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An examination of the understudied, yet significant role of Florida
and its populace during the Civil War. In many respects Florida
remains the forgotten state of the Confederacy. Journalist Horace
Greeley once referred to Florida in the Civil War as the "smallest
tadpole in the dirty pool of secession." Although it was the third
state to secede, Florida's small population and meager industrial
resources made the state of little strategic importance. Because it
was the site of only one major battle, it has, with a few
exceptions, been overlooked within the field of Civil War studies.
During the Civil War, more than fifteen thousand Floridians served
the Confederacy, a third of which were lost to combat and disease.
The Union also drew the service of another twelve hundred white
Floridians and more than a thousand free blacks and escaped slaves.
Florida had more than eight thousand miles of coastline to defend,
and eventually found itself with Confederates holding the interior
and Federals occupying the coasts--a tenuous state of affairs for
all. Florida's substantial Hispanic and Catholic populations shaped
wartime history in ways unique from many other states. Florida also
served as a valuable supplier of cattle, salt, cotton, and other
items to the blockaded South. A Forgotten Front: Florida during the
Civil War Era provides a much-needed overview of the Civil War in
Florida. Editors Seth A. Weitz and Jonathan C. Sheppard provide
insight into a commonly neglected area of Civil War historiography.
The essays in this volume examine the most significant military
engagements and the guerrilla warfare necessitated by the occupied
coastline. Contributors look at the politics of war, beginning with
the decade prior to the outbreak of the war through secession and
wartime leadership and examine the period through the lenses of
race, slavery, women, religion, ethnicity, and historical memory.
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