THE WEST FLORIDA WAR
A New Look at the 1864 Raid on Marianna
by: Dale A. Cox
Copyright by Dale A. Cox 1989 and 1999
About the Author
Dale Cox grew up in the Parramore Community near the Chattahoochee River in eastern Jackson County. An avid student of local history, he has been actively involved in recording and preserving Jackson County's rich history since before he was a teenager. While still in elementary school he was selected to assist Jackson County Archivist Sarah Bruce Harris in the organization and duplication of the county's historical records and he penned his first article on local history for the Jackson County Floridan newspaper when he was only twelve years old.
From 1978-1980, Cox worked on government-sponsored archaeological surveys and excavations in the Lake Seminole area with a team from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History before beginning a career as a professional journalist and writer. He has managed television news operations in Alabama, Indiana, Georgia and South Carolina. His historical writings have appeared in magazines and newspapers across the country and his study of the infamous 1963 "Escape from Alcatraz" received national exposure.
His next book, An Accurate History of Jackson County, Florida, is scheduled for release this fall. He also has two other works in progress: A History of the Creek and Seminole Wars of 1813-1818 and A New Look at DeSoto's Route Through Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
The West Florida War was published in book form in 1989 and, after three printings, is now out-of-print. It is being made available here in its entirety to assist those researching family connections to the Battle of Marianna and in the hopes of stimulating new interest in this nearly forgotten Florida battle.
Dale Cox would like to hear from anyone who would like can contact him. Email CoxGA@aol.com
(I have enjoyed working with Dale in this effort....BJS)
Photo's to be used with material. (not on-line yet)
Photo 1: Alexander Asboth
Photo 2: Exterior of Fort Barrancas
Photo 3: Interior of Fort Barrancas
Photo 4: Lake Defuniak
Photo 5: Eucheeanna Battle Site
Photo 6: Euchee Valley Presbyterian Church
Photo 7: Ponce de Leon Springs
Photo 8: Ponce de Leon Springs
Photo 9: "Cradle to Grave" Monument in Marianna
Photo 10: Forgotten Federal Monument in Marianna
Photo 11: St. Luke's Churchyard in Marianna
Photo 12: Battle of Marianna Marker at St. Luke's Church.
Photo 13: Battle of Marianna Marker at Jackson County Courthouse
Photo 14: Grave of Arthur Lewis , Sr.
Photo 15: Photo of Major W.H. Milton, C.S.A.
Photo 16: Moss Hill Church and Grounds
Photo 17: Grave of Freeman B. Irwin
Photo 18: Grave of Nathaniel Miller
Photo 19: Grave of Stephen Pierce
Pen and Ink Sketches
Sketch 1: Burning of St. Luke's Church, Battle of Marianna (pen & ink).
Sketch 2: Elmira Prison, New York (pen & ink).
INTRODUCTION
The Battle of Marianna, Florida, was a military mismatch of dramatic proportions. On the afternoon of September 27, 1864, Colonel Alexander Montgomery and a small band of Confederate regulars, reservists and volunteers battled overwhelming odds in a futile effort to defend the Northwest Florida city. The result has been described by some as "Florida's Alamo."
Although the engagement rarely attracts more than a passing mention in even the most prolific of histories of the War Between the States, its importance to the future of the entire Northwest Florida area can not be underestimated. In a single bold thrust, Brigadier General Alexandor Asboth and a command of 700 Union soldiers literally devastated the economy of a vast region of Confederate territory. In addition to demonstrating the inability of the state to defend itself, the raid significantly impacted the region's role as a Southern "breadbasket."
Despite its evident importance to the local region, and indeed to the state as a whole, the Battle of Marianna has been the subject of much debate and mystery over the years. The events leading up to and following it were virtually forgotten and the actual strategy of the primary engagement was clouded in folklore and legend. At least one modern historian, Dr. Mark F. Boyd, called his effort to penetrate the enigma, "particularly frustrating." As Dr. Boyd found, much of the source documentation is contradictory. Eyewitnesses disagree with each other, and in many cases even dispute their own accounts.
This project was undertaken to accumulate as much of the original source material as possible, while it was still available. The results have been astounding and have resulted in a severe rewriting of local history. What follows is a significant departure from earlier narratives. Many known "facts" have been disproved and many "legends" have been demonstrated to be fact. It is the belief of the author that this publication will offer an interesting and new interpretation of the 1864 raid on Marianna, an event still remembered in the area as, "The West Florida War."
"Lord God of Hosts
Be with us yet,
Lest We Forget,
Lest We Forget."
