"Today in Florida History"
for August
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 1
1861
The steamer, U.S.S. Mohawk,
took up a blockade position outside St. Marks.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis recommended the promotion of Edmund
Kirby Smith and William W. Loring, two prominent Floridians, to the rank of
brigadier general in the Confederate army.
1862
Yellow fever broke out aboard Federal naval vessels in Key West, forcing
several vessels to leave the harbor in search of safe refuge.
The 5th Florida Infantry Regiment (about
1,500 men) departed Monticello today for service with Stonewall Jackson’s
command.
1898
Spanish soldiers resumed their attack on American soldiers at Malate in
the Philippine Islands.
Arroyo and Guayama, Puerto Rico, were captured by American troops, who
also occupied the town of Juan Diaz.
1899 In St. Augustine, D.E. Thompson announced his purchase of The Daily Herald from Charles F. Hopkins and said it would be renamed on Sept. 1, 1899.
1900
Frank T. Hobson, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, was born
in Hagler, Alabama.
1904
Dredging started today on the deepwater channel for the Port of Miami.
Hundreds of workers were employed around the clock to complete this
project.
1939
Today is the birthdate of the Florida Highway Patrol.
1942
Florida Caverns State Park at Marianna opened to the public today.
1962
Governor Farris Bryant called the Florida Legislature into special
session to devise a new reapportionment plan for the state.
This was in response to the Supreme Court decision in the case, Baker
versus Carr, in 1962. The
Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could consider challenges to state
apportionment plans.
1981
Maria Marinello Korvick became the first Hispanic woman to serve as a
circuit court judge in Florida when she assumed this office in Miami.
Korvick had entered the United States as a Cuban refugee in 1961.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 2
1799
A joint U.S.-Spanish survey of the U.S. southern border at the 31st
parallel from the Mississippi River experienced a delay because of the heavy
rains at its Chattahoochee River base camp.
1864
William Miller, the head of the Confederate Conscript Bureau in Alabama
and Florida, was commissioned as a brigadier general today.
Miller had been seriously wounded while on duty with the 3rd Florida
Infantry regiment. He had also
previously served with the 1st Florida Infantry Regiment.
The schooner, U.S.S. Stonewall,
moved up the Manatee River and destroyed a sawmill, a gristmill, and a sugar
mill that reportedly belonged to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
No Federal casualties were reported.
1894
The Suwannee Democrat begins publication.
The Democrat was the result of a merger between two pioneering
newspapers in Live Oak.
1898
Spain notified the United States that it would accept the American
ultimatum to end the Spanish-American War.
Negotiations begin to finalize the terms of the peace accord.
General Garcia, leader of the Cuban forces, captured Mayuri.
American army units regarded as “immune” from Yellow Fever were
ordered to Cuba for garrison duty.
1991
STS 43 was launched from Cape Canaveral.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 3
1763
Spain transfers title to Florida to Britain in exchange for the return of
the City of Havana, Cuba, which had been captured when Spain allied itself with
France in the French and Indian War. Britain
controlled Florida from 1763 until 1783, when it again became a Spanish
possession at the end of the American Revolution.
1862
Commenting on the response of Florida men to calls for Confederate
service, Governor John Milton informs General Edward A. Perry that some counties
doe not have enough men left to have “a militia officer, Judge of Probate,
Clerk or Sheriff.” More than
15,000 Floridians served with state or national Confederate forces.
1864
Troops of the 8th U.S. Colored Troops arrive in Palatka in time to save a
25-man detachment of Union 40th Massachusetts Cavalry.
Federal losses were three killed, and eight captured; Confederate losses,
if any, were unknown. Federal
troops abandon Palatka.
1898
American forces under the Command of General Brooke arrive at Arroyo,
Puerto Rico.
1958
First successful test of the 85-foot tall Atlas missile from Cape
Canaveral. The success of this test
launch accelerates the American Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
program.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 4
1842
The Armed Occupation Act was passed by Congress.
Each settler who would settle and cultivate five acres or more of land in
eastern and southern Florida for a period of five years would receive 160 acres
of land and one year’s rations from the Federal government.
Settlers were expected also to provide militia service, if needed, to
control the activities of the warring Seminole Indians.
This was the prelude to the official declaration of the end of the Second
Seminole War on August 14, 1842.
1862
The 6th and 7th Florida Infantry Regiments, the 1st Florida Cavalry, and
the Marion Artillery were assigned to Davis’ 2nd Brigade of the Confederate
Department of Tennessee and were stationed at Knoxville.
1864
Federal General Birney’s Brigade from Florida, some 3,000 troops,
arrive as reinforcements for Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Many of these troops were former slaves, who have been recruited into the
U.S. Colored Infantry.
1898
American generals commanding U.S. forces in Cuba petition the War
Department to remove their soldiers from the island in order to prevent
additional casualties from yellow fever.
1944
Ceremonies were held at the Underwater Demolition Training facility in
Ft. Pierce to celebrate the 154th anniversary of the U.S. Coast Guard.
1984
The Cypriot freighter, Wellwood, rammed Molasses Reef, the only living coral reef in
continental United States’ waters, and destroyed 19,000 square feet of living
coral. Stuck on the reef for 12
days, additional sections of the reef were destroyed when tugs worked to free
her from her perch.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 5
1845
Benjamin Byrd took office as the first state treasurer for Florida.
His term lasted until William B. Hayward replaced him on January 8, 1848.
1861
The Federal Ship Jamestown,
operating off the coast near Fernandina, captured the Alvarado, the first reported capture of a blockade runner in
Florida waters. The residents of
Amelia Island, who witnessed the capture, attempted to come to the aid of the
stricken blockade runner. The Union
ship captain, fearing a rescue foray from the nearby shore, ordered the Alvarado
burned.
1863
Residents of Tallahassee had the opportunity to purchase civilian goods
brought in by blockade runners at a public auction held by A. Hopkins and
Company. Among the lots offered for
sale were 12,000 hooks and eyes, three dozen pocket knives, and 48 cases of
toilet soap.
1898
Reacting to the petitions of the American generals leading the invasion
forces in Cuba, the War Department ordered all American soldiers who were
“well” to withdraw to the United States.
The description “well” meant those not suffering from yellow fever.
Although Spain has accepted the American ultimatum to end the
Spanish-American War, fighting continued as the diplomats from both nations
negotiate the final settlement. The
war has lasted 3 months and 15 days so far.
1906
The Everglades Land and Sugar Company sent a 40-man crew into the muck
lands west of Dania to begin ditching operations in preparation for sugar
planting.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 6
1763
Colonel Augustine Prevost of the British Army accepted possession of West
Florida from the Spanish at Pensacola.
1827
George Franklin Drew, twelfth governor of Florida [January 2,
1877-January 4, 1881] was born in Alton, New Hampshire.
