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MAY
1861-1865
May 1
May 1, 1863 Florida’ 2nd
Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Regiment, and 8th Infantry Regiment,
assigned to the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, were part of
the action at Chancellorsville that started today and which would
last until May 4th.
May
1, 1864 The U.S.S. Fox captured the Confederate sloop
Oscar today in the Gulf of Mexico. The Confederate sloop
Oscar was bound from St. Mark’s to Havana.
May 2
May 2, 1863 Florida’ 2nd
Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Regiment, and 8th Infantry Regiment,
assigned to the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, were part of
the action at Chancellorsville.
May 3
May 3, 1862 The Federal
steamer, R. R. Cuyler, captured the Confederate schooner
Jane about forty miles southwest of Tampa in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Confederate schooner Jane was carrying a cargo of
pig lead.
May 3, 1863 Florida’ 2nd
Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Regiment, and 8th Infantry Regiment,
assigned to the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, were part of
the action at Chancellorsville.
May 3, 1864 Some eleven
officers and forty-seven men off the Confederate ship, C.S.S.
Chattahoochee, today launched an expedition against
Federal forces operating around St. George’s Sound in Apalachicola
Bay.
May 3, 1865 Federal troops
were ordered to take possession of Key Biscayne today and to guard
the passes near the key in order to prevent any attempt by
Confederate President Jefferson Davis to escape to Cuba or the
Bahamas.
May
4
May 4, 1863 Florida’ 2nd
Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Regiment, and 8th Infantry Regiment,
assigned to the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, were part of
the action at Chancellorsville.
May 4, 1864 The Confederate
detachment from the , C.S.S. Chattahoochee arrived at
Chattahoochee early this morning and then proceeded to Rico Bluff.
May
5
May 5, 1862 The Florida 2nd
Infantry Regiment, assigned to D. H. Hill’s Division of the Army of
Northern Virginia, participated in the Battle of Williamsburg (VA)
today.
May 5, 1863 The U.S.S.
Tahoma captured the schooner Crazy Jane near
Egmont Key near Charlotte Harbor. The Crazy Jane was carrying
a cargo of cotton and turpentine.
May 6
May 7
May 7, 1863 The Confederate
schooner Sea Lion, carrying a cargo of cotton, was captured
in the Gulf of Mexico today.
May 7, 1864 The U.S.S.
Sunflower today captured the Confederate sloop Neptune
with its cargo of cotton as Federal troops occupied Tampa.
May 8
May 8, 1860 The Pensacola
and Georgia Railroad started laying track for a line to run between
Lake City and the Suwanee River.
May 9
May 9, 1861 When a
32-pounder was fired by Confederate troops at Fort Marion (Castillo
de San Marcos) in St. Augustine, residents of St. Augustine feared
the city was under attack by Federal forces. Their fears were calmed
when the fort’s commander, Lieutenant Charles F. Hopkins, explained
that the firing had been undertaken to clean the bore of the cannon.
May 9, 1862 Confederate
forces evacuate Pensacola today, torching all the military
installations and property in the city. The steamer Fulton
was set afire, along with two privately owned smaller boats.
May 9, 1865 Confederate
forces in Tallahassee, under the command of Brigadier General Samuel
Jones, were making preparations for the official surrender of the
city to Union forces tomorrow.
May 10
May 10, 1861 Union
president Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus
in Florida, citing the existence of an “insurrection” against the
United States in that state.
May 10, 1862 Federal forces
occupy Pensacola, which was surrendered peaceably by the mayor of
the city.
1862 The Federal barge,
James L. Davis, arrived in Apalachicola today and found the
inhabitants in an “almost starving condition.”
May 10, 1865 Major General
Samuel Jones, CSA, formally surrenders Tallahassee, the only
Confederate state capitol east of the Mississippi that was not
captured by military action, and all Confederate troops and property
in the state to federal Brigadier General Edward M. McCook.
May 11
May 11, 1861 “The Cowboys,”
a local militia company, was organized in Duval County today.
May 11, 1864 Captain J. J.