On to Part
Two
On to Part
Three
On to Part
Four
On to Part
Five
On to Part Six
- appendix
PART ONE
Preliminary Episodes
Asboth
The events leading up to the Marianna raid actually developed during the fall of 1863 when Brigadier General Alexander Sandor Asboth took command of the Federal troops at Fort Barrancas, a U.S. Army installation near Pensacola. Of Hungarian descent, Asboth came to Florida near the end of a stormy and unusual military career. He had first attained note as a follower of Kossuth, the noted revolutionary, during the ill-fated Hungarian Revolt of 1848. When Kossuth and his lieutenants were overwhelmed, they fled first to Turkey and eventually on to the United States. Asboth settled in the Chicago, Illinois, area, where he remained until the outbreak of war between the North and South in 1861.
With both armies suffering from an extreme need for experienced field officers, many of Kossuth's followers found that the conflict held tremendous opportunity for them. Asboth was particularly well received by Major General John C. Fremont, the noted explorer, who was trying to organize a desperately needed Federal army in Missouri. Joining Fremont on August 1, 1861, Asboth was given a brigadiership, later elevated to Chief of Staff, and ultimately named the acting-major general of Fremont's Fourth Division.
Despite such early promise, however, Asboth's relationship with the Union army soured. Fremont had evidently failed to secure the approval of President Abraham Lincoln before offering the exile an elevated position. An army paymaster subsequently declined to reimburse the quasi-general for his services. Thanks to friends in high places, Asboth was allowed to retain his rank - without pay - until the matter could be resolved. While in such a precarious position, he helped command the Federal forces at the Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern), Arkansas, where he was wounded during the fighting of March 7, 1862.
The general's service at Pea Ridge must have helped demonstrate his potential to Federal authorities, for his rank was finally confirmed on the 21st of March, just two weeks later. The long-awaited recognition almost came too late. Anxious to prove his individual merit, Asboth had declined to accept necessary medical leave following the battle and within weeks began to experience problems. His wounded right arm stiffened and a short time later he contracted severe diarrhea (an often fatal disease in those days).
The general finally accepted a 30-day medical leave during August, but the time proved insufficient for a proper recovery. Ironically, a request for additional time was denied and he was ordered to the Department of Ohio where he assumed command of the garrison at Fort Pickering. While there, he was joined by a fellow Hungarian, Albert Ruttkay. A former company captain with the First U.S. Heavy Artillery (Colored), Ruttkay signed on as Asboth's private secretary and voluntary aide-de-camp. Reputedly a nephew of Kossuth, Ruttkay was lured by the promise of an elevated rank with a proposed cavalry regiment that ultimately was never organized.
Regardless, Ruttkay remained with Asboth with the general was reassigned to Columbus, Kentucky, during January of 1863 and was still present when Asboth was ordered to report for duty as commandant of a military prison in Illinois later that year. Before the two could depart for the new assignment, however, contradictory orders were received from General U.S. Grant directing Asboth to the Department of the Gulf. Finding the latter assignment preferable, the two set out for the coast without first notifying superiors of their intent. Confusion resulted, but Asboth was able to weather the storm and finally assumed command of the Federal District of West Florida on November 9, 1863, establishing his headquarters at Fort Barrancas.1
No sooner had the general arrived at the Pensacola Bay post than was he apprised of the presence of a large number of Southern refugees in the vicinity. Most were Unionists, many of them Confederate deserters. As his ability to operate effectively within the limits of his district was hampered by an insufficiency of suitable troops, Asboth was receptive to a delegation of these refugees who proposed that they be allowed to enlist in the Union army. Approval was sought from superiors and, during December of 1863, efforts were initiated to form a new regiment of Federal cavalry from the "disaffected Southerners" in the Pensacola area.2
Among the first to volunteer was Wade H. Richardson, an Alabama refugee, who later recorded his experiences for the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Telegraph:
Enrollment began the latter part of December, and on the 3d of January, 1864, I enlisted in Company A, whose quota of 100 men was not yet half filled. I was detailed to assist at headquarters in enlisting the men as they came in. At that time there were several hundred men in hiding in southern Alabama and Florida, and squads of our recruits were passed through the lines to assist these men to our camp.3
Richardson's statement regarding the men in hiding along the Florida-Alabama border was essentially correct. Dr. Ethelred Phillips, a Marianna physician, made note of their presence in a letter to a North Carolina relative on January 4, 1864:
...the country for fifty miles between here and the Gulf is infested with hundreds of deserters in communication with the enemy. A few nights ago 44 deserted from one company and fifteen the night before. They had not been paid since June and their families were suffering from want of food. Everybody is tired of this war.4
Asboth made liberal use of these men in filling the ranks of his new cavalry regiment. There seems to have been little concern on the part of the Federals that many of the new recruits were known outlaws. Most of the Confederate deserters and draft-dodgers secreting the region were members of the ill-famed "raider gangs" which hid out in the swamplands along the Choctawhatchee River. Headed by men with names like Jim Ward, Joe Sanders, Dick Curlee and A.B. Rhodes, these outlaws sallied forth on occasion to pillage, murder and steal. With no real Confederate force in the region to oppose them, they grew increasingly bold. During September of 1863, they even attacked the village of Elba, Alabama, burning its courthouse and conscription (draft) records before being driven away by local home guardsmen. Attracted by the enlistment bonus offered by the Federals, many of the raiders found a place within the ranks of the new regiment. Although many deserted at the first opportunity, others remained with the unit throughout the war.
