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I wanted to tell you all about a new book that I have discovered.

Damage Them While You Can by George Walsh. It's a history of the Army of Northern Virgina.

It's pretty good... but a surface book. Walsh accepts the "spin" of Freeman, i.e, Jackson during the Pennisula or Stuart at Gettysburg. That's a strike in my book...

But, it is interesting as we learn more about Pender, Hampton, Gordan, etc.

But I have a question. Besides one throw away line in one book about a Florida regiment, I have yet to read about Florida regiments in the ANV. Nor have I read about Arkansas troops either. Did Florida and Arkansas sit out the war, or did their troops go to Tenessee?

What have you heard?

History has not been kind to the legacy of Florida’s Confederate soldiers. Too often they appear as little more than a footnote in accounts of the American Civil War. Nevertheless, Florida troops were present at Gettysburg and they fought bravely along side their comrades from Alabama and Georgia on July 2 and 3, 1863.

Florida was represented at Gettysburg by a brigade of three infantry regiments in Major General R.H. Anderson’s Division of A. P. Hill’s III Army Corps. By the summer of 1863, these soldiers had become seasoned veterans typical of the Army of Northern Virginia. The 2nd Florida Infantry had experienced heavy combat in several battles during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862. The regiment fought at Yorktown, followed by a delaying action at Williamsburg where the regiment's first colonel was killed. At a swampy Virginia crossroads called Seven Pines, the 2nd, then attached to Brigadier General Samuel Garland’s brigade, fought a brutal contest through mud, heavy vegetation and waist deep water. There the 2nd Florida gained everlasting glory when it charged and captured a battery of Federal artillery while sustaining over 50% casualties. After the Seven Days’ battles the battered 2nd was joined by the 5th and 8th Florida Infantry regiments. The Floridians fought at Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, and time and again they proved themselves to be tough soldiers full of courage and fight. Following the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland in September 1862, the three regiments were consolidated into a single Florida brigade under Brigadier General Edward Aylesworth Perry of Pensacola.

Jim Studnicki

More than 30 infantry regiments, a dozen cavalry regiments, and a host of assorted battalions, companies, and batteries were raised in Arkansas for Confederate service during the War Between the States. Most of these units, regretfully, have never had a spokesman or a historian. Researching the history of Arkansas's Confederate forces is made doubly hard by the fact that shortages of supplies, including paper, after the summer of 1862 kept many regiments and companies from keeping detailed records. And most regrettably, for the Arkansans who served in the Confederate Army of Tennessee and Army of Northern Virginia, the intensity of combat and harsh life in the field left few survivors to tell their tales.

Only one Arkansas regiment, the 3rd Arkansas Infantry, served with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the eastern theater of the War. Mustering at Lynchburg, VA in late July, 1861, the 3rd Arkansas saw its first engagement in the Seven Days Campaign, and served in all the campaigns of Lee's army until the surrender at Appomattox in April, 1865. Fagan's 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment served briefly with the Confederate Army of the Potomac (as the Army of Northern Virginia was known before July, 1862) near Fredericksburg and at the Battle of 1st Manassas, but was transferred to Albert Sydney Johnston's army near Corinth, Mississippi in February, 1862. Bronaugh's 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion also served in Virginia, but was consolidated with the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment following the Seven Days' Campaign.

Thanks for the earlier account of Florida regiments, SamWolf.

First of all, there is a great thread for further reading on Florida History: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/993896/posts

Florida raised the greatest number of troops per capita during the WBTS. She was the third state to seceed, with close ties to South Carolina. In fact, many thought the hostilities would erupt at Ft. Pickens rather than Ft. Sumpter.

Florida itself did not have many battles in state. Two that come to mind were Confederate victories - the students in Tally held Union troops outside of the city in the battle of Natural Bridge. The battle of Olustee had the greys overwhelming the blues at Lake City (which is now home to the world's largest CBF).

The Confederacy counted on Jake Summerlin and the "Cow Cavalry" to supply beef and salt to troops in VA, MS, SC, etc. Floridians engineered the first desalinisation (??? I mean no salt) plants on the ocean, but were often forced to abandon their stills in the face of attacks.

The famous blockade runners made the trip up the St. John's (going South) to Sanford, hiked thru Melonville, Geneva, and New Smyrna or Mosquito Lagoon to make the run to the Bahamas for trade (sugar and rum).

I found a quick history of Florida in the WBTS here

I'm currently reading "Confederate Florida" and I can recommend "Florida in the Civil War" by Nulty as a quick and comprehensive book of the subject.