New York 47th Infantry, Company E (Union)

Olustee

In February 1864, the commander of the Union Department of the South, Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore, launched an expedition into Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Rebel supply routes, and recruit black soldiers. Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour moved his 5,500-man force from Jacksonville deep into the state, meeting little resistance. On February 20th, as he advanced toward Lake City, he approached Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan's 5,000 Confederates entrenched in an open pine woods near Olustee. Finegan send forw…READ MORE