67 Confederates you should meet before it is too late

Woodbury "Woody" Nickels, CSA
Beaten to death and burned at the Battle of
Marianna on September 27, 1864.

I was terribly saddened this morning to see that a friend of mine, who happens to be a professor at Florida State University (FSU), had written this social media:

...let's be clear about one other thing: removing confederate monuments has nothing to do with "erasing history." And everything to do with publicly defenestrating the confederacy--its ideals and its combatants.

If you aren't familiar with the term "publicly defenestrating" - and I admit that I wasn't - it means to publicly throw someone or something out of the window. In short, my friend the professor is advocating not only that Confederate monuments be torn down, but that we throw everything about the Confederacy out the window - including the men who fought in its armies.

Was he suggesting that dead Confederates be dug up from their graves and thrown away? I hope not.

The good professor is certainly entitled to his opinion. My ancestors fought to preserve Freedom of Speech for one and all. Some gave their lives. Others were permanently disabled. They served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard. Some also served in the armed forces of the Confederacy. If you aren't familiar with the Confederate Constitution, the Bill of Rights from the U.S. Constitution was copied verbatim into it so that it guaranteed Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, the right to hold and bear arms and so on.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church is sometimes called
"Florida's Alamo" because men and boys fought to the death
and were burned alive there during the Battle of Marianna.

The issue of slavery is emotional and raw, even after all these years. We seem to forget, though, the tidal wave of blood that washed that sin from our land. Estimates vary, but between 640,000 and 1,000,000 men and boys gave their lives in the War Between the States (or Civil War). Some wore blue. Some wore grey. We don't know how many civilians died from disease, starvation and battle wounds. All were sacrificed on the altar of war. The Union prevailed. Slavery was abolished (even in the North where it had remained legal throughout the war).

Confederate generals, Robert E. Lee among them, urged their soldiers to go home, to rebuild and to become good citizens. And by and large they did. Some went on to serve heroically in other conflicts, notably the Spanish-American War in which many former Confederates again donned the blue of the United States.

The loss of so many hundreds of thousands of men and boys, however, haunted the land. Wives, daughters and mothers could not forget. They could not throw the memories of their loved ones out the window. They raised money, penny by penny and dime by dime, and they raised monuments. The first ones went up in the 1870s, less than twenty years after the end of the brutal conflict.

Union veterans return a captured flag to Confederate
veterans in Marianna during the early 20th Century.

These were not monuments to slavery or oppression. They were not memorials to a "lost cause." By and large they were raised for the simple purpose of remembering sons, fathers and brothers. They were not political. They were not symbols of defiance. They were erected with reverence not for a vanquished Confederacy, but for loved ones who never came home. Union veterans often attended the dedications. Sometimes they even returned flags that had been captured on the battlefield.

The men of that era used such opportunities to shake hands, to bury old wounds and to remember lost friends. They found ways to make peace with each other. It strikes me as incredibly sad that our present generation is so intent on destroying the foundation built by the old soldiers who had faced each other over the barrels of their rifles so long ago. If they could forgive and honor each other, why can't we?

Most Confederates were conscripted. That means they were drafted. They didn't run off to fight for slavery or states rights or anything else. They went because their state ordered them to go. Many went because their state had been invaded and Union armies were ravaging the countryside to break the will of the South to fight. That was the case at a battle that is dear to my heart.

Preserving the memory of the Battle of Marianna has provided
opportunities for today's generations to learn about the role of
African-American soldiers during the war. The 82nd and 86th
USCT (U.S. Colored Troops) fought there.

The Battle of Marianna was fought on September 27, 1864. It was a small engagement compared to many of that horrible war, but it was brutal. You can read about it here.

Other Confederate troops were involved, including units in which my ancestors served, but much of the memory of the event centers around the desperate last stand of the Marianna Home Guard. These men and boys fought desperately from in and around St. Luke's Episcopal Church after they were trapped on its grounds.

A total of 67 men and boys fought with the Marianna unit that day. Some were as young as 13.

Of that number, 7 were killed in action and 6 were badly wounded. Another 24 were taken as prisoners of war and 9 of those died in prison. At least 13 of the volunteers were over the age of 50. At least 8 were under the age of 18.

These men and boys were doctors and lawyers, merchants and farmers. Some were disabled from other wounds. Some were mere schoolboys. You can read about them below and I hope that you will, especially those of you who feel that their memory and monuments should be erased forever.

