Florida
is not commonly associated with Civil War battles. I’ve already written on the
Battle of Olustee, the largest and bloodiest confrontation in the state between
Union and Confederate forces. While Florida is rightly seen as a sideshow
theatre for most of the Civil War, it was considered important in 1861. One of
the few remaining Federal outposts on southern soil in earl 1861 was Fort
Pickens, situated on Santa Rosa Island in Pensacola Harbor. Secessionists had
been trying to get the Federals to evacuate, and at times seriously considered
an assault that would have made Pickens, not Sumter, the name associated with
the start of the war.
Facing
a heavy Federal blockade, the Confederates were keen to dislodge the Union
presence on Santa Rosa Island. If they did so, they could construct more naval
vessels and even send them out to challenge the blockade. In October of 1861
the Confederates launched their only major offensive action against the island,
resulting in one of the few Floridian battles.
Across the Bay
 |
| General Braxton Bragg |
As the war continued to shape up throughout 1861, Confederate president Jefferson Davis put his personal friend General Braxton Bragg in charge of Florida. Davis may have thought that this was a prime posting for his old army pal, as Fort Pickens remained a high-profile target. If it was taken, the harbor could be freed for both ship construction and naval operations. Bragg, however, was more concerned with his defensive obligations, expressing to his wife “This is a fearful responsibility.” He had to defend Florida with just 6,000 men. On a professional level he would much rather be in charge of the more important and critical New Orleans. Regardless of where he was, he would need success to advance his career friend, and he wrote to Davis for reinforcements. The president got him several regiments of additional men. Bragg’s numbers swelled to about 8,100 men, and these made up the Army of the Pensacola.[1]
Bragg’s main focus remained Pensacola and its access to the sea. The Pensacola Navy Yard was one of only three shipyards in the South. Its entrance was protected by three Forts. Two of them, McRae and Barrancas, were on the mainland. McRae was to the west of Santa Rosa Island. Barrancas was to the north, west of Warrington and the Naval Yard. All along the coast which ended in the Naval Yard, Bragg had placed batteries. The third, Fort Pickens, was on Santa Rosa Island. Thanks to its separation from the main landmass, the island and fort were still held by Union troops.[2]
Well after bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, the Confederates continued to issue demands for Fort Pickens’ surrender. But the new commander, Colonel Henry Brown, refused each time. He had little reason to fear. With war truly under way, there was no reason for the Army and the US government to hesitate in sending assistance. More Federal ships arrived and blockaded the harbor.[3]
Colonel
Brown himself was “not very tall, and rather slender, but straight, and rigid,
with a positive stubby grey moustache outlining a firm mouth.” He was a hard
figure concerned with honor and discipline, and despised volunteers. Earlier in
1861 he commanded a force entirely made up of regular army men, but at the end
of June the 6th New York Volunteers arrived to bolster his force.[4]
The 6th New York was a Zouave regiment, dressed in the style of
French soldiers. One of its alternate titles was “Wilson’s Zouaves” after their
commander Colonel William Wilson. They had a pet goat named Billy who was known
to be fearless around the sound of battle. He subsisted “on a diet composed of
fine cut tobacco and sea biscuit.” The men found Santa Rosa Island, with its
sandy beaches, lagoons, and alligators and chameleons to be quite exotic. It
was also rather unpleasant in the hot summer months, the Zouaves tormented by
mosquitoes and sand fleas.[5]
At
the start of September the Confederates raised the dry dock from the water.
Brown made the assumption that they were planning to sink it in a channel to
limit Federal access to the harbor. Federal gunships sank the dry dock.[6]
Shortly later on September 14, the Federals sent gunboats to the Navy Yard. The
plan was for two of these ships to seize the schooner Judah, while two others were to cover them with fire on the yard
itself. The mission proved a success, with the Judah burned by a victorious Federal boarding party from the Colorado.[7]
In
light of these continuing setbacks, Bragg felt he had to do something. There is
no evidence that he wanted to storm and seize Fort Pickens, but he at least
wanted to show the Yankees that his men could make a raid of their own.
