"Today In Florida History"

for April

1861      Confederate General Braxton E. Bragg reported that he has 1,116 men under his command at Pensacola and that his forces were busy fortifying Forts McRea, Barrancas, and in the areas around the lighthouse and naval hospital.

1864      This morning, the Federal transport steamer, Maple Leaf, struck a Confederate torpedo on the St. Johns River and sank immediately in three fathoms of water.  A detachment of Confederate artillery and a company of infantry troops were dispatched to the area to ensure that the wreckage was complete. 

1865      Governor John Milton, the fifth governor of Florida (1861-1865), committed suicide today at his home near Marianna.  Milton, an ardent Confederate, had informed the Florida Legislature in his last message that “death would preferable to reunion.”

1886      A major disaster struck Key West today when more than fifty acres of the city’s homes and businesses  were destroyed by fire.

1907      The Hav-a-Tampa Cigar Company was founded today in Tampa.

1918      Floridians were just as confused as the rest of the American population as “Daylight Savings Time” took effect today in an effort to save fuel for the American war effort.

1921      Mrs. J. B. O’Hara of Palm Beach County was elected the first president of the League of Women Voters of Florida at the group’s meeting in Jacksonville. 

1931      United States (five star) General James Lee Dozier, who was kidnapped and held hostage by members of the terrorist Red Brigade for 42 days in 1981, was born today in Arcadia.  Dozier, who was assigned to duty with NATO, was kidnapped in Verona.  The Red brigade had earlier kidnapped and killed Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

1943      Floridians joined the rest of the American population today in having to deal with rationed foodstuffs.  Meats, fats, and cheese products were rationed for the first time during World War II.

1961      Miami officials complain to the Federal government that 50,000 Cuban refugees were severely impacting the local economy and creating a potentially explosive social situation in the city.  The refugees had fled the Castro regime.

1971      President Richard M. Nixon today ordered that Lieutenant William Calley, a native of Miami, freed from prison while his conviction for the murder of Vietnamese civilians at the enclave of My Lai was reviewed.

1513      Juan Ponce de Leon landed on the Florida Peninsula today near the mouth of the St. John’s River. 

1836      The United States Congress was petitioned today for land grants to fund the creation of seminaries in East and West Florida.

1861      A large contingent of Confederate troops arrived in Pensacola today to augment the forces under the command of General Braxton E. Bragg. 

1863      United States Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles today ordered all ironclads in the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron “in a fit condition” to be dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico where they were urgently needed.

1856      The newspaper, “The Florida Peninsula,” announced today that Captain ( unknown   ) Casey, the agent for Indian Affairs in Florida, had authorized the payment of the following rates for the capture of Seminoles:

      Each warrior:  $250-$500

      Each woman:  $150-$200

      Each boy over the age of ten:  $100-$200

1861      Florida Governor Madison Starke Perry today issued a formal call for the Florida State Convention to meet in Tallahassee on April 18. 

1862      Federal forces occupied Apalachicola today.  These troops, form the U.S.S. Meredita and the U.S.S. Sagamore, captured two schooners, two pilot boats, and a sloop. 

1862      Boats from the U.S.S. Isaac Smith today captured the British blockade runner British Empire in Matanzas Inlet near St. Augustine.  The British ship was carrying a cargo of dry goods, provisions, and medicines.  The Federal commander has order that these goods, valued at around $3,000, be placed in local shops for sale to the needy population of the city.

1863      Federal troops attacked Bay Port today.  The engagement lasted two hours. The federal force was repulsed.  Confederate forces suffered two seriously wounded men. 

1929      Edna Giles Fuller of Orlando, the first woman ever elected to the Legislature of Florida, made her first formal speech in the Florida House of representatives today. 

1959      Cuban leader Fidel Castro demanded the reinstatement of the Cuban sugar quota on exports to the United States today.  Florida sugar growers and Cuban expatriates have protested against any such renewal of the quota.

1861      Officers and crewmen of the U.S.S. Powhatan, who have been on shore leave in Pensacola, were ordered back to their ship as the Federal warship prepares to depart the port.

1862      The Confederate sloop LaFayette, carrying a cargo of cotton, was captured today by the U.S.S. Pursuit.

1867      Jonathan C. Gibbs was elected to the Executive Board of the Union Republican Party of Florida today in Jacksonville.  Gibbs, who was Florida’s first African-American Secretary of State, was the first African-American to hold the position of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the equivalent of today’s Commissioner of Education. 