Have we really reached the point in time at which it is appropriate to toss out forever our collective memory of little boys and old men who took up arms to defend their community when it came under attack? May God forgive us if that is so.

Capt. Jesse J. Norwood's Company
Marianna Home Guards (1st Florida Militia)

Jesse. J. Norwood, Captain, age 30, state senator and attorney, captured and imprisoned, died immediately following the war of debilitation from time as a prisoner of war. He left behind a wife and three children.

A.F. Blount, Lieutenant, age 44, a physician, he was severely wounded in the shoulder.

Christian J. Staley, Lieutenant, age 53, he was captured at the Battle of Marianna and imprisoned at New Orleans, Fort Lafayette and Fort Warren. He was paroled on February 12, 1865.

B.J.Alderman, private, a merchant and former California gold miner, he helped bond the construction of the Jackson County Courthouse. He was imprisoned but paroled before the Federals left Marianna.

Isaac Anderson, private, he was captured during the fighting but paroled by the Federals before they left Marianna.

William E. Anderson, age 51, a former brigadier general in the Florida militia, he put down an insurrection in Calhoun County in 1860. He was a lawyer. Captured during the Battle of Marianna he was imprisoned at New Orleans, Fort Lafayette and Fort Warren and was not released until June 26, 1865, well after the end of the war. He later served as county judge for Jackson County.

Lawrence T. Armistead, 3rd Lieutenant of Company E, 6th Florida Infantry, had been wounded in the wrist at Chickamauga and was home on medical leave when Marianna was attacked. He escaped across the Chipola River at the end of the battle. He was a student of the ministry before the war.

Robert Armistead, age 15, private, was a school boy who was marched into battle under the leadership of his instructor. He was captured in the fighting, but was released the next afternoon in Vernon, Florida.

J. Austin, private, was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans and Ship Island. He died in prison on Ship Island and is buried there in an unmarked grave.

Frank Baltzell, age 13, private, was a student at the Marianna Academy and a "printer's devil" at the local newspaper before the battle. He was taken prisoner in the fighting and was either released or escaped at Vernon on the next afternoon. He later became the editor of the Marianna Courier before moving to Alabama where he was a journalist and a leader in the Populist Movement.

Richard Baltzell, age 15, private, was a student at the Marianna Academy. Captured during the fighting, he was released at Vernon on the next afternoon.

Thomas W. Baltzell, age 15, private, was a student at the Marianna Academy before the battle. He marched into battle behind his teacher, Charles Tucker. He was wounded in the hand and taken prisoner. He was held at prisons in New Orleans and on Ship Island, Mississippi. He was too sick to be transferred from the island to Elmira Prison in New York on November 5, 1864, and instead was held on Ship Island until May 1, 1865. He was released at Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 5, 1865 and made his way home.

Henry O. Bassett, age 39, captain of Company E, 6th Florida Infantry, was home on leave when Marianna was attacked. The former sheriff of Jackson County, he was beaten and bayoneted to death on the banks of Stage Creek during the Battle of Mairanna. His body could be identified only by the Confederate uniform pants that he was wearing.

John Blaney, age 50, private, was captured during the Battle of Marianna and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He died at Elmira on December 15, 1864, and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York.

James H. Brett, age 52, private, was the local constable and a veteran of the Mexican-American War. He was the original 1st lieutenant of the defunct "Jackson Guards" militia company. He received a severe wound that tore the muscle from his left forearm during the fighting and was also clubbed to the head with a rifle butt. He died of his wounds shortly after the battle.

Albert G. Bush, age 49, private, was captured at the Battle of Marianna and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He survived and turned to his farm after the war.

Hon. Allen Henry Bush, age 55, private, was the local circuit judge and had been a practicing Marianna attorney since the 1840s. He was a delegate to the ill-fated Florida Constitutional Convention on October 25, 1865, at which he voted in favor of the ending of slavery. He was reported to be "conciliatory" to the Republicans who controlled Jackson County during the Reconstruction era.

Rev. Richard Bush, age 50, was a local minister who was captured during the fighting. He was paroled by the Federals before they left Marianna.

John C. Carter, age 22, private, had served as a private in Company E, 6th Florida Infantry, until he was badly wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga and was given a medical discharge. He volunteered when Marianna was attacked and was burned to death when St. Luke's Episcopal Church was torched by Union soldiers.

