The Museum of Southern History

THE STORY OF JOHN JACKSON DICKISON AND HOW THE EFFORTS OF ONE MAN KEPT FLORIDA FROM FALLING UNDER FEDERAL OCCUPATION DURING THE WAR FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE.
THE CONFEDERATE SWAMP FOX

          Captain John Jackson Dickison with a very limited force was largely responsible for keeping Florida from falling under Federal occupation during the war for Southern independence.

In 1860 the white population of Florida was only 77,747, yet Florida furnished approximately 15,000 men to the Confederate Army. The Florida brigades in the Army of Northern Virginia and Army of Tennessee earned an enviable reputation and suffered staggering casualties. To keep these units in the field, by 1864 most of the Confederate Troops serving in Florida had been sent north. The Federal Govern­ment thought Florida could easily be recaptured, yet at the end of the war Tallahassee remained the only unoccupied Southern state capital and nearly all of the stale was firmly in Confederate hands. Most of the credit for holding on to Florida belonged to one man - John Jackson Dickison.

When Florida seceded from the Union in 1861, Dickison began the formation of a cavalry company in Marion County. Before the organization was completed, however, John M. Martin, a leading citizen of the county, offered to join if it was con­verted to artillery. Dickison agreed to this with the provision that Martin become captain of the com­pany while he served as first lieutenant.

Dickison at this time was about 40. Born in what is now Monroe County, West Virginia, he moved at an early age to South Carolina. Having prospered in business, he moved to Marion County, Florida, in 1856, settling near Orange Lake, a small community north of Ocala. He became one of the prominent planters of the area. Dickison had four children by two marriages. Two of his sons, Charles and R. I. served under their father in the Confederate Army. Sergeant Charles Dickison was killed in action at Palatka on August 2, 1864.

From his later writings - and even some of his contemporary battle reports - Dickison seems to have been a rather pompous individual. This one minor frailty was more than offset by his personal courage and superb leadership ability.

While stationed near Jacksonville in May 1862, the Marion Light Artillery reorganized for the war. This necessitated another election of officers and for some unknown reason Dickison was defeated for re-election as first lieutenant. The blow was a severe one to both Dickison and Captain Martin. At Dicki­son's request, Martin wrote to Brigadier General Joseph Finegan, the district commander, requesting for him an appointment as quartermaster. Martin went on to say that if Dickison was thrown out of the service it would cause him much mortification and pecuniary loss.

Dickison was released from duty with the Marion Light Artillery on May 29, 1862. Although it had been a blow to Dickison's ego, his forced separation from the company led to his fame. Luckily, nothing more was heard about the requested appointment as quartermaster, and Dickison went back to his original plan of raising a cavalry company. General Finegan authorized Dickison on July 2 to raise the last com­pany needed for the formation of the 2^nd Florida Cavalry Regiment. The company, originally called the Leo Dragoons, was mustered into the Confederate service as Company H, 2d Florida Cavalry, on August 21. Dickison became captain, William H. McCardell the first lieutenant, and W. J. McEaddy the second lieutenant.

Three days later the company moved to Gainesville, where they remained a week procuring arms and equipment. Dickison's company was then stationed in the Jacksonville area and skirmished with the enemy when the city fell on October 5. A few days later the company was shifted about seventy miles up the St. Johns River to garrison Palatka.

From this time until the end of the war Dickison was a constant thorn in the side of the Union Army and Navy. His company, along with various other units temporarily under his command, patrolled the areas along the St. Johns and eastward to the coast, ambushed Union foraging expeditions, and captured pickets and isolated bodies of troops. Even when he was not actually attacking the enemy, fear of Dicki­son and his men kept the Union forces for the most part bottled up in St. Augustine and a few scattered posts. The Federals could occupy the towns, but they were never able effectively to control the country­side. The Federals came to call Dickison "Dixie" and referred to the vast territory west of the St. Johns as “Dixieland." It was during the last year of the war, however, that Dickison scored his most spectacular successes.

