With horse and rider silhouetted on a backdrop of scrub
oak trees by the setting sun, or caught in the glory of a sun rising over swamp
or prairie, the unique "Cow Cavalry" is immortalized in Florida
history. These cavalrymen were "cowboy soldiers" with a place in
history no other military unit can claim. These were the men and animals who put
their footprints and hoofprints on the sands of early Florida. Perhaps the often
overlooked but very significant role of Florida's Cow Cavalry during the War
Between the States can be clarified by examining the personality of Florida.
Juan de Leon, the Spanish explorer, reached present-day St. Augustine in
1513. He called this new land "La Florida" in honor of Spain's
Eastertime Feast of the Flowers. His colonization attempt failed under an
onslaught of unfriendly Indians. However, it did give Europeans knowledge about
this new land and its relationship to Mexico, Peru and Central America, places
from which Spain regularly shipped gold and silver. Spanish vessels sailed the
straits of the Florida Keys and up the Gulf Stream. Pirates preyed on these
ships. Hurricanes slammed the ships to pieces on the reefs and shoals along the
coast of Florida.
In 1559 the French began exploring Florida and in 1564, Fort Caroline was
established at the mouth of the St. Johns River near present-day Jacksonville.
This French activity caused Spain to accelerate her plans for colonization.
Pedro Menendez arrived in 1565 at a place he called San Augustin (later St.
Augustine) and established the first permanent settlement. The English were also
eager for the wealth of this New World and in 1586 Sir Francis Drake sacked and
burned St. Augustine.
Florida was sought after and wooed viciously by these there major countries.
Britain finally gained control of Florida in 1763 in exchange for Havana, Cuba.
First, England split the land into parts; East Florida, with its capital at St.
Augustin, and West Florida, with its seat at Pensacola. Both Floridas remained
loyal to Great Britain throughout the War for American Independence. Spain
regained Florida through the settlement of the American Revolution. When the
British evacuated Florida, pioneers from other states cam pouring in. Many were
lured by land grants. Instead of becoming more Spanish, the Floridas became more
American. Finally, Spain ceded the Florida to the United States in 1821.
General Andrew Jackson was sent to Florida in 1821 to establish the new
Territorial Government for the United States. Soon the two Floridas were merged
into one with a capital city in a new place called Tallahassee. By 1830, the
territory had a population of 34,730, many of whom had come from Georgia,
Virginia and the Carolinas. Of the population almost half were slaves. Indian
removal became popular because Indians occupied lands the new Floridians wanted.
The Seminole Wars resulted and the Federal government began to remove the
Seminoles west to what is now Oklahoma. Some Indians escaped into the Everglades
and there they caved out a way of life away from the settlers.
Florida became the twenty-seventh state of the United States March 3, 1845.
The slavery issue came to dominate the affairs of the state. Most voters did not
object to slavery and were angry about the growing feeling against the
previously accepted "peculiar institution." Returns of the popular
vote in the 1860 presidential election showed no votes for Abraham Lincoln.
Florida left the Union on January 10, 1861. The War Between the States had come.
Florida was not ravaged as were other Southern states. No decisive battles were
fought on Florida soil. The state did furnish 15,000 troops and large amounts of
supplies to the Cause of the Confederacy. Florida's salt, beef, pork and cotton
supported the Confederacy to the end. Tallahassee was the only Southern capital
east of the Mississippi River to avoid capture during the War.
Florida was an important source of two items much needed during the War -
cattle and salt. Cattle went to market live and after being slaughtered, salt
was vital to preserve as well as to season the meat. Salt making in Florida was
of some importance before the War but without any great commercial significance.
Bit when the blockade cut off the imports, the need for salt was greatly
increased by the war - created demand. Not only was it required for preserving
fresh meat, it was also used to prepare hides for tanning in the leather -
making process. Florida had the best conditions for extracting salt from
seawater. Commercial salt operations centered on the Gulf Coast from Manatee to
Pensacola. Salt sold for as much as a dollar a pound and as many as 5,000 men
were employed in the industry.
