Olustee Battlefield

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Hey y'all. I don't know how many of you have ever heard of the Battle of Olustee, but now everyone who sees this will know a little something about it. The battle was fought during the American Civil War about 15 miles east of Lake City. For the past 30 years, reenactments have been taking place at the site, the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park. And if you've never gone ... go. You won't be disappointed. The reenactment has grown to the point that there is a Confederate camp, a Confederate civilian camp, a Union camp, and a Union civilian camp. There is also an encampment of sutlers. Sutlers were the merchants and traders who followed behind the armies supplying necessities, ranging from clothing, to tents, to equipment, to food. They supplied most of the things required for an army on the move. I believe there were 45 sutlers present. One of the requirements that governs their presence is that the stock they carry must be authentic or authentic in nature. All of the Army camps and the civilian camps are 'old time' recreations. You won't see any of the modern conviences we enjoy today. All of the tents are made of white muslin as you will see in the following pictures. Another interesting feature of the camps is that those staying in the camps all wear period clothes, as do the sutlers.
Ladies, as Dot will attest to, this is one 'show' you don't want to miss. There were easily over a hundred women, young and old, wearing hoop skirts with all the trimmings. And being a big fan of mini-skirts, I now have to admit I do love to see a well dressed woman in a hoop skirt. A woman can not get any more feminine than she can in a hoop skirt. Dot is seriously considering making one for herself, as she is a seamstress within her own right. And I can easily understand why all the men get into the reenactment stuff. Man, talk about male bonding.

OK, a little bit of background on why the battle was fought. In essence the plan was for the North (which 'owned' Jacksonville at the time) to cut off the supply route for southern beef headed north into Georgia to feed the Southern ranks. It was estimated at the time that Florida had over 2 million cattle. Surprise surprise. So the entire mission of the Yankees was to disrupt the supply of food heading north. They marched out of Jacksonville toward Lake City with that purpose in mind. Varying accounts put the Union Army strength at roughly 5,000 to 6,000 men. Along the way they had a few skirmishes with Confederate forces. When the higher brass of the Confederate forces learned of the Union plan, Confederate forces started merging toward Olustee. Confederate skirmishers were sent out to engage the Union Army and draw it toward Olustee. As they neared the present day battlefield, skirmishes started turning into major battles. As the fighting intensified, more and more troops were thrown into the fray by both sides.

As far as Civil War battles go, The Battle of Olustee has the infamous glory as having been the third bloodiest battle of the entire war, based upon the number of men involved and the number of casualties suffered. As stated, the Union Army Union was estimated between 5,000 and 6,000. The Confederate Army had roughly 5,000 men. Union casualties were 203 killed, 1,152 wounded, and 506 missing, a total of 1,861. Confederate losses were 93 killed, 847 wounded, and 6 missing, a total of 946. This works out to about 40% for the Federals and 20% for the Confederates. It was a rout. The Union Army was repulsed and fell back to Jacksonville. The Confederate Army won the day by having the advantage of terrain. Neither side was familiar with the area around the battlefield. The Confederates who got there first found a defensible position near a railway corridor. The surrounding area was bordered by swamps and wetlands which bottlenecked toward the Confederate defenses. The Union Army simply could not maneuver around the defending Confederates.

So, on with the show. This is a rather lengthy one so you may want to view this over multiple viewings.

We got there just as the two Armies were having drill training. We missed the Union part but got these of the Confederates.

As a final note, for those of you who have slow internet access or dial-up modems as I do, you can hit the Refresh button (which is next to the the little 'house' on the taskbar at the top of the page), to continue downloading pages. You'll know you have to do that when you see a box come up with a small red 'x' in the top left corner.

As many know, young boys, children, were often used as drummers and flutists among other duties. And to their credit these boys just weren't there for show, they were very accomplished musicians.

In the Union camp.

This is the front of one of the sutlers tents. All goods are on sale to the general public as well as the reenactors. Dot bought some very nice period earrings, a fan, and a parasol. Personally I bought a hat which I am sure many of you will see over the coming weeks.

Two ladies in period dress. All of the reenactors are quite willing to pose for pictures.

This is a traveling forge. The firepot is in the rear and you can plainly see the bellows used for stoking the fire.

