The Wild Man of Ocheesee Pond - A 19th Century Bigfoot Capture in Jackson County?

Ocheesee Pond

One of the most startling yet least known Bigfoot stories in American history originated in the cypress swamps of Ocheesee Pond in 1883-1884. It also has the potential to be one of the most important in the long story of the legendary creature.
If the stories that went up the Chattahoochee River by steamboat from Jackson County in August of 1884 are true, then the county was the scene of one of the only documented captures of a Bigfoot in American history.

For those who don't keep up with such things, Bigfoot (or Sasquatch, as he is sometimes known) is said to be a gigantic, hair-covered creature that roams the remote woods, swamps and forests of North America. He is traditionally associated with the Pacific Northwest, but every part of the country has a Bigfoot of its own. The area around Two Egg and Parramore in eastern Jackson County, for example, has its Stump Jumper, while the South Florida version is usually called the Skunk Ape.

Swamps of Ocheesee Pond

Most fans of the creature do not realize that it was actually well known in the South decades before its first documented appearance in Washington and Oregon. In the 19th century, sightings of large hairy creatures were often reported as the frontiers of the United States rapidly spread out from the Atlantic seaboard. People of that day and age, however, called him the "Wild Man."

In the winter of 1883-1884, a Wild Man appeared at Ocheesee Pond, a large wetland covering nearly 9 square miles in southeastern Jackson County. Most of the pond is covered by a vast cypress swamp, although there are some stretches of open water - most notably its southern arm, and the human-like creature was often spotted roaming the swamps or swimming from place to place.

As eyewitness accounts of his presence increased, local residents - many of them former Confederate soldiers - met and launched an expedition to capture the Wild Man of Ocheesee Pond. In August of 1884, they succeeded!

To read the complete story of the Wild Man of Ocheesee Pond, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ocheeseewildman.

Two Egg - Parramore Monster makes an appearance!

The "Stump Jumper," the mysterious Two Egg - Parramore Monster, has been sighted again in its traditional haunts about one mile north of Parramore crossroads and 7 miles northeast of Two Egg.

The creature has been seen in the same vicinity off and on for at least thirty years and, as yet, no one has been able to come up with a reasonable identity for it. The latest sighting is is a bit different, however, in that it left some actual evidence of the monster.

An investigation in the vicinity following a sighting of the monster during the first week of June revealed a trail of unusual footprints leading from the swampy area where it was spotted by the eyewitness across a plowed fire lane and into an overgrown area of planted pines. Curiously, the tracks appear to have only three toes, one large or "big" toe and two smaller ones.

The Two Egg - Parramore Monster is usually described as a hairy "mini-Bigfoot" like creature that stands upright, is brown or gray in color and runs with remarkable speed. It is usually said to be around 5 or 6 feet tall. At least one eyewitness described it as having a long "raccoon-like" tail, while others - including the latest person to see it - have not noticed a tail.

To see photos of the footprints from the new sighting and to learn more about the monster, please visit www.twoeggfla.com/monster2.

Closure of Dozier School marks end of historic facility

Dozier School from the Air (Bing Map)

The announcement this week that Dozier School in Marianna - now officially titled another name, but still called Dozier School by local residents - will mark the end of a facility that has served the State of Florida for more than 100 years.

Originally known as the Florida Reform School, Dozier came into existence in the 1890s when state leaders realized Florida needed a better facility for housing juvenile offenders. At the time it opened, it was a state of the art facility.

The boys housed there were both black and white. Living quarters were segregated in those days, but the boys of both races worked on a farm and in a number of other industries to learn skills and help support the expense of operating the school.

There was a terrible fire in the early 1900s, followed by the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918. Those two events alone claimed two dozen lives at the facilities, taking both boys held at the reform school and employees who watched over them.

The media - particularly the Miami Herald and St. Petersburg Times - has delighted in telling stories of alleged horrors at the facility during its early days.  In their search for sensational angles, however, they often do not provide the perspective needed to judge events such as the fire and flu outbreak.

