commander in Tallahassee. They had acted in disregard of law, precedent, and General Pope's orders when they marched out of the convention hall, when they met in Monticello, and when they reassembled in Tallahassee. Yet they received not only the protection but the aid of the Federal military.* The conduct of the " Seceders " toward the existing state government and the native white Con- servatives of Florida was in sharp contrast to that of the * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 109. p. 5 ('Report of Saunders and Richards). * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 9 (Report of Gleason and Alden). * I draw this conclusion from the friendly relations of Conservative leaders and the leaders of ihe Moderate Republican faction. Rerick, Memoirs of Florida, v. i, p. 305, says : " Through the influence of Gov. Walker, Capt. Chas. Dyke. Editor of the Floridian, and others who continued to use their political skill for the welfare of the State, the constitu'ion (which was the same as that made at Monticello) con- tained an apportionment for legislative purposes, etc." See also Wallace, op. cit., p. 372 ; and H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 109. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, pp. 2, 7; no. 109, pp. 2, 3, 4. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1868 -13 Radicals. It indicated at least a sentiment of conciliation and respect instead of hostility and contempt.^ Republican Radicals North and South clamored not only for negro enfranchisement but for the proscription of as many Conservative whites as possible. "A proscriptive policy will tend to widen the breach which now exists in Southern society," stated the men who made the " Sece- ders' " or Monticello constitution, " and create a spirit of jealousy and strengthen the feeling of animosity toward the supporters of the Government. The constitution has been framed by men who understand the situation and who believed it was far better to extend the olive branch of friendship to those who have hitherto opposed the Gov- ernment than place them in a position of perpetual out- lawry." ^ General Meade, informed of the trouble in Florida, left Atlanta for Tallahassee. " I must now decide on the legal- ity of the acts of the 22 who present a constitu- tion," he telegraphed Grant. " Are 22 members of a body to which 46 were elected, 40 organized and 3 subsequently appeared competent to discharge the functions assigned by law to the Convention? " ^ Grant was inclined to simplify matters as well as please a Radical Congress by accepting the work of the Radical " Rump Convention " in Tallahassee. The constitution pro- posed by that body would disfranchise whites and throw the control of the government into the hands of the negro ^ Floridian, Feb. 18, 1868. The seceding convention formally re- quested of the Governor the use of the capitol building; congratulated the governor on his refusal to turn over the money in the state treasury to the Convention ; and expressed regret that discourtesy had been shown him. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 11. * Meade to Grant, Feb. 12, iS6S,—Rpt. Secy. War, 1868-9, v. i, pp. 93-4 514 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA counties/ " Has not the convention in Florida expelled some of its members-elect as ineligible to seats?" Grant telegraphed Meade. " If so is not 22 members a quorum and are not the expelled members among the seceders ? " ^ Meade reached Tallahassee on the 17th of February.^ The Radical Billings faction, refusing to take part in the " seceders' convention ", was holding indignation meet- ings in the public square, negro churches, and secret society lodge rooms.* Meade was conciliatory. He tried by per- suasion to have the two factions come together and re- organize. Both presidents, Richards and Jenkins, were finally induced to resign.^ During the afternoon of February i8th, with Colonel Sprague in the chair, the convention was reorganized." The " Seceders " or conservative faction triumphed. Horatio Jenkins was re-elected president by a vote of thirty-two to eight, and Billings, Richards, Saunders, and Pearce were ex- pelled by a vote of twenty-five to sixteen on the ground that not being citizens of Florida, they were ineligible for political office.^ The vigorous course taken by the military ^ H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 109. Eight counties (Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Alachua, Marion, Duval) heavily dominated by black votes would control Senate and House. ' Rpt. Secy, of War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 94. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114. This report says he arrived on i8th; no. 109. A^. Y. Herald, Feb. 18, 1868. * N. Y. Herald, Feb. 15, 1868. ^ H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 7; no. 109, passim; Wallace, op. cit., pp. 373-374 — Meade to Richards, Feb. 18, 1868. N. Y. Herald, Feb. 19, 1868. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 7. ' H . Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 6, 7; no. iog;N. Y. Herald, Feb. 19 and 20, 1868. Wallace, op. cit., pp. 60 and 62. J. E. Davidson and M. L. Stearns replaced Richards and Saunders ; Rich. Wells replaced C. H. Pearce and Col. O. B. Hart (afterwards Repub. Governor) Liberty Billings. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 186S -j^ and the influence of General Meade's presence were suffi- cient to make negro Radicals, who had been absenting them- selves, take again their places in the convention. The body once more could command an absolute majority. Febru- ary 25th, the Monticello constitution was adopted by a vote of twenty-eight to sixteen.^ By ordinance of the con- vention this document was to be submitted to the votes of the people on May 6th, 7th, and 8th.^ The convention ad- journed sine die, and the episode of making a constitution to suit Congressional ideas was closed. The black was en- franchised.^ The Radical element had been beaten, but not without the help of the Federal military. The negro members had acted as a body practically and had followed the most radical and bitter leaders of the Republican party in Florida. They and the black electors had been won by promises and by money. Something more than desire for petty political office drove on Southern Republicans in the rush to obey Congress. Later developments in Florida give strong cred- ibility to a statement made at this time by Republicans that '' a scheme had been on foot and a ring formed to obtain possession of the railways of the State. This ring was composed of the leaders in the minority Convention and parties in New York by whom money was furnished." * The end of this constitution-making episode was only the beginning of Florida's Reconstruction troubles. The worst was to come. The Conservative whites, defeated in the ■ Floridian, Mch. 3, 1868; A^. Y. Herald, Feb. 26, 1868. It was fin- ally signed by all 44 members present, — H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 31. * N. Y. Herald, Feb. 25, 1868. * See Constitution, Sec. 14, H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 24. * H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114, p. 7. 5i6 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA elections, were already beginning to physically assault Re- publicans, black and white, in desperate efforts to break their grip on the ballot-boxes and the government. This meant violence, often of the worst form. It meant the saddest part of the Reconstruction ordeal — peace sought through means of midnight assassination, riot, and terror. Such misfortune developed under Republican rule. BOOK IV REPUBLICAN RULE " The difficulty is in the diversity of the races. So strongly drawn is the line between the two in consequence, and so strengthened by the force of habit and education, that it is impossible for them to exist together in the same community where their numbers are so nearly equal as in the slave-holding States, under any other relation than that which now exists. " Social and political equality between them is impossible. The causes lie too deep in the principles of our nature to be surmounted. But without such equality, to change the present condition of the African race would be but to change the form of slavery. It would make them slaves of the community instead of the slaves of in- dividuals." John C. Calhoun, Rpt. on Abolition Petitions, Feb. 4th, 1836, — Cralle, v. 5, pp. 204-5. CHAPTER XX The Inauguration of a Republican State Government The struggle over the issues of Reconstruction revived the Democratic party within the state of Florida. The militant Democracy of the South six years earlier led the state from the Union. The conservative Democracy of the Union now stood opposed to the Congressional plan of bringing Florida with restored rights back into the Union. The processes of political alienation and war through which the South had passed had brought to an end within its borders the old Democracy. The processes of political and social rehabilitation through which the South began to pass when the war had ceased developed anew within that section this once powerful, once radical and reckless, and now overthrown and discredited party. The rebuilding of " Democracy " South, which was evident when Conserva- tive opposed Radical in 1867, was nearly consummated when Democrats faced Republicans in the state and Presi- dential elections of 1868. What came to pass was as in- evitable as it was obviously logical. Democrat was a term to conjure with. Intimately associated with the most spec- tacular events of the entire nation for more than a genera- tion, linked to the body of memories — sweet and other- wise — of many million citizens North and South, the most powerful political machine of the Middle Period, the politi- cal organization out of a section of which, as from a rib of Adam, had been evolved in a sense the Confederacy itself, a party which had certainly done things, and which at this 519 520 