Then I received this email from someone unknown to me, but that doesn't matter. Read on:

Jack, If everything there is supposed to be correct, then the "smith" definitely does not have a clue. Military specifications were exact right down to the specifications for the nails and bolts used with equipment. I keep a copy of the 1863 Ordinance Manual handy and other books handy, in case someone questions me. The Ordinance Manual specifies what supplies will be packed in the Traveling Forge and how it will be packed; the same information is available for the Battery Wagon, and all other military supplies. The Federal Government went to great extremes to document and standardize its equipment during the Civil War, and to make parts interchangeable so as to make storage, supply and repair of equipment efficient. The various rolling stock including the Traveling Forge was designed to have the same maneuverability as a number 1 cannon carriage. The photo of the wagon at olustee is a mockery of the level of sophistication of the equipment of the mid 1800s, and an insult to all reinactors and blacksmiths. I can prove my case with extensive documentation, period books and official specifications. Here are some web sites you can check if you wish: http://www.oldsouthblacksmiths.com/fw/fw.htm http://travelingforge.home.comcast.net/ http://caew-boces.wnyric.org/applications/news/popNews.asp?Action=ShowNews&NewsId=1047 http://www.museumandcollector.com/catalog.html http://www.batteryg.org/batteryg/gcannons/bforge.jpg I have researched this topic extensively, have known two people who built Traveling Forges (Tom Alexander, and Mr. Reikert) and am myself in the process of building a Traveling Forge. I know what I am talking about. I have been doing and studying blacksmithing as a hobby for over 33 years. It is worth taking a look at the weblinks Mr. Einhorn has supplied.

In the encampment area. All of the people we talked to were very friendly and more than willing to discuss the history of the area.

One of the soldiers' tents.

Having gotten there soon after the gates opened, which is highly recommended since the afternoon crowds are just that, crowded, Dot and I were able to see a lot of the sutlers wares and other areas at our leisure. To do the same thing in the afternoon was virtually impossible because of the large crowds.

In the monument area.

Artillery men wear these red shirts.

Morning practice. Even though they fire 'blanks' for the battle reenactment, they still use real gunpowder. So practice and safety are taught and is enforced.

These two were near the refreshment area (food and drinks are available and very reasonably priced). They were singing period songs and were quite good. We also saw other musical groups in the area in our meandering about. And speaking of meandering, if you plan on going to see this (highly recommended) wear some good walking shoes. As I said Dot and I got there around 8:10am (gates open at 8am) and we were there until 4:45pm. We figured we walked about 5 miles. We also took along some portable chairs. The kind that are used for camping and have their own carry case. While I handled the knapsack, Dot carried the chairs for the first hour and a half. About that time we decided to check out the battlefield area. We saw others chairs that had been left by others so I told Dot we were going to leave ours there as well. We were both a little apprehensive about leaving them unattended. As a matter of fact, even before we had gotten out of the area a young boy who had been hanging around the area took up residence in my chair. We trusted to luck and fate. We checked on the chairs a couple hours later and they were still there so we moved them into the shade and took a much needed rest. We put them back out at the fence line again and continued our walkabout. When we returned for the afternoon battle all eight bleachers were filled up. The whole fence line was wall to wall people. And our chairs were still there saving our place. So let me tell you now, there are at least hundreds, if not thousands, of honest people left in this world.

There was a photographer present who was making old style tintype photographs and this old gent sat down for his picture. I of course took advantage of the situation and snapped his picture as well.

After putting his photo on the website here, I decided to change it to black and white as it would have been back then. It's tempting now to go back and do other photos in black and white as well. Don't you agree?

Of all the reenactors present, this woman was the only one who dressed in mourning. I was lucky enough to get her picture when someone else happened to ask her to pose for them.

Very good period outfit.

It is very easy for a reenactor to spend a couple thousand dollars on their clothing and accessories. This man was dressed up as a lawman of the time. It is very, very tempting to get Dot to make me some period clothes as well.

In one of the Army camps. Most of the men had tents, but there was the occasional lean-to.

Because we had gotten there early, we were among the first to visit the camps before they became overcrowded with visitors. Because of that we got to see some of the reenactors practicing. One must give these men a lot of credit along with all the other reenactors. They have given up their personal time and quite a financial investment to do this. My hat is off to them.