After a short sojourn in Columbus, Georgia, Drew built a large saw mill
at Ellaville in Madison County, Florida. Drew’s
election in 1877 was regarded as the “end of Reconstruction” in this state.
He died in Jacksonville on September 26, 1900.
1840
Dr. Henry Perrine, an amateur botanist and resident of Indian Key, was
killed by Seminoles. His family
were hiding in a root cellar under the house, and, although the house was set
afire by the Indians, survived the attack.
At dawn, they left their hiding place and managed to put to sea in a
small boat. They were rescued by a
schooner anchored close by. A
neighbor, Jacob Housman, also survived the attack.
1862
The blockade runner Columbia arrived in Key West under guard by the U.S.S.
Santiago de Cuba. The Columbia’s
cargo was all war materiel, including rifles, powder, cartridges, blankets, and
cannons. Although the ship’s
master claims to be a British vessel, Federal naval authorities do not accept
this as being true.
1863
Alterations started on the British-built Oreto
that would transform her into the Confederate gunboat Florida
at Green Cay, Bahamas. This action
provided part of the basis for a
$15,000,000 claim against Great Britain by the United States at the end of the
war.
1864
The Federal gunboat Metacomet arrived in Pensacola with Confederate and Union
wounded from fighting around Mobile.
1868
Present State Seal of Florida authorized.*
1898
American troops under the command of General William Shafter begin their
evacuation of Santiago, Cuba.
1945
Floridians, like other Americans, were shocked by the news that the
United States had obliterated the Japanese city of Hiroshima with an atomic bomb
on August 5. Nevertheless, they
expressed approval of President Harry Truman’s decision to drop the bomb.
1978
Edward Durell Stone of New York, architect of the new Capitol Complex in
Tallahassee, died on this date. Stone
was a controversial architect who also designed the John F. Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C., the United States’ Embassy in New Delhi, India, and the
General Motors Building in New York. He
worked in cooperation with the Jacksonville firm of Reynolds, Smith and Hills.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 7
1719
The French Fort San Carlos (Pensacola) surrendered unconditionally to
Spanish forces.
1775
The British sloop, Brigantine, was boarded by a party of 27 American rebels
while at anchor in St. Augustine harbor. More
than 100 barrels of gunpowder were taken.
1840
Survivors of the Seminole massacre at Indian Key were rescued.
1836
Fort Drane (near Ocala) was evacuated by Captain Charles S. Merchant and
his men because of sickness. The evacuation of the fort meant a loss of 12,000 bushels of
corn waiting to be harvested in nearby fields.
1868
George J. Alden assumed office as Florida Secretary of State, succeeding
Benjamin F. Allen.
1891
The City of San Antonio (Pasco County) was originally incorporated.
San Antonio is the site of Saint Leo College and Saint Leo Abbey.
1898
Spanish forces garrisoned at Guayomo, Puerto Rico, were defeated in a
skirmish with invading American troops. American
diplomats await the Spanish response to the terms of the surrender agreement
that will end the war.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 8
1863
The U.S.S. Sagamore
captured the English sloop, Clara Louisa, ten miles north of the Indian River.
Later that date, the Sagamore also captured the British schooners, Southern
Rights and Shot. Still later that day, the Sagamore
captured the American schooner, Ann
(off Gilbert’s Bar). All the
ships were suspected of trying to run the blockade at either the Indian River or
Jupiter Inlet.
1896
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Florida’s Pulitzer Prize winning author, was
born on this date in Washington, D.C. She
won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939 for her best-selling novel, The
Yearling. In 1946, it was
made into a movie and has subsequently been remade into a television special. Rawlings lived in Cross Creek, FL, where she wrote six
novels, a volume of short stories, and a collection of essays. Her work dealt with the vicissitudes faced by the hardy
settler families on Florida’s frontier and the natural beauty of her adopted
state. She died on December 14,
1953. (For more information about
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, see Gordon E. Bigelow, Frontier
Eden or Elizabeth Silverthorne, Marjorie
Kinnan Rawlings. For a
different look at Rawlings and Cross Creek, see J. T. Glisson, The
Creek [Gainesville: University Press of Florida])
1898
Spanish prisoners-of-war embark from Santiago, Cuba, for Spain.
In Washington, the U.S. government received Spain’s formal response to
the American peace proposal.
1942
Four German saboteurs who landed at Ponte Vedra Beach on June 17, 1942
were executed by the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C.
The four, along with a second group of four who landed on Long Island,
were on a mission to sabotage defense plants, utility systems, and other
installations. (For more on the
Florida landing, see Michael Gannon, Operation
Drumbeat.)
1967
Voters in Duval County and Jacksonville approved the consolidation of
both units of government by a 2-1 margin. Jacksonville
thus became the largest city in Florida, according to acreage.
1968
Richard Milhouse Nixon received the nomination of the Republic Party
Convention on its first ballot. This was the first ever national Republican Convention held
in Miami Beach.
1989
STS 28 was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 9
1565
From the account of Pedro Menendez’s expedition to Florida in 1565 by
Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, the chaplain to the expedition.
This account is taken from Charles E. Bennett, Laudonniere
and Fort Caroline: History and
Documents (Gainesville: University
of Florida Press, 1964), p. 144.
[We will continue with portions of this account in the coming days and
will simply cite it as Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.--moderator]
“At noon, Thursday, August 9, we identified the island of San Juan de
Puerto Rico and as night had fallen, our pilot ordered sails furled so that we
would remain still among many banks surrounding the island and port....”
1841
Colonel William Jennings Worth implements his policy of white
resettlement in Florida when he provides assistance and protection to a band of
13 whites and eight slaves in a small settlement at Cedar Hammock.
1863
The Florida Kilcrease Artillery, under Captain F.L. Villepique, left
Tallahassee to take up a new duty station at Savannah.
1898
General Nelson W. Miles informs the War Department that no more troops
were needed in Puerto Rico and requests that no more be sent.
1908
The Tampa Evening News,
published by the Tampa Morning Tribune Company, ceased publication.
1971
Robert Gray (18), announced his candidacy for a seat on the Tampa City
Council. He finished third in a
four-person contest,
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 10
1565
“With an agreeable and clear day we arrived in at the port of Puerto
Rico, Friday the day of the good-fortuned Saint Lawrence.
About three in the afternoon we entered and within the port we found our Capitana
and its smaller companion ship that separated from us earlier.
The cries of joy from all sides were inexpressible, praising the Lord for
bringing us together again. At once
the Captain and the Ensign joined us and we celebrated with them some preserves
and other things I had brought.