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA time, 1867-68, was the powerful national opponent organi- zation of the then arrogant and victorious Union-Repub- lican Party, — verily " Democracy " came to life throughout the Southern states revived by even its past sins, recrystal- ized by the desperation of the Southern whites, and disci- plined by the exigencies of the present. Except for a limited infusion of former Whigs, " Union men ", and Northern Democrats lately come South, the per- sonnel of the Democratic party in Florida was substantially the same as it had been in 1861. Then it was a radical party of political change founded upon the reactionary principle of state rights; now it was a conservative party of political reaction founded upon the simpler principle of white supremacy. In the town of Quincy, Florida, on March 31st, 1868, just a year after the inauguration of military rule, Conser- vative politicians came together for a conference. Their immediate object was to make nominations for the elections to be held when, according to the orders of General Meade,^ the newly-framed constitution should be submitted in May to the votes of the people.^ Opposition to the adoption of the proposed constitution was here announced as the policy of the Conservative party. No one knew then just what constitution Congress would finally submit to the voters of Florida. Congress was radical, and the Radicals of Florida had laid before the Reconstruction committee in Washing- ton an instrument which if adopted would bar from politi- cal office and the ballot-box a leading class of Southern whites and incidentally deliver the state government into the hands of eight negro counties.^ There was ample reason ' Gen. Ords., no. 41, issued by Meade from Atlanta, Mch. 16, 1868; supplementary order Mch. 17, — An. Cyclop., 1868-9. ' Florida Union, Apr. 4, 1868; Floridian, Apr. 7, 1868. * H. Misc. Docs., 4th C, 2nd S., no. 109. A REPUBLICAN STATE GOVERNMENT 521 why Southern whites should oppose this part of Congres- sional reconstruction. A ticket was chosen non-sectional in character, giving recognition to those classes which were then being fused into the new Democracy: namely, ex-Confederate (former Democrats and Whigs), Southern Unionists (former Whigs, mostly), and men from the North.^ The three well-defined sections of the state were considered, and the candidates picked from West, Central, and East Florida. George W. Scott, of Leon County, was nominated for governor. Scott was a former Democrat who had fought in the Confederate army. Thomas W. White, of Jackson County, was nominated for lieutenant-governor.^ White was an ex-Whig and had been a Unionist during the war. John Friend, of Nassau County was nominated for Con- gress. Friend was a Northerner and a Federal office- holder. Presumably he was a " Johnson man " with a Democratic past. The nominations were eminently respectable and seem- ingly wise.^ Political meetings in several towns quickly ratified the decision of the state convention. In Pensacola, Lake City, Ouincy, Monticello, and Tallahassee endorse- ment was voted amid lively campaign speeches and slapdash resolutions.* Most men of property were in the ranks of ' See references to this point, — H. Rpts., 42nd C, 2nd S.. no. 22, V. 13, p. 147; Wallace, op. cit., p. 17, etc. ' White declined the nomination, Floridian, Mch. 14, 1868. Jas. W. Hall of Escambia Co. was nominated for lieut.-gov. to replace White, — Floridian, Apr. 4, 1868. * Floridian, Apr. 7, 1868. * Meetings in Leon Co. and Gadsden Co. — Floridian, Apr. 7 and 14, 1868; at Pensacola, Escambia Co. — Floridian, Apr. 21; in Jefferson Co. — Jefferson Gazette, Apr. 17, Floridian, Apr. 28; Lake City, Colum- bia Co. — Floridian, May 5, etc. 522 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA the Conservative party. Yet in spite of this fact and of meetings, resolutions, and speeches, the Democratic cam- paign did not go forward with decision and vigor. ^ Some- thing was wrong. Probably the new leaders who had re- placed to some extent the ante-bellum chiefs were lacking in experience. The negro vote was about as unresponsive to Conservative influence in the spring, as it had been in the previous autumn.^ Republican leaders meanwhile were trying to harmonize the discordant elements of their party. In the constitu- tional convention during February a very savage disagree- ment had been unveiled.^ It will be remembered that two constitutions had been adopted and sent to the reconstruc- tion committee of Congress. One came from the radical " Rump " convention under the control of Billings, Rich- ards, and Saunders ; the other, from a reorganized conven- tion controlled by more moderate men and advised by the military. General Meade sent his approval with the latter,* which did not proscribe politically a class of one-time Confederates, as did the " Rump " convention's constitu- tion. Radical leaders in Washington took the matter under ad- visement, and finally on April 14th the Reconstruction com- ' See letter of Scott, Floridian,- Apr. 7, 1868. ' The Federal military anticipated serious attempts at economic coercion by the southern white planter of his negro employees. Gen. Ords., no. 41, callinj the election, stated that "no contract or agree- ment " with laborers made for the purpose of controlling their vote would be permitted to be enforced against ther.!. A-,:. Cyclop., 1868-9. ' The Radical Party was actively holding mass meetings, see Florida Union. Apr. 4, 1868; Floridian. May 5, 1868. At a Radical meeting in Tallahassee on May 2 the speeches were so violent and incendiary that the military interfered, — Floridian, April 28, 1868. * H. Ex. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 297. A REPUBLICAN STATE GOVERNMENT 523 mittee put its approval on the more liberal instrument en- dorsed by General Meade/ This pronouncement by Republican leaders in Washing- ton helped create Republican solidarity in Florida, but failed to bring complete harmony. Liberty Billings, Daniel Rich- ards, and the men with them prepared to oppose the adop- tion of the constitution and the election of the regular Republican ticket because the constitution rejected by Con- gress came from the radical faction, which Billings and Richards led. The regular Republican ticket had been chosen by the members of the constitutional convention im- mediately after the last formal adjournment.^ It in- cluded Harrison Reed, ex-journalist and Federal postal agent, late of Wisconsin, for governor;^ William M. Gleason, lumberman and land speculator, also late of Wisconsin, for lieutenant-governor ; ^ and Charles M. Hamilton, an ex-officer of the Federal army and Freed- men's Bureau, late of Pennsylvania, for Congress.^ No one of the three had been in the constitutional convention. ^ A^. Y. Times, Apr. 5, 1868. Thad. Stevens and Chief Justice Chase both endorsed this instrument. ^ An. Cyclop., 1868-9. » FI. Ex. Docs., 38th C, 2nd S., no. 18, p. 88. * Floridian, July 7, 1868. Concerning Gleason's career the following hostile account is taken from the La Crosse (Wis.) Dent., " Gleason was a resident of Eau Claire not long since. In 1856 he was engaged in the loyal occupation of returning votes for a town- ship in Eau Claire Co. where no election was held, and was them en- gaged in bank speculation that did not add much to his reputation for honesty. After Gleason left Wisconsin he bought an interest in the Crawford Co. Bank located at Meadeville, Penn., but was un- successful to swindle the public to any great extent. After the failure of the bank he engaged in various enterprises — among others in ob- taining money upon worthless checks, for which he was arrested, and the records of the Eldridge St. jail there show that he was an in- mate for some time." * For biographical comment see N. Y. World, Sept. 22, 1868. 524 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA The other faction ("Rump Convention"), it will be re- membered, had named a state ticket before dispersing. Billings was to be governor. All of the nominees had been delegates to the convention. The negro leader, Saunders, who had worked inti- mately with Billings and Richards, changed about suddenly, quit his former political associates, and publicly declared that he would support Reed and the constitution.^ He attacked in speech his old associate Billings, stigmatizing him publicly as a " liar ", a " seducer ", and " a carpet- bagger ".^ Saunders had influence among the negroes. The independent Republican nominees made a cam- paign.^ Billings hoped to control the negro vote through- out the state as he had done recently in the convention. He preached to the blacks in their churches, kissed their babies, and told them that " Jesus Christ was a Republi- can." * His auditors moaned approval sometimes and sometimes howled him down when he attempted to speak. He and his friends were in fact out of the regular Republi- can organization, with its many tentacles reaching like the fingers of a devil-fish the individual negro through the Freedmen's Bureau, Lincoln Brotherhoods, Union Leagues, African Methodist Episcopal and colored Baptist churches. Federal office-holders and negro schools.^ He and Rich- ards withdrew from the contest before the election, beaten 'See letter of Saunders — Floridian, Apr. 21, 1868; also Floridian, Apr. 14 — reference to a statement by Saunders in the Florida Union, Apr. II, giving reasons for change. Saunders claimed that the "Bill- ings Party " owed him $897.00. * Floridian, Apr. 28, 1868 — see extract from Jefferson Gazette, Apr. 14. * Floridian, Apr. 21, May 5, 1868. Billings campaign was hottest in West and Central Florida. * Wallace, op. cit., p. 6^. ' Floridian, Apr. 28, 1868. A REPUBLICAN STATE GOVERNMENT 525 or bribed. Samuel Walker, the nominee for lieutenant- governor, strangely enough, stayed in the field. Thus the Republican party in Florida went into the spring elections of 1868 with ranks divided. Its strength lay in the black vote. It was a black-man's party shrewdly and unscrupulously led by a few score carpet-baggers and scalawags.