Initial recruitment for the new Federal unit went well. On the 11th of January, 1864, Asboth reported that 120 volunteers were then in his camps and a number of others were in route. According to the report, the Federals had learned that General Clanton, commanding the Confederate post at Pollard, Alabama, was aware of their efforts and had ordered down three cavalry companies and a 3-gun artillery battery to intercept deserters and refugees trying to reach a Union outpost on Choctawhatchee Bay. Asboth believed that the Southern troops were also being sent to protect several schooners being outfitted in the vicinity for a planned attempt to run the blockade.5
Intending to counter Clanton's efforts, the Federals sent 50 men to Choctawhatchee Bay under Captains Smalley and Galloway. Their orders were to "collect and bring down refugees willing to enlist in the services of the United States," and to seize any Confederate vessels in the area. At the same time, Asboth requested additional troops, indicating that "movements of importance could be started from here."6
The general clearly planned to step up Federal activity in the region and Confederate authorities were rather comprehensive of the threat. John Milton, Florida's Confederate governor, requested that General Edward A. Perry's Brigade be ordered to Marianna for recruiting purposes:
I say Marianna because in the counties bordering the Gulf and especially Washington County, there are many deserters from other states. They are in communication with the enemy, evidently with the intention of a raid in that section.7
Although the Secretary of War expressed sympathy for Milton's problems, Perry's Brigade was desperately needed in the front lines and could not be spared. There can be little doubt, however, that the unit would probably have benefited from a brief reassignment to Marianna where its diminished ranks could have been replenished.
The "Good Union Men of Marianna"
In his letter of January 11, 1864, Governor Milton provided a rare glimpse of local attitudes regarding the war by reporting that the "sheriff of Washington County, Abram M. Skipper, has gone to the enemy."8 According to Washington County historian E.W. Carswell, Skipper was a devout Unionist who had refused to take office under the Confederate flag.9 Based on Milton's letter, he was not alone:
The sheriff...and others who are persons of influence have gone to the enemy, carrying with them their horses, & etc., and will pilot them in any raid which may be attempted. I assert this to be true with a full knowledge of the facts. I entertain no doubt that unless preventive measures shall be adopted that the portion of the state between the Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee Rivers will be desolated by the enemy this winter....10
Milton's warning would prove prophetic in the extreme. And while the defections of Skipper and his fellow Washington Countians may have contributed to the coming events, so too might have the activities of several prominent Marianna businessmen. Rumor has long prevailed in the community that a number of key business and political leaders were secretly in contact with Federal military authorities. Henry Robinson, a surgeon at the Confederate Post Hospital in Marianna, wrote as fact that John T. Myrick, Sr., and Thomas M. White were in regular communication with the Union blockade ships at St. Andrews Bay.11
White was the Confederate-era mayor of Marianna and Myrick was one of the town's leading merchants. Tradition also names Ethelred Phillips, Horace Ely, Sidney Alderman and Eli Moore as possible Union conspirators. Previously, there has been little written support for such claims, but the records of naval vessels assigned to the blockade of St. Andrews Bay include a fascinating report filed by Acting-Master W.R. Browne of the U.S.S. Reckless on January 19, 1864:
On the afternoon of the 16th, instant, a person appeared on the mainland at this place with a flag of truce. He was a mile or more distant...I dispatched Acting Ensign Hicks in a boat to him, and he was allowed to come on board without my knowledge.12
The man turned out to be George W. Maslin, an English sea captain. According to Browne, he represented himself to be a "good Union man, having business with me on behalf of good Union men of Marianna." The business turned out to be largely economic, as Browne went on to relate:
He made substantially the following statement: That there was a schooner of 60 tons burden, named the Kain, lying at Bear Creek, North Bay, about 20 miles from here, and partly loaded with cotton (of this fact I was already aware); that she could carry about 120 bales; that he, George W. Maslin, was the agent in this mission for four Union men of Marianna, named John T. Myrick, Alderman, Moore, and Burnett, one or two of whom owned part of the cotton on board the vessel. All had determined to get away from the Southern Government, if possible, except Burnett, whom domestic affairs compelled to remain.13
Maslin hoped for permission to move the Kain to either Pensacola or Key West, where it would be sold. The "good Union men of Marianna" would then use the proceeds to flee the Confederacy. Browne further noted that all four of the men identified by Maslin were "known by refugees here to be true and loyal men." Even so, their plan was vetoed by Rear Admiral Theodorus Bailey who indicated that, based on the opinion of a Federal judge, only President Lincoln could order a lifting of the blockade.14