The Same day the Admiral [Menendez] and I went ashore and visited the
General by whom we were warmly received. Since
I had not been requested for supper that night, the next day the General asked
me to stay in a good house so that we could talk together; and I expressed my
appreciation. We were in port four
days, three days of it pouring rain.
Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1861
The Third Florida Infantry was mustered into Confederate service today on
Amelia Island.
1862
(This selection is taken from - “Rose Cottage Chronicles:
Civil War Letters of the Bryant-Stephens Family of North
Florida”--edited by Arch Frederic Blakey, Ann Smith Lainhart, and Winston
Bryant Stephens, Jr. Published by the University Press of Florida [Available
through The Print Shoppe at Alma Clyde Field Library of Florida
History—[email protected]]--this collection of more than 800 letters
offers an unusual look at service in the Confederate military and life on the
home front. Periodically we will
quote from these letters and cite them simply as “Rose Cottage
Chronicles.”--Nick Wynne, Moderator.)
[George Bryant to Davis
Bryant]
Rose Cottage Aug 10, 1862
My dear Brother.
As Henry wrote Willie a short time ago, and told him about every thing, I
think it is time for me to try and tell you something about what we do here in
this part of the world. This
morning Henry, Willie Stephens, and I went to see if we couldn’t get a few
gallons of Alligator oil; but we did not succeed in getting any; Henry shot at a
fine fellow with Winston’s riffle, we do’nt know whether he hit him or not,
but we think he did, we did not see any more of him.
Henry and Willie have gone fishing...They took Taylor and the gun
expecting to kill some squirrels, Henry has killed four out that way lately;
Rosa is very fond of them, when she sees Henry bringing them she says, Henry got
querrel...
Sunday morning. Henry and
Willie got back yesterday a little while after sunset and brought fifty three
fish, they were small but sweet. They
killed a very large fox as they were coming back;
he had quite a fight with Taylor after he fell.
Mr. Stephens went up to the Ocklawaha River and killed a fine bear; he
has just sent us a piece.
All send a great deal of love.
1864
Confederate cavalry and a detachment of the 102nd U.S. Colored Infantry
clashed near Baldwin (north Florida). A
section of railroad tracks was destroyed by the Federal troops.
This was part of a series of on-going clashes between the two armies.
1898
U.S. General Lawton was appointed Military Governor of Cuba, while in
Puerto Rico, the town of Coamo was captured by American troops.
President William McKinley submitted a protocol to Spain outlining the
terms upon which the United States was willing to end the Spanish-American War.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 11
1844
John Branch was appointed the sixth territorial governor of Florida on
this date by President John Tyler.. Branch
was born in Halifax County, North Carolina on November 4, 1782.
He served as governor of North Carolina, and as a United States Senator
from that state. In addition,
Branch also served as the Secretary of the Navy.
He was succeeded as governor by William Dunn Moseley, who became the
first governor of the new state of Florida on June 25, 1845.
Branch died in Enfield, North Carolina, on January 3, 1863.
1862
[Octavia Stephens to Winston Stephens]
Rose Cottage Aug 12, 1862
“...I am in the beef business this morning and my mind is pretty well
stirred up, and I hardly know what to say, we got a beef weighing 315 lbs from
Bright and will have to pay $18 for it. Burrel
and Tom drove this one here before killing it and I hope we will have good luck
in saving it, the weather bids fair for it, as regards sunshine.
Burrel is going to put the hides in tan...”
“Rose Cottage Chronicles”
1898
Spanish Cabinet accepts the American Peace Protocol to
end the Spanish-American War. Only
the formality of a similar signing by President William McKinley remained before
the “Splendid Little War” was officially and finally over.
1900
Infant mortality rate of 80% reported in one Seminole settlement in the
Everglades.
1917
Governor Sidney J. Catts appointed the first county officials for the
newly created Okeechobee County (May 8, 1917).
1931
Neptune Beach was created by voters in that city.
1953
Terry Bollea was born in Augusta, Georgia, though he later moved to Tampa
and then to Venice Beach, California. A big boy--he weighed 195 pounds
by age 12--Bollea got even bigger working out in the gym, where he began taking
steroids (a fact he later testified to in court). At age 23 he had his first
professional wrestling match. By the 1980s, the 6'6", 295-pound Bollea was
wrestling under the name of Hulk Hogan. As a "good-guy" and biggest
name for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, he always admonished his legions
of young fans--known as "Hulksters"--to say their prayers. By the
mid-'90s, however, Hogan had changed personas and now wrestled as bad guy
"Hollywood Hulk Hogan" on Turner Broadcasting's World Championship
Wrestling, shown nationwide on WTBS. From August 1996 to August 1997, Hogan was
WCW world champion. However long he stays active, and whether he wrestles as a
good guy or a bad guy, the Augusta-born multi-millionaire will be remembered as
one of the biggest names in the history of professional wrestling.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 12
1822
Jackson County, Florida’s third county, was created on this date.
It was named for Andrew Jackson, Governor of Florida and President of the
United States.
Duval County, Florida’s fourth county , was created on this date.
The county was named for William Pope Duval (1784-1854), Territorial
governor of Florida from 1822-1834.
1862
The Federal steamer, R.R. Cuyler, arrived at Key West to begin its tour of duty
with the East Gulf Blockading Squadron.
1863
The U.S.S. Beauregard was
on station at the Haul Over Canal, thirteen miles north of Cape Canaveral.
The U.S.S. Pursuit was
stationed off the coast at Jupiter Inlet. Confederate
blockade-runners were suspected of using the Indian River area to land
contraband cargoes.
1864
Two Confederate cavalry companies, accompanied by an artillery battery,
advanced today against the 102nd U.S. Colored troops who are destroying tracks.
Four men from the 75th Ohio were taken prisoner.
The Federals dispatched cavalry troops from Baldwin to drive the
Confederate forces back. Union
losses were one killed and four captured.
1898
The Spanish-American War ended officially today when President William B.
McKinley signs the Peace Protocol and ordered a cessation of hostilities.
The war lasted 110 days.
1977
The Enterprise was launched in 1977.
It was the first free flight of this space vehicle.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 13
1862
Confederate General Joseph Finegan issues a request for slave owners to
make their slaves available for work on the fortifications at St. Marks.
1864
Union naval commanders were under tremendous pressure from insurance
underwriters to capture or sink the Confederate raider C.S.S.
Tallahassee, under the command of Commander John Taylor Wood.
The Tallahassee captured
or destroyed nine vessels in two days. Secretary Sumner Welles dispatched a flotilla of more than
nine ships to hunt for this raider.
1868
C. Thurston Chase assumed office as Florida’s first Superintendent of
Public Instruction. He served until
September 23, 1870, when he turned the office over to Henry Quarles.
