BALTIMORE, March 24. – Four deserters arrived by the Old
Point boat to-day, from the rebel army, all citizens of Eastern States who were
made prisoners by the rebels last May, at Cedar Keys, Florida, where they had
gone with the schooner Slug, to load with timber, which was confiscated. The schooner was loaded with cotton, but she
was subsequently burnt to escape a Federal cruiser.
The four men were obliged to enlist in the 2d Florida
regiment, last January. The regiment was
ordered to Richmond, where they arrived the day after the battle of Bull
Run. They were finally sent to Yorktown. They state that Mcgruder’s [sic] force around
Yorktown is composed of about a dozen regiments, and that he has not over 4,000
effective fighting men. But at Great
Bethel and other points through the peninsula he has not less than fifteen
thousand men. – There are some heavy guns near Yorktown.
During the last few weeks these forces have been engaged in
building casemates, but not of a very formidable character.
– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye,
Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, March 29, 1862, p. 4
2 comments:
We don't hear much about the Civil War in Florida. There's not even a good general history. If you have any more tidbits, please post!
Thanks for all your great comments Sean! Transcribing all of these newspaper articles is a slow process, but you can be assured if Florida is mentioned in any of them it will be here. Keep checking back!
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