Besides, his men were itching for combat and this would give them an
opportunity. He reorganized his available men, reducing his four brigades into
two larger ones. Brigadier Generals Daniel Ruggles and Richard Anderson would
each command one, with the latter to lead the attack on Santa Rosa Island.[8]
General Richard
Anderson
Richard
Heron Anderson was a South Carolinian. Like so many generals, he graduated from
West Point, served in the Mexican War, and was still in the army when the
secession crisis unfolded. He resigned from a captaincy in the 2nd
Dragoons and was present for the war-starting bombardment of Fort Sumter. After
some more time at Charleston, he found himself sent to Pensacola Harbor to help
Bragg.[9]
The Landing
In
a stroke of good news, the Confederates learned that two of blockading vessels
had left, weakening the Union’s stranglehold on operations. Feeling the time
was right, Bragg ordered the raid for October 9. Bragg believed had a lot
riding on this armed foray. It “was a desperate affair, in which success” would
be “commended, a failure unpardonable.”[10]
Anderson divided his assault force into battalions. Colonel James Chalmers of
the 9th Mississippi would lead the First Battalion, consisting of
elements of the 9th and 10th Mississippi, and 1st
Alabama. Colonel J. Patton Anderson of the 1st Florida Volunteers
led the Second Battalion with men from his own regiment, the 7th
Alabama, and unidentified Louisiana infantry. Colonel John Jackson’s Third
Battalion included men from his own 5th Georgia and the Georgia
Battalion. Lieutenant Hallonquist, the ordnance officer, led an independent
company of 53 men. Their special mission was to destroy the camp and spike the
cannon.[11] He would land on the thin eastern section of the island and then head westward into any outer Federal encampments.
Anderson’s
Confederates launched off at midnight, and landed by 2 AM. They disembarked
roughly 4 miles (and 266 yards) from Fort Pickens at a location with “three
ponds and a mound.” The stretch of land where they disembarked was only three
quarters of a mile wide, and narrowed even further before starting to widen
again. The terrain itself consisted of several sand ridges and “low, swampy
ground interspersed with sand hillocks, some bushes, and a few trees.”[12]
Opposition on Santa Rosa looked to be light. The regimental history of the 6th New York claims that little more than 220 men were present at the camp. The explanation was that the hot climate and its attendant diseases had put plenty of men out of action, and that an excessive number of detachments had been sent elsewhere for other duties.[13] The rest of the Federal infantry, comprised of US Regulars, were at Fort Pickens. Their commander, Henry Brown, was awoken at 2 AM and told of the landing. Not entirely sure the report was correct, Brown ordered no alarm given. It was seemingly confirmed that it was a false report.[14] Anderson’s Confederates maintained the advantage of surprise.
A look at Fort Pickens, one of the only Federal outposts to never fall into Secessionist hands.
General
Anderson developed his plan of attack. Chalmers’ First Battalion was to move
along the northern beach, and Anderson’s Second Battalion to the south.
Jackson’s Third Battalion, with Hallonquist’s saboteur company behind him,
advanced straight on. General Anderson instructed his men to move silently.
They did so and captured (and in comes cases bayoneted) pickets and guards
without firing. He hoped that he could get his force between the 6th
New York’s camp and Fort Pickens.[15]
According
to the report of the 6th New York, all of the sentries were attacked
about the same time. This would explain why the regiment was caught so horribly
off guard. The officer in charge of security, Captain Hoelzle, gathered what he
could and ordered his men to fire. Counter-fire hit Hoelzle and knocked him
down. He was not too seriously hurt, though. When the Confederates walked over
his prone body, “he arose quickly and shot a man who was taking aim at him. He
made it to the skirmish line.[16]
A Private, William Scott, was one of the pickets. He waited until the
approaching enemy was just 10 feet away, then shot down a Captain Bradford.[17]
 |
| Colonel William Wilson would gain criticism for his men's rout on Santa Rosa Island. |
Hearing the first shots, Colonel William Wilson quickly got his 250 men into ranks, sending skirmishers forward. Wilson sent a messenger to notify Colonel Brown (the messenger would be captured in trying to return). Confederate fire struck the 6th New York in the left flank. The Federals wheeled and began to return fire. Because the tents had been covered with brush to create shade, they quickly went ablaze from the shooting. The fire lit up the early morning scene, and the New Yorkers were alarmed to see a large body of Confederates right in their camp. The 6th broke, the men running for the beach. Officers managed to stop and form 60 of them behind a ridge. There was to be no rally, however. Upon news that the rest of the regiment had retreated for the safety of Fort Pickens’ batteries, they too moved off.[18]