In the fire, for example, a boy died after going back into the burning dormitory to save the life of an employee he thought was trapped inside. It was a sign of the concern that most employees and youths at the school had for each other and was a remarkably heroic act that seems to always be overlooked in accounts of events at the school.

The same is true of the horrible conditions that developed at the school during the 1918 flu outbreak. A federal health official visited the school and found boys writhing in misery in abominable conditions, virtually uncared for and dying rapidly from the ravages of the flu. This report is often quoted in news stories about the school as a way of offering "perspective" on how horrible things have been there over the years.

In fact, what the accounts often do not mention, is that employees of the school were writhing in misery along with the students and that the flu had so ravaged the facility that everyone was sick, not just the boys. In fact, the 1918 flu outbreak killed hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and millions worldwide. Entire cities collapsed during the outbreak and in parts of Georgia towns went so far as to ban church services and all public assemblies as a way of halting the spread of the deadly outbreak. Walk through any cemetery that has been around for 100 years or more and you will see a startling number of headstones with the death date listed as 1918.

In short, history is more than a collection of sensational events. History is a mixture of things, some good, some bad. History proves that most people are good hearted and that those who usually reap what they sow.

Dozier School, not so long ago, didn't even have fences. It looked more like a college campus than a juvenile detention facility. People from all over the region went there every Christmas to ride the train or to see the wonderful animated Christmas displays the students used to assemble each year.

Dozier School, in the early 1980s, had the best success rate of turning juvenile offenders from criminals into responsible citizens of any school in the state. It offered a success story that was studied by other such facilities across the nation.

Over the last couple of years, there has been much negative publicity about both the school and Jackson County. People, many of them long dead, have been accused of attrocities. Many of those allegations were patently false.  Did bad things happen at Dozier?  I'm sure they did occasionally, just as they do in prisons, veterans hospitals, public schools, private schools, college campuses and in our own homes.

Were the so-called "White House Boys" abused at Dozier School four decades ago?  I don't know. They say they were, others say they were not. I do know, however, that many of the allegations made by them turned out to be false.  There are no mystery graves at Dozier School. The little cemetery shown so often on the news and in newspaper photographs actually contained the graves of boys, employees and even animals that died at the school over the years. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated and found that the large majority of the graves date from more than 90 years ago. FDLE also found that there are no "missing boys." Every offender sent there is accounted for in the records.  Claims of murder and of boys disappearing are simply untrue. The only juvenile murdered at the school was killed by other juveniles.

It is a shame that so much negative publicity was heaped on the facility and our community. It is a shame that so many reporters did not bother to look for the truth behind allegations before airing or printing their stories. It is a shame that reporters from Miami and St. Pete didn't take time to look at the histories of incarceration facilities in their own communities, where I suspect they would find horrors that make anything that happened at Dozier look pale by comparison.

Goodbye Dozier and the jobs you provided. It is a shame that it came to this and that state officials did not have more courage in the face of unwarranted negative publicity.

Charles Hentz was Jackson County's Best Known Antebellum Doctor

Dr. Hentz was the son of famed 19th century
novelist Caroline Lee Hentz, the probable
creator of the Bellamy Bridge ghost legend.

By Dale Cox

The best known of Jackson County’s antebellum “plantation doctors” was Dr. Charles Hentz. A son of the famed 19th century novelist Caroline Lee Hentz, he came to the county in 1848 hoping to make a living by providing medical services to the area’s growing planting community.

Practicing first at Port Jackson on the Chattahoochee River and later in Marianna, Hentz tended to families and slaves on plantations of all sizes and his diary and autobiography provide a fascinating glimpse of life on these farms. His knowledge of medicine was rudimentary at best. A good example was his treatment of Betsy Owens, a young woman of 20 who lived at Owens Hill near today’s Parramore community:

Sunday, January 14. Most beautiful morning. I rode to Mrs Owens; found her daughter Betsy, a stout good looking maid of about 20, very sick; prescribed, came home to late dinner….


