Thunder on the river : the Civil War in northeast Florida /
Daniel L. Schafer.
- Gainesville : University Press of Florida, (c)2010.
- 1 online resource (xi, 348 pages) : illustrations, maps
Includes bibliographies and index.
Cover; Contents; Preface; 1. "Raise the Banner of Secession": Sectional Debates in Jacksonville, 1845-1861; 2. Jacksonville Prepares for War; 3. A Pathway into the Heart of East Florida; 4. The First Occupation of Jacksonville; 5. Freedom Was as Close as the River; 6. Debacle at St. Johns Bluff, and the Second Occupation of Jacksonville; 7. Unionists in Exile; 8. "These Are United States Troops and They Will Not Dishonor the Flag": The Third Occupation of Jacksonville; 9. "To Redeem Florida from the Rebels": The Fourth Occupation of Jacksonville. 10. Thunder on the River: Torpedo Warfare and the Struggle for Control of Northeast Florida11. The Struggle for Allegiance of Florida Residents; 12. "The Storm Has Ceased": Life for Jacksonville's White Residents during the Federal Occupation; 13. A Troubled Transition to Freedom: Life for Jacksonville's Black Residents during the Federal Occupation; Acknowledgments; Notes; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y.
When the Civil War finally came to North Florida, it did so with an intermittent fury that destroyed much of Jacksonville and scattered its residents. The city was taken four separate times by Federal forces but abandoned after each of the first three occupations. During the fourth occupation, it was used as a staging ground for the ill-fated Union invasion of the Florida interior, which ended in the bloody Battle of Olustee in February 1864. This late Confederate victory, along with the deadly use of underwater mines against the U.S. Navy along the St. Johns, nearly succeeded in ending the f.