Dickison, commanding Company H, 2nd Florida Cavalry, has positioned
his men to keep watch on Federal activities in the area around Fort
Butler.
May 12
May 12, 1861 Florida
newspapers report that three former residents of St. Augustine,
Abraham Dupont, William Quincy, and Thomas Mirando, participated in
the assault against Fort Sumter.
May 12, 1863 Governor John
Milton named Mariano D. Papy of Tallahassee as the state’s
Impressment Commissioner.
May 12, 1864 The U.S.S.
Beauregard today captured the British sloop Resolute
while the sloop was at anchor off Cape Canaveral.
May 12, 1865 The crew of
the Confederate gunboat Spray surrendered their boat to
Federal authorities at Fort Ward at St. Marks.
May 12, 1865 David Levy
Yulee was appointed Florida Commissioner and dispatched to
Washington to confer with President Andrew Johnson about conditions
in Florida. Yulee was appointed by Acting Governor Abraham
Kurkindolle Allison, who had assumed the office following Governor
John Milton’s suicide on April 1, 1865.
May 13
May 13, 1862 The U.S.S.
Vincennes arrived in Pensacola Bay today to assist with the
Federal occupation of the City of Pensacola. The Vincennes
was the first Federal ship to enter Pensacola Harbor since the
outbreak of the Civil War.
1863 The U.S.S. DeSoto
captured the Confederate schooner Seabird off Pensacola Bay,
while the U.S.S. Huntsville captured the Confederate schooner
A.J. Hodge at sea off the east coast of Florida.
May 14
May 14, 1863 The U.S.S.
Fort Henry captured a small flatboat loaded with corn in
Wacassassa Bay near Cedar Key.
May 15
May 16
May 16, 1863 The United
States schooner, Two Sisters, reported the capture today of
the Confederate schooner Oliver S. Breese off the Florida
Keys.
May 16, 1864 Federal troops
from the U.S.S. Somerset landed near Apalachicola today.
After a brief skirmish with Confederate troops, the Federal troops
reported the capture of six small boats, four prisoners, and a
quantity of ammunition and supplies.
May
17
May 17, 1863 The U.S.S.
Kanawha captured the Confederate schooner Hunter today in
the Gulf of Mexico. The C.S.S. Hunter carried a cargo of
cotton. In other news, the Confederate blockade runner C.S.S.
Cuba was burned by her crew prevent its capture by the U.S.S.
DeSoto. The decision to burn the ship came after a six-hour sea
chase. The C. S. S. Cuba’s cargo was estimated to have a
value of $1,250,000 (Confederate).
May 17, 1864 A convention
of Unionists was convened today in Jacksonville to elect delegates
to the Republican Convention, which was scheduled to meet in
Baltimore on June 7.
May
18
May 18, 1863 The U.S.S.
Kanawha captured the Confederate schooner Ripple today in
the Gulf of Mexico.
May 19
May 19,1864 The U.S.S.
DeSoto today captured the schooner Mississippian today in
the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippian was carrying a cargo of
cotton and turpentine.
May 20
May 20, 1861 William Wing
Loring of St. Augustine resigned his commission in the Untied States
Army today and accepted an appointed as a Brigadier General in the
Confederate Army.
May 20, 1862 A skirmish
between Federal troops and Confederate troops occurred today at
Carr’s Hill near the Gulf of Mexico. Seventeen Union soldiers were
killed or wounded. The Confederate troops experienced no casualties.
May 20, 1865 General E. M.
McCook, commander of the Federal occupation forces in Florida, today
ordered that the flag of the United States be raised over the
state’s capitol building, effectively signaling an end to Florida as
a Confederate state.
May 21
May 21, 1862 The 4th
Florida Infantry regiment left for Corinth, Mississippi, today.
May 21, 1863 The U.S.S.
Union today seized the British blockade runner Linnet
west of Charlotte Harbor.
May 21, 1864 Florida
cavalry forces near Palatka, commanded by captain J. J. Dickison,
were reinforced today by twenty-five artillerymen and several guns
from Dunham’s Battery.
