JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville was a strategic location during the Civil War.
The Confederacy used it for a cattle supply line. The Union occupied Jacksonville four times and used it as a base for the Union’s naval blockade.
“Northeast Florida and Jacksonville and North Florida in general was the “Wild West” of the 1860s,” according to Shawn Stermer of the Jacksonville History Center.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“In the streets of Jacksonville, there was just fighting left and right. You would have pickets and small little forts blocking off streets where you would have Union troops shooting at Confederate troops just right across the street from each other,” Stermer said.
In 1864, Union Brigadier General Truman Seymour ordered his troops to head west from Jacksonville to weaken Confederate assets. “He starts sabotaging the railroads, starts getting into small little skirmishes with cavalry units,” Stermer said. “All the while, the Confederates are bringing in reinforcements from South Carolina and Georgia.”
The Confederacy was dealing with the aftermath of losing the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania just a few months earlier, a turning point for the Union.
“The Confederates were really trying to maintain their foothold. Meanwhile, the Union is trying to get a foothold in Florida as well because they’re trying to bring the state back into the Union.”
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
In February 1864, the Union and Confederate soldiers met in Olustee, now Baker County, for what would be the largest and bloodiest battle in the Civil War in Florida. The Confederates managed to stand their ground, but not without a fight from the Union troops, particularly black soldiers from the 54th Massachusetts Regiment.
“(They) held their ground and allowed the rest of the Union Army to fall back to a safer location while they held the Confederates off,” Stermer said.
The Confederate victory in the Battle of Olustee was significant, as it prolonged the Confederacy in Florida for a little while longer, except for Jacksonville, which was held by the Union. “And because of the Union and the strength of their navy in the river, they were able to keep that control,” Stermer said.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