While the "Burnett" mentioned in Browne's report is rather elusive, the other three men are readily identifiable as prominent Marianna merchants. Fifty-three year old Myrick, who had sons in the Confederate army, was a store-keeper and planter who farmed 2,560 acres with 97 slaves.15 Sidney Alderman and Eli Moore were partners in the Marianna mercantile firm of Alderman & Moore. The former had even represented Jackson County at the Florida Secession Convention.16
It is difficult to prove that such contacts had much impact on the area war effort. Of greater importance to the Federals were the Confederate deserters volunteering to fill the ranks of Asboth's new cavalry regiment. Especially significant were several commissioned and non-commissioned officers who left their units in the Marianna vicinity in early 1864 to join the enemy. Principal among these was Robert S. Russ, the first lieutenant of Company K, Sixth Florida Infantry. Not only was he the son of a prominent Washington County Unionist, Samuel C. Russ, the lieutenant was also the son-in-law of the previously mentioned Sheriff A.M. Skipper. Joining Asboth's new regiment on February 9, 1864, he was commissioned as the second lieutenant of Company A on May 29th.17
Joining Russ in short order was his brother-in-law, Sergeant Joseph B. Carroll, who had served in the same Confederate unit. Carroll's commanding officer, Captain J.F. McClellan, reported on January 20th that the sergeant had deserted on a mare stolen from Lieutenant William Everett following a visit by his (Carroll's) father-in-law, Samuel C. Russ:
Russ is the father of Lt. Robert S. Russ, who deserted to the enemy. His daughter, Mrs. Marshall, and his son, Jim Russ, have all gone to the enemy some weeks since. Russ, I am satisfied, is in full communication with the enemy and has been for four months.18
As the desertion rate grew, local Confederate commanders stepped up their
efforts to eliminate the problem. Companies under Captains Floyd, Gettis
and Robinson began increasing their patrols along the Choctawhatchee River
and Bay. According to Asboth, they were "hunting deserters with bloodhounds
which have torn to pieces several women and children, creating general
indignation among the people."19
While there is little confirmation for such reports, the rumors
undoubtedly increased the wariness of the deserters moving through the area.
Even so, the new Federal regiment continued to grow - despite what Asboth
described as a lack of money with which to pay the promised enlistment bonuses:
Enlistments in the First Florida Cavalry still continue, although the inability to pay the recruits the advance bounty has a tendency to check it. The total number of cavalry recruits is 207, and 30 more are already announced on their way down the Santa Rosa Sound.20
Even as Asboth was writing this report, his detachment on Choctawhatchee Bay made a near fatal mistake. While camped at Point Washington, a small village on the southern shore of the bay, Captain James Galloway of the First Florida (U.S.) Cavalry and Lieutenant George Ross the Seventh Vermont learned that Captain Gabriel Floyd's company from the Fourth Florida Infantry was camped in an exposed position at Cedar Bluff, Washington County, on the Choctawhatchee River. Believing that a successful attack could be carried out, the two officers organized their men and set out upriver with a woefully insufficient force on the morning of February 8, 1864. Lieutenant Colonel David B. Peck of the Seventh Vermont described what happened next:
A rebel picket of five men was surprised and captured within six miles of the rebel camp. Our troops surrounded Floyd's camp at 10 p.m. and demanded the surrender. Two lieutenants and 50 men were in the camp, and all surrendered without resistance. A sentinel was placed over the rebel officers but was taken off by Captain Galloway, and both of them made their escape during the night.21
Galloway and Ross had left Point Washington with a force of fewer than 35 men and actually succeeded in capturing 57 armed Confederates. The success of their expedition, however, was short lived. According to Lieutenant Colonel Peck, they never made it back:
Our troops left the camp at 4 a.m., February 9, with the prisoners, arms, ammunition and four mule teams. When about 15 miles from Floyd's camp on their return and while stopping for dinner at noon, a force of about 100 rebel cavalry charged upon them, and after a little firing on both sides succeeded in capturing Capt. Galloway and five refugees and Lieut. Ross with 11 of his men.22
Despite the failure of his troops at Cedar Bluff, Asboth's enthusiasm was not dampened. New recruits continued drifting into his camps and by early March enough were on hand for his new unit to be mustered into the Federal service as the First Florida Cavalry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers. Most of the regimental officers were taken from other Northern commands. The commander, for example, Lieutenant Colonel Eugen von Kielmansegge, was the former colonel of the First Maryland Cavalry.23 He also came highly recommended for the job, being General Asboth's nephew. Another long-time protege, Albert Ruttkay, was commissioned as the regiment's only major. Max Rossvalley signed on as surgeon, but was later dishonorably discharged for refusing to appear before the Medical Board of Examiners for a check of his qualifications.24
