By Zack C. Waters
Mercer University Press
Reviewer is Gary Lee Hall
Recent published works about The [Civil] War have departed from the broad, general history and have been centered on smaller, less universal facets of the times. Biographies of less well-known officers, the story of men in the field on the front lines, and regional studies have replaced the thick volumes presenting The War as a whole. Those earlier volumes are/were necessary and many excellent [books] are available to the person interested in getting the total picture; however, many students of the War Between the States find a smaller picture just as valuable and full of stories left out of the earlier general histories.
In his acknowledgements, Waters speaks of a historical marker he and his father read on an ordinary trip along the roads of Florida. This marker told him of "the story of Capt. J. J. Dickison's cavalry company capturing a Union gunboat on the St. John's River." Waters shares..."that simple five minute tale sparked a fire in me that time has not quenched."
Florida during The War was sparsely settled. The 1860 U. S. Federal Census listed just under 79,000 free inhabitants and slightly less enslaved at 62,000. Initially the Confederacy intended to protect every part of the new nation, but the realities of war eventually left Florida lightly protected from Yankee soldiers and gunboats. Florida Governor John Milton said. "One thousand men, divided into small companies [and] well-armed--acting as Guerillas or Rangers and ably commanded--can do more to defend Florida from the enemies than thousands in regular service."
Waters wrote, "Almost without exception the state's Rebel combatants went into each engagement outnumbered, and outgunned, but they used ambush, rapid movement, and 'hit and run' tactics to level the field." Waters also points out, "The first rule of guerilla warfare has always been, 'Never attack where the enemy anticipates--attack where least expected.'" Throughout 1861-1865 these methods delivered Confederate successes.
Florida numbered few citizens but was very important to the Confederate war effort as it supplied cattle to feed the Rebel armies outside the state.
Chapters are divided by date and subdivided by region, battle and town. This approach allows the reader to experience The War just as it happened; hit and run. The subject matter is perfect for this division. So little researched and discussed, Waters has presented the interesting contribution of Florida to the Confederacy.
Back to the historical marker which started this volume. "Gen. George H. Gordon led the naval expedition to evacuate the Union detachment at Volusia. His troops boarded the gunboat Ottawa, and armed steam tug Columbine,... The Columbine made it past the Confederates as it moved up the river; however, the trap was laid and the return trip was not successful." A Union participant [said] the "Columbine approached Horse Landing where the river is quite narrow. They [the Columbine's sailors] shelled the wood, as they did when they were ascending but when directly opposite [the Landing] the rebels opened with grape and canister from a battery they had placed there. Our party returned the fire as well as the could, but a [Rebel] shot cut the tiller rope, leaving the boat unmanageable, and it went aground with the stern [pointing] directly at the rebels, so their batteries could sweep the entire deck... The captain of the boat, finding it useless to attempt to defend the boat, surrendered; five of our men and two of the crew escaped by jumping overboard and swimming ashore; the rest were taken prisoner or drowned in attempting to escape."
The reviewer thoroughly enjoyed reading Waters' volume and it is one of my favorite books on the conflict. Newly revealed and interesting events are throughout.
This well-written book ends with the observation, "As General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, cattle from Florida were nearing their destination at Petersburg. The state the Confederacy had abandoned in early 1862 continued to serve the Rebel nation to the bitter end."
NOTE: In addition to being an outstanding historical document, A Wilderness of Destruction should appeal to genealogists with Florida ties. To order a copy, check out www.mupress.org
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