Cattle growing in Florida became the chief source of beef for the Confederate
Army. In 1864 the Confederacy hoped for 25,000 cattle, 10,000 hogs, 100,000
gallons of syrup and 20,000,000 pounds of fish from Florida. Captain James McKay
of Tampa was commissary of Florida's Fifth Confederate Military District. His
chief responsibility was to keep the supply of cattle coming from Florida to the
Confederate Armies. Included in McKay's district was Polk County. A Polk County
tax roll, dated 1862, indicates the size and number of herds: John Lanier, 2,700
head; N.R. Raulerson, 2,515 head; William Holden 1,800 head; W.H. Willingham
1,550 head; Berrian Platt, 1,015; J.M. Pierce, 830 head; John Skipper, 730 head;
Albert J. Hendry and George Washington Hendry, 590 head.
McKay's drovers pushed the skittish range cows northward following the old
military roads. They moved toward Gainesville, Baldwin, Atlanta and Savannah. It
was a tough job keeping the wild cattle together. Wolves, bears and panthers
frequently spooked the cattle and killed strays. Cattle were driven north from
the prairies at the rate of 600 a week from April to August. The drive took
about forty-five days. A 700 pound animal lost about 150 pounds in the process.
A considerable number of cattlemen turned Union because they could sell their
cattle at Fort Myers for United States money or gold. By 1863, Union raiding
parties and Confederate deserters were hampering cattle drives. One community
used for bedding down cattle on the long drives was the tiny hamlet of Orlando.
Settlers and cattlemen often found themselves forced into a corner by the Union
soldiers. The principal reason for this struggle was not one of territory but
rather of supply - livestock.
To protect the cattle drives and to provide protection to the settlers of
Florida, "Cow Cavalry" or "Cattle Guard" was organized by
Captain McKay in 1864 at the encouragement of the Confederate War Department.
The "Cow Cavalry" units were veterans from earlier battles, ranchers,
cowboys and settlers. Most were local and stayed in their communities where they
could provide for their families. They came from Polk, Hillsborough, manatee and
Hernando Counties. They were loyal to the Confederacy, and they knew the terrain
over which they rode. Their history was short, but significant. They were not
unlike Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in character, skill and background;
however, there were no Ivy League polo players among the "Cow
Cavalry." They were combined into a battalion commanded by Colonel Charles
I. Munnerlyn. One unit was assigned to Mellonville (Sanford) with instructions
to clear the counties of Orange and Volusia of "torries" who were
driving "rebel-beef" to the Federals at St. Augustine.
The Little Battle of Bowlegs Creek was fought just south of Ft. Meade between
the "Cow Cavalry" (also called Co. B. 1st Battalion, Fla. Special
Cavalry, C.S.A.) and Company A, Second Florida Cavalry, USA. By early
1864, the Union soldiers were raiding up and down the Peace River Valley.
They burned homes and other buildings, destroyed crops, took horses and cattle
and other supplies that would be useful to the USA Army. On April 7, 1864,
the final skirmish of the campaign was fought on Bowlegs Creek where the Old
Military Road crossed. One Confederate soldier, Jim
Lanier, was killed and probably buried on site in an unmarked grave.
The Union troops then crossed Peace River to the west side and burned the Tillis
homestead.
While the decisive battle between Richmond and Washington was being fought, a
miniature war between Fort Myers, an elaborate fort built during the Indian Wars
and reactivated by the Union Army, and Fort Meade, a Confederate post, was also
being fought.
There were unites of the "Cow Cavalry" stationed at Brooksville,
Cork (Tampa), Fort Meade, and many other locations. One of the best
commendations for the "Cow Cavalry" was from L.B. Northrop to the
Confederate Secretary of War. Northrop wrote, "the services rendered by
this battalion have been of the most important character…it has guarded a line
of 300 miles, though partially organized and equipped…it has checked
desertions and restored the confidence of the people…it operated in a country
infested with traitors and deserters, extending from the Gulf to the Atlantic.
They have brought out a large number of cattle which, without their aid, could
not have been secured. The efficiency of this battalion, both as a guard
of the county and as a means of procuring supplies, depends entirely on the
detailed men connected with it. They, a small number, have been selected
with special reference to their fitness for the duties to be performed…whose
services would otherwise be lost to the Confederacy. Take away these men
and you destroy the battalion, virtually lose possession of the country, and
certainly all the cattle in it…" The peculiar problems confronting
Florida's Confederate commissaries in procuring beef must have been more
formidable than any other supply problem faced during the waning years of the
War.
With the surrender of the Confederate armies on April 9, 1865, the "Cow
Cavalry" passed in memory, leaving in history its unequal contribution to
the Confederate States of America