John Chason, age 57, private, was a farmer in Jackson County. He was wounded in the neck during the battle and taken prisoner. He was held in prison at New Orleans and Ship Island. He died at the latter place of dysentery on December 19, 1864, and was buried in Grave #99 on Ship Island, Mississippi. His grave is now unmarked.

Ellis Davis, age 63, private, was the captain of a state militia company during the Second Seminole War and had also served as captain of the defunct "Jackson Guards" militia company. He suffered a compound fracture of his thigh during the fighting and was disabled for the rest of his life.

Marmaduke Dickson, private, was severely wounded in the Battle of Marianna and died later in the day.

Dr. Horace Ely, private, was a local physician, merchant and hotel keeper. He was the contractor who built the 1850 Jackson County Courthouse. Ely was captured in the fighting but was paroled by the Federals before they left town.

Miles Everett, private, was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He was released from prison on March 2, 1865, but was so ill that he remained ina hospital in Richmond, Virginia for six weeks. He returned home after the war.

Francis M. Farley, private, was the former captain of Company E, 6th Florida Infantry. He was captured at the Battle of Santa Rosa Island in 1861 and imprisoned. Eventually paroled, he returned to his company and served until he was badly wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Given a medical discharge, he returned home and was elected Clerk of Courts for Jackson County. He escaped across the Chipola River at the end of the battle.

Samuel B. Gammon, age 56, private, he was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans and Ship Island. He died at the latter place from typhoid on December 8, 1864, and was buried in Grave #72. His grave is unmarked.

Thomas N. Gautier, Age 32, private, was the owner of a Marianna mercantile firm and the Oak Hill leather tannery. He was captured during the fighting but managed to escape before the end of the battle.

Peyton Gwin, teenager, private, was an employee of the local newspaper. He received a severe blow to the head from a musket butt during the fighting.

Samuel (William) Harrison, private, was captured during the battle and carried away to prison. His fate is unknown.

John W. Hartsfield, private, was captured during the battle and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Fort Columbus. He died at Fort Columbus of diarrhea on February 15,1865, and is buried at Cypress Hill National Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Dr. Thaddeus W. Hentz, age 30, private, was Marianna's dentist. A son of noted 19th century novelist Caroline Lee Hentz, he had served as a private in Gamble's Light Artillery but was discharged for medical reasons four days before the Battle of Marianna. One of his fingers was shot off during the fighting and he was taken prisoner. Hentz was imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. Released on March 2, 1865, he was hospitalized for roughly one week in Richmond, Virginia, due to general debility before returning home. He resumed his dental practice after the war and also helped disabled Confederate soldiers with facial reconstructions.

W.H.Hinson, private, was captured during the fighting but escaped before the end of the battle.

J.B. Justiss, private, was sometimes called Captain Justiss due to previous service in the state militia. He was captured during the battle and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He was exchanged in March of 1865 but was so weak and sick that he was hospitalized for two weeks at Howard's Grove Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, before he could return home.

W.O. Kincey, private, was captured during the fighting but escaped before the end fo the battle.

Rev. Richard C.B. Lawrence, age 42, private, was a local minister and the brother-in-law of Dr. Thaddeus Hentz. He was shot through the thigh during the fighting and took refuge in the blacksmith shop behind St. Luke's Episcopal Church. He was rescued by his family with the help of a Union sergeant and avoided imprisonment. He continued his ministry after the war.

Arthur Lewis (Sr.), age 58, private, was a former merchant. He was severely wounded during the fighting and died at his home two days later. He is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Marianna.

Felix H.G. Long, age 47, private, was a local planter. He was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Fort Lafayette. He suffered a stroke at the latter place and was permanently disabled. He was released on December 14, 1864.

Dr. Nicholas A. Long, 49, private, was the 1st lieutenant of a militia company during the Second Seminole War. He was a planter and physician before the war, was a delegate to the National Whig Party Convention in 1848 and served in the Florida Legislature in 1849. He was captured in the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Fort Lafayette. He was released from prison on December 14,1864, so he could care for Felix H.G. Long. He returned home.

Israel McBright, private, was captured in the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and possibly Elmira. His fate is unknown.

W.L. McKinley, private, escaped at the end of the battle.

Adam McNealy, age 47, private, was a member of the Jackson County Board of County Commissioners at the time of the battle. He had served as one of the county's delegates to Florida's Secession Convention in 1861. He was shot through the lung and struck to the head by a musket butt during the fighting. He eventually recovered and in 1869 urged the governor not to place Jackson County under further military occupation. He served on the Jackson County Board of Educatoin following reconstruction and helped to create the county's modern public school system.