A few Southerners also made the new regiment's corps of officers. Robert Russ, as has already been mentioned, was named the second lieutenant of Company A. His brother-in-law, Joseph B. Carroll, was commissioned as a second lieutenant with Company C, and Joseph G. "Joe" Sanders became the second lieutenant of Company F.25
According to Private Wade Richardson, the regiment was comprised of a rather
colorful cast of characters:
...As to the rank and file they were a motley crew of as dare-devil fellows as can be collected at any seaport town, I guess. Among them were Spaniards, French creoles, half-breed Indians, Germans, a few Poles and a host of crackers and gophers - the western Floridians were derisively called gophers.26
Marianna Post, C.S.A
Even as the Fedeals in Pensacola were adding a new regiment to their ranks, their Confederate counterparts were being weakened. The Confederate War Department called upon Florida for additional troops during May of 1864 and the First, Second, Fourth and Sixth Infantry Regiments marched north. All of the regular units west of the Apalachicola River were withdrawn, much to the dismay of General Patton Anderson:
It will not be practicable to carry on offensive operations, either against the regular organized force of the enemy within the district, or the deserters and disloyals who infest certain remote localities. The best that can be done will be to defend points of greatest importance.27
West Florida was one of the "remote localities" mentioned by General Anderson. The withdrawal of the Fourth Florida Infantry left the region unprotected. Accordingly, immediate efforts were undertaken to raise additional troops. State authorities organized the Fifth Battalion of Florida Cavalry near Jacksonville and assigned three of its companies, I, E, and G, to the post at Marianna. The state also directed the formation of the First Florida Infantry Reserves, organizing a company under Captain Wilson W. Poe in Jackson and Washington Counties.
At roughly the same time, several volunteer companies were raised in the area between the Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee Rivers. In the Campbellton vicinity of northern Jackson County, Captain A.R. Godwin formed a small company of volunteer cavalrymen. A similar effort was undertaken in Greenwood, while other companies were raised in Calhoun, Holmes, Walton and Washington Counties.
Such efforts, however, encountered opposition. Twenty-eight Jackson Countians, several prominent Unionists among them, protested that recruitment for the new companies was depriving the county of its small farmers at a time when they should be devoting their attention to their crops.28 Even so, Marianna continued to emerge as the centerpiece of Confederate defensive efforts for Northwest Florida. With the exception of a few detached companies from the post at Pollard, Alabama, virtually every unit in the region was assigned to the Marianna command.
Principally this force consisted of the three previously mentioned companies from the Fifth Florida Cavalry, local volunteer units and the mounted reservists under Captain Poe. Fanny Bryan Chapman, an 1860's Marianna resident, later recalled that the cavalry units operated from two camps, one at Blue Spring and the other two miles east of the Chipola River. "These companies were used as scouting parties," she wrote, "leaving one company at each encampment, the others being sent out for two weeks trips watching the coast lines."29
Additionally, Marianna was the site of a government stables, commissary storehouse and post hospital. The former two establishments fell under the supervision of Captain Miller, the post quartermaster, while the letter was directed by Dr. Thomas Y. Henry. A Gadsden County resident and grandson of the noted American patriot Patrick Henry, the doctor supervised both the 126-bed Quincy Post Hospital and the 50-bed Marianna facility.30
With the exception of an occasional trip to Marianna, Henry remained in Quincy, delegating day-to-day operations of the hospital to his assistant surgeon, Henry Robinson of the Fifth Florida Cavalry. Robinson, in turn, was assisted by Dr. C.C. Burke, a wounded Confederate soldier. Nursing duties and meals were provided by a local Ladies' Aide Society headed by Mrs. W.J. Armistead, Sr., Mrs. John F. Hughes and Mrs. Fannie King. The society's forty-four women worked one-day rotations in groups of four, offering what help they could.31
The most intriguing thing about the tiny military post at Marianna, however, was its commandant, Colonel Alexander B. Montgomery. History has not been kind to the colonel. The manner in which he responded to the threat of Asboth's approaching raiders was rather unpopular locally, although a careful review of his tactics reveals that they were probably sound. The opinions of the town's people were summed up by a local newspaper which called his conduct, "too disgracefull for us to dwell upon." Montgomery was generally considered a coward.32
Actually, much the opposite appears to have been true. Service records on file in the National Archives paint a very different picture of Montgomery. He was, in fact, a man entirely different from the panicky "martinet" of legend.
