Olustee Longleaf Pine: The Civil War in North Florida

The Historic Tree Grove at MOSI offers a unique timeline of America's history as it was viewed by silent witnesses, trees. Our 17 trees in the grove are all seedlings of trees that witnessed amazing historic events or were associated with famous historical people. Imagine the sycamore that grew from seeds that went to the moon, a pine that watched a battle of the American Civil War, the sweet gum that saw the flight of the first airplane. What wonders those trees witnessed and those same trees still live long after the events of history have passed. We can still lay our hands on their bark, sit beneath their boughs and take a few minutes out to learn and converse about great deeds and fantastic people which shaped our world.

One of the trees in the frontage of the tree grove is the Olustee Longleaf Pine. With it being so near to the anniversary of this battle, February 20th, it was suggested that this might be a timely tree to highlight.

The Battle of Olustee, also known as the Battle of Ocean Pond, was the largest of the few battles of the American Civil War fought in Florida. On February 20, 1864 Union forces on an expedition into Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Confederate supply routes, and recruit black soldiers met with a force of 5000 Confederate troops.

The battle was a rout for Union forces with nearly 2,000 casualties after the four hours of battle. Many combatants involved in the battle were veterans of larger battles of the Civil War but many of those soldiers reported this battle to be particularly fierce fighting and inhospitable terrain. Fleeing Union troops were mostly unpressed in their retreat and returned to Jacksonville which remained a Union stronghold in Florida until the end of the war.

The Battle of Olustee was fought upon an open pine barren with swampland as a border for the Union battle lines. Many stands of pine remain at the site of this battlefield which is now a Florida state park which hosts a battle reenactment each year in February.

For more information on events leading up to the battle, commands for both armies, the accounts of the battle and the aftermath of nearly 3,000 people left dead in North Florida after the battle please check out the award winning Battle of Olustee website. There is a great compilation of letters, wills and firsthand accounts on that site that speak to the state of Florida in that period of American History.

Olustee Lithograph pictured above: From Wikipedia- The lithograph ... was printed by the firm of Kurz and Allison in 1894. It depicts soldiers of the 8th U.S. Colored Troops advancing against Confederate entrenchments. While frequently used in media about the Battle of Olustee, it is inaccurate as the artist knew little about the battle. The Confederates troops during the battle were well in advance of their prepared positions, and neither side fought from behind fortifications as the battle took place in a pine forest (see map). Plus, there were very few large cleared areas (as also shown incorrectly in the lithograph). The annual reenactment begins in a pine forest so that reenactors can experience fighting as the soldiers did in 1864. However, it then moves into a large cleared area so that spectators also can view the battle.