Alex Merritt, age 32, private, was a local merchant and later owned the mill that gave today's Merritt's Mill Pond its name. He was captured during the battle and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He was released from prison on December 12, 1864, and later resumed his profession as a merchant and millwright.

C.R. Moore, private, escaped across the Chipola River at the end of the battle.

Edwin W. Mooring, age 32, private, was a local merchant and the owner of a legal whiskey distillery. He was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He returned home after the war and was later murdered by his brother-in-law.

Nicholas Morgan, private, escaped at the end of the battle.

Milton Mosley, private, escaped at the end of the battle and opened a store near present-day Malone during later years.

John T. Myrick, Sr., private, was a former state senator, a merchant and a trustee of the Marianna Male and Female Academy. He was a Unionist and helped lead Richard Keith Call's Unionist campaign in 1860. The Confederate government sought judgments against him during the war and he was in contact with Union naval forces at St. Andrew Bay in January 1864. He was captured during the fighting but was paroled by the Federals before they left town. His son Littleton was killed in the battle.

John T. Myrick, Jr., age 16, private, was a Marianna school boy who was known as "Jack" to his friends. He was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. His brother, Littleton, was killed. Jack was released from Elmira on March 29, 1865, and returned home forever embittered against the U.S. Government. He was accused of murdering three African-Americans during Reconstruction after one of them was accused of killing his friend, Margaret McClellan. He fled the county and lived out the rest of his life as a farmer in Missouri.

Charles Nickels, age 14, private, was captured in the fighting. He was released the next day in Vernon, Florida.

William Nickels, age 64, private, was a Marianna merchant and innkeeper who also served as a trustee of the Marianna Academy. He was captured but paroled by the Federals before they left town. His son, Woody, was killed in the battle. He was a prominent Unionist.

Woodbury "Woody" Nickels, age 16, private, was a Marianna school student who marched into battle under his teacher, Charles Tucker. He was shot through the leg when he tried to escape St. Luke's Episcopal Church after it was set afire by Union troops. He crawled to a nearby headstone where his head was crushed by a Union soldier who beat him to death with the butt of his musket. His body was partially burned as the church collapsed.

Rev. E.B. Norton, private, was a local minister. He escaped at the end of the battle.

James (Daniel) O'Neal, age 51, private, was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He was "too sick" to be paroled on February 13, 1865, and died at Elmira on March 5, 1865. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York.

Frederick R. Pittman, age 51, private, was a farmer and former Whig politician. He was captured during the battle and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He was released from prison on December 12, 1864.

Walter J. Robinson, captain of Company A, 11th Florida Infantry, was home on leave at the time of the attack on Marianna and volunteered for service with Norwood's men. He escaped across the Chipola River at the end of the battle.

H. Sweell, private, escaped at the end of the battle.

Solomon Sullivan, age 54, private, was badly wounded during the battle and died while receiving treatment at the home of Mrs. Mary Armistead.

Peter Taylor, private, escaped at the end of the battle.

Charles Tucker, private, was the school master at the Marianna Academy and led his students into the fight. He was captured but paroled by the Federals before they left town. Several of the young boys of his school were killed.

Charles Tucker, private (from Quincy, Florida), was in town on a court matter and volunteered to fight. He was captured in the battle and imprisoned at New Orleans, Ship Island and Elmira. He died at the latter prison camp on December 11, 1864, and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York.

Hinton J. Watson, private, was an owner of the Marianna mercantile firm of H.J. Watson & Company. He was captured during the fighting but was paroled by the Federals before they let town. His business collapsed in 1868 due to post-war economic conditions but he went on to serve in the Florida House of Representatives.

O.M. Watson, private, escaped at the end of the battle.

John B. Whitehurst, age 40, private, was the local justice of the peace. He was captured during the fighting and imprisoned at New Orleans and Ship Island. He died at the latter place from tuberculosis on October 24, 1864, and was buried in Grave #4 in the prison cemetery. His grave is unmarked today.

William B. Wynn, private, was a local farmer. He was captured during the fighting and help prisoner at New Orleans, Ship Island and Fort Columbus. He died at the latter place on December 21, 1864, and was buried at Cypress Hill National Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.


Other Confederate units present at the Battle of Marianna included Companies E & G, 5th Florida Cavalry; Company C, 1st Florida Reserves (Mounted); the Woodville Scouts (Alabama State Troops); the Greenwood Club Cavalry, and the Campbellton Cavalry. Various individual volunteers also served.

