In the winter of 1863-64 Florida was largely devoid of any Confederate troops. Hoping to exploit this situation, a Union force was landed at Jacksonville on February 7th with orders to strike inland and occupy central Florida. The objectives of this invasion were given in a letter from Major Genl. Quincy Gilmore, the commander of the Dept. of the South, to Major Gen. Henry Halleck to procure an outlet for Florida's cotton and lumber products, to cut off the Confederates from Florida's commissary supplies, to obtain recruits for the North's black regiments, and to establish a reconstructed government in Tallahassee. In a few days, the 3 infantry brigades and 1 cavalry brigade under the leadership of Brigadier Genl. Truman Seymour had advanced 30 miles westward along the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, brushing aside what little opposition the Confederates could muster. This was not to say, however, that the Rebel forces in Florida were about to allow an easy conquest of the state. Brigadier Genl. Joseph Finegan, the commander of the District of East Florida, quickly gathered together what men he could from his command and the neighboring District of Middle Florida. On February 13th he moved his small force to an entrenched position at Olustee Station, 13 miles east of Lake City. Here he planned to attempt to hold the Northern advance until he could be reinforced by troops on their way from Charleston and Savannah. Fortunately for the South, Genl. Seymour allowed the Rebels the time they needed. By the 19th, Finegan's small army had received its promised reinforcements while the Federals remained in place to the west of Jacksonville, drilling and preparing for a further advance. On February 20th Seymour again took up his march along the railroad, intending to move west to destroy the railroad bridge of the Suwannee River and thus secure the Union position in eastern Florida. At about 2:00 P.M. the Federal cavalry, supported by the 7th Connecticut, came under fire from the Rebels. Finegan, hoping to draw the Northerners onto his entrenched line, had sent forward his cavalry and part of his infantry to skirmish with the enemy. Soon realizing that the troops he had sent out would be insufficient to press the Federals if the opportunity arose, Finegan rapidly sent the balance of his small army marching to the sound of the guns. For the Union, this decision would mean the rout of their army and the loss of any opportunity to remove Florida from the Confederacy. Scenario The scenario for the Battle of Olustee begins at 2:00 P.M. and ends with the onset of darkness at the completion of the 6:00 P.M. turn. The terrain of the battlefield was flat and covered with open pine woods with numerous swampy areas. For JOHNNY REB, consider the wooded areas to be clear for visibility', but BROKEN GROUND for movement. The swamp areas should be treated as ROUGH for both visibility and movement. Victory is assessed by casualties inflicted upon the enemy. For each Rebel infantry figure or artillery section removed the Union receives 1 Victory Point. Each Confederate cavalry figure is worth 2 Points to the North. The South receives I Victory Point for each Federal infantry or cavalry figure, or each gun section removed from play. If, however, the South captures an artillery section it is worth 2 Points. The side with the greater number of Victory Points is considered the winner if the difference in points is at least 10. If less than 10, consider the game a draw. However, such a result should be seen as a Confederate strategic victory. If one side wins by at least 10 points AND demoralizes the opponent, that side has a decisive win! Confederate Order of Battle and Deployment FINEGAN'S DIVISION Brigadier Genl. Joseph Finegan (+1) COLQUITT'S BRIGADE: Brig. Genl. Alfred Colquitt (+2) 6th Florida Battalion 300 men / Avg. / Rifled Muskets 6th Georgia 400 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 19th Georgia 400 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 23rd Georgia 400 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 27th Georgia 400 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 28th Georgia 350 men Avg. Rifled Muskets Chatham Artillery - Elite / four 12 pdr. Napoleons HARRISON'S BRIGADE: Col. George Harrison (+1) 1st Florida Battalion - 400 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 1st Georgia Regulars - 450 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 32nd Georgia - 750 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 64th Georgia - 475 men Green Rifled Muskets Bonaud's Battalion 275 men Green / poor quality Rifles Guerard's Battery Average four 12 pdr. Napoleons SMITH'S CAVALRY: Col. Caraway Smith (no effect) 2nd Florida Cavalry - 200 men Avg. breechloading carbines 5th Florida Cavalry - 150 men Green Smoothbore Muskets 4th Georgia Cavalry - 250 men Avg. Rifled Muskets Reserve Artillery Gamble's Battery - Average: one 12 pdr. Howitzer, one 3" Rifle, two 6 pdr. Smoothbores. DEPLOYMENT The 2nd Florida Cavalry, 4th Georgia Cavalry, and 64th Georgia, accompanied by Genl. Colquitt and Col. Smith, deploy within 400 yards of "C" on the map. The 6th Georgia, 19th Georgia, 28th Georgia, and Gamble's Battery enter at "A" or "B" on the 2:30 P.M. turn. On the 3:00 P.M. turn Col. Harrison, the 6th Florida Battalion, 1st Georgia Regulars, 23rd Georgia, 32nd Georgia, and the Chatham Artillery enter at either "A" or "B". General Finegan, the Ist Florida Battalion, 27th Georgia, Bonaud's Battalion, and Guerard's Battery enter at "A" or "B" on the 3:30 P.M. turn. Finally, on the 5:30 P.M. turn, the 5th Florida Cavalry enters at either "A" or "B". Federal Order of Battle and Deployment SEYMOUR'S DIVISION Brigadier Genl. Truman Seymour (+1) BARTON'S BRIGADE: Col. William Barton (+1) 47th New York - 600 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 48th New York - 600 men Avg. Rifled Muskets 115th New York - 600 men Avg. Rifled Muskets Co. M, 1st U.S. Artillery Elite: four 12 pdr. Napoleons and two 10 pdr. Wiard Rifles HAWLEY'S BRIGADE: Col. Joseph Hawley (+1) 7th Connecticut - 375 men / Avg. / Spencer Carbines 7th New Hampshire - 700 men / Green / half rifles, half spencer carbines 8th U.S. Colored Troops - 575 men / Green / Rifled Muskets Co. E, 3rd U.S. Artillery - Elite: six 10 pdr. Parrott Rifles MONTGOMERY'S BRIGADE: Col. James Montgomery (+1) 54th Massachussetts - 500 men / Elite / Rifled Muskets 1st North Carolina (U.S.) - 600 men / Avg. / Rifled Muskets HENRY'S CAVALRY BRIGADE: Col. Guy Henry (+1) Independent Battalion, Mass. Cavalry 200 men Avg. Sharps Carbines 40th Massachussets Mounted Infantry 400 men Avg. Rifled Muskets Co. B, Ist U.S. Artillery - Elite: four 12 pdr. Howitzers DEPLOYMENT Henry's Cavalry Brigade, accompanied by the 7th Connecticut, deploys within 500 yards of "D" on the map. On the 2:15 P.M. turn Genl. Seymour, Col. Hawley, and the 