Monday, January 15. Rode to Mrs. Owens again. Met the old lady, ere getting there, looking for her son, going to Billy Hair’s after him, talked about her daughter & returned; dissected my hawk all afternoon….

The problem with Hentz’s treatment of Betsy Owens was that he prescribed for her a high dose of calomel. Then used as a laxative, calomel is better known today as Mercury Chloride. Highly toxic, when administered in high doses it can lead to salivating (excessive drooling), hair and tooth loss and even death. Its use as a medicine was discontinued by around 1860, although in England it continued to be used as an ingredient in dental powder, leading to widespread mercury poisoning in that country.

Hentz overdosed Betsy Owens with calomel and within two days received an urgent message that she was salivating. Noting in his diary that he was “sorry to hear it,” Hentz mounted his horse and made the long ride from Port Jackson to Owens Hill, where he “found her quite perplexingly ill.” He reduced the dose, bemoaning the fact that he would not be paid for his services. Finally, four days after he initially dosed Betsy with enough calomel to cause mercury poisoning, she began to show signs of improvement:

Thursday, January 18. I went to widow Owens’ again this morning, am getting quite tired of the road, for the very good reason that my labor will meet with no pecuniary remuneration. I had the satisfaction to find Miss Betsy improving. The day has been charming, bright and beautiful….

Betsy would continue to experience problems for several more days, but Hentz was finally able to end his “treatment” of her. As bad as things went for Betsy Owens, they went even worse for some of Hentz’s other patients. Robert Crawford, for example, died in agony after taking medicine prescribed by Hentz with assistance from a doctor called in from Bainbridge, Georgia:

…He arose violently from bed, with several terrified cries, & rushed out, notwithstanding all efforts of bystanders to the contrary. He struggled violently, & gradually sunk to the floor in convulsions, in which he died, rolling his eyes fearfully; gritting his teeth; gasping & convulsed; he died in about 10 minutes….

Not all of Hentz’s visits went so poorly. He spent much of his time sewing up injuries, setting broken bones and taking care of other everyday medical needs for the planters of Jackson County. His diary indicates that he treated slaves with as much care as he did their white owners and that he was often called to their bedsides by the planters themselves.

One such visit, to the Wood plantation between Marianna and Port Jackson, turned into quite an escapade:

…Went to Mrs. Wood’s after dinner, saw some ailing negroes, sat in the parlor for the afternoon…Miss Kate King sang some, I had carried my flute & played a little. We all tryed the Chloroform, as Miss K. wished to see its effects, both ladies looked happy & embraced each other, & I felt like a thunderstorm, made great stamping & noise; ate some more fine watermelon; a good peach & a good fig….

In addition to his accounts of medical visits to plantations far and wide, Hentz’s diary provides fascinating insights to daily life and social customs in Jackson County during the plantation era. He describes boisterous election day gatherings, quiet Christmas Days spent reading, church services attended by whites and blacks alike, hunting expeditions along the Chipola and Chattahoochee Rivers and even fishing in Blue Spring.

Note: This article is excerpted from my 2010 book, The Early History of Jackson County, Florida: The Civil War Years. It is available locally at Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna (across the street from the Battle of Marianna Monument) or you can order online at the upper right of this page.

The Dickinson Flag - A Unique Artifact of Reconstruction in Jackson County

The Dickinson Flag

The flag shown here holds a unique place in American history. It covered the coffin of John Q. Dickinson, Jackson County's assassinated Reconstruction era Clerk of Courts, on its journey north to Dickinson's home in Vermont.

Dickinson was shot and killed on the night of April 3, 1871, as he walked from the courthouse to his Marianna home at around 10 o'clock p.m. The motive for his murder remains controversial. Some say it was because he was an appointed Northern Republican or "Carpetbagger," sent to Jackson County with other such men to rule over local residents during the years after the Civil War. Others say it was because he was engaged in selling the lands of local men on the courthouse steps for taxes they could not pay during the hard times of Reconstruction. A third theory holds that he was having an affair with the wife of a Greenwood man and was murdered by the jealous husband. The final theory is that his murder was part of a robbery. Dickinson was carrying a substantial amount of cash at the time he was killed, only a few dollars of which was ever found.