If you would like to read more, please consider my book: The Battle of Marianna, Florida: Expanded Edition. It is available in both print and Kindle formats.


      

#91 Governor John Milton (100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida)

Gov. John Milton
(D) Florida

Governor John Milton is #91 on my list of 100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida. Please click here to see the full list as it is posted.

Born in Louisville, Georgia, on April 20, 1807, Governor Milton was a descendant and namesake of the famed English poet John Milton, who wrote Paradise Lost. The governor's grandfather was a soldier of the American Revolution and his father, General Homer V. Milton, served with distinction during the War of 1812 and Creek War of 1813-1814.

As a boy, the "Governor" - as he is generally known around Jackson County - studied at an academy in his hometown of Louisville and excelled in subjects that included Greek, Latin, English and mathematics. He was undoubtedly a bright and talented individual who was admitted to the bar in Georgia before he was 20 years old.

Leaving his hometown, Milton went on to practice law in Columbus, Georgia, where he was also elected to the rank of colonel in the Georgia militia (forerunner of today's Georgia National Guard). He ran for U.S. Congress in 1832 as a supporter of John C. Calhoun's theory of nullification.

Columbus, Georgia

The Nullifcation theory held that a state, by virtue of its sovereign status, could overrule or nullify actions of the Federal government that were not beneficial to the state. Milton lost that race, but remained an adamant supporter of states' rights and opponent of the growing power of the Federal government.

On August 11, 1834, Milton was arrested and charged with murder after he shot a man with whom he had been engaged in a personal and political dispute:

This day has terminated the controversy between Col. John Milton and Maj. J.T. Camp, by the death of the later. Col. Milton understanding that his life had been threatened by Maj. Camp, procured a double barreled Gun, and walked over to Nicholas Howards Store, and discharged the contents of one of his barrels into his back, and while falling discharged the other into his left breast. -

New Orleans, Milton's one-time home.
Photo courtesy of Brian Mabelitini

Milton turned himself in to local authorities, but was acquitted in a trial that began less than two weeks later. The jury determined that he had acted in self defense as Camp had threatened to kill him.

By 1835, Milton had relocated to Mobile, Alabama, where he continued his practice of law. He raised a company of cavalry during the Creek War of 1836 and took part in the movements that sent many of the Creek Indians west on the Trail of Tears.

Following the death of his first wife, Susan Amanda Milton, the future governor remarried Caroline Howze with whom he eventually had ten additional children. He and Susan had parented five children, but only one - William Henry Milton - survived the diseases of that day to become an adult.

Seeking more fertile ground for his law practice, the future governor moved to New Orleans and lived in Louisiana until 1845. It is believed that he was the same John Milton who was listed as having been badly injured during a steamboat explosion that took place on the Mississippi River at New Orleans on July 1, 1845. Among the "gentleman" passengers on the boat was a "John Milton" who was reported to have been badly scalded by steam.

Sylvania Plantation Marker at Blue Springs

Not long after this accident, Milton began his move from Louisiana to Jackson County. Through family connections he acquired the plantation of the late William Robinson at Blue Springs, which he expanded tremendously during the late 1840s and 1850s. Eventually his "Sylvania" plantation grew to include more than 6,000 acres of prime Jackson County land.

Always active in military and political affairs, John Milton was elected Major General of the 1st Division of the Florida Militia in 1849 and to a seat in the Florida Legislature one year later. Even though Jackson County was then a "Gibraltar" of the now-defunct Whig Party, Milton was a dedicated Democrat. His popularity is evidenced by the fact that he was elected to the legislature from a county controlled by party other than his own.

Old State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida

In 1860, Milton was elected Governor of Florida by a commanding margin in the same November election that saw Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States. In Florida, Milton received 6,994 votes in that election, compared to 5,248 for his opponent. Abraham Lincoln did not receive a single vote in Florida.

Although in those days the Governor-elect did not take office for nearly one year after being elected, Governor Madison S.Perry worked closely with his successor. It was Governor-elect Milton who announced Florida's secession from the portico of the Old Capitol on January 10, 1861.

Old Capitol as it appeared when Milton was Governor
State Archives of Florida/Memory Collection

Governor Milton assumed his office in October 1861. By that time Florida was part of the Confederate States of America. The governor would lead his state through nearly four years of war against the United States, even though he had been elected to his post while Florida was still part of the U.S.