^ Radical leaders were bent on crushing out completely any hope of Conservative success. In the voting for delegates to the then recent constitutional convention several thou- sand whites had been disfranchised under the Federal Re- construction Laws. Would the same proscription be made in the voting for the constitution and for a state govern- ment under it? Now that a constitution was formed, would its very provisions admitting the proscribed whites to the polls and to office be respected? Would the voting be governed by the new constitution or the Federal laws of March 2nd and 23rd, 1867? These were the most acute political questions before the people during the spring of 1868. The recent convention had decreed that the provisions of the constitution be applied on election day, admitting to the polls those whites barred out by the Reconstruction Law. General Meade, military commander, was importuned by Radicals in Florida not only to annul the ordinance of the convention admitting disfranchised whites to the polls, but also to order that the election in question be held one month earlier than the convention had fixed it — in April instead of May.^ What was the object in such haste? Several thou- * C. 'R. Mobley, a Republican member of the state senate, estimated that the number of carpet-baggers in the State would not exceed 300, — Floridian, Aug. 11, 1868. Two years earlier J. W. Recks, Federal treas. agent, estimated the white Union vote at 300. H. Rpts., 39th C, 1st S., no. 30, p. 3. ^Rpt. Sect. War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 95 — Meade to Grant, Feb. 29, 1868; p. 99; Meade to Grant, Mch. 13. 526 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA sand whites were still unregistered/ If the election came before they could register, the local Republican party would gain thereby. The Radicals insisted that if the Southern whites were given a chance they would defeat or delay Reconstruction. There was truth and logic in the conten- tion. Meade asked Grant, head of the army, for advice, and Grant advised allowing all to vote according to the terms of the constitution framed and then to be voted on.- Meade followed the advice herewith given. The election passed off quietly on May 6th, 7th, and 8th. ^ For fourteen days prior to the opening of the polls the registration lists were in process of revision. Pre- viously disfranchised whites now admitted to the suffrage were enrolling. The voting was for governor, lieutenant- governor. Congressmen, and members of the legislature, as well as for the adoption or rejection of the constitution. " Scott may poll five votes to Reed's one, and Reed will be elected," A. A. Knight declared. " We've got the whole thing in our hands — the ballot-boxes, the registrars, the mail agents, and all." * A few weeks later Knight was * 11,148 whites were registered up to date. 13,698 were registered for this election. The normal voting strength of Florida in 1861 was about 14,000. See chapter in " Registration and Political Organi- zation," supra. =■ Rpt. Sect. War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 96. » Ibid., 1868-9, V. I, p. 103— Meade to Grant, Apr. 8; N. Y. Herald, May 8, 1868 — dispatch from Key West. * Tallahassee Sentinel, May 7, 1868. This conversation of Knight's attracted attention. It was quoted in the Floridian, and Knight was asked by J. B. Oliver, editor of the Sentinel, to repeat the statement in the presence of a witness, which he did, adding: "Billings and Walker have got off here [the conversation was on a railway train] to hold a Billings meeting called to meet here by their friend Cone. Billings wrote to Cone to assemble. Billings' letter went to the train. We [Knight and his friends] went on the same train that carried the letter. We opened it and wrote another one saying : ' Dear Cone ; there is no chance for us. Go for the Reed ticket. Tell your people '. A REPUBLICAN STATE GOVERNMENT 7 appointed to a circuit judgeship by the new governor. The Conservatives claimed that just such fraud as Knight had arrogantly hinted at had been perpetrated. Their claims for some localities were authenticated — as such things can be by affidavits and other testimony.^ The vot- ing had gone heavily against the Conservatives. But it was not fraud on the part of Radical election officials which defeated them. The fundamental reason was failure to have enough registered votes at the party's disposal — poverty of Conservative white votes. The registered blacks far outnumbered the whites, and they went solidly with the Republican party. The result was substantially what it had been in the autumn elections for a convention. Many whites had re- mained away from the polls. If all had voted the net re- sult for the state would not have been different. 14,561 votes were cast for the constitution; 9,511 against it. It was therefore adopted by a large margin. The Republican ticket headed by Reed received 14,421 votes, the Demo- cratic ticket headed by Scott, 7,731; and the independent Radical ticket headed by Samuel Walker, 2,251. 