Personally, I find the robbery possibility to be very intriguing, as it seems to coincide with the evidence gathered by local officials immediately following his death. I'll post more on that soon.

John Q. Dickinson

Following a coroner's inquest, Dickinson was buried in Marianna but his body was exhumed after only a few days and his coffin carried east to Quincy by wagon (the railroad had not yet been extended to Marianna). In Quincy it was placed on a train car for its journey east to Jacksonville. The flag was mentioned in a reporter's account of the arrival of the train in Tallahassee:

The remains of Capt. J.Q. DICKINSON arrived at the Depot in this city from Marianna yesterday afternoon, and were received by quite a number of persons, including the Governor and other officials, with a large concourse of colored people of both sexes. When the train stopped, the doors of the car containing the coffin, which was draped in the United States colors, were thrown open and the crowds of colored women and children present drew near and showered into the car a perfect avalanche of flowers, so that in a few minutes the coffin was completely buried beneath the floral offerings. - Tallahassee Weekly Floridian, April 11, 1871.

From Tallahassee the train carried the flag-draped coffin on to Jacksonville, where it was placed aboard ship and sent north. A memorial for him was held at the Grammercy Park Hotel in New York City and from there the coffin was taken on to Benson, Vermont. Funeral services were held there, followed by his burial.

The huge flag that drapped Dickinson's coffin was given to his family and remains in the hands of descendents to this day. According to Dexter King, a direct descendent of Dickinson and current owner of the flag, "His brother, Albert kept the flag until his death. Albert had 3 daughters, Fannie, Florence and Colleen. On January 31, 1908 Colleen Amelia Dickinson married Carl Fish King. They had 3 children, Kenyon and Coleman (twins) and Carl Fish King II (my father)."

The Kingston Place farm in Vermont was passed down over the years and now belongs to Dexter. The flag, which appears to be a large garrison type flag, has been a treasured family memento through the years. I did not know of its existence until I was contacted by Dexter last year. Since then, we have become long distance friends and he has helped tremendously in my research of his ancestor and of Reconstruction in Jackson County.

140 Years Ago Today: Assassination of Clerk of Court was Major Event in Jackson County History

Davis-West House

One of the most significant events in the history of Jackson County took place on a Marianna street corner 140 years ago today.

John Q. Dickinson, an officer from the Seventh Vermont Veteran Volunteers, had been appointed the county's clerk of courts during the Reconstruction era. A Republican appointee at a time when such appointees were violently opposed by many former Confederates, Dickinson was shot down by unknown assassins who fired from behind a fence that then surrounded Marianna's historic Davis-West House. Located at the intersection of Madison and Putnam Streets, the house was then the home of Dr. Theophilus West.

The following account of Dickinson's assassination was written by Daniel R. Weinfeld, the nation's foremost authority on the events of the "Jackson County War," the name given to the Reconstruction era violence that shook the county for nearly one full decade.

John Quincy Dickinson

The Assassination of John Quincy Dickinson
by Daniel R. Weinfeld

One hundred and forty years ago, on the evening of April 3, 1871, about 9 P.M, John Quincy Dickinson, Jackson County, Florida, clerk of court, fell at the hands of an assassin.


Dickinson had survived the worst violence of the period from 1869 through 1871 that became known as the Jackson County War. As a Republican official, Dickinson could not avoid clashing with Regulators determined to return the region to white, Democratic control. With prominent Republicans being eliminated one-by-one, Dickinson was an inevitable target.