1881      Morris A. Dzialinski, a former Confederate soldier and a Democrat, was elected mayor of Jacksonville today.  He was subsequently re-elected in 1882.  Dzialiniski was Jewish.

1913      Francis Langford, singer and actress, was born in Lakeland today.

1919      Playing for the Boston Red Sox at Tampa’s Plant Field, George Herman “Babe” Ruth hit his longest home on record today.  The home run measured 587 feet.

1968      An unmanned Saturn V booster was launched today as NASA continued its test program for the launching of a manned mission to the moon in the Apollo program.

1978      The new Capitol Building in Tallahassee was formally occupied today.

1861      The 1st Florida infantry regiment, consisting of about 500 men, was mustered into Confederate service today at the Chattahoochee Arsenal.  Patton Anderson of the Jefferson County Volunteers was elected colonel of the regiment.

1861      Joseph J. Finegan, a resident of Fernandina, was commissioned a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army today and placed in command of the Military District of Middle and East Florida.

1865      Captain J. J. Dickison, the commander of Company H of the 2nd Florida cavalry, reported that his troops had successfully intercepted the courier line between Jacksonville and St. Augustine.  Four Federal troops were reported killed and a fifth wounded.  Two horses and the mail pouches between the two towns were captured.

1894      The Melbourne Times was founded today.

1970      Legislation was introduced today in the Florida Legislature to make the “moonstone” the official gem of Florida.  The occasion was marked by the appearance of two astronauts from the second team of moon walkers before a joint session of both houses of the Legislature.  The “moonstone” was described as “a transparent or translucent feldspar of pearly or opaline luster.”

1993      The newly formed Florida Marlins baseball team played their first game in Joe Robbie Stadium today.  The Marlins won a 6-3 game with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

1818      The Spanish fort at St. Marks was occupied today by Major General Andrew Jackson and his troops.  The protests of the Spanish commander were ignored.

1856      American troops of the 1st and 2nd U.S. Artillery, commanded by Captain L. G. Arnold, fought a two day battle with Seminole warriors at Big Cypress Swamp, near Billy’s Town.  Two enlisted men were killed and one wounded. 

1862      The U.S.S. Pursuit captured the steamer Florida today as she was loading a cargo of cotton at North Bay at the head of Bear Creek.

1863      The U.S.S. Huntsville captured the sloop Minnie today off Charlotte Harbor.  The Minnie was carrying a cargo of cotton.

1865      The 5th, 8th and 11th Florida Infantry Regiments, commanded by General Theodore Brevard, which have been in retreat since the Army of Northern Virginia’s lines were broken at Petersburg, were pressed into battle today as skirmishers.  These units were captured by a Federal cavalry force under the command of Brevet major General George Armstrong Custer.

1900      The Peninsular Life Insurance Company was founded today in Jacksonville.

1908      A United States Bird Refuge was established today at Tortugas Key.

1926      Alexander Butterfield, who served as an aide to President Richard Milhouse Nixon, was born today in Pensacola.

1927      Webber College was established today in Babson Park.

1965      NASA launched Early Bird, the world’s first commercial satellite

1790      The “Father of Florida Methodism,” John Slade, was born today in Beech Branch, South Carolina.

1862      Captain R. S. Smith, commanding the Marianna Dragoons, led troops to St. Andrew’s Bay today in an effort to recapture the steamer, Florida  (See entry for April 6).

1864      The U.S. schooner Beauregard captured the English schooner Spunky today off Cape Canaveral.  The Spunky was enroute to the Bahamas with a cargo of cotton.

1892      James E. Ingraham, the president of the South Florida Railroad, arrived in Miami today at the head of the expedition he led through the Everglades.  Ingraham was seeking to determine whether or not it was feasible to run a cross-Everglades railroad from Fort Myers to Miami.

1894      The Lemon City Library was organized and opened to the public.  The library is now a part of the Miami-Dade public library system.

1919      The State Masonic Home and Orphanage was organized today on Coffee Pot Bayou near St. Petersburg.

1945      The first chapter of the National Secretaries Association was formed today in Orlando.

1973      The last of 348 flights bringing refugees from Cuba landed in Miami today.  Nearly 261,000 refugees made the flight from Cuba to Miami during the seven-and-one-half years they operated from 1965 until 1973.

1513      Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain today.

1693      Admiral Andres de Pez, accompanied by Dr. Carlos de Siguenza and others, explored Pensacola Bay today.

1823      Dr. Thomas Williamson was appointed surgeon at the U.S. Government hospital at Key West.  The hospital was established to care for U.S. seamen.

