Freedom by the Sword - US Army Center Of Military History

Southern Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, 1863–1865 141
eral Canby in New Orleans but acknowledged that the movements of the Confederate
commander, Col. Dabney H. Maury, were “rather mysterious.” Maury may
have been part of “the whole gang of Confederates” that the Union force hoped to
capture when it steamed away from Fort Barrancas on the morning of 25 October,
but the record is unclear. The expedition’s commander divided his force in two in
order to invite an enemy attack, but one of the parties missed its objective by six or
seven miles, spoiling the stratagem. On its way back to Pensacola, the expedition
stopped at the little town of Bagdad, Florida, and seized about eighty-five thousand
feet of lumber. 45
A seven-company Union garrison at Cedar Key, 115 miles north of the entrance
to Tampa Bay, remained quiet until February 1865. Then commanding officer
of the 2d Florida Cavalry conceived a plan for a raid on Levy County, the closest
point on the mainland to his island base. The object was to capture Confederate
prisoners, impound draft animals, free slaves, and “capture the train that arrives at
Bronson every Saturday at eleven with supplies.” The 2d USCI contributed two
hundred men to the expedition. Led by the regiment’s Maj. Benjamin C. Lincoln,
they reached the Suwannee River on 10 February at a point about ten miles inland,
where they routed some Confederate “cow cavalry” (troops charged with rounding
up and driving beef cattle destined for the Confederate main armies) and destroyed
supplies. By this time, about fifty former slaves had attached themselves to the expedition.
Major Lincoln sent a company to escort them to Depot Key, the Florida
Railroad’s terminus. Finding that the road to the railroad station at Bronson lay
“most of the way through swamp,” the rest of the expedition turned around, leaving
one company of the 2d USCI as a rearguard. On the morning of 13 February,
it came under attack by about one hundred twenty Confederate cavalry. Hearing
the firing, the main body of troops returned and by noon succeeded in driving off
the enemy. 46
The Union side reported losses amounting to twenty-six killed, wounded, and
missing in the five-hour fight, while the Confederates claimed to have inflicted
“about seventy” casualties. The Confederate commander admitted that his troops
had suffered five wounded, but the Union commander claimed that they left two
corpses on the field. Each officer estimated his opponent’s numbers at more than
double their actual strength. 47
Meanwhile, recent events in other theaters had changed the shape of the war
and troops in the Department of the Gulf were gathering themselves for one last
effort. In December 1864, Sherman’s army had reached the Atlantic coast at Savannah,
Georgia. Far inland, Union troops led by Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas
had inflicted a stunning defeat on General John B. Hood’s Confederates, killing,
wounding, or capturing 6,252 of them at Franklin, Tennessee, on 30 November
45 Ibid., p. 448 (“the whole”), 449, and pt. 2, p. 323 (“rather mysterious”); vol. 52, pt. 1, p. 648.
Lt Col F. L. Hitchcock to Lt Col W. S. Abert, 22 Sep 1864 (“wormy and”) (H–50–DG–1864), Entry
1756, pt. 1, RG 393, NA.
46 OR, ser. 1, vol. 49, pt. 1, p. 40 (“most of”); Maj E. C. Weeks to Sir [Capt E. B. Tracy], 8 Feb
1865 (“capture the”), Entry 2269, pt. 1, RG 393, NA.
47 OR, ser. 1, vol. 49, pt. 1, p. 43.