Florida In The Civil War
Florida was the third state to secede, but played a limited role in the American Civil War as its population in 1860 was less than 155,000 (about less than 2% of the CSA), mostly located in the northern part of the state. It provided approximately 15,000 troops (including Generals William Wing Loring and Edmund Kirby Smith) as well as numerous inlets for blockade runners and vital supplies of cattle and salt.
The Union retained Key West and Fort Pickens throughout the war, blockaded the coast. Pensacola, Saint Augustine, and Fernandina were captured in 1862, Fort Myers in 1863, and Jacksonville was held intermittently from 1862-1864.
Olustee
The Battle of Olustee aka the Battle of Ocean Pond was fought on February 20, 1864. It was the largest battle of the American Civil War to be fought in Florida.
A Union army of about 5,500 men under Truman Seymour marched west from Jacksonville following the Florida, Atlantic, and Gulf Central Railroad. Their objective was the railroad terminus at Lake City, with the possibility of later continuing on to Tallahassee (the state capital). Joseph Finegan gathered about 5,000 Confederates and engaged the Union army in open pine woods. Seymour was slow to realize he did face militia and committed his troops haphazardly. The Union army retreated after a few hours of fighting, with the black troops of the 54th Massachusetts and 35th USCT fighting a successful rearguard action. Casualties were reported as 946 CSA and 1,861 USA. The Union army retreated to Jacksonville.
Olustee In The 20th Century
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) successfully lobbied for a memorial on the battlefield which was dedicated in 1912. The UDC managed the Olustee Battlefield Memorial until 1949 when the Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials took over.
In 1970, the site was expanded into Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park: the 3 acres of state-owned property including the memorial and another 688 acres owned by the US Forestry Service (part of Osceola National Forest). An annual reenactment of the battle is held every February.
The Florida, Atlantic, and Gulf Central Railroad is still active as part of the CSX system.
Further Reading
"The Battle of Olustee, 1864: The Final Union Attempts to Seize Florida" by Robert Broadwater
"Confederate Florida: The Road to Olustee" by William Nulty