1861      The Confederate government sent a second requisition for troops to the State of Florida today.  Another 1,500 men were requested for duty with the Confederate Army.

1862      Federal troops withdrew from the former Confederate battery at St. Johns Bluff. 

1862      Federal troops preparing to evacuate Jacksonville spent the night aboard troop transports when heavy winds prevented the ships from sailing.

1862       Captain R. S. Smith and troops from the Marianna Dragoons prevented Federal troops aboard the captured steamer Florida from landing in St. Andrew’s Bay.  Four to five men of a seven man landing party were killed.  The Union troops retreated to the Florida and left the bay area. 

1863      The U.S.S. Gem of the Sea captured the British blockade runner Maggie Fulton today off the Indian River Inlet. 

1864      More than 500 Federal troops evacuated Jacksonville today, two years to the day after the first Federal evacuation in 1862. 

1925      The University of Miami was chartered today.

1964      First Gemini test flight orbits Earth three time

1824      John McIver of North Carolina became the first settler in the new town of Tallahassee today, when he arrived with a group of seven persons and took up residence there.

1862      Federal troop ships,  evacuating troops from Jacksonville, reached Mayport today, but could not set out to sea because of the low tide that prevented the ships from “crossing the bar.”

1876      Park Trammell, the 21st governor of Florida (1913-1917), was born in Macon County, Alabama, today.  Trammell attended school in Polk County as a youth.  As a young man, he worked in a newspaper office.  During the Spanish-American War, he served in the Quartermaster’s Corps in Tampa.  Trammell studied law at Vanderbilt University and Cumberland University, from which he graduated in 1899.  Returning to his Polk County home, he practiced law, owned and operated citrus groves, and operated a newspaper.  He served two terms as mayor of Lakeland, was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1903, and was President of the Florida Senate in 1905.  In 1908, Trammell was elected Florida Attorney General, and, in 1912, was elected governor.  From 1916 until 1936, Trammell served as United States Senator.  He died in Washington, D.C. on May 8, 1936, and was buried at Roselawn cemetery in Lakeland. 

1895      The Colored State Teachers Association met at the A.M.E. Church of Tampa today.

1970      Governor and Mrs. Claude Kirk, Jr., became the proud parents of a son, Erik Henry, today in Tallahassee. 

1982      Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noreiga was convicted of drug dealing in Miami today.  Noreiga was convicted of allowing Columbian drug dealers to use Panama as a trans-shipment point for cocaine shipments and of providing protection for the shipments. 

1840      Company I of the 2nd Dragoons, commanded by Captain B. L. Beall, encountered a party of Seminole warriors near Fort Wool today.  In a brief skirmish, one enlisted man was wounded.  Seminole casualties were unknown.

1843      Two Mormon elders, William A. Brown and Daniel Cathcart, were assigned to Pensacola by the Illinois Conference of the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

1862      A Confederate force of some forty men from Company f of the 1st Florida Cavalry, under the command of Captain William M. Footman, captured two Federal soldiers near the Amelia Island Railroad.  In a skirmish just a few hours later at the Judge O’Neal House, four Federals were taken prisoner and one was killed.

1864      Confederate troops at St. Andrew’s Bay were reportedly busy constructing boats for use in preventing deserters from reaching Federal ships in the bay and the Gulf. 

1951      Miami Ballets, Incorporated, now the Ballet Guild of Greater Miami, was chartered today.

1969      The Niceville Campus of the Okaloosa-Walton Junior College was dedicated today. 

1848      James T. Archer assumed the office of Florida Attorney General today.

1861                                  United States troops occupied Fort Pickens today as relations between the United States and the Confederate States deteriorated.

1862                                  Former Governor Madison Starke Perry was elected colonel of the 7^th Florida Infantry Regiment today when it was mustered into Confederate service in Gainesville.

1863      Confederate General Joseph J. Finnegan issued a proclamation today that put those persons who have been enrolled for active duty in Confederate forces but who have not reported for duty on notice that they will be rounded up and dealt with as deserters.

1864              The U.S.S. Nita captured the schooner Three Brothers today at the mouth of the Homossassa River.  The schooner was carrying an assorted cargo and several passengers, one of whom was slapped into leg irons after he continued to assail the Union sailors with foul language.

1865      The U.S.S. Sea Bird today captured the Confederate sloops, Florida and Annie, at the mouth of the Crystal River.  Both Confederate boats were carrying  cargoes of cotton.

1908      Governor Napoleon B. Broward declared martial law in Pensacola today as striking Street Railway Union workers and strike breakers from New York clashed in the streets of the city.