1906
Factory workers in Key West instituted a boycott of the streetcar system
because of the three cents fare. Workers also demanded transfer privileges.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 14
1559
First Spanish settlement in the present United States was established by
Don Tristan de Luna Arellano. De
Luna’s party consisted of Dominican friars, soldiers, and settlers who built
their settlement on the site of today’s Pensacola.
The settlement was abandoned after two years.
1861
The Union blockader, Mohawk, which had been operating off the coast of St. Marks
captured and scuttled a Confederate ship to close off the channel to further
use.
1842
Today Colonel William Jenkins Worth proclaimed the end of the Second
Seminole War from his headquarters at Cedar Key.
Although Colonel Worth officially ended the war, the actual fighting
slowly died out over the next few months. [For
more information, see John K. Mahon, History
of the Second Seminole War 1835-1842 (Gainesville:
University Press of Florida, 1967 and 1985).]
1864
Union General Alexander Sandor Asboth (an Austrian refugee and friend of
Louis Kossuth) ordered his troops, about 1,400 men, to leave Pensacola and move
across the Perdido River for operations near Mobile Bay.
1874
Jonathan C. Gibbs, African-American politician, died on this date.
Gibbs was a delegate to the 1868 Constitutional Convention , Secretary of
State (1868-1873), and Superintendent of Public Instruction (1873-1874).
1888
Because of a yellow fever epidemic in Jacksonville, Fla., many
residents of that area
fled by train to Atlanta. Fear that that the epidemic would spread to Atlanta
led city officials to require that every incoming passenger train be inspected
by a doctor. Fortunately, none of the refugees fleeing to Atlanta ever caught
the disease
1945
President Harry S Truman announced the surrender of Japan, thus ending
World War II. Across the state, thousands of Floridians took to the streets
to celebrate V-J Day.
1963
Ten Cuban refugees were taken to Key West by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.
The ten were rescued from Anquilla Cay, Bahamas.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 15
1565
From the journal of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, chaplain
to the Menendez expedition:
“On the fifth day, Wednesday, the fifteenth, the day of our Lady, we
embarked at ten o’clock. More
than 30 men, including three of the seven priests who came, deserted and hid
themselves in this settlement. The
could not be discovered, dead or alive, which made the General (Menendez) very
angry.”
“I was not less so because it made hard work for me. I was offered a chaplaincy in this port, a peso of alms for
each mass I might say, guaranteed for a year.
I did not accept because I did not want to be talked about as the others
were; and also because it is a settlement where little advancement is probable;
and I wanted to see if my work would be rewarded by the Lord in the journey
which I felt would serve the Lord, and our Lady, His Blessed Mother.”
“Men are wealthy there, in cattle.
There are men who own 20,000 and 30,000 cows, and as many mares worth 120
Spanish reales. The mares are not
worth more, for there is nothing in which they can be profitably used unless it
be occasionally to draw loads or to produce colts. As to the cattle, only their hides are profitable for they do
not do work and have no value for
anything else. A hide is valued at
11 or 12 local reales. They tried
to persuade me to remain but it cost Lord Valverde, and I, 8 reales there for a
half gallon of wine, not very good either.
We stocked up with a few delicacies for the voyage, jerked beef and
oranges, limes and potatoes and sugar cane.
We got a dozen beef tongues with some dried loins.
We did this because by the time we arrived there we knew the hungers we
suffered at sea.”
Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1842
The monument to soldiers who died in the Seminole Wars was unveiled in
St. Augustine.
1864
The Florida 2nd and 5th Cavalry Battalions were engaged by Federal troops
in the Battle of Gainesville, which will last until August 19.
1934
The first Florida Emergency Relief Administration camp for unemployed
women opened on Anastasia Island (St. Augustine).
This Federal sponsored camp was the first in the South and was part of
the New Deal Program of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 16
1862
[Willie Bryant to Davis Bryant]
Camp near Chattanooga, Aug 16, 1862
Dear Davis
I have written you but one letter since arriving here 4 weeks ago,
waiting in the vain hope of something interesting turning up; but even now find
myself in want of it. We are still
at our old camp ground, tho’ thousands of others have been moved, and in
readiness to move on short notice, with as little definite knowledge and
prospect as; the waggon trains from Tupelo for which we are told we are waiting
before advancing, have not yet arrived; our brigade at present only compromising
the 3d. and 4th Fla. have been assigned to Maj. Genl. Saml. Jones division, who
is somewhere, but at present we are under the orders of Genl. Hardee at
Chatanooga....
I spent nearly a day at Look Out Mountain this week and tho a very
fatiguing trip on foot, enjoyed it and got a good dinner too...It is pretty hard
getting along on Flour w meals of rice sometimes, and reduced rations of bad
meat, but we still make out; when we move again we give up our tents and all but
a very few cooking utensils...I shall write you once in awhile, and all of
interest when I can and occasionally shall expect a letter from you---Goodbye for now!
“Rose Cottage Chronicles”
1863
The U.S.S.
DeSoto captured the Confederate ship Alice
Vivian in the Gulf of Mexico. The
Vivian’s cargo was cotton
bound for European markets.
1864
The U.S.S. Honeysuckle
returned to Key West today. The Honeysuckle
was on station along the Indian River Inlet.
The bark, James L. Davis,
has been dispatched to take up this station.
Until the Davis arrives
on station this area has no blockade enforcers on duty.
1878
First post office established in the community of “Sara Sota.”
1882
First two-and-one-half mile railroad bridge completed across Escambia
Bay.
1898
The order was given to evacuate Key West because of a possible outbreak
of yellow fever. All military
personnel were ordered out of the city, including the wounded in Convent
Hospital.
1947
Jacksonville Art Museum originally founded as the Jacksonville Arts Club.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 17
1565
From the Diary of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Chaplain to
Pedro Menendez’s expedition to Florida...
“At four o’clock in the afternoon of Friday, August 17, we came in
view of the island of Santo Domingo. The
General [Menendez], putting himself in the mercy of God, directed the
Admiral’s ship to take the Northern course and put into the mouth of a very
dangerous channel which up to then had never been navigated.
Although the Admiral and all of us were apprehensive, we must do the
General’s bidding. When we
entered, the angry sea and heavy waves seemed ready to consume us. The Admiral ordered that I give comfort to the soldiers with
prayers and counseling. All that
night was dreadful.”
Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1862
The 7th New Hampshire Volunteers (Union) has been transferred to St.
Augustine to relieve the 4th New Hampshire, which will be stationed at Hilton
Head, SC.
1863
The U.S.S. DeSoto
captured the Confederate steamer, Nita, in the Gulf of Mexico.
1864
Union forces were decisively defeated at Gainesville by Confederate
cavalry troops under the command of Major J.J. Dickison.
The Federal forces lost 28 killed, five wounded, and 200 taken prisoner.
