United States History Student Edition

Battles in Florida In February 1864, Union forces landed in Jacksonville. They moved into the state’s center. The Union wanted to cut off Florida’s supplies from the rest of the Confederacy. As 5,500 Union soldiers marched west, Confederate general Joseph Finegan positioned 5,200 troops at Olustee Station, located about 13 miles (21 km) east of Lake City. On February 20, the two armies fought a furious battle. The fighting left nearly 2,000 Union soldiers and 1,000 Confederates dead, wounded, or captured. The Battle of Olustee, also known as Ocean Pond, forced Union troops to retreat to Jacksonville. Despite this Union loss, the Union army was able to retreat without sacrificing more casualties thanks to the later entrance of the 54th Massachusetts regiment in the battle. The Confederates also won the Battle of Natural Bridge in southern Leon County. In March 1865, Union army and naval forces landed near St. Mark’s Lighthouse. They prepared to move inland to take St. Marks, and then to march on to Tallahassee. The people of Tallahassee began building Fort Houston. Men of all ages volunteered to defend the capital. Meeting at Natural Bridge, Confederate soldiers turned back the veteran Union forces. The Battle of Natural Bridge was one of the last significant Confederate victories of the war. The Election of 1864 In the North, opposition to the war grew stronger through much of 1864. It seemed that Lincoln might not win reelection in November. His loss could mean an end to the war and recognition of the Confederacy as an independent country. White Southerners clung to this hope. After Union troops captured Atlanta and blocked Mobile Bay, however, weary Northerners began to believe again that victory was possible. In November, President Lincoln won a second term. Many interpreted Lincoln’s reelection as a clear sign from the voters: they wanted a permanent end to slavery. On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment, which banned slavery in the United States. In his second Inaugural Address, Lincoln spoke of his determination to defeat the South and end slavery and of his hopes for the coming peace:

Battles in Florida 1861-1865

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Santa Rosa Island Oct. 9, 1861

Natural Bridge March 6, 1865

St. John’s Blu Oct. 1–3, 1862

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Olustee Feb. 20, 1864

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Fort Brooke Oct. 16–18, 1863 Tampa June 30– July 1, 1862

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“ With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. ” — Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING 1. Analyzing Early in 1864, why did it seem unlikely that Lincoln would be reelected? 2. Summarizing What were Grant’s strategies in the Virginia campaign? GEOGRAPHY CONNECTION 1. Movement In which direction did Union troops move prior to the Battle of Olustee? 2. Drawing Conclusions Why do you think Union forces began their attacks in Florida along the coast?

interpret to understand or explain the meaning of

PHOTO: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZ61-903]; TEXT: (1)Lincoln, Abraham. “Second Inaugural Address.” Washington, D.C., March 4, 1865. Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Abraham Lincoln Papers: Series 3; (2)Washington News Letter: A Monthly Magazine, v. 23, no. 1, October 1917. Edited by Oliver C. Sabin. Washington, D.C.: Oliver C. Sabin, 1917.

Division and Civil War 461