The Saint Augustine Blues, also known as the Independent Blues, were a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

unit that fought for the Confederacy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. After serving in the local community, the unit was eventually organized into the Third Florida Infantry where it fought in several engagements including the campaigns of the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in ...

Demographics

Some members of the Saint Augustine Blues were of Menorcan descent as well a smaller group of

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

and

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

. The average age of the company at mustering was 24 years old, with 16 of its members being under the age of 17. Some former members of the Blues as well as other Confederate veterans are buried in the

Tolomato Cemetery Tolomato Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de Tolomato) is a Catholic cemetery located on Cordova Street in St. Augustine, Florida. The cemetery was the former site of "''Tolomato''", a village of Guale Indian converts to Christianity and the Francisca ...

a historic

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

cemetery in Saint Augustine. According to records, there were 3-4 black or mixed-race freemen who served in the unit as musicians. This was unusual, if not unique, for a Confederate fighting unit.

Service History

On May 12, 1860, as political instability increased throughout the United States, a group of about 70 citizens from

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabi ...

met in the town's city hall to discuss formation of the unit. Like other cities in the south, many residents of St. Augustine came to favor disunion following the election of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

. Some citizens issued a declaration calling for no compromise with the north and ''St. Augustine Examiner'' applauded the delegates from Florida who were sent to the secession convention by stating: "all who engage in it are exercising their rights as FREEMEN and INDEPENDENT citizens. We are FREEMEN, the government has once admitted that we were, now should we submit to those who say we are not?" Officers were elected including the captain, a prominent town official named John Lott Philips. Philips was born on the island of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constit ...

, and had met General Napoleon Bonaparte. Philips was also a veteran of the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans and Black Indians. It was part of a ser ...

, during which he commanded a unit that included future pro-slavery Florida senator

David Yulee David Levy Yulee (born David Levy; June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney. Born on the island of St. Thomas, then under British control, he was of Sephardic Jewish ancestry: His father was a Sephardi from M ...

. During a mustering in November of 1860, the unit was described in a report as an "elegant and gallant corps" and, the following month, offered to serve as a "minute men" company for the town of St. Augustine. Days before Florida officially seceded in early January of 1861, around 125 militiamen seized Fort Marion. Members of the Blues were most likely a part of the capturing force. In March 1861, the unit were ordered to cease their patrols around the city as there was an uptick in thefts which were, according to Mayor Rafael Canova, "attributable to the Company called the 'Blues.'" The Blues officially entered the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

at Ft. Marion on August 5, 1861 and were designated Company B of the recently organized Third Florida Infantry. On July 25, 1862, the Blues suffered its first casualty when, while stationed at

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

, Private Thomas Ponce passed away from an illness. Many other members of the unit suffered from sickness during the month long station at Mobile. Illnesses that afflicted the regiment included

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

and

mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gene ...

. The Blues sustained heavy casualties in the Battle of Murfreesboro in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

. The following year they marched to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

in an effort to relieve the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mis ...

and in the fall of 1863, they fought in the battles of

Chickamauga Chickamauga may refer to: Entertainment * "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce * "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe * "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne (album), Ano ...

and

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. In the spring of 1865 the unit was in the

Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nor ...

trying to slow the advance of General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

after Sherman's 'March to the Sea'. The Saint Augustine Blues service in the Civil War ended on April 26, 1865 one month after their participation in the

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj ...

after General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to General Sherman at

Bennett Place Bennett Place is a former farm and homestead in Durham, North Carolina, which was the site of the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman. The first meetin ...

, in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, the site of the largest surrender of Confederate soldiers, which ended the war.

Citations

References

*Bittle, George (October 1972). "Florida Prepares for War, 1860-1861" (PDF). The Florida Historical Quarterly. 51 (2): 144. Retrieved 16 July 2022. * * * * *{{cite book , author1=Waters, Zack C. , editor1-last=Weitz , editor1-first=Seth A. , editor2-last=Sheppard , editor2-first=Jonathan C. , title=A Forgotten Front: Florida during the Civil War Era , publisher=University Alabama Press , location=Tuscaloosa, AL , isbn=9780817319823 Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Florida 1860 establishments in Florida

Demographics

Service History

See also

Citations

References