The Confederate loss was one killed and five wounded.
The 17th Connecticut Infantry, under the command of Colonel William H.
Noble, occupied the country near Starke. The
17th camped at Shake Rug Corner, near the Bellamy Road, that night.
1874
Samuel B. McLin, Florida Secretary of State, assumed the office of
Superintendent of Public Instruction on a temporary basis, succeeding Jonathan
C. Gibbs.
1898
Embarkation of African-American troops from Tampa to New York following
the end of the Spanish-American War.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 18
1565
From the Diary of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Chaplain to
Pedro Menendez’s expedition to Florida...
“At dawn on Saturday morning, the 18th, we were reassured.
As we proceeded, we found banks in the middle of the sea, where waves
broke. The pilots made their
soundings, studying the depths required for navigation.
In places we found 4 fathoms and in other places less.
About two hours before sunset we saw the landmarks of a low uninhabitable
island, Aguana. God was pleased to
allow us to take the banks and the island by day, so we could guard against
danger. It was certainly daylight
by permission of our Master and His Blessed Mother.
If it had been night we could not have failed being dashed to pieces on
them. The danger seen, since none
of the pilots knew this area, they agreed to lower sails and heave to by the
island so that we would not be lost traveling at night.”
Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1821
The Floridian,
Pensacola’s first newspaper, was established.
1864
Colonel William H. Noble, commanding the 17th Connecticut Infantry
(U.S.), ordered some 4,000 pounds of cotton to be burned at the McCrae
Plantation near Starke. Skirmishes
between Confederate cavalry and Federal troops between Gainesville and Starke
continued.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 19
1863
Armed boats from the U.S.S. Norwich and the U.S.S.
Hale attacked two Confederate signal stations on the St. Johns River.
One signal station, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel A. H.
McCormick, was taken. Five
Confederate soldiers were captured, along with a trove of equipment.
A sudden rain storm prevented the capture of the second station.
1864
An excerpt from the civil war diary of Hiram Smith Williams, who settled
in Rockledge in 1872 and who served two terms as a state senator in the 1880s.
Williams was a member of the 40th Alabama Regiment and was a combat
engineer during the Atlanta Campaign.
“Our operations since the last record have been along our lines to East
Point, the junction of the W[est] P[oint] and Atlanta and Macon road.
In the meantime we have lived well.
Blackberries plenty. Bought
a bushel of wheat and had it ground into flour this getting 32 lbs. for ten
dollars. Also have had any amount of green corn. Have been blockading roads in the front to our left, where we
found plenty of good foraging. We
are now at East P[oin]t where we have been building forts and fortifying
generally. Got my baggage all safe
except a few trifling articles the other day.
For which, I was very truly thankful, as I had not change of clothing
since they’ve been gone. This
afternoon we received orders to go in the front of our left wing.
Had rather dangerous times. We
were only separated from the enemy’s advance line of skirmishers by one
field.”
Lewis N. Wynne and Robert A. Taylor (Editors), This
War So Horrible: The Civil War
Diary of Hiram Smith Williams (Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press)
1868
Simon B. Conover assumed the office of Treasurer of the State of Florida.
Conover held the office until Charles H. Foster succeeded him on January
16, 1873.
1977
Construction of Florida’s present Capitol was declared completed on
this day. The building was opened
officially on March 31, 1978, by Governor Reubin O’D. Askew.
The cost of the building was $43,070,741.
The building has 22 stories above ground and three below.
The 22nd floor contains a public viewing platform.
Construction of the Capitol required 3,700 tons of structural steel,
2,800 tons of reinforcing steel, 25,000 cubic yards of concrete, 12,000 square
feet of walnut paneling, 62,000 square feet of marble, 60,000 square feet of
carpet, 92,000 square feet of terrazzo, 14 elevators, 30 miles of telephone
wire, and 250 miles of electrical wire.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 20
1862
The Florida 3rd Infantry Regiment, under the command of Colonel William
S. Dilworth, assumed it new duty station at Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1863
The Union bark Restless
captured the Confederate schooner Ernti
with 135 bales of cotton.
An armed Union party attacked two Confederate signal stations on the St.
Johns River. One was captured, but
a heavy rain squall prevented the capture of the second.
1864
The first edition of the Union, a predecessor of Florida of the Florida Times-Union, was originally published as a “war
news” sheet.
1868
Simon B. Conover assumed the office of State Treasurer.
He held this office until January 16, 1873, when Charles H. Foster
succeeded him.
1889
The Quincy State Bank was chartered.
1943
The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach was converted into a plastic/neurosurgery
facility for G.I.s who have been wounded in action.
1967
Pam Kruse of Fort Lauderdale sets the world record for the 200 meter
event (2:09:7) at an AAU meet in Philadelphia.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 21
1817
In a move that augured military strategy of a half-century later, General
Gregor McGregor, the conqueror of Amelia Island, ordered a blockade of the
Florida Coast from Amelia Island to the Perdido River.
1862
The U.S.S. Keystone State captured
the British schooner, Fanny, off the coast of Amelia Island.
The Fanny was carrying a
cargo of salt.
1864
The following Florida units in Confederate service in Virginia
participated in the battle at Weldon Railroad:
Florida 1st (Reorganized) Infantry Regiment
Florida 2nd Infantry Regiment
Florida 5th Infantry Regiment
Florida 8th Infantry Regiment
Florida 9th Infantry Regiment
Florida 10th Infantry Regiment
Florida 11th Infantry Regiment
1898
Key West was somewhat of a ghost town as military personnel continue to
be evacuated in the face of a “yellow fever” scare.
1965
The Gemini 5 space vehicle was launched from Cape Canaveral.
1979
Sue Wegner became the first female police chief in Florida when she was
sworn into office by Mayor Lucie Black of Minneola.
Ms. Wegner was the police department’s senior officer when she was
nominated by then City Manager Richard D. Waters.
1988
Hurricane Chris battered Florida’s east coast from Miami to
Jacksonville.
1992
Wary South Floridians were keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Andrew as it
made its way across the Atlantic. On
this day, Andrew sat about 600 east of Nassau with sustained winds of 65 miles
an hour.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 22
1814
United States troops under the command of Andrew Jackson entered Florida
in pursuit of Creek and Seminole Indians, while Jackson occupies the City of
Mobile.
1840
At the request of Territorial Governor Robert R. Reid, the U.S. War
Department allocates funds for 3,000 horsemen to defend East Florida against
attacks by marauding Seminoles.
1862
The C.S.S. Florida was
reported in port at Cardenas, Cuba, for repairs.
Union officials suspected that the real purpose of its visit was to
recruit seamen for future raiding voyages.
1864
An excerpt from the civil war diary of Hiram Smith Williams, who settled
in Rockledge in 1872 and who served two terms as a state senator in the 1880s.