His tenure as governor was remarkable as he was tasked with protecting the citizens of a state all but abandoned by the Confederate military. On their own and with little help from the Confederate capital in Richmond, Governor Milton and the Florida Legislature raised and equipped troops both for the Confederate armies and the defense of Florida.

Old Capitol Building in Tallahassee

The governor also stood up for the poor people of his state in the face of acts that reflected the growing desperation of the Confederate government. When Confederate commissary officers began seizing the last cows from the widows and children of Southern soldiers, Milton pleaded their case to Richmond. When the wives and children of a group of Unionists from Taylor County were seized by the Confederate army and placed in a concentration camp near Tallahassee, Milton secured their freedom and had them passed through the lines to their husbands and fathers.

Battle of Marianna Monument

Milton played a critical role in maintaining Florida's transportation systems during the war and in providing for the families of soldiers. His efforts helped secure the Confederate victory at Olustee on February 20, 1864, and when Marianna was attacked on September 27 of that year, he rushed forward to Chattahoochee determined to oppose the Federal advance in person if the enemy continued to advance.

On March 6, 1865, Confederate troops that included the Governor's sons - Major William H. Milton of the 5th Florida Cavalry and Cadet John Milton of the West Florida Seminary (today's Florida State University) - defeated a Union attempt to take Tallahassee and nearby Thomasville, Georgia. Dr. Charles Hentz, a Confederate surgeon who knew the governor well, remembered that things did not seem right with him in the wake of the dramatic victory:

Gov. Milton's grave at St. Luke's Episcopal Church

Governor Milton made an address to the soldiers in the Capitol. I had observed him when we were going down, walking up & down the Depot platform with an air of the most profound abstraction and dejection. I think he must have been suffering from some disease of the brain.

Less than one month later, Governor John Milton was dead. His life came to an end from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Sylvania plantation on April 1, 1865. While many of blamed Milton's death on suicide, recent research has produced a copy of a special Extra issue of the West Florida News from the week of his death that indicates the fatal gunshot wound was fired by accident. Milton was preparing for a bird-hunting expedition with his son when his shotgun accidentally discharged.

The Governor is buried at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Marianna, alongside his father and many other members of his family. The Milton family remains heavily involved in business, legal and community improvement efforts in Jackson County to this day.

To learn more about Governor Milton's life and administration, please consider my book: The History of Jackson County, Florida: The War Between the States. It is also available at a discounted price for Kindle readers.

Jackson County and the Lost Confederate Gold

by Dale Cox

Parramore - One of the most interesting of Jackson County's legends involves a portion of the famed lost Confederate treasury. When Jefferson Davis and other Southern officials fled Richmond, Virginia at the end of the War Between the States, they took with them the Confederate treasury. According to legend, at least part of that massive haul of gold and silver wound up in Jackson County.

Composed of kegs and boxes filled with silver and gold, the Confederate treasury was valued at somewhere around $500,000 when it was removed from Richmond. In modern terms, it would have been worth millions.

Some of the money disappeared and was likely buried during the time that Davis and the Confederate Cabinet paused in Danville, Virginia. More of the money was used to pay soldiers in the Carolinas and when the fleeing officials reached Washington, Georgia. From there, however, the remaining gold and silver was dispersed in multiple directions. To this day, the final whereabouts of most of the money is a subject of controversy.

It is known that the remaining Confederate officials spread out to minimize the risk that they would be captured by Union cavalry that was desperately searching for them. All were heading for Florida, but they all went by different routes. The goal was to reach the coast where arrangements could be made to flee to Cuba or Texas.

Jefferson Davis was captured near Irwinville, Georgia, as he tried to make his way to Florida, but some officials made it through. Most of the treasure, however, did not. Around $35,000 was seized by the Union army near Gainesville in June of 1865, but otherwise the Confederate gold and silver vanished into history.

THe men involved in hiding it kept some for their own use and spirited some away to support fleeing Confederate officials, but otherwise they never talked about what happened to the money. In various places in Florida and Georgia, however, bits and pieces of the treasure have been found. One of those places, curiously, is Jackson County.

Local tradition has long held that some of the treasure was buried in the corner of a field near the Parramore community in eastern Jackson COunty. The site was then near Bellview Landing, the primary crossing of the Chattahoochee RIver between Chattahoochee and Neal's Landing in 1865 and a likely crossing point into Florida for Confederate authorities or soldiers fleeing Union troops.