Dickinson was born in Vermont in 1836. He graduated from Middlebury College, worked for a while as a political reporter, and then spent the Civil War with the 7th Vermont Infantry in the Louisiana theatre. He remained on the Gulf Coast after the War, eventually settling in Florida. After a false start in the timber business, Dickinson accepted an appointment in September 1868 as Freedmen’s Bureau agent for Jackson County, Florida.

As Bureau duties wound down, Dickinson became active as a Republican Party operative. He accepted an appointment as Jackson County clerk of court, replacing his friend, Dr. John L. Finlayson, who was assassinated in February 1869. Jackson County sheriffs came and went, and Dickinson often found himself the only law enforcement official in the region. He signaled his future career plans when he gained admission to the bar shortly before his death.

Site of the Assassination

Dickinson was a serious, but mild-tempered man, determined to perform his duties, no matter the personal risk. His concise, clear writings, particularly his 1869 diary that became evidence in Congressional hearings, contain some of the most vivid and powerful descriptions of Reconstruction era violence. His courage was remarkable: most men would have fled the unrelenting pressure and threats he stoically endured. He also had a wry humor and good-natured side and was dearly loved by many friends. Unlike his Bureau predecessors in Jackson County, Dickinson won the grudging respect of bitter political opponents. Nonetheless, a gunman concealed in the darkness shot him down as he returned home from his office. The assassin was never identified, but speculation focused a few men Jackson County men notorious for their political violence.

His murder drew condemnation across the nation. Crowds of mourners in Florida and Vermont gathered to pay their respects as Dickinson’s coffin traveled North to his hometown of Benson, Vermont. Reports claimed that the funeral for the thirty-four-year-old was the largest ever held in the state. His tombstone, a stout, marble monument on the crest of a hillside cemetery, declares: “Capt. Dickinson Was Assassinated By the Ku Klux Klan Near His Home On the Night of April 3. He Fell at the Post of Duty in the Integrity of a True Patriot.”

Note: To read more of Dan's writings on the "Jackson County War," please visit him online at http://www.thejacksoncountywar.com/. I will post more tomorrow on the national impact of the Dickinson assassination.

Planting by the Signs of the Moon

The Moon Shines over Jackson County

Farmers and gardeners have relied on the signs or phases of the moon for thousands of years in deciding when to plant their crops. It is a tradition that was a part of the daily lives of our ancestors in Jackson County and is still used by some of the best gardeners and farmers today.

There are many misconceptions about this practice. First and foremost, it relies in no way on anything mystical. The practice actually brings a bit of ancient science into modern practice.

Early farmers observed that their plants seemed to grow better when planted on certain phases of the moon. Likewise, they did poorly when planted on other phases of the moon. Over time, they developed a consistent practice for planting on the different phases of the moon's rotation around the earth.

The science behind this is pretty simple. The moon rotates around the earth once each month. At certain phases or times in this rotation, it reflects more light on the earth than it does at others. The times when it gives more light were found to be better for planting crops that produce above ground, while the times when it gives off less light were found best for planting crops that produce below ground.

As a result of this early experimentation, which took place thousands of years ago, the practice became an accepted part of farming and agriculture and remains in use to this day. It is an important part of the history and culture of Jackson County and all of the South. To learn more and see the best days for planting in April, please follow this link:  www.jacksontimesonline.com/gardeningsigns.

New Edition of The Battle of Marianna, Florida is now in print!

The new Expanded Edition of The Battle of Marianna, Florida is now available!

The new edition includes nearly 50 pages of new information as well as maps, additional photographs and expanded casualty lists. The book features a much more detailed account not only of the Battle of Marianna itself, but also of the events of the raid leading to and following the 1864 encounter. A great deal of new information about events in Walton, Holmes, Jackson and Washington Counties has been included.

The Battle of Marianna was fought on September 27, 1864, at the climax of the deepest penetration of Confederate Florida during the entire Civil War. A column of 700 Union soldiers from the 2nd Maine Cavalry, 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry, 82nd U.S. Colored Troops, 86th U.S. Colored Troops and 7th Vermont Veteran Volunteers began crossing Pensacola Bay to what is now Gulf Breeze on September 15, 1864. The crossing took three days to complete and on the 18th the force moved west to the site of Camp Walton at today's Fort Walton Beach where a base camp was established. From there the raid inflicted heavy damage on the settled areas of Walton, Holmes and western Jackson Counties before reaching Marianna.