1955      Ray E. Green assumed office as the Comptroller of Florida today.

1978      James E. Halderman of Fort Pierce began his term of office as a Justice on the Florida Supreme Court today.

1829      St. John’s Episcopal parish was established as a mission in Jacksonville today. 

1834      President Andrew Jackson formally signed the Treaty of Payne’s Landing today.  By the terms of this treaty, the Seminole peoples agreed to a conclusion of hostilities in Florida and the cession of lands in Florida.  The Seminoles were to be transported to lands west of the Mississippi, paid almost $100,000, and to receive a large amount of blankets, dry goods, and other services.  The Treaty of Payne’s Landing did not end hostilities, since some Seminole leaders refused to accept the terms of the treaty. 

1861      The 1st Florida Infantry regiment arrives in Pensacola for duty with Confederate forces under the command of Brigadier General Braxton E. Bragg.

1862      Federal forces in St. Augustine, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Louis Bell, placed the city under martial law today.  No one was allowed to enter or leave the city unless that person has taken an oath of allegiance to the United States.  At Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos), Union forces have mounted ten howitzers and other artillery pieces as they prepare that fort for defense against a possible Confederate attack.

1863      The U.S.S. Annie captured the schooner Mattie off the Florida Gulf Coast today.

1865      Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, today.  Lee’s surrender signaled the end of the Confederate States of America, although the final Confederate surrender would not take place until mid-May.

1981      The space shuttle Columbia rose from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center a few seconds past 7:00 a.m. today.  The astronauts, John Young and Bob Crippen, brought the shuttle to a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

1861      A new steamship line has been incorporated today to serve between the Confederate States and Europe.  The port of Charleston will serve as the Confederate home for this line and Liverpool will be its European Terminus.  Floridians were joining the incorporators who have pledged $350,000 in capital.

1862      The Federal gunboat, U.S.S. Beauregard arrived in Tampa today to demand the surrender of Fort Brooke.  When the Confederate commander, Major R. B. Thomas, refused, the Beauregard shelled the fort.  No casualties were reported.

1864      Federal troops from the U.S.S. Restless landed today with orders to proceed up East Bay to destroy Confederate ships thought to be anchored there and to destroy Confederate salt works in the area.  Two large salt works were destroyed, along with 300 bushels of salt, 200 bushels of corn, and 50 bushels of meal.

1864      Confederate General Joseph J. Finegan ordered troops to scout the banks of the St. John’s River near Yellow Bluff and Broward’s Neck to see what, if any, activities Union troops were engaged in.  Finegan’s order comes as a result of Federal reinforcements being added to the existing forces in Jacksonville.

1865      Confederate Florida was devastated by the news of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender in Virginia.  The state’s population was busy speculating what will happen next.

1886      Seventy-seven Chiricahua Apache Indians, captured in the western part of the United States, arrived in St. Augustine today.  They will be imprisoned in Fort Marion.  Geronimo, the war chief of the Chiricahuas, was being held in Fort Pickens in Pensacola.

1886      Tampa’s first “claro” or clear cigar was rolled in Factory No. 1 today.  This marked the beginning of an industry that would eventually see more than 1,000,000 cigars a day produced in factories in Tampa’s Ybor City and the City of West Tampa.

1925      The City of Naples was incorporated today.

1528      Panfilo de Narvaez landed 400 men and 80 horses at Tampa Bay and began his exploration northward.  (Some scholars, however, insist that the actual date was April 15.)

1808      William Marvin, Florida’s seventh governor (July 13, 1865-December 20, 1865), was born today at Fairfield, New York.  An attorney, Marvin was appointed by President Andrew Jackson as the United States District Attorney at Key West.  He was twice appointed Federal District Judge and used his experience to write the textbook, “Law of Wreck and Salvage.”  He served two terms in the Territorial Legislature and was a delegate to Florida’s first constitutional convention.  In 1865, he was appointed provisional governor by President Andrew Johnson for the purpose of reestablishing State Government in Florida.  Although he was subsequently elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate, that body refused to seat him.  In 1867, he moved to Skaneateles, New York, where he died on July 9, 1902.

1840      Detachment A of the 7th United States Infantry, commanded by Captain G. J. Rains, clashed with Seminole warriors near Fort King today.  Two enlisted men were killed.  Seminole casualties were unknown.

1863      The U.S.S. Huntsville today captured the blockade runner Ascension off Florida’s Gulf Coast.

1863      The U.S.S. Sonoma captured the schooner Clyde today in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Clyde carried a cargo of cotton and naval stores.