Alexander B. Montgomery began his military career on June 22, 1857, as a second lieutenant with the Third U.S. Artillery. Just two months later, he was transferred to the Second Artillery, where he remained until March 3, 1861, when he resigned to join the Confederate army. Despite some Federal claims to the contrary, Montgomery does not seem to have been a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He likely obtained his commission through attendance at a private military school.33
Joining the regular C.S. Army on May 16, 1861, he was commissioned a first lieutenant and assigned to Company D of the First Georgia Regular Infantry. The lieutenant's experience as an artillery officer was likely put to good use, as his company was detached for battery service. Montgomery remained with the First Georgia through August of 1862, when he was promoted to the rank of major by order of General Robert E. Lee and directed to join the Third Georgia Infantry on the front lines in Virginia. He arrived just in time for the Battle of Antietam, bloodiest of the war. His superiors must have been pleased with his services there, for he was afterwards ordered by the Secretary of War to take command of the regiment. Its previous commander had been seriously wounded during the battle.34
Montgomery headed the Third Georgia when it helped to anchor the center of the Confederate line at Fredericksburg. Brigadier General A.R. Wright, commander of the brigade to which the regiment was attached, was obviously impressed with the young officer:
The Secretary of War last August detailed Major Montgomery to take command of this regiment and he remained with it until November. He is a brave officer and a good disciplinarian. The men are fond of him and have great confidence in him.35
Like hundreds of thousands of other soldiers in the great conflict, Montgomery soon left the front lines for a hospital bed. Seriously ill, he was still under a doctor's supervision on February 24, 1863, when he was ordered to report to General P.G.T. Beauregard in Charleston, South Carolina, for assignment to the command of Brigadier General Howell Cobb.36
The major fell ill again while in route to Charleston and wrote to General Thomas Jordan on March 4, 1863, reporting that he was at Augusta, Georgia (his home, and unable to proceed:
Since my arrival here I have been confined to my bed and under treatment of Dr. H.H. Steiner, formerly of the U.S. Army, and, I believe, an acquaintance of yours. I will report in person to the General commanding as soon as I am able to travel.37
Montgomery was still in Augusta as late as April, when Brigadier General Wright learned he was without a command and petitioned the Secretary of War for his services, recommending that he be promoted to lieutenant colonel and given permanent command of the Third Georgia.38
General Howell Cobb, however, had other plans:
Major Montgomery has been ordered to report to me for duty and I am pleased to have his services. I need the services of Major Montgomery particularly to place him in command of the post at Marianna and of the troops between the Apalachicola and Choctawhatchee Rivers. It is an important position and I feel assured that Major Montgomery will discharge the duties satisfactorally and efficiently.39
Cobb went on to note that Montgomery had already been recommended for promotion on account of his "services in the field," an apparent reference to the request of General Wright.40 He suggested that his fellow Georgian be elevated to full colonel. Given his choice of positions, Montgomery turned down the command of the Third Georgia and accepted Cobb's offer of even higher rank on May 16, 1863. He assumed command of the troops at Marianna on October 9th.41
The town he found waiting bore little resemblance to the modern city. 1864 Marianna was home to fewer than 500 people, many of whom were away on the front lines. Geographically, its limits did not extend beyond Jackson Street to the south, Madison Street to the east, Davis Street to the north or Caledonia Street to the west. The principal avenue of the village, Fayette Street (later corrupted to Lafayette), extended only from Caledonia Street eastward to Madison. The extension down the hill to the Chipola River was not constructed until well into the 20th century. West of Caledonia, the avenue gave way to a narrow country lane which ran two long blocks through a sparse residential area to Ely Corner (today's intersection of Lafayette, Russ and St. Andrews), where the St. Andrews and Campbellton roads merged on the outskirts of town.
It was also possible to enter the village via a little known northern "bypass." Actually not much more than a logging trail, the road diverged from the Campbellton road just west of the village and followed the approximate route of today's Kelson Avenue eastward to the northern end of Caledonia Street. There, at the old Whitehead or Watson estate, a traveler could turn onto Caledonia and enter the town from the north.42
The only means of accessing the town from the east was via the wooden bridge at the foot of Jackson Street. Often confused with a later covered bridge, the open span was relatively new, having been completed during the late 1850's.
Colonel Montgomery appears to have been quite comfortable in Marianna. He immediately cultivated the friendship of the town's most prominent resident, Governor John Milton. In fact, Milton casually recommended in a June 30, 1864, letter that the colonel be promoted to brigadier general:
If reasons, unknown to me, exist why Colonel (William) Miller cannot be spared from his present command, the appointment of Colonel Montgomery, who is a good officer, would be satisfactory. Should none of them be promoted then Col. Montgomery without promotion might be assigned to the command.