In the civilian camps, the women went about their daily chores. As it's been told to me by others, at times it is like stepping into a time warp.

One cannot imagine all the tents of the reenactors. Each encampment probably has at least a couple hundred tents. And because they are all 'period' tents, they all look the same, white muslin. Again, hats off.

As it became obvious to us, whole families were involved in the reenactment. The next time we do this, I am going to take a lot more photos of the families and the period outfits.

Provost, of the Confederate States.

Men on morning drill.

As I said, you just can't imagine all the tents. The realism of all the reenactors adds so much to the 'total package'.

Dot and I were very lucky in another sense. The weather on Saturday was in the mid to upper 70's. We could not have asked for a better day for this outing. Sunday, as we all know, was a very chilly day. So, once again, hats off to all these reenactors.

Obviously this is a Confederate camp.

We did notice there were a lot more Confederate reenactors than there were Union reenactors. Hmm. Go figure.

At times, it was easily imaginable having stepped through a warp in time.

Another of the musical groups we came across. All of the musicians we heard were masters of their crafts.

These are the same young boys you saw at the beginning of the show. They took off on their own, put down a hat for collections and did their thing. Before we even saw them Dot and I heard them playing. I commented that the song they were playing 'Dixie' truly signified the South. As I said before, these guys just weren't there for 'show, they could really play.

Some more period dress.

Even without having seen her from the front, this woman was exceptional.

As they went to the back of the room to get their tea, Dot asked these two to pose for a picture. Thanks Dot!

As Dot and I both had noticed, some of these women were just made for the dresses they wore, or vice versa.

Before the battle.

Getting ready for the battle.

The battle started off with a cannonade. The artillery from both sides fired at one another. Word of advice, if you have any kind of hearing problems seat yourself near the middle of the field. Dot and I were halfway down the field and when the Northern cannon let loose, even I jumped. And I am not jumpy. The Union side has the bigger cannon, 12 and 14 pounders. And when they fired, you knew it was them. In this reenactment, each side probably had 5 or 6 cannon apiece. But the noise was something you have to experience firsthand. And when the soldiers came on the field firing hundreds, probably over a thousand rifles along with the cannon, the noise was AWESOME !!

When I was in Viet Nam during the TET offensive, during one of our worst rocket and mortar attacks, as we were all hunkered down in the bunkers hugging the dirt, I heard a man crying for his mother. I thought that was bad.

After having experienced this reenactment from the Civil War, from the noise and racket from the artillery and all the rifles firing, and only imagining the air filled with hundreds if not thousands of rifle balls, artillery shells and grapeshot, every man there would have been peeing his pants. I know I would have.

As the 'battle' raged, the air became filled with smoke. There were times when it was hard to see. And this was just a reenactment, the real thing had to be far, far worse.

You can see the artillery men shielding their ears from the concussion. Believe me, that was for real. As I said, Dot and I were midfield and the noise was nothing less than deafening.

As part of the 'demonstration', charges were planted in the earth near the opposing positions. These were set off by men concealed in the middle of the field. So the 'appearance' was when a cannon round was fired, it would impact and explode near the enemy line. This cloud of smoke and dust is from one of the 'impact' rounds.

Preparing for the assault.

I want to note here that for Saturdays' ''reenactment'', the North was on the left and the South was on the right. Supposedly Saturdays' 'reenactment' was just a 'demonstration' of artillery and ground warfare maneuvers. The actual battle scenario would take place on Sunday with the South on the left (actual battle) and the North on the right. GEE, thanks for telling us. Believe me, I am going to email those in charge about this. Needless to say, next year Dot and I plan on going up on SUNDAY !

I am not saying this to take away from the 'demonstration' on Saturday. In itself, it was very, very impressive.

Positioning for the battle.

The battle begins.

The Union breaks and retreats.

One last look at the ladies.

And the dresses.

And so ends another day. And what a long day this was. But as Dot will attest to ... worth every minute. Like I said, next year we plan on going on Sunday. And we may be in 'period clothing'. Time will tell. She has the parasol and I have the hat. We'll see.

Enjoy !!

Jack Woodward mailto: jackwoodward66@hotmail.com

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