24,403 voters cast their ballots.^ The total number of registered We signed ' Liberty Billings ' to it and put it in the old envelope and sent it to Cone, and Cone — a darn fool — thought it was all hunky." This is a suggestion of one way for Republican postal officials to help beat the enemy. * A^ Y. World, June 25, 1868, — 5 affidavits presented from Madison Co. ; Floridian, May 12, 1868. Madison Messenger, May 8, 1868, stated that the regis' ration books showed 1.554 whites and blacks voted, yet 1800 ballots were taken from the box. The Republicans carried the county. Also, An. Cyclop., 1868-9. * Rpt. Sect. War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 106, Meade to Grant, June 2. Fig- ures in Floridian, June 9, containing the vote in detail by counties vary somewhat from Meade's figs. According to them 14,520 votes were cast for consti'ution, 9,511 against it. Reed received 14,178 votes, Scott 7,852 and Walker 2,257. The statements in the Floridian are later than those of Meade. Also, Floridian, May 12. ^28 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA voters was 31,498. Thus 7,095 did not vote. The regis- tration books showed 13,698 white voters and 17,800 black.^ At high noon, on June 8th, Governor Reed was sworn into office by Judge Thomas Boynton — late of Ohio — of the Federal district court. The oath was administered in the presence of both branches of the newly-elected legis- lature assembled in the capitol building at Tallahassee.^ Reed was a little man, slightly built, with a big, bald head and a bushy beard — almost goat-like — the upper lip shaven clean. A full fringe of hair on three sides of the bald spot, a high forehead, and heavy spectacles gave him an owl-like appearance, which accentuated his calm moderation and well-poised personal address. His views on public questions were usually balanced, definite and clear — due perhaps to his long journalistic and business experience; and his way of doing things, not clear, often smacking of commercialism, and suggestive of just that training in the competitive sphere of business and politics which made him definite, concrete, and plausible. For many years Harrison Reed had been a publisher and editor, first in Milwaukee and later in Neemah and Madison, Wisconsin. " Reed is a fussy old granny," wrote an East Florida Republican, Calvin Robinson, to Reed's arch-enemy, Stickney, " but I think he is honest and sincere." Stickney had written : " Reed hangs around like the itch. I can hardly meet him without spit- ting in his face." ^ He finished his denunciation by calling him a " damn fool ". Stickney had been stealing from the Federal government. Reed had opposed his plans, and hence these statements. A citizen of Wisconsin, called to ' The registration lists had been revised — ^Gen. Ord., no. 41, Mch. 16. "^ Floridian, June 9, 1868; A^. Y. Herald, June 14, 1868; N. Y. World, June 17, 1868. ^ H. Ex. Docs., 38th C, 2nd S., no. 18, p. 6. A REPUBLICAN STATE GOVERNMENT 529 testify before a committee of Congress, said of Reed : " He is generally regarded in the State as a high-minded, honest, and honorable man. I never heard his truth and veracity questioned. As a business man his character is that of a prompt and honest man who always pays his debts." ^ His career in Florida showed him to be shrewd, com- bative, and intriguing in dealing with men, but not smooth. He moved with a high hand — as a benevolent political boss. He turned from the judge and the Bible to address the future legislators of Florida. As his eyes swept that little gathering of lawless law-makers he must have had sad misgivings. Nearly a third of those assembled were from party reasons hostile to him, and the majority of the others were negroes and whites whose enlightenment was veiled and whose reputations could not be easily damaged. "Once assembled they will do as they please," wrote General Meade a week earlier — " pass laws inconsistent with my powers and orders; and tax ad libitmn the State treasuries without any control, and without any means of enforcing their acts except through me." ^ The legislature chosen was preponderantly Republican. In the senate were sixteen Republicans and eight Demo- crats ; in the house, thirty-seven Republicans and fifteen Democrats.