The fight at Marianna was one of the most intense small battles of the Civil War. Many of the participants were veterans who had served in some of the largest engagements of the war and those who left accounts commented almost to a person on the severity of the battle. One called it the fiercest battle of its size he encountered during his four years of fighting.

The battle ended with the looting of the City of Marianna and the capture of an estimated 20% of its male population. Many of these men were carried away to Northern prisoner of war camps where nearly half died before the end of the war. In addition, an estimated 600 African American slaves were freed by the Union soldiers as they advanced. After the battle, the raid turned southwest through Washington County and back to Choctawhatchee Bay.

The new Expanded Edition is available by clicking the ad at the upper left. Signed copies are now in stock at Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna (on Lafayette Street, across from the Battle of Marianna Monument). Amazon.com also has it available as a download in electronic format for Kindle reading devices or those who use their free Kindle software on their computers or smart phones.

You can learn more about the battle at www.battleofmarianna.com.

Kindle version of "The Battle of Marianna, Florida" is now available!!

Amazon has begun the process of releasing the new Expanded Edition of my book, "The Battle of Marianna, Florida." If you have a Kindle reading device or use their free Kindle software on your computer, Ipad, smartphone, etc., it is now available for instant download at the discounted price of $9.95.

The print version of the new edition, which includes 50 pages of new material, a full bibliography, expanded casualty and soldier listings, more photographs and additional maps will be out sometime next week. I'll let you know as soon as it is available.

The Battle of Marianna was fought on September 27, 1864, and was one of the fiercest small battles of the War Between the States. It took place when a column of 700 Union troops attacked the city after advancing from Pensacola through today's Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and Holmes Counties. A force of several hundred Confederate reservists, militia, home guards and volunteers tried to defend the city in what turned into a brutal hand to hand fight.

It is a little known fact that the battle concluded the deepest penetration of Confederate Florida by Union troops during the entire War Between the States. The raid to and from Marianna inflicted more economic damage on Jackson, Washington, Holmes and Walton Counties than was suffered by any other Florida counties during the war. The battle also represented the last major effort by Southern forces to defend Northwest Florida.

If you are interested in purchasing the Kindle e-book, you can do so by clicking the ad above. I'll let you know as soon as the new print version is ready for purchase!

Three Rivers State Park once again targeted for Closure!

Three Rivers State Park

For the second time in three years, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proposed closing Jackson County's Three Rivers State Park. The move would save the state $200,000 but cost the economy of the Sneads area more than $1,000,000.

To save $6.5 million out of its $1.4 BILLION budget, DEP is recommending the closure of ONE-THIRD of Florida's State Parks and Historic Sites. These include both the Olustee and Natural Bridge Battlefields, the only preserved Civil War battlefields in Florida; the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Home, where the famed author wrote The Yearling; San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park, which preserves the ruins of a 300 year old Spanish fort; three parks that preserve ancient Indian mounds; the site of America's oldest free African American settlement; the site of the Dade Massacre which ignited the Second Seminole War, historic homes, museums and more.

Among three parks that DEP recommends closing permanently and returning to their landowners is Three Rivers State Park. Located on State Road 271 (River Road) on the northern edge of Sneads, the beautiful park covers hundreds of acres of waterfront land on the shores of Lake Seminole and features fishing, camping, hiking trails, picnic areas, boat ramps and a beautiful natural setting. It is on the Great Florida Birding Trail and is the scene of a very nice annual Christmas Lighting Display. 

Three Rivers operates at a cost of only around $200,000 a year, but according to DEP's own studies, generates more than $1,000,000 for the local economy. Such an economic loss could be devastating for Sneads and eastern Jackson County, especially with the nation in the midst of a recession. Please click here to read more about the park.

