Olustee Battlefield

On February 20, 1864, the largest battle fought on Florida soil began at Olustee. That clear, cool morning, the Union army under Brigadier General Truman Seymour left Barber's Plantation near present-day Macclenny at 6:00 a.m. with 5,500 men and 16 cannons, crossed the St. Mary's River, and headed west. At Olustee, Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Finegan, with about 5,000 men and 12 cannons, waited in entrenchments for the Union advance. After learning that the Union force had left Barber's Plantation, Finegan sent cavalry and infantry forward to skirmish in hopes of drawing the Federals toward the Confederate earthworks. As the fighting intensified, he ordered General Colquitt forward to test the enemy's strength. Colquitt immediately took command on the scene and brought additional regiments out from the earthworks at Olustee Station to form a battle line several miles ahead. There the battle opened as a stubborn short-range fight in an open pine barren, and Olustee became one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.

Florida · United States