One New Yorker who got a kill was a Major Newby. He was sick in the bed when he heard the attack. Helped by his two servants, he got out of bed just as the Confederates came for his house. The enemy killed one of his servants. In revenge Newby raised his revolver and shot one right in the head before getting out of his house and onto his horse for an escape.[19] Anderson’s men got to work ravaging the encampment. Watching from afar, across the harbor waters, with his field glasses, Bragg wrote of the fire in the 6th New York’s island home, “It was a grand illumination plainly visible to us all.”[20]
The Federals
Awakened
Major Israel Vogdes
At
3:30 AM Brown was again awakened, and he could hear shooting from the camp of
the 6th New York. He “immediately ordered the roll to be beaten,
Major Israel Vogdes to take two companies and proceed to the spot, and Major Lewis
G. Arnold to man the guns on the ramparts on that face.”[21]
Because it was still dark, both Union and Confederate forces ended up
separating, causing the two forces to stumble around and engage each other
piecemeal.[22] Major
Vogdes turned his men right. He then disappeared. A Confederate officer
actually stepped forward and addressed Captain John Hildt of the 3rd
US Infantry. He informed him that Vogdes and many of his men had already been
captured and that Hildt should surrender his men, too. Hildt’s men did not
comply, firing two shots at the Confederate before taking position behind
rising ground.[23]
Hildt’s
men were heavily outnumbered. Despite their commander’s best attempts to adjust
to the Confederates’ movements, they found themselves driven back by heavy fire
into their left flank. They engaging in a fighting retreat, using sand-hills as
cover for when they would stop and fire a volley to slow their pursuers. Seeing
that the situation was even more serious, Brown ordered Major Arnold to take
two companies to the support of Hildt and Wilson’s men. Arnold guided a
detachment of the 1st US Artillery and two companies of the 3rd US
Infantry onto the beach, with the intention of firing into the left, northern
flank of the Confederates. Arnold noticed a boat full of Confederates heading
for the naval yard. His artillery pieces raised their elevation and fired,
dissuading the boatful of Rebels.[24]
As
the fighting unfolded, the Confederates executed a strange maneuver. They
actually formed a square. The reason for this is unknown. Perhaps in the
continued dawn darkness they thought they were about to be hit by a heavy Union
counterattack and were unsure from where.[25]
They need not have feared, as Major Arnold found his Federals heavily
outnumbered and withdrew his men behind the sandbanks to conceal their
weakness. He waited for a good opportunity to unleash them, preferably in the
enemy’s flank and rear.[26]
Despite pushing the Federals back, General Anderson grew concerned. He had hoped to push on and take out Federal batteries in front of Fort Pickens. But it was getting lighter, exposing his men to enemy big guns. The Union force was getting more soldiers up and there was a fear that Federal ships would steam near the landing sight and shred his landing craft, thus trapping his men on Santa Rosa Island. It was time to head back to the boats and from there the safety of the mainland forts.[27]
Back
at the 6th New York’s camp, Captain Loomis Langdon arrived with some
men from the 1st US Artillery. “The camp was in flames and the tents
of four companies almost consumed.” Worst of all, the commissary store was
burning. Langdon rushed to the hospital, grabbed some men, and “put them to
work extinguishing the fire and saving the stores, which was soon done.”[28]
A
detachment of the 2nd US Artillery took up position to shell the
Confederates. The commanding officer Captain James Robertson boasted that
thanks “to the almost perfect cover behind which my men were placed I have no
casualties to report.” One artillerist, Private John Gannon, made sure his gun
was position right alongside a pine tree so that for the most part he was
covered. Whenever a musket ball smacked against the tree he remarked, “Well, my
tree saved me that time.” After the battle Roberts counted 7 bullet marks in
the tree.[29]
Major
Arnold also got in on the shooting. The fire of his men was “well delivered
into the crowded mass on board the steamboats and flats in tow.” One officer in
the 3rd US noted how the firing of the Federals on one boat “saw the
ricocheting of many of the balls on the water in front and close to the barge.”[30]
One
of the ropes used to tether the barges and flats got entangled in the propeller
of the Neaffie. The barge could thus
not get off, along with all the men aboard. Unable to free the propeller, the
Confederate boatman tethered it to the Ewing
in hopes that it could be towed away from shore and to freedom. The Neaffie was too heavy. Fortunately
somebody was able to cut the rope from the propeller and the Neaffie was able to get away.[31]
General Anderson was among the Confederates hit in the final stage of battle. A
bullet struck him in the left elbow. As it turned out it would not be a serious
injury and he would come back into service with his left arm intact.[32]
The
Confederates headed back for the opposite short Colonel Crown reported, “Their
departure was hailed with three heavy cheers from our gallant soldiers, which
were received with the most solemn silence.”[33]
But Brown had hoped that his men could have scored a truly devastating victory.
