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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