The proposal is currently before the Florida House of Representative's Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, which is scheduled to meet again on February 9th. To voice your opinion to the subcommittee members, please visit this link and simply click on their individual names: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/sections/committees/committeesdetail.aspx?SessionId=66&CommitteeId=2597

Beating the Drums of War - Jackson County's First Confederate Unit

1861 Sketch of Confederate Camps at Pensacola

by Dale Cox

The first Confederate company to form in Jackson County after the Secession of Florida was a unit known originally as the “Marianna Volunteers,” but later as the “Chipola Rifles.” Organized in March of 1861 with Henry H. Baker as captain and Thomas E. Clarke, Wesley H. DuBose and Francis M. Farley as lieutenants, the company was made up largely of men who had previously served in the county’s state militia regiment.

Sent to the former U.S. Arsenal at Chattahoochee at the end of March, the company was joined with other companies to form the 1^st Florida Infantry Regiment. In addition to the Marianna Volunteers, the regiment included the Jefferson Volunteers, Leon Rifles, Leon Artillery, Prairie Guards, Gainesville Minute Men, Quincy Young Guards, Franklin Riflemen and Madison Volunteers. James Patton Anderson was elected colonel and the men were soon loaded aboard steamboats at Chattahoochee Landing and sent upriver to Columbus, Georgia.

Their arrival there during the first week of April was described by that city’s newspaper:

Our wharf presented a very lively scene on Sunday, occasioned by the arrival of the Florida troops and by the concourse of citizens who continually repaired to the river bank to see them. The steamers Time and Wm. H. Young arrived early in the morning with nine companies…They remained on the boats until 8 of 4 o’clock p.m., when they marched through the city to the Railroad Depot, where they are now comfortably encamped, being aided by our city volunteer companies in the furnishing of tents, etc. Most of these companies are uniformed and armed and have beautiful banners; and they are generally hardy and fine-looking men, on whom their country can securely rely.

Moved by rail from Columbus to Montgomery, the men of the 1^st Florida boarded another train for the trip south to Pensacola (the railroad across West Florida was not completed until after the war).

They arrived on the coast to find the Pensacola electrified by the news of the Southern attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Although many expected an immediate movement to reduce Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island, they instead joined the other soldiers of General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Pensacola for a long summer of drills in the hot Florida sun.

The men were stationed first at Camp Magnolia on today’s Pensacola Naval Air Station and later moved to Camp Bradford at Gulf Breeze. The Marianna Volunteers, by now called the Chipola Rifles, contributed to the force under General Richard H. Anderson that attacked the outer camps of Fort Pickens on the night of October 9, 1861.

Lieutenant Francis Farley of Jackson County was captured at the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, as the action was known, and sent north to a Union prisoner of war camp at Boston, Massachusetts. He was held there until exchanged the following year.

A 12-months regiment, Company E (The Chipola Rifles) remained in the Pensacola area until the end of December when it was sent to Montgomery to serve out the last three months of its term. Three men died of disease, but the rest eventually went home where most signed up for service in other regiments.

The first company to serve in the Confederate Army from Jackson County lost no men killed in action.

Note: To learn more about Jackson County’s role in the Civil War, please read my book, The History of Jackson County, Florida (Volume Two). It is the second in a set of books on local history and is available locally at Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna or online here.

Jackson County and the Secession of Florida, January 10, 1861

Adam McNealy, Jackson County Delegate

By Dale Cox

 Today marks the 150^th anniversary of Florida’s secession from the Union. It was the first step that would lead to Florida becoming part of the Confederate States of America and set it on the path to take part in the bloodiest war in American history.

Although it is commonly believed today that virtually everyone in the South was in favor of the movement, this was not the case. In Jackson County, for example, even many of the largest plantation owners opposed the move, as did a majority of the farmers and merchants. This surprised many at the time, as Jackson County planter John Milton, an ardent secessionist, was the state’s governor-elect.

