Historic Tree Grove: Olustee Longleaf Pine

Longleaf Pine
Our Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is a seedling from the venerable old pines at the site of the Olustee Battlefield. With a lifespan up to 300 years, these pines take 100 to 150 years to fully mature. Longleaf pines are very fire tolerant and their habitats are regular home to brush fires that quickly burn up fallen pine needles and other crowding tree species.

Longleaf pines once covered some 30 to 60 million acres of the Coastal Southeast United States, several hundred years of heavy logging have taken their toll on a tree that was once a dominant species in Florida. The tall, straight trunks of these trees were often used as masts for sailing vessels. You can learn more about the longleaf pine at the Conifers.org Longleaf Pine page.

The Civil War Battle of Olustee
 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.

This lithograph of the battle was printed by Kurz and Allison
in 1894, but is known to contain many historical inaccuracies.
Learn more here.

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.

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 Longleaf Pine
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.

Flatwoods Garden
The Flatwoods Garden contains native plants that occur in the same uplands habitats as longleaf pines and are likely some of the plants that would have been found in the flatwoods habitat where the Battle of Olustee was fought. Several saw palmettos, like those that soldiers would have battled along with each other, are found in the garden. The garden also contains large native shrubs like Coralbean (Erythrina herbacea), American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), and Sparkleberry (Vaccinium arborium), Bahama Cassia (Cassia bahamensis), and Buttonsage (Lantana involucrata).

The garden also contains native wildflowers that vary by season, including:

• Blanketflower (Gallardia spp.)
• Beach sunflower (Helianthus debilis)
• Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strillagosa)
• Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
• Tickseed (Coreopsis leavenworthii)
• Elliot's Lovegrass (Eragrostis elliottii)
• Purple Lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis)
• Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)
• Rosinweed (Silphium compositum)
• Dwarf Ironweed (Vernonia lettermannii 'Iron Butterfly'

Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens)

Olustee Longleaf Pine Art and Artists

Artwork for the information sign was provided by local artist Holly Bird. 

Bench artwork was created by Alecia Chen. 

Artist's Statement: Hand-drawn in a digital painting software called Paint Tool SAI and partially edited in Photoshop CS5, the Battle of Olustee is depicted with the respective Union and Confederate flags on either side of the battlefield. The pine forest is drawn is it was in the battle, as are the horses that can be interpreted as wild or escaped war horses. The flags and uniforms indicate the allegiance of each army, and the angles of the flags draw the eye to the center, focusing attention on the battlefield itself rather than any specific side. As the Battle of Olustee took place in a pine forest, pine trees frame the field.

About the Artist: I was born in 1996 and started drawing at the age of 7. I am a self-taught artist with several supplementary elective courses in high school. My preferred mediums include graphite, paint (both watercolor and acrylic), and most recently, digital. My works usually revolve around themes of animals, birds in particular, and fantasy creatures.