During the 1980s, two $20 gold pieces were found at the site, coins that otherwise had no logical reason for being there as the location is not near any old home places. The coins were of the proper date and were consistent with the gold known to have been part of the lost Confederate treasurer.

Could there be more? Or were the two coins left behind when the hidden stash was dug up and removed? Only time and more searching will answer that question.

Note: If you would like to learn more about Jackson County history, please consider my books: The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years;The Battle of Marianna, Florida and Two Egg, Florida: A Collection of Ghost Stories, Legends and Unusual Facts. They are available at Chipola River Book and Tea in Downtown Marianna or online at www.amazon.com.

Remembering the Casualties of the Battle of Marianna

This weekend marks the 144th anniversary of the Battle of Marianna.

Union troops attacked Marianna on September 27, 1864, and remained in the city until early on the morning of the 28th.

For many years the anniversary was memorialized each year across Florida as "Marianna Day." It was a time when citizens across the state paused to remember the sacrifices made that day by the defenders of Marianna, many of them just every day civilians that took up arms to defend their homes, families and communities.

"Marianna Day" is no longer recognized in Florida. The day of remembrance has passed into history. Observances still take place in Jackson County, but it is a tragedy of modern times that we so easily forget the sacrifices of those who came before us.

It reminds me of the words of a friend and former business associate of mine. We were walking the National Cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a few years ago because he had asked to see the grave of General William Darby, the father of the U.S. Army Rangers as we know them today. My friend had been an Army Ranger and visiting the grave of this World War II hero had a great impact on him.

He told me that day that "Americans have very short memories." His words come back to me often when I visit the graves of America's heroes, whether they be the veterans of recent wars or those that served and died long ago. We let their memory fade away much too soon.

The following are the lists of the casualties, Confederate and Union, of the Battle of Marianna:

Confederate Dead:

Henry O. Bassett - Marianna Home Guard (officer home on leave)

James H. Brett - Marianna Home Guard

John C. Carter - Marianna Home Guard

M.N. Dickson - Marianna Home Guard

Arthur Lewis (Sr.) - Marianna Home Guard

Woodbury Nickels - Marianna Home Guard

Solomon Sullivan - Marianna Home Guard

Francis Allen - Greenwood Club Cavalry

M.A. Butler - Greenwood Club Cavalry

Littleton Myrick - Co. B, 15th Confederate Cavalry

Confederate Wounded:

A.F. Bount - Marianna Home Guard

Thomas Baltzell - Marianna Home Guard

John Chason - Marianna Home Guard

John Davis, Sr., - Marianna Home Guard

Peyton Gwin - Marianna Home Guard

Thaddeus W. Hentz - Marianna Home Guard

R.C.B. Lawrence - Marianna Home Guard

Adam McNealy - Marianna Home Guard

Samuel Bosworth - Campbellton Cavalry

William Mathews - Campbellton Cavalry

Isaac King - Company B, 15th Confederate Cavalry

John J. Dickson - Greenwood Club Cavalry

C.N. Sheats - Chisolm's Company, Alabama State Militia

W.N.W. Shiver - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves

William McPherson - Company G, 5th Florida Cavalry

Oliver Sellers - George Robinson's Home Guard

Confederate Prisoners of War:

Jesse J. Norwood - Marianna Home Guard

C.J. Staley - Marianna Home Guard

Allen H. Bush - Marianna Home Guard

William B. Wynn - Marianna Home Guard (Died in Prison)

J.B. Justiss - Marianna Home Guard

Samuel Gammon - Marianna Home Guard (Died in Prison)

James O'Neal - Marianna Home Guard (Died in Prison)

Ellis Davis - Marianna Home Guard

Albert G. Bush - Marianna Home Guard

J.B. Whitehurst - Marianna Home Guard

Charles Tucker - Marianna Home Guard

W.E. Anderson - Marianna Home Guard

Alex Merritt - Marianna Home Guard

J.W. Hartsfield - Marianna Home Guard (Died in Prison)

John Blaney - Marianna Home Guard (Died in Prison)

Miles Everett - Marianna Home Guard

J.T. Myrick, Jr. - Marianna Home Guard

Nicholas A. Long - Marianna Home Guard

Felix H.G. Long - Marianna Home Guard

F.R. Pittman - Marianna Home Guard

J. Austin - Marianna Home Guard (Died in Prison)

Israel McBright - Marianna Home Guard

Samuel Harrison - Marianna Home Guard

W.A. Abercrombie - Campbellton Cavalry (Died in Prison)