Proof of strong Unionist sentiment in the county is easy to come by. When a statewide election was held on December 22, 1860, to pick delegates to the Secession Convention that was to convene in Tallahassee in January, all four of the delegates elected in Jackson County were strongly pro-Union.

James L.G. Baker, Adam McNealy, Joseph A. Collier and Sidney S. Alderman were elected to represent the county at the convention. All were Constitutional Unionists and their election shocked Democratic Party leaders in the state.

When the Secession Convention convened in Tallahassee on January 3, 1861, the Jackson County delegates were among those who waged a fierce floor fight in favor of delaying any attempt to withdraw the state from the Union.

Defeated in attempt to delay the drafting of a secession ordinance, Baker, McNealy, Collier and Alderman all voted in favor of an unsuccessful amendment that would have given the voters of the state the right to decide on secession. When that amendment failed by a vote of 39-30, they then supported an amendment that would have delayed any action until the neighboring states of Alabama and Georgia decided their course. That amendment failed by a vote of 43-27.

In the end, the secession ordinance passed by a vote of 62-7. James L.G. Baker of Jackson County was one of the seven delegates who opposed the move. Adam McNealy in the end changed his mind and voted in favor of the ordinance, as did Sidney Alderman and Joseph Collier. The latter two men issued a joint statement that was included in the minutes of the Convention:

The undersigned wish distinctly to announce to this Convention and the country, that they have been and are now fully alive to the wrongs perpetuated by the North against the South, as any many member of the Convention, and only differed with the Convention as to the mode and manner of redress.

The ordinance was passed and Florida seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861. The bloody War Between the States or Civil War would follow. In Jackson County, most of those who opposed secession ultimately supported the Confederacy. Their loyalty was to their state first.

Note: To learn more about Jackson County during the Civil War, please consider my book, The History of Jackson County, Florida: The War Between the States. It can be ordered by clicking the link at left and is available locally at Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna (on the same block as the Gazebo Restaurant).

Merry Christmas!

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

      The Holy Bible (Luke, Chapter 2)

Book Signing set for Saturday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna will be hosting a book signing on Saturday to celebrate the release of my new book, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida.

The event will run from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. (or until the book supply runs out), so if you would like an autographed copy to use as a gift for Christmas, come on down! Copies of my other books will also be available and I'll be glad to specially inscribe them as gifts.

The new book is my first short novel and tells the story of a lonely man named Ben and a Christmas Eve night that forever changes the life of the people of Two Egg. While the story is entirely from my imagination, it does include elements of local history that will be of interest, including some of the stories of how Two Egg got its unusual name. The book is Christian in nature and is the kind of story you can be comfortable reading out loud with your family for many Christmas holidays to come.

The book is specially priced at $9.95 because I know these are hard times for many people and I wanted to make it affordable. It is currently in stock at Chipola Book & Tea, which is located on the same block as the Gazebo Restaurant and has entrances on both Lafayette and Market Streets.  It is also available through Amazon.com with guaranteed delivery by Christmas.


If you are interested in some of my other books, here are links to order them through Amazon.com:

Chipola River Book & Tea now has signed copies of "A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida" in stock!

Autographed copies of my new short novel, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida, are now in stock at Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna.

The book tells the story of a lonely man named Ben, the mysterious stranger he has seen lurking around his barn, and what happens to the people of Two Egg on a magical Christmas Eve long ago. My first work of fiction, it is set in our favorite local community of Two Egg during the days of the Great Depression. The story is Christian and is suitable for sitting and reading out loud with the family this Christmas. It is priced at $9.95.

The book is also available in both print and Kindle versions through Amazon.com (just follow the link at the top of this posting).

I will be available to personally write greetings in books at Book & Tea on Saturday, December 18th from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. They are located in Downtown Marianna on the same block as the Gazebo Restaurant, directly across Lafayette Street from the Battle of Marianna Monument, and also carry a full selection of signed copies of my other books.