Williams was a member of the 40th Alabama Regiment and was a combat
engineer during the Atlanta Campaign.
“Yesterday we received orders about 2 ocl[oc]k to report to Corps HQ,
for which I was not sorry as we were at work in the rain on breastworks for
another Div[ision]. Camped at Utoy
Church half a mile in rear of our line of battle, to the left of our Div[ision].
This morning we were ordered to make a lot of cheaveau-de-frize’s
for the protection of our line. They
are made something like a horse rack, consequently the boys have christened them
by that name. Worked hard at it all
day.”
Lewis N. Wynne and Robert A. Taylor (Editors), This
War So Horrible: The Civil War
Diary of Hiram Smith Williams (Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press)
1992
This morning, Floridians were informed that Tropical Storm Andrew was now
Hurricane Andrew, with winds of 76 mph. At
11:00 p.m., meteorologists reported that Hurricane Andrew now sported winds of
110 mph, was located about 500 miles east of Miami, still moving west toward the
Florida coast.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 23
1822
The City of Pensacola was incorporated by the Territorial government of
Florida.
1844
Hamilton Disston, financier, was born this day.
Disston, whose purchase of 6,250 square miles (4,000,000 acres) of public
land for $1 million, prevented the state of Florida from having to declare
bankruptcy in 1881. The entrepreneur tried to drain the “swamps and overflowed
lands” he had purchased and made remarkable progress until he was caught short
of cash in the Panic of ‘93. Depressed,
Disston committed suicide that year. [For
more information of the Disston Land Purchase, see T. Frederick Davis, “The
Disston Land Purchase,” Florida
Historical Quarterly, Volume 17, Number 3 (January 1939), pp. 200-210.
1851
A tropical storm with high winds severely damages the tin roof of the
capitol building in Tallahassee.
1992
Hurricane Andrew reached classification as a Category 4 hurricane today.
Located about 300 miles east of Miami in the early morning hours, the
hurricane continued to build in intensity.
By 2:00 p.m., winds reached 150 mph.
Hurricane warnings/watches were posted along Florida’s east coast from
Key West to Jacksonville and as far north as Ft. Myers on the west coast.
Weather experts predicted that the hurricane would come ashore near Miami
early on August 24.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 24
1862
Company H, 2nd Florida Cavalry, transferred this date from Marion County
to Alachua County. Under the
command of Captain John J. Dickison, the unit was assigned to Camp Lee where it
will be outfitted for service in the field.
1867
The second governor of Florida, Thomas Brown, died on this date.
Brown was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on October 24, 1785. He served in the War of 1812, in the Virginia Legislature
(1817), and was the chief clerk of the post office in Richmond.
In 1828, he moved to Florida to a plantation near Lake Jackson in Leon
County. After suffering monetary
losses because of freezes, he entered the hotel business.
He leased and operated the Planters Hotel in Tallahassee and later built
the City Hotel. In 1834, Brown
served as the Territorial Auditor. In
1838, he was elected as the President of the Legislative Council, and in 1839
was a member of the Constitutional Convention.
Brown represented Leon County in the House of Representatives in the
first state legislature (1845). His
primary goal as governor was to expand internal improvements, including the
possibility of draining the Everglades.
1902
Officials at Florida Female College (now FSU) announce plans for the
establishment of a kindergarten training department to being with the opening of
the Fall term.
1922
The failure of ice boats to arrive at Chokoloskee on schedule results in
the loss of thousands of pounds of fish and alligators.
The resulting stench was described by one resident as creating an
“awful perfume.”
1992
Between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m., Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida with
winds of 145 mph. Some gusts of 164
to 175 mph were recorded. As it made its way across the state, the wind velocity
dropped to 125 mph, but soon elevated to 145 mph when the storm entered the Gulf
of Mexico.
Andrew exacted a heavy toll in human life (more than 40 persons) and in
physical damage. The damages
inflicted by this great storm totaled more than $25 billion, with the
agricultural sector sustaining more than $1.05 billion alone.
Some 12.7 million cubic yards of debris were eventually cleared from the
hurricane area. Homestead Air Force
Base was demolished, approximately 920 vessels were destroyed, and the Turkey
Point Nuclear Facility sustained damages near $100 million.
The center of the storm or the area of maximum winds was very small and
covered an area of approximately 12 miles.
Weather experts reported a storm surge of 23 feet.
Despite the tremendous damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, had the storm
come ashore just a few miles north of its impact area, the City of Miami with
its large population would have been leveled
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 25
1565
From the Diary of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Chaplain to
Pedro Menendez’s expedition to Florida...
At three o’clock on Saturday, the 25th of the month, the General came
to our vessel to visit it and to bring artillery for the entrance into Florida.
He brought two battering rams and two versos [small cannon]; and their
powder and balls; and two lombards. After
he had armed the vessel he made a speech setting out what we had to do on
arriving at the port where the French would be.
Not to be too long in this (which would be interesting to record
according to the pros and cons that were expressed) the firm resolution of the
General was that, despite the 2,000 Frenchmen being in port, we had to enter by
defeating them in combat. I replied
to him and charged it to his conscience that he look to the 1,000 souls that he
had brought that he might give a good account of them.
From this we passed to other things, which being lengthy, I will leave
until we see each other, our Lord and His Blessed Mother being pleased. This same day, Saturday, the argument being over, the General
called me and said these words to me: “They
have told me that thou hast here a relative of thine.”
I said to him: “Yes, lord.”--”Well if I had known it when I chose
captains I would have taken care of him, but I did not know of it until on his
part, Diego de Amaya told me of it and now I have provided him the office of
Sergeant of the Flagship with Captain Mexica, who is a principal knight.
He will have that until something better offers itself.”
I asked him for his hands that I might kiss them, and called the Lord
Valverde that he might see him and give him thanks and entrust the General with
the disposition of his person; for the Lord Valverde, Sergeant and Officer of
the King, however established, would profit much from this.
If he does well and gives a good account of himself, it is a post from
which to rise to captain, which I will see done if I do not die before.
Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1862
Federal General Rufus Saxton secured the approval of the United States
War Department to enlist 5,000 African-American troops.
1863
The United States tender, Fox, was on station at Key West.
1866
The Florida Freedman’s Bureau Homestead Office opened today.
More than 3,000 homesteads, more than in any other southern state, were
awarded to Florida freedmen. Each
homestead averaged 80 acres.
1894
Professor R. F. Massey signed a contract for the construction of a new
building at the corner of Monroe and Main Streets in Jacksonville.
This building would become the cornerstone of Massey College, which was
founded in this year.
1983
Tropical Storm Barry struck Florida near Melbourne and continued across
Florida. It exited near Tampa,
crossed the Gulf of Mexico, gained hurricane strength, and hit near Brownsville,
Texas, on the 28th.