T.B. Haywood - Campbellton Cavalry

William Daniel - Campbellton Cavalry (Died in Prison)

Mark Elmore - Campbellton Cavalry

Cullin Curl - Campbellton Cavalry

W.H. Kimball - Greenwood Club Cavalry

T.D. Newsome - Greenwood Club Cavalry

Hansel Grice - Greenwood Club Cavalry

B.J. Fordham - Chisolm's Company, Alabama State Militia

W.L. Hatton - Chisolm's Company, Alabama State Militia (Died in Prison)

H.R. Pittman - Chisolm's Company, Alabama State Militia

Peter Abercrombie - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves (Died in Prison)

John Alley - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves (Died in Prison)

John Anderson - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves

Miles Sims - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves (Died in Prison)

J.M. Brown - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves

J.R. Williams - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves (Died in Prison)

Mathney Kiel - Company C, 1st Florida Reserves

A.B. Montgomery - Provisional Army of the Confederate States (Colonel)

J.B. Roulhac - Company B, 15th Confederate Cavalry

Lawson Daniels - Company B, 15th Confederate Cavalry (Died in Prison)

Union Dead:

Nicholas Francis - Company E, 82nd U.S. Colored Infantry

Mahlon M. Young - Company H, 7th Vermont Infantry

Silas Campbell - Company E, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Thomas A. Davis - Company J, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Ellis Ayer - Company I, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Ansel Brackett - Company F, 2nd Maine Cavalry

David C. Whitney - Company F, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Union Wounded:

Alexander Asboth - U.S. Volunteers (Brigadier General)

Nathan Cutler - 2nd Maine Cavalry

Eben Hutchinson - 2nd Maine Cavalry

Elisa E. Clark - Company L, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Orrin Evans - Company L, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Charles Clough, Jr. - Company L, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Luthor Pollard - Company G, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Joshua R. Adams - Company M, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Sanford Pendleton - Company E, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Samuel Stoddard, Jr. - Company F, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Unknown - Company D, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Unknown - 2nd Maine Cavalry

Unknown - 2nd Maine Cavalry

Isaac Anderson - Company C, 86th U.S. Colored Infantry

Solomon Johnson - Company C, 86th U.S. Colored Infantry

James Breckenridge - Company C, 86th U.S. Colored Infantry

Unknown - 82nd U.S. Colored Infantry

Unknown - 82nd U.S. Colored Infantry

Lyman W. Rowley - Company B, 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry

Union Prisoners of War:

Henry O'Neal - Company D, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Chester Whitney - Company I, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Moses Sims - Company M, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Henry Brown - Company E, 2nd Maine Cavalry

Daniel Ellis - Company H, 2nd Maine Cavalry (Died in Prison)

Abiel N. Linscott - Company E, 2nd Maine Cavalry

George W. Williams - Company I, 2nd Maine Cavalry

G. Shuman - Company G, 2nd Maine Cavalry

The Unknown Confederate Dead of Riverside Cemetery

In the old section of Riverside Cemetery in Marianna can be found a small burial plot containing two rows of Confederate soldiers. Most of the graves are marked simply with the inscription "Unknown, C.S.A., 1861-1865," although a few still display the fading names of the unfortunate men buried there.

Local tradition holds that these men died fighting Union troops during the Battle of Marianna. The town was attacked by Union troops on September 27, 1864, and the presence of so many graves in two burial trenches has long led to the belief that they must have been victims of the battle.

Research reveals, however, that it is more likely that these men were the victims of illness instead of Union bullets.

Only a few of the men buried in the plot can be identified, but all of them died of sickness while patients at the Confederate military hospital in Marianna. Nasrey "Z.T." Brogden, for example, is buried in the small Civil War plot. Although tradition and a modern marker on his grave indicate that he died on September 27, 1864, the date of the Battle of Marianna, his military records actually reveal that he died in the hospital at Marianna from sickness on December 22, 1863, nine months before the battle.

The same is true of the other couple of soldiers who can be identified. In view of this information, it seems more likely that the burial plot was actually a place where soldiers who died while receiving hospital treatment were buried.

There are victims of the Battle of Marianna buried at Riverside. Several of their graves can be found nearby. But since all of the dead from the battle can be accounted for and identified, it seems that the "unknowns" likely died of disease.