Monday marks the 150th anniversary of Florida leaving the Union, a step in the coming of the Civil War.
In early January 1861, leaders from across the state met in convention to debate what the state should do in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln, who wished to limit the expansion of slavery in the territories and backed a higher tariff.
The convention voted to leave the Union, making Florida the third Southern state to do so. The secession measure, which passed 62-7, read as follows:
We, the People of the State of Florida in Convention assembled, do solemnly ordain, publish, and declare: That the State of Florida hereby withdraws herself from the Confederacy of States existing under the name of the United States of America, and from the existing Government of said States: and that all political connection between her and the Government of said States ought to be and the same is hereby totally annulled, and said union of States dissolved: and the State of Florida is hereby declared a Sovereign and Independent Nation: and that all ordinances heretofore adopted so far as they create or recognize said Union, are rescinded: and all laws or parts of laws in force in this State, in so far as they recognize or assent to said Union be and they are hereby repealed.
While most 19th century Florida politicians remain extremely obscure, the members of the secession convention that met in Tallahassee did not include some of the more prominent men leading the state in that era. One looks in vain for the likes of David Levy Yulee or Stephen Mallory or Augustus Maxwell or George Sydney Hawkins -- who, as forgotten as they are, were still more prominent than most of the men who attended the convention.
There are a few names from the secession ordinance that stick out:
James Patton Anderson had an odd career, serving in the Mississippi Legislature and as a congressional representative for the territory of Washington. He would be chosen by the convention to represent Florida at the creation of the Confederate States in Montgomery.Anderson would have a distinguished career as a general in the Civil War though like many of the Floridians in the Army of Tennessee, he remained very attached to Gen. Braxton Bragg, who had led Southern forces around Pensacola, despite that generals distinct lack of success. It may tell you something about Andersons obscurity that, when he went on the train to Montgomery, he tried to hide from Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, afraid that the future Confederate vice president would not recognize him despite serving in Congress with him.
Originally from Vermont and educated at Amherst, John Pease Sanderson, who has a town named after him in Baker County, was a lawyer and a railroad man. He went on to serve in the Confederate Congress for less than two weeks. Baker County was named after James McNair Baker, who did not attend the convention, who went on to serve in the Confederate Senate despite being very ambivalent about secession.
Military history fans might recognize the name of Joseph Finegan who attended the convention. A Nassau County political leader and railroad promoter who was a partner with David Levy Yulee, Finegan is probably best known for leading Confederate forces at the battle of Olustee in 1864 and, later, the Florida Brigade in Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia. Finegan's house on Amelia Island would be taken by future Gov. Harrison Reed of the U.S. Treasury Department and turned into a home and school led by Chloe Merrick, an idealistic teacher from the North, for black orphans. Reed would later marry Merrick.
Ironically, two of the better known members of the convention led efforts to oppose secession. Longtime Florida politician George T. Ward, who would ironically join the Confederate Congress and serve in the Army as a colonel before being killed in battle in 1862, and former U.S. Sen. Jackson Morton who tried to get the convention to hold off on leaving the Union. Morton, who was already in his late 60's when he attended the convention, would also be selected to join the Confederate Congress.
The convention had one prominent guest. Virginia agricultural reformer Edmund Ruffin, who was one of the leading fire-eaters calling for secession in the 1850s, addressed the convention. While he would later win some fame for firing the first shot at Fort Sumter to open the war, Ruffin, much like Floridas own John Milton, could not handle the North winning the war in 1865 and took his own life.
The members of the convention were very apt in light of their states role in the Civil War. While Florida remained an important place for salt and food supplies for the Confederacy, it was largely forgotten in the war with little in the way of action or importance.
The Finleys Brigade Chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will be honoring the anniversary by re-enacting the secession convention in the Old Capitol on Saturday at 1 pm.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859. Kevin wrote a masters thesis on Edmund Ruffin, the reading of which is an excellent cure for insomnia.