1992
Today Florida was reeling under the devastation created by Hurricane
Andrew. The storm was now about 250
miles southeast of New Orleans and moving west.
Its winds, which had diminished to 125 mph, were building again to 145
mph. Landfall was expected later
today near Iberia, Louisiana.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 26
1813
Harrison Reed, the ninth governor of Florida, was born at Littleton,
Massachusetts, today. A businessman
who failed in the Depression of 1837, he became a journalist/printer of
political newspapers. Reed moved to
Washington, D.C., in 1861 to become an employee of the Treasury Department.
In 1863, he was assigned to Fernandina, Florida, as a tax commissioner.
In 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed him to be the postal agent
for the state of Florida. He was elected governor under the Constitution of 1868.
Governor Reed’s administration was a stormy one.
Florida was under a military occupation, and both Florida Democrats and
Republicans opposed him. He faced
two impeachment efforts by members of his own party. Lieutenant Governor William H. Gleason proclaimed himself
governor in Reed’s place when the Legislature adjourned while the Senate was
considering charges against Reed.
At the end of his term, Reed retired to his farm.
In 1875, he became the editor of the magazine, The Semi-Tropical. Between
1889 and 1893, Reed served as the postmaster of Tallahassee. In 1899, he
represented Duval County in the state House of Representatives.
Harrison Reed died in Jacksonville on May 25, 1899.
1815
The Island of Key West was granted to Juan de Estrado, the governor of
Florida, in lieu of payment for services rendered to the government of Spain.
1845
Hugh Archer assumed office as the Comptroller of Florida.
He serves until January 2, 1847. Archer
serves a second term from July until December 1847.
1861
The Confederate Congress approved an expenditure of $420,000 for the
construction of three gunboats to protect the coast and rivers of Florida.
1863
The United States schooner, Beauregard, captured the schooner, Phoebe, off the coast of the Indian River.
First sighted off Jupiter Inlet on August 23, the Phoebe
was allowed to anchor at the Inlet. When
a crew was dispatched to the shoreline, the Beauregard’s
commander considered this a violation of the permission and a likely attempt to
ferry goods to Confederates.
1880
An unnamed hurricane struck the Florida coast near Cocoa Beach.
1920
The 19th Amendment grant women suffrage was formally ratified by a
sufficient number of states to add it to the Constitution.
Florida did NOT ratify this amendment until May 13, 1969.
Despite the refusal of the Legislature to ratify the amendment, women had
been granted the right to vote in city elections as early as 1917 when Florence
Villa, Moore Haven, Palm Beach, and Pass-a-Grille allowed them to cast their
ballots.
1950
Radiation Division of Harris Corporation, a major Florida technology
company, was founded in Melbourne. Harris Corporation is now the largest single private employer
in Brevard County and is a Fortune 500 company.
1960
The first student at Brevard Community College was officially enrolled.
The college, founded on March 10, 1959, held classes in the old Cocoa
High School building. BCC currently
has four campuses in the county and has an enrollment of about 18,000 students.
1964
Hurricane Cleo strikes Fort Lauderdale with 130 mph winds late tonight.
The storm continued throughout the early morning hours.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 27
1565
From the Diary of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Chaplain to
Pedro Menendez’s expedition to Florida...
“Monday, August 27, while we were sailing along and almost at the end
of the Bahama Channel, Our Lord showed us a mystery of the sky. It was that at about the ninth hour of the night, a comet
came out of the sky, borne almost directly above, but toward the direction of
the rising sun and went away giving such a light from itself that it appeared to
be like the sun and it went traveling to the West, where Florida is.
It lasted about the length of time in which one could recite the Creed
twice. We took it for a good sign,
according to the custom of the sea.”
Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1861
The Howell Guards, a company from Leon County, left Tallahassee today
with the eventual destination of joining the 2nd Florida Infantry regiment [as
Company M] in Richmond, Virginia.
1862
The U.S.S. South Carolina attacked
and destroyed the abandoned Confederate schooner, Patriot,
which was aground near Mosquito Inlet. The
U.S.S. R. R. Cuyler captured the schooner Anne Sophia off the coast of
Jacksonville today.
1864
An excerpt from the civil war diary of Hiram Smith Williams, who settled
in Rockledge in 1872 and who served two terms as a state senator in the 1880s.
Williams was a member of the 40th Alabama Regiment and was a combat
engineer during the Atlanta Campaign.
“The Yanks all left our front last night.
Soon after breakfast went out to level down their works across the road
so that our cavalry can get out and see what they’re doing.
Some new stratagem of Sherman’s, I suppose.
We’ll see. Nearly all the
boys think they are retreating and are highly elated with the idea. All Bosh! Had a
fine time roaming over their camp getting crackers and bacon. Captured a fine sutler’s wagon which was filled with good,
but did not get any of them as [General Randall L.] Gibson’s Brigade plundered
it before we got there.
Lewis N. Wynne and Robert A. Taylor (Editors), This
War So Horrible: The Civil War
Diary of Hiram Smith Williams (Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press).
1920
On this day, Fay Bridges of Sneads (Jackson County) cast her ballot in an election for
mayor and constable. She thus
became the first woman in Florida to vote in an election following the
ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
1957
Central Florida Community College was founded in Ocala on this date.
1970
Gwen Sawyer Cherry, the first African-American woman to serve in the
Florida Legislature, was born in Miami in 1923.
Ms. Cherry was elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Dade
County in 1970. A lawyer, teacher
and author, she graduated from Florida A &M University in 1965.
Ms. Cherry was killed in a one-car accident in Tallahassee on February 7,
1979.
1985
STS 51-1 was launched from Cape Canaveral.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 28
1565
Pedro Menendez de Aviles, in command of the Spanish expedition to
Florida, sailed into a natural harbor on the Florida coast.
He and his party celebrated the Feast of San Augustin with a High Mass.
As was the custom, Menendez gave the location the name of the saint.
Thus, St. Augustine was named. Not
until September 8, however, would Menendez and his party return to the site to
begin the first permanent settlement by Europeans in Florida.
From the Diary of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Chaplain to
Pedro Menendez’s expedition to Florida...
Later Tuesday, the 28th, it dawned with a calm greater than any since the
beginning of the voyage. We were a
league and a half from the Captiana
and the rest [of the ships]. I
being weary and tired of reciting and petitioning God and His Mother to remedy
the weather, about two in the afternoon, my God provided from His mercy and sent
us a good wind. Immediately with
full sails we joined the Captiana,
and this which I now say I take for a miracle; That when we were in the calm and
joined to the other vessels, none of the pilots of the Armada knew where we were
(and there were some who said that we were 100 leagues from Florida); and God
and the prayers of His Blessed Mother permitted that this same afternoon we
recognized land. We drew near to
discover what land it was and anchored a league off shore, and this all the rest
did also. We found ourselves in
Florida not far from our enemies, which was a great consolation and joy to all
of us. This night the General
ordered all the pilots to the Captiana
to discuss their duties.
Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1862
Colonel Edward A. Perry of the 2nd Florida Infantry Regiment was promoted
to brigadier general.
1864
An excerpt from the civil war diary of Hiram Smith Williams, who settled
in Rockledge in 1872 and who served two terms as a state senator in the 1880s.
Williams was a member of the 40th Alabama Regiment and was a combat
engineer during the Atlanta Campaign.
“What a lovely day. After
putting on some clean clothes this morning, I went over to the Yank’s works.
Saw [Lucius] Potter of the 36th [Alabama Regiment] and passed the
forenoon with him. Sherman’s
plans are not yet developed nor will they be until too late I think.
Hood’s ordeal has arrived, he will either make for himself a name that
will live or he will be remembered only to be derided.
It is the tide in his
affairs, and I think he will fail. A
few more days, perhaps hours, will decide his fate.”
Lewis N. Wynne and Robert A. Taylor (Editors), This
War So Horrible: The Civil War
Diary of Hiram Smith Williams (Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press).
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 29
1818
Spain severs diplomatic relations with the United States for failing to
discipline General Andrew Jackson following his seizure and occupation of forts
in Spanish Florida.
1868
Robert H. Gamble assumed office as the Comptroller of Florida.
His term of office extended until January 15, 1873.
1899
The discovery and mining of phosphate near Juliette produced a tremendous
population growth. Today
city officials reported that the population has increased from 25 to more
than 1200 in a single year.
1899
Joseph Hillis Miller, former president of the University of Florida, was
born this date in Front Royal, Virginia.
1992
Hurricane Andrew, by now a tropical storm and after wreaking havoc on
south Florida and the Mississippi Valley states in the central United States,
merges with the remnants of Hurricane Lester, a Pacific storm, and dies out in
Pennsylvania.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 30
1565
From the Diary of Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Chaplain to
Pedro Menendez’s expedition to Florida...
“Thursday, the 30th, we were given a time of head winds which made us
throw out the anchor. We were with
contrary winds for four days so that we could not navigate further. When these were lacking, calm came to us and stopped us.
We were anchored all these days about a league and a half off shore.
The Captiana was about a
league ahead of us. We could not
reach her because of the swift current. Our
General [Menendez], seeing that neither the pilots nor the two French prisoners
in our company knew how to reach port by the few land signs (because the coast
is so low and level and lacking in signs), decided to put 50 arquebusiers on
land. Some captains made many
bonfires so that the Indians would come up to see what it was.
They are so animal-like they did not care about it and no one came.
When our people saw this, they went into the land; and four leagues from
there they found a settlement of Indians by whom they were well received.
The Indians gave them good food and embraced them and begged for what was
brought. The soldiers were so
generous that they gave them many things they carried and the Indians gave them
two pieces of gold, although of low carat.
It showed that they had some and were in the habit of giving it in
exchange. The Frenchmen with us
said they had been in communication with them for some time.”
“The Indians wished the Christians to remain there that night so they
might feast them, but they did not accept because of the need of taking the good
news to the General.”
Francisco
Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline.
1778
An American privateer raided the plantation of Dr. Andrew Turnbull during
the American Revolution.
1862
Florida infantry units have played an important role in the Second Battle
of Bull Run (Manassas) in Virginia. The
2nd, 5th, and 8th Infantry regiments were involved.
1863
The Federal blockade of the Florida coastline was proving effective in
hampering the activities of privateers and blockade-runners.
The U.S.S. Potomska was
on duty near Fernandina, while the Norwich
and E.B. Hale were patrolling
the St. Johns River system.
1961
A resolution establishing Edison Junior College was approved by the Lee
County (Fort Myers) Board of Public Instruction.
Edison Junior College is now Edison Community College and a new
university, Florida Gulf Coast University, has also been established in the
county (1996).
1983
STS-8 was launched from Cape Canaveral.
1984
STS 41-D was launched from Cape Canaveral.
TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
AUGUST 31
1863
The Federal bark, Gem of the Sea, captured the Confederate sloop, Richard,
which was owned by John Mooney and James Fuell of West Florida.
News was received in Tallahassee that men of the 5th and 8th Florida
Infantry Regiments captured at Gettysburg were imprisoned on Johnston’s
Island.
1864
The following Florida units participated in Confederate General John Bell
Hood’s ill-fated attempt to break the lines of General William T. Sherman at
Jonesboro (south of Atlanta):
Florida Marion Artillery
Florida 1st Cavalry Regiment
Florida 1st (Reorganized) Infantry Regiment
Florida 3rd Infantry Regiment
Florida 4th Infantry Regiment
Florida 6th Infantry Regiment
Florida 7th Infantry Regiment
An excerpt from the civil war diary of Hiram Smith Williams, who settled
in Rockledge in 1872 and who served two terms as a state senator in the 1880s.
Williams was a member of the 40th Alabama Regiment and was a combat
engineer during the Atlanta Campaign.
“The ordeal is past and J[ohn] B[ell] Hood is gone under. Went to East P[oin]t yesterday morning, remained there all
day, and this morning early came down to Jonesboro.
Our infantry reached here, and charged the enemy in their works as usual,
only to be repulsed with heavy loss. This
horrid useless waste of human life, this wholesale butchery is terrible and
should damn the authors through all time.”
“Our company reached the place just as the fight commenced, but did not
see much of it. Had a hearty laugh
at one of our Lieutenants, who was carrying a musket and teakettle. Directly a shell burst near him and away went the gun while
he struck out in a dog trot. A few
minutes after another shell bursted and a piece or rather spent fragment struck
him on the leg, when away went the teakettle and away went the Lieutenant, who
was seen no more until we were far out of danger.
Thank god, I have stronger nerves than that.”
“Our boys have been repulsed all along the line, and I see it requires
no military man to tell that Atlanta is gone.”
Lewis N. Wynne and Robert A. Taylor (Editors), This
War So Horrible: The Civil War
Diary of Hiram Smith Williams (Tuscaloosa:
University of Alabama Press).
1872
Charles H. Pearce, minister of the African-Methodist Episcopal Church of
Tallahassee, was nominated as a candidate for a third Florida Senate term by
Governor Harrison Reed at the Leon County Republican Convention
1906
Elizabeth Hutchinson Broward, eight child of Governor and Mrs. Napoleon
Broward, became the first child born to a sitting governor in the State of
Florida. She was born in the Brown
House on Monroe Street in Tallahassee.