| Headquarters Military District of Florida |
| Lake City |
| August 12, 1864
|
| |
| General S. Cooper |
| |
| General, |
| Having applied to Maj. Gen. Samuel
Jones, commanding Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and
Florida, for re-enforcements, which he informs me he is unable to
furnish, I feel it my duty to lay before you the condition of
affairs in this district, and to bring to your attention certain
facts, which, in my judgment, show how eminently proper it is that
these re-enforcements should be sent from some quarter. The most
valuable portions of Florida
are the middle counties of the peninsula, Alachua, Marion, and other counties in that vicinity. Its productive capacity is
very great, and the character of its supplies of inestimable value
to the Confederacy. The sugar and sirup there produced, cannot, I
believe, be supplied from any other portion of the country in our
possession. From official and other data, I learn that the product
of army supplies will amount annually to 25,000 head of beeves,
equal to 10,000,000 pounds; 1,000 hogsheads of sugar; 100,000
gallons of sirup, equal by exchange to 4,000,000 pounds bacon;
10,000 head of hogs, equal to 1,000,000 pounds of bacon; 50,000
sides of leather, equal to ------- pairs shoes; 100,000 barrels of
fish (if labor afforded), equal to 20,000,000 pounds fish. Oranges
(sweet and sour), lemons, limes, arrowroot, salt, blockade goods,
iron, &c. Counting the bacon at one-third of a pound, and beef
and fish at one pound to the ration, there are of meat rations,
45,000,000, equal to the supply of 250,000 men for 180 days (six
months).
|
| It must be borne in mind that by a
proper system of exchanges, such as cloth for sugar and sirup, and
these for bacon, meat can be secured at a much less cost to the
Confederacy than in any other mode. The number of barrels of fish is
a mere estimate of those that are acquainted with the fisheries. Old
fisheries and new ones have been ordered to be opened by the
Secretary of War, by indorsement, dated January 20, 1864, on a
communication from Mr. John S. Wright, addressed to Maj. J. F.
Cummings, and referred by him to the Chief of the Bureau of
Subsistence. The protection of these fisheries by that order
devolves upon myself. |
| The peninsula
of Florida, presenting as it does quite one-half of the coast of the
Confederate States, affords great opportunities for evading the
enemy's blockaders, and bringing in supplies for the Government.
Many deserters from the armies of Virginia and Northern Georgia, as
well as from the troops of Florida, are collected in the swamps and
fastnesses of Taylor, La Fayette, Levy, and other counties, and have
organized, with runaway negroes, bands for the purpose of committing
depredations upon the plantations and crops of loyal citizens and
running off their slaves. These depredatory bands have even
threatened the cities of Tallahassee, Madison, and Marianna. |
| It is very desirable to complete the
railroad connection between Live Oak, in Florida, and Lawton,
Ga., thus uniting the Florida
system of railroads with that of Georgia. To procure the iron for that purpose it is absolutely necessary
that we hold Baldwin, which is at the crossing of the road from
Fernandina to Cedar Keys {the Florida RR}, and the road from
Jacksonville
to Tallahassee
{the Florida, Atlantic & Gulf
Central RR and the Pensacola & Georgia RR}. The enemy now hold that position, which is fortified on all sides.
The force of the enemy, as obtained from reliable sources, is about
2,000 at Baldwin and 1,500 at Jacksonville. All the troops that I have been able to concentrate amount to
------. These consist of reserves, dismounted cavalry, and
artillery acting as infantry, with a few cavalry, and six pieces of
artillery. There are other troops of all arms, amounting to about
180 men, under the command of Captain Dickison, in the neighborhood
of Gainesville, acting as a corps of observation and for protection. In order to
concentrate the force I now have, and which is stationed on the
South Fork of the Saint Mary's River, I have been obliged to strip
Middle and
West Florida
of all force, even for their defense against raids of deserters and
negroes. I do not deem it prudent to attack the force at Baldwin, with the available mixed command now at my disposal, with all the
odds of numbers and position against me. Yet I deem it all important
that the enemy should be dislodged from Baldwin. To effect this desirable end, I think that a force of 5,000 men,
of whom a considerable portion should be veterans, should be
concentrated at or near the Saint Mary's trestle. I specially
request that of this force the three regiments that were ordered to
accompany me to the south, namely, the Fifth, Forty-seventh, and
Sixty-fifth Georgia Regiments (the latter of which was styled in the
order the Fifty-fifth Regiment), shall constitute a part. The Fifth
and Forty-seventh Georgia Regiments are now at Charleston,
S.C.
The Sixty-fifth Georgia Regiment is in the Army of Northern Georgia.
I also recommend that power be granted to me to extend pardon to
deserters, and to organize them into a command, the officers of
which shall be appointed by the President. They occupy the same
portion of country which was held for so many years by the Seminole
Indians, and without a force which cannot be spared from other
quarters, they cannot be dislodged. I believe they are repentant and
disposed to return to allegiance to their Government. As the policy
of severity has been practiced toward them heretofore without
success, I recommend this lenient course. I also recommend that the
Governor of Florida be called upon to furnish all the militia at his
disposal for the defense of the State, and that they be organized
under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel McDonald, with appropriate
rank, to report to me. With this force, these powers, and the proper
disposition, I think the enemy can be driven back to Jacksonville,
at least; the coast of Florida and the interior protected against
the destructive raids of the enemy; the fisheries and the productive
lands of the interior made available to their utmost capacity; the
railroad system, so far as it is valuable to us, preserved, and the
inestimable resources of the peninsula, in meats and sweets, be
rendered available to their utmost capacity. |
| I have taken the liberty of addressing
you directly upon this subject, presuming, perhaps, upon my long
acquaintance with you, personally and officially, feeling assured
that you would place an estimate, not unworthy the importance of the
subject, upon any suggestions or recommendations that I may make. |
| I send this communication directly to
you by the hands of Lieutenant-Colonel McDonald, whom I have advised
to visit Richmond, not only for that purpose, but to communicate in person with you
upon the state of affairs in this military district. I, at the same
time, send forward a duplicate of it through the regular channels. |
| I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient
servant, |
| John K. Jackson |
| Brigadier-General |
|