Dickison's command was ordered to the Tampa Bay area early in 1864, and had just arrived there when word was received of a major Federal advance from Jacksonville. After marching day and night for 575 miles to Tampa and back, with little rest, Dickison's men were too late by twelve hours to take part in the Battle of Olustee (1), on February 20, 1864. Dickison thus missed the one full-scale battle fought in Florida, but his command managed to capture forty enemy stragglers as the beaten Federals retreated to Jacksonville.

On April 30 the Confederates learned that a Union force was at Fort Butler in Volusia County. Dickison was ordered to keep an eye on it. He also learned that there was a Federal garrison at Welaka. Taking two men with him on May 18, Dickison con­cealed himself in the river swamp opposite Welaka, remaining there all day watching the enemy. The next day at sundown he moved with thirty-five men under Lieutenant McEaddy and Captain Henry A. Gray and twenty-five men of Company B, 2d Florida Cavalry. It was a nine-mile march to the St. Johns and under cover of night they crossed in three small rowboats. Another seven miles brought them to Welaka. Placing two detachments on the flanks of the enemy, Dickison moved in on the center with another detachment, capturing the pickets and com­pletely surprising the outpost. He then demanded the surrender of the post. The captain and a portion of Company B, 17th Connecticut Infantry, meekly laid down their guns. In all, the Confederates bagged thirty-nine prisoners without loss to themselves.

Dickison took his prisoners back across the river. After resting a few hours, he informed his men that he was immediately going after the Federal post at Fort Butler, about fifteen miles away and at the opposite end of Lake George. The entire command volunteered for the expedition, but Dickison took only twenty-five men. After some misadventures in the inky dark, the outpost, manned by a detachment of the 157th New York Infantry, was surprised and captured without resistance.

The capture of the two outposts caused consterna­tion in the Union ranks. On the morning of May 21, Brigadier General George H. Gordon, commanding the District of Florida, ordered the troops opposite Volusia and Saunders on the river withdrawn. Gordon then started up the river by boat with 200 men of the Jacksonville garrison, accompanied by the gunboat Ottawa and the armed steam tug Columbine. At Picolata he picked up six companies of the 35th United States Colored Troops and the remainder of the 157th New York Infantry, bringing his force up to about 650 or 700 men. The troops landed opposite Palatka and advanced overland while the Columbine proceeded up the river.

Dickison was in Palatka at the time, but he was unable to get a shot at the enemy across the mile­ wide river. When the Columbine started upstream, Dickison pursued along the shore with fifty of his cavalrymen and two guns of Company A, Milton Light Artillery, under 1^st Lieutenant Mortimer W. Bates. The Confederates arrived at Brown's Landing (4) five minutes too late to engage the enemy. Dickison had gone ahead and concealed himself in a large cypress tree. The Columbine passed within fifty feet of him and he had a good look at its armament.

Word then arrived from the troops left at Palatka (5) that the Ottawa and one of the transports were also coming upriver. Dickison halted his command about 300 yards from Brown's Landing. Bates unlimbered his guns and Dickison dismounted the cavalry and ordered them into the swamp to protect the artillery.

The Ottawa had come upriver to support the Columbine and Gordon had ordered the transport Charles Houghton to accompany the gunboat for pro­tection. The gunboat anchored at Brown's Landing just as the sun set and the transport dropped anchor just astern. Lieutenant Commander S. Livingston Breese, the captain of the Ottawa, not knowing why the transport was there, took the dinghy and went over to her. He had just boarded her when he heard the report of a field piece fired at the Ottawa. Breese jumped into the dinghy and was back on board his own ship before she had time to return the fire.

Dickison had just put Bates's guns in position when the two Union ships anchored. Just as the Confed­erates were ready to open fire the enemy lighted up their ships, making them fine targets. The two Con­federate guns got off twenty-eight rounds before Breese was able to get his guns in action. Firing at the flashes of the Confederate guns, Breese believed he was being attacked by a battery of four. Soon after the big 150-pounders of the gunboat opened fire Dickison ordered Bates to withdraw his battery. The Ottawa had been hit thirty-seven times by grapeshot and had a shell through her smokestack which carried away the mainstay. Breese slipped the anchor chain as soon as possible and continued firing long after the Confederates had disappeared. Neither side suf­fered any casualties.