Earlier in the battle he had directed Lieutenant Chauncey Reese of the US
Engineers to order the McClellan to
steam to a spot facing the Confederates’ landing sight. From there it could
fire on them and cut off their retreat. Captain Powell of the Potomac was to place some men on board
the McClellan to give it more
firepower. Unfortunately Powell delayed the McClellan
by insisting it tow his ship along. It took time to connect and drag the heavy Potomac. The captains then directed the
ships to head straight for the action instead of the planned spot. Because of
these delays, the McClellan and Potomac failed to arrive in time or to
block the Rebels’ retreat.[34]
No Longer a
Priority
In
his initial report Colonel Brown put his losses at 7 killed, 9 wounded, and 10
missing. His more informative report showed heavier losses. The Regulars of the
3rd US Infantry suffered 4 killed, 20 wounded, and 8 missing. The 6th
New York received 10 killed, 8 wounded, and 16 missing. Together these losses
were 17 killed, 17 wounded, and 26 missing for a total of 60. Of the missing,
at least 20 were prisoners, as stated in a Confederate report. Major Vogdes was
the most high profile captive.[35]
While
casualties were comparatively light, especially compared to many later battles,
each death brought grief to families, such as Anna “Addie” Wood. She was told
that her brother Paul “fell like a true soldier fighting for his country,” but
such patriotic comfort could not prevent her from turning to grief.[36]
Even this early in the war, Americans were becoming aware of the level of
tragedy they had unleashed.
Colonel
Brown notably discussed the 6th New York volunteers “briefly” in his full
report. In a separate letter to Brigadier-General Lorenzo Thomas, he explained
that he wanted to avoid giving the New Yorkers “the stigma of cowardice.” He
argued that while the men performed poorly, the blame was on the officers, who
he considered grossly “unfit” for their positions. An artillery officer backed
up his commander’s criticisms. He said that when he led his men up to, he found
“so many men wandering around, some of them without arms” with officers “who
did not even attempt to organize the men or move forward with them.” Brown
recommended that the regiment be disbanded, with the men and handful of good
officers transferred to other units.[37]
The 6th’s regimental history had some own criticism of its own unit.
While its account of the battle claimed that the main retreat towards Fort
Pickens was orderly, it said that 100 or so other men headed in another
direction and tried to fight it out, making the Confederate halt. The author,
Gouverneur Morris, believed that if the Confederates had been allowed to pursue
the men towards the fort, its large guns would have cut them up.[38]
On
the Confederate side Major General Braxton Bragg put a very positive spin on
the battle. He claimed that Anderson’s attack had “chastised” the Federals for
their “annoyances.” He exaggerated the scale of the damage to the Federal camp.
It was understandable to believe that many of their stores were burned up with
their tents, as the Confederates didn’t stick around long enough to see when
the fires were put out. However, the Confederates reported that many artillery
pieces were spiked, a lie as Federal reports made a point to acknowledge that
their foes had failed to disable any of their big guns.[39]
Bragg’s
reputation rose, much to his delight. The participants in the battle had also
been happy to finally get in on the action, another objective of Bragg’s. They
presented their commander an array of gifts looted from the New Yorkers, among
them a “beautiful crucifix.” Within several years Bragg would be viewed very
differently.[40]
After
a few days of reports and the return of some of the dead from Santa Rosa
Island, the Confederates estimated 30-40 killed and 40 taken prisoner. Anderson
listed 16 of his returning men as wounded. There was a minor controversy about
some of the dead returned by the Federals. Observers realized that 11 of the
returned bodies had been shot in the head despite the presence of other wounds.
This indicated that the Federals had purposefully finished off wounded and
harmless Confederates.[41]
Tensions
were understandably high after the fighting of a proper battle. Major Zealous
Tower of the US Engineers worriedly noted that the Confederates at Pensacola
were amassing more artillery. He estimated that on October 11 they had 18 field
guns, 6 of them rifled. Up to 30 Columbiads and 10 mortars also came by rail.
