Today is Confederate Memorial Day in Florida. It is a statutory Legal Holiday. On this day, we remember and honor our Confederate Ancestors and Confederate Heroes.
At least nine other Southern States have a legal holiday called either Confederate Memorial Day or Confederate Heroes Day.
Coming to Tallahassee? As you drive into Florida from Georgia, you are on the Dixie Highway. Just south of the state line is a bronze monument, featuring Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Confederate History of Florida
Florida seceded from the United States of America in 1861, and joined the new sovereign nation, The Confederate States of America.
Many brave men from Florida went to Georgia, to the Carolinas, to Tennessee, and to Virginia to fight with General Lee, General Jackson, James Longstreet, Jeb Stuart, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and Jubal Early. The Florida teenagers and the older men stayed in Florida; they would be called upon in the waning days of the War to defend Florida itself.
Early in the War, Lincoln set his sights on the Southern ports in Florida. Invading Northern armies successfully captured Santa Rosa Island (Pensacola) in far west Florida. The Yankee aggressors also established a bulkhead at St. John's Bluff near present day Jacksonville. However, at Tampa, Northern gunboats were repulsed by Confederate fire; that city remained under Southern control.
The most dramatic battles fought in Florida were at Natural Bridge (south of Tallahassee), and at Olustee (near present-day Lake City, about halfway between Jacksonville and Tallahassee). The Southerners prevailed in both battles.
The Battle of Natural Bridge
At Natural Bridge, the Southerners absolutely annihilated the Northern Invaders. As a result of that Confederate Victory, Tallahassee was the only Confederate Capital never captured by the North.
My great-great grandfather Walthour Laing fought at Natural Bridge. He was in the Light House at St. Marks; he ran up the plank road to Natural Bridge, to give warning that the Yankees were landing on the beaches. He was joined by his friend John Weatherspoon, a Black Confederate.
Today, the Federal Government historic marker at Natural Bridge reads, "21 Northern troops Killed, 148 Missing". That is glossed-over history. Far more Yankees were killed than the Park Service wants to admit. Virginia Weatherspoon (the granddaughter of Black Confederate John Weatherspoon) told me when I was a little boy, "Oh Freddie - they killed a thousand of them Yankees, and threw their bodies in the springs". Newspaper articles from the period attest to this.
The Battle of Olustee
The Battle of Olustee was also a victory for the Confederates. Losing this battle was a personal defeat for Abraham Lincoln; the march from Jacksonville to Tallahassee had been planned in his office. The Yankees were ambushed by Confederate soldiers at "Ocean Pond", better known as Olustee. It was a complete rout; the surviving Northerners retreated to Jacksonville.
My great-great grandfather Lanier was at The Battle of Olustee. He was either 13 or 14 years old. Granddaddy Lanier had driven a supply wagon pulled by a mule from Tallahassee to Olustee. As the battle got underway, they handed him a rifle!
In spite of the valiant efforts of the brave Southerners, the Confederate States of America was not able to maintain its freedom as a sovereign nation. After four long years, General Robert E. Lee sat down with General Ulysses Grant at Appomattox Courthouse and proposed a surrender of his troops. One condition of the surrender was that Southern soldiers could retain their personal firearms, and those men who had horses or mules would be allowed to keep them.
On May 4, 1865 the government of The Confederate States of America was officially dissolved by President Jefferson Davis and his Cabinet, in the town of Washington, Georgia. There is a granite marker in front of the Wilkes County (Georgia) Courthouse to commemorate that historic event.
The Southern Leaders, after the War
General Robert E. Lee and CSA President Jefferson Davis lived on for many years. They were model citizens. Along with General Stonewall Jackson and other Confederate heroes, these men are icons in The South.
Florida has a legal holiday for General Robert E. Lee, and another legal holiday for President Jefferson Davis.
Stone Mountain in Atlanta, Georgia
From the Sons of Confederate Veterans website:
"The citizen-soldiers who fought for the Confederacy personified the best qualities of America. The preservation of liberty and freedom was the motivating factor in the South's decision to fight the Second American Revolution. The tenacity with which Confederate soldiers fought underscored their belief in the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. These attributes are the underpinning of our democratic society and represent the foundation on which this nation was built."
Today is Confederate Memorial Day in Florida. It is a statutory Legal Holiday. At least nine other Southern States have legal holidays to honor our Confederate ancestors.
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