The following day, May 23, Dickison selected sixteen sharpshooters and with the artillery proceeded to Horse Landing (3), about six miles upstream from Brown's Landing. The guns were placed in position on the wharf while the horses and limbers were sent to the rear. The sharpshooters took their places behind cypress trees to the left of the guns.

The Columbine, Acting Ensign Frank Sanborn commanding, was a converted steam tug armed with two 20-pounder Parrott rifles. Before she left the land­ing opposite Palatka, sand bags had been piled on her deck to make her a little less vulnerable. A detachment of two officers and twenty-five men of the 35th United States Colored Troops under Captain Edward S. Daniels were placed on board. As the Columbine returned downstream on the evening of May 23, Sanborn beat "to quarters" in expectation of an ambush. Upon turning the point just above Horse Landing she opened fire on the landing and the road as soon as the guns could be brought to bear, slowed down, and lowered the torpedo catchers.

Dickison's men waited quietly as the Union boat drew nearer. When the Columbine was directly opposite the landing and less than 100 yards from shore, both of Bates's guns opened fire.

Sanborn instantly gave orders to "hook on," but Bates's second shot cut the wheel chains, and at the same time the pilot abandoned the wheel and jumped over the bow. The helpless vessel drifted to a point about 200 yards from the Confederate battery and 100 yards from the sharpshooters and ran aground on a mud bank. Another shell hit the main steam pipe causing a great loss of steam. Sanborn left the hurricane deck and took charge of the forward gun, sending Acting Master's Mate W. B. Spencer aft on the quarterdeck to ship the tiller and hook the relieving tackles, at the same time stopping and backing the engine.

Acting Third Assistant Engineer Henry J. Johnson now reported the loss of steam and Spencer came back to report that the quarterdeck had been swept by grapeshot and the sharpshooters' bullets. The after gun had been abandoned and Acting Master's Mate John Davis killed. Leaving the forward gun, Sanborn hurried to the quarterdeck. He quickly saw that the Columbine could not be moved and their only hope was in driving off the Confederates. He again took charge of the forward gun and sent Spencer to rally the infantry guard, which was going ever the side. Spencer managed to stop them, but Johnson reported that one of the after frame timbers had been shot away and locked the wheel, making the engine useless. Captain Daniels had been wounded and the sharpshooters were picking off the men at the forward gun. Sanborn held a hurried conference with the surviving officers and they decided to sur­render. The flag had been shot away at the beginning of the action, but Sanborn hoisted a white flag and then went ashore to formally surrender his vessel to Dickison. The Columbine had lost one officer killed, five men wounded, and sixteen killed or missing. Apparently several soldiers and sailors drowned attempting to escape. Because of the proximity of the Ottawa, Dickison quickly had as much property as possible removed and then burned the Columbine to the waterline.

Dickison’s biggest battle of the war (2) came three months later. Early on the morning of August 15 two Federal columns marched out of Baldwin. Colonel William H. Noble had under his command three regiments of United States Colored Troops, twenty men of the 75th Ohio Mounted Infantry, and three guns of the 3^rd Rhode Island Artillery. The other column, commanded by Colonel Andrew L. Harris of the 75^th Ohio Mounted Infantry, consisted of the remainder of his regiment and one gun of the 3^rd Rhode Island Artillery.

After following separate routes, the two columns met that evening at Trail Ridge. Harris soon resumed his march, adding to his fifteen men of the 75th Ohio who had been with Noble. The column reached Starke at 2:30 a.m. on August 16. Here it was joined by Capt. Joseph Morton with two com­panies of the 4^th Massachusetts Cavalry, and a detach­ment of Unionist Floridians, totaling altogether 104 officers and men. The Federals camped at Starke until daylight and destroyed some Confederate commissary stores and rail