May 22
May 22, 1863 Boats from the
U.S.S. Fort Henry captured the sloop Isabella in
Wacasassa Bay.
May 22, 1865 Part of the
baggage of Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrive at David
Levy Yulee’s Cotton Wood plantation near Archer. Davis was
attempting to flee the North American continent after the surrender
of Confederate armies in Virginia and North Carolina. For years,
rumors persisted that a considerable part of the Confederate
treasury was buried on Yulee’s property. If so, it has never been
found.
May 23
May 23, 1863 Florida
Governor John Milton issued a strong letter of protest to
Confederate President Jefferson Davis against the Confederate
Congress’ reduction in the number of plantation overseers exempt
from military service.
May 23, 1864 Confederate
troops under the command of Captain J. J. Dickison captured the
Federal gunboat Columbine near Palatka. The
Columbine was destroyed to prevent its re-capture by Federal
troops.
May 24
May 24, 1862 Two Federal
vessels, the Amanda and the Bainbridge, captured the
Confederate steamer Swan west of the Tortugas. The Swan
was carrying a cargo of cotton and resin.
1863 The U.S.S. Port
Royal captured the Confederate sloop Fashion near
Apalachicola Bay. A small barge and ship repair facilities were also
destroyed at devil’s Elbow.
May 25
May 25, 1861 The Pensacola
Rifle Rangers were organized today. Edward A. Perry was elected
captain.
May 25, 1864 The Florida
Brigade, under the command of General Joseph J. Finegan, arrived in
Richmond today. It will become part of Anderson’s Division of the
Army of Northern Virginia.
May 25, 1865 David Levy
Yulee, former United States and Confederate States senator, was
arrested today by Federal authorities in Gainesville.
May 26
May 26, 1863 Walter Gwynn
assumed the office of Comptroller of Florida today.
May 26, 1864 Federal forces
from the U.S.S. Wartappo attacked Confederate salt works at
Goose Bayou today. Men from the 2nd Florida (U.S.) Cavalry destroyed
about sixty kettles.
May 27
May 27, 1861 The Coast
Guards, a company from the Crystal River area, was organized today.
James L. Miller was elected as captain.
May 27, 1863 The
Confederate gunboat C.S.S. Chattahoochee exploded on the
Apalachicola river today. Eighteen men were killed and twelve others
were wounded. Faulty boilers were responsible for the explosion.
1864 Federal forces
attacking Confederate salt works at East Bay were fired upon by
Confederate forces. No casualties were reported on either side.
May 28
May 28, 1864 Union soldiers
from the Federal schooner Fox destroyed salt works between
the Suwannee River and St. marks. Twenty-five kettles and 100
bushels of salt were destroyed.
May 29
May 30
May 30, 1863 The U.S.S.
Fort Henry captured a small sloop and a scow today in Wacasassa
Bay. The scow was carrying 56 bales of cotton.
May 30, 1863 Confederate
General Pierre Beauregard arrived in Tallahassee today, along with
Confederate General Howell Cobb of Georgia. Both men will address a
public gathering in the Senate chambers of the State Capitol.
May 30, 1864 The U.S.S.
Bermuda captured the sloop Fortunate today off the coast
of the Indian River Lagoon. The sloop was bound for Nassau with a
cargo of cotton.
May 30, 1865 For United
States Vice-President and Confederate General John C. Breckinridge
arrived at Carlisle’s Landing on the Indian River Lagoon.
Breckinridge and his party were escaping capture by Federal soldiers
and to make their way to Cuba.
May 31
May 31, 1861 Federal
mail service comes to an end in Florida and the rest of the
Confederate States of America. Confederate Postmaster General John
Reagan announces that the CSA will now perform the functions
previously carried out by the United States Postal Service. The
official date of the new service will be June 1.
May 31, 1863 The U.S.S.
Sunflower captured the British blockade runner Echo near
the Tortugas. The Echo was carrying a cargo of 185 bales of
cotton.
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