Tower claimed that this firepower could “possibly shake the walls” of Fort
Pickens’ old architecture. He recommended that the Navy send more steamships to
prevent any siege or fatal bombardment and attack.[42]
Colonel
Brown and the rest of the Union leadership worked out a response to the
assault. A month later on November 22 and 23, the big guns on Fort Pickens and
the naval vessels launched a major bombardment in Pensacola Harbor. The
objective was to damage the Confederates’ coastal fortifications and discourage
any further amphibious assaults. Colonel Henry Brown candidly expressed his
emotions in his report on the bombardment. It was a retaliation for the attack
on Santa Rosa Island, an act of “punishing the perpetrators of an insult on my
country’s flag.”[43] The
bombardment was certainly intense, but casualties were light, with 40
Confederates and 15 Federals becoming casualties. It can be seen that the
Confederacy got the word of it, but its artillery at the Naval Yard remained
nearly untouched, thanks to Bragg’s foresight He had moved the guns further
away from each other to make harder targets.[44]
This
was the last major action in Pensacola Harbor. Over time the Confederate
presence weakened, its men heading to other fronts of the war. The Confederate
War Department reasoned that the Pensacola Naval Yard could not be held and by
mid-March it was abandoned to the Union. For its part the Union was satisfied
to have the harbor to itself and focus elsewhere. Except for a major offensive
early in 1864, it had no interest in any major operations against Confederate
Florida.[45]
Bibliography
“The Battle of
Santa Rosa Island.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/battle-santarosa.htm.
Dougherty,
Kevin. Strangling the Confederacy:
Coastal Operations in the American Civil War. Philadelphia: Casemate, 2010.
Harper’s Weekly, November 9, 1861. http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/battle-santa-rosa-island.htm.
McWhitney,
Grady. Braxton Bragg and Confederate
Defeat. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1991.
Morris,
Gouverneur. The History of a Volunteer
Regiment: Being a Succinct Account of the Organization, Services, and
Adventures of the Sixth Regiment New York Volunteers Infantry known as Wilson
Zouaves. New York: Veteran Volunteer Publishing Co., 1891.
“Santa Rosa
Island – October 9, 1861.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/santa-rosa-island-october-9-1861.
United States. The War of
the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies Vol. VI. Washington D.C.
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray. Baton Rouge: Louisiana
State University Press, 1959.
[1] Grady
McWhitney, Braxton Bragg and Confederate
Defeat, (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1991), 191-192. Kevin
Dougherty, Strangling the Confederacy:
Coastal Operations in the American Civil War, (Philadelphia: Casemate,
2010), 133-134
[2] Dougherty, Strangling the Confederacy, 132; “Santa Rosa Island – October 9,
1861.” https://www.battlefields.org/learn/maps/santa-rosa-island-october-9-1861.
[3] Dougherty, Strangling the Confederacy, 133.
[4] Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 39.
[5] Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 35, 45, 51.
[6] Dougherty, Strangling the Confederacy, 134.
[7] Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 52-54; Dougherty, Strangling the Confederacy, 134.
[8] McWhitney. Braxton Bragg, 192.
[9] Ezra J. Warner, Generals in Gray, (Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State University Press, 1959), 8-9.
[10] McWhitney. Braxton Bragg, 193.
[11] OR VI, 460-461.
[12] OR VI, 439,
441, 561.
[13] Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 57.
[14] OR VI, 439.
[15] OR VI, 461;
Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 59.
[16] OR VI, 447-448.
[17] OR VI, 448.
[18] OR VI, 447; Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 35.
[19] Harper’s Weekly, November 9, 1861, http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/battle-santa-rosa-island.htm.
[20] McWhitney. Braxton Bragg, 194.
[21] OR VI, 440.
[22] OR VI, 459.
[23] OR VI, 449.
[24] OR VI, 439-441, 444-445, 449,
456.
[25] Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 61.
[26] OR VI, 445.
[27] OR VI, 454.
[28] OR VI, 454.
[29] OR VI, 451-452.
[30] OR VI, 445, 453.
[31] OR VI, 462.
[32] OR VI, 459.
[33] OR VI, 439.
[34] OR VI, 440, 450; Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 65.
[35] OR VI, 439, 441, 458.
[36] “The Battle of Santa Rosa
Island.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/battle-santarosa.htm.
[37] OR VI, 442,
457.
[38] Morris, Wilson Zouaves, 60.
[39] OR VI, 458.
[40] McWhitney, Braxton Bragg, 195.
[41] OR VI, 458-459, 462.
[42] OR VI, 443-444.
[43] OR VI, 457,459.
[44] McWhitney, Braxton Bragg, 196-197.
[45] Dougherty, Strangling the Confederacy, 134-135.
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