Miller was ultimately given command of the District of Middle Florida and was credited with orchestrating the brilliant 1865 victory at Natural Bridge which preserved Tallahassee's status as the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured by Federal troops. Montgomery, however, remained popular with his superiors and quietly retained his command in Marianna.
Increasing Hostilities
Although the Confederate defenses of West Florida were substantially improved by mid-summer, the troops in the region were still little match for the Union forces poised to strike. Defensive inadequacies were clearly demonstrated during late July when several hundred Federal soldiers disembarked at St. Andrews Bay and turned inland. It was the first real threat to the security of the interior farms and plantations, and was described in an August 2, 1864, report by Captain Henry Bowers, the U.S. acting-assistant adjutant at Key West:
On landing, 100 bales of cotton were captured near the coast and burnt. The expedition marched 44 miles into the interior, burnt 80 bales of cotton, 2 large bridges, 1 large grist mill, 1 camp with storehouses, etc., capable of containing 500 men. On the return to the coast, the expedition brought in 115 contrabands (i.e. slaves), 8 mules and 2 horses.43
Captain Bowers emphasized that no Confederate resistance was encountered. There is no doubt, however, that Colonel Montgomery was reliably informed of the raid shortly after the July 20th descent of the Federal troops. As the enemy continued to move inland, he reported a "large raid by Negro troops at St. Andrews Bay," emphasizing to General Wilkinson Call that Marianna would be next.44
Montgomery appears not to have been overly alarmed by the incursion. The Federals pushed inland as far as the Econfina settlements of Washington County where they inflicted heavy damage before withdrawing to their vessels. The colonel may have seen little threat from the raid, assuming it to be yet another expedition to destroy the extensive coastal salt works. Governor Milton, however, was much more alarmed. In communiques to military authorities, he pleaded that Montgomery's tiny command be reinforced. "The force there is insufficient for defense," he wrote, "and there are not enough citizens to make it so."45
Milton surmised that the St. Andrews "invasion" was a sign of growing danger. On July 30, 1864, he signed an executive order instructing all male citizens over the age of 16 to form into volunteer companies to repel expected invasions. Only signed statements from two unpaid medical doctors would constitute an exemption from service.46
Regular troops were apparently used to help enforce the order and by the 7th of September, 2,500 Floridians had formed into 38 companies. Generally enthusiastic, these new companies were characterized by insufficiencies of arms, ammunition and military training. Efforts to secure additional supplies from the Confederate depots in Columbus, Georgia, were unsuccessful.47
While the governor and his associates were struggling to organize their defenses, one of Northwest Florida's cavalry officers struck a surprising naval blow against the Federal forces near Pensacola. Leaving the Santa Rosa County village of Milton on the morning of July 25, 1864, Captain W.B. Amos and fifteen of his troopers from the Fifteenth Confederate Cavalry sailed down the Blackwater River in two small boats. Making for the mouth of the Yellow River, they discovered a Federal schooner lying at anchor about two miles off shore. The cavalrymen succeeded in slipping up on and capturing the little vessel and its crew without firing a shot. Amos described what happened next:
I then sent my boats and prisoners up to camp and took the small schooner and balance of my men and sailed down to East bay, where I was informed that there was a schooner by the name of Osceola....I concealed my men in the boat and sailed for her and managed to get to her after dark and succeeded in boarding her. I ordered the crew to surrender; three made to their guns. I ordered my men to fire on them, which they did and killed the three. The remaining two surrendered.48
Ironically, the naval battle between Amos' men and the Osceola was one of the bloodiest in West Florida waters. The whole affair must have come as something of a shock to Asboth. Undoubtedly the concept of a Confederate cavalry officer launching an impromptu naval raid against the Federal forces was not something that would have been expected.