® Of these seventy-six senators and represen- tatives thirteen were denominated as " carpet-baggers ", twenty-one as Southern loyalists or " scalawags ", nineteen as negroes, and twenty-three as white Conservatives or ' H. Ex. Docs., 38th C, 2nd S., no. 18, p. 88, testimony of J. F. Potter before Committee investigating Florida tax commissioners. » Rpt. Sect. War, 1868-9, v. i, pp. 105-6. ' Floridian, May 9, 1868. N. Y. Herald, June 14, 1868. The Con- stitution provided for 53 members in the assembly. See Const., Art. 16, Sec. 29, H. Misc. Docs., 40th C, 2nd S., no. 114. roQ RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA Democrats. The Conservative representation came from the poor white counties, outside of the great plantation dis- trict. Most of the Republican legislators came from the Black Belt — the richest and most populous portion of Flor- ida. The editor of the Floridian stated that if the Demo- crats were not considered, a fair estimate of the wealth of the other fifty-three members, minus the value of their clothes, would be less than $i,ooo. It is certainly true that the Republican representatives, as a class, were not exten- sive property-holders in Florida or out. Some of them at the time of their election were Federal office-holders. At that moment the status of the legislature was as uncertain as that of the small man in spectacles who stood addressing its members with his hand on the Bible. Re- construction was being directed by the Federal govern- ment and the reorganized state governments in the South received their authority to exist from its sanction. The Federal military had controlled and directed the election in Florida as well as the canvassing of the votes. The con- vention had ordered that all returns be sent to the state canvassing board. The military commander interfered and ordered all returns sent to the state superintendent of regis- tration. Certificates of election were issued by the military. " My object," said Meade, " was to retain control of the whole subject, because if the legislature is permitted to convene without orders from me and without regard for the paramount authority which the Reconstruction Laws vest in me, interminable confusion and conflict of authority will be sure to follow." ^ On June 9th, the day following the first meeting of the legislature. Reed laid before the body a number of tele- grams which helped explain the actual position of the new ' Rpt. Sect. War, 1868-9, v. i, p. 105. A REPUBLICAN STATE GOVERNMENT 531 State government of Florida.^ Colonel Flint, commanding Federal troops at Tallahassee, had telegraphed General Meade for instructions in regard to the proper policy of the military toward the reorganized civil government. Meade answered through his adjutant-general stating that the military was to acknowledge in no way the newly-insti- tuted government until Congress had approved of its ex- istence. The legislature adjourned until June 15th. The Radical Republicans in Congress were expending their efforts to bring Florida and five other commonwealths back into the Union at an early date.' The Presidential election was approaching and the political restoration of the South was desired by Republicans because the vote of that section, now dominated by crushing negro majorities, would be for them. Johnson continued to oppose the policy of Congress. He vetoed the bill which would admit to Congress representatives from those reconstructed South- ern states whose legislatures would ratify the Fourteenth Amendment. The bill became law on June 25th, over the President's veto.^ Both houses of the Florida legislature had given their assent on June 9th to the amendment.* During June 17th, i8th and 19th, the legislature had chosen United States senators.^ Adonijah Strong Welch, white, late of Michi- gan and then a teacher in a negro school, was elected for ' Floridian, June 16, 1868. Gov. Reed was in touch with the Wash- ington authorities. He had been in Washington during May, — Flori- dian, May 26, 1868. * Dunning, Reconst. Polit. and Ec, pp. 1 18-19; Rhodes, U. S., v. 2; Floridian, June 23, 1868, report on Florida Const, by the Lower House of Congress, June 12. * McPherson, Reconstruction, pp. 337-8. * The house 23 to 6; the Senate 10 to 3. Flack, Adoption of Four- teenth Amendment, p. 190; McPherson, Polit. Man., 1868, p. 93. * Floridian, June 23, 1868. 532 RECONSTRUCTION IN FLORIDA the short term ending March, 1868; and Thomas W. Os- born, one-time bureau commissioner, late of New Jersey, for the long term ending in 1873/ Osborn was admitted to the Senate June 30th," after some wrangling over his credentials and a last attempt by Conservatives to force a consideration of the claims of the other senators-elect. Call and Marvin. Senator Doolittle, in bringing up the latter's case, said: "In 1866, almost a year and a half after the war was over, after peace had been proclaimed and Congress had by law recognized the fact that peace was proclaimed, the legislature of Florida — the state being then in a peaceful condition — assembled and elected the person to whom I have referred and whose cre- dentials I have presented to the Senate." ^ But the Senate, controlled by Radicals, paid little heed to such talk. Os- born was sworn in ; Welch followed him on July 2nd.* Charles M. Hamilton, late of Pennsylvania and now Con- gressman-elect from Florida, took his seat in the House on the first day of July. Thaddeus Stevens presented his cre- dentials." Reconstruction in Florida had progressed favorably so far by the last of June that General Meade proceeded to bring to an end military rule there. June 29th he notified Colonel Sprague, commanding in Florida, to prepare to re- linquish the administration of affairs to the civil authori- ties.® Gov