Despite such minor threats, Asboth was rather successful at extending Union control of the area around Pensacola. On July 22, 1864, he scored a significant victory for morale when his troops stormed Fort Hodgson, a small Confederate work at 15 Mile Station north of Pensacola.49
August of 1864 was oppressively hot and the Federals in Pensacola, many of them from the northernmost states of the Union, battled fevers and sickness. The Second Maine Cavalry was especially hard hit. Completely unacclimated to the Pensacola summer, they literally dropped like flies. Asboth made note of such in a report to Major George Drake, the assistant adjutant for the Department of the Gulf, when he wrote on August 6th that, "the horses of the 2nd Maine Cavalry are in poor condition and the men very sickley."50
As poor as the horses of the Second Maine were, at least they existed. The men of the new First Florida (U.S.) Cavalry were not even provided with mounts until mid-August, and then only enough were delivered for half of the regiment. According to Wade Richardson, the men were not even given guns until after the Battle of Marianna:
Nearly the whole summer was spent in drill as infantry with arms borrowed for the occasion. Along in August a few horses arrived and some sabers, but no carbines or side arms. In one of the first engagements which my regiment participated, that at Marianna, in September, our men had to fight armed with sabers only. We often surmised that the reason we were not armed was that our officers were suspicious of our loyalty....51
Fortunately, there was little need for guns during August as there was little activity on either side. Month's end brought some relief from the heat, however, and the Federals again moved into action. On August 29, Asboth led a force including 200 troopers from the Second Maine to Milton where around 100 Confederates were engaged. In spite of what Asboth called an "impetuous charge," the Confederates fought a running skirmish for a distance of over 7 miles before the Federals finally gave up and returned to Milton. Among the seven Southerners they reported as captured were three armed and mounted black cavalrymen. Relatively insignificant as skirmishes go, the incident at Milton takes on unique interest because not more than a few times during the entire war do official Federal reports refer to Union soldiers fighting black Confederates.52
In his official report of the affair, General Asboth mentioned the need for shallow draft steamers which he believed would assist greatly during "future movements into the interior." The next such move would be against Marianna.
1. Service Records, National Archives.
2. Wade H. Richardson, "How I Reached the Union Lines," Milwaukee Telegraph, 1896.
3. Ibid.
4. Ethelred Phillips, Letter of January 4, 1864, University of North Carolina.
5. Alexander Asboth, Letter of January 11, 1864, Official Records.
6. Ibid.
7. John Milton, Letter of January 11, 1864, Florida State Archives.
8. Ibid.
9. Personal Communication, July 1988.
10. John Milton, Letter of January 11, 1864, Florida State Archives.
11. Henry Robinson, Letters of December 6, 1916 and July 12, 1921, Private Collection.
12. W.R. Browne, Report of January 19, 1864, Official Records (Navy).
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Jackson County Tax Records, 1861.
16. Jerrell H. Shofner, Jackson County, Florida - A History, 1985, pp. 215-216.
17. Service Records of Robert S. Russ, National Archives.
18. J.F. Clellan, letter of January 20, 1864.
19. Alexander Asboth, Report of February 8, 1864, Official Records.
20. Ibid.
21. David B. Peck, Report of February 17, 1864, copy in private collection of E.W. Carswell.
22. Ibid.
23. Service Record of Eugen von Kielmansegge, National Archives.
24. Service Records of Albert Ruttkay and Max Rossvalley, National Archives.
25. Service Records of Robert Russ, J.B. Carroll and J.G. Sanders, National Archives.
26. Wade H. Richardson, "How I Reached the Union Lines," Milwaukee Telegraph, 1896.
27. Patton Anderson, Report of May 19, 1864, Copy in Private Collection of the Author.
28. Charlotte Corley Farley, Florida's Alamo, 1980.
29. Fanny B. Chapman, Letter of September, 1908, Copy in private collection of Mrs. Bruce Milton Singletary.
30. Miles Kenan Womack, Jr., Gadsden, A Florida County in Words and Pictures, 1976, pp. 75-76.
31. Randall Stanley, History of Jackson County, 1950, pp. 180-183.
32. West Florida News, October 3, 1864, copy in collection of the author.
33. Service Record of Alexander B. Montgomery, National Archives.
34. Ibid.
35. A.R. Wright, Letter of April 29, 1863, Included in Montgomery Service Record, National Archives.
36. Service Record of Alexander B. Montgomery, National Archives.
37. A.B. Montgomery to Thomas Jordan, March 4, 1863, Service Record.
38. A.R. Wright, Letter of April 29, 1863, Service Record.
39. Howell Cobb, Letter of May 1, 1863, Service Record.
40. Ibid.
41. Service Record of A.B. Montgomery, National Archives.
42. John Milton, Letter of June 30, 1864, Official Records.
43. Henry Bowers, Report of August 2, 1864, Official Records.
44. A.B. Montgomery to Wilkinson Call, July 24, 1864, Copy in possession of Author.
45. John Milton, Letter of August 7, 1864, Florida State Archives.
46. John Milton, Executive Order of July 30, 1864, Florida State Archives.
47. Charlotte Corley Farley, Florida's Alamo, 1980.
48. W.B. Amos, Report of July 27, 1864, Report in collection of the Author.
49. Author's notes, from Official Records.
50. A. Asboth to G. Drake, August 6, 1864, Official Records.
51. Wade H. Richardson, "How I Reached the Union Lines," Milwaukee Telegraph, 1896.
52. Alexander Asboth, Report of August 30, 1864, Official Records.
Return to Jackson County FLGenWeb Project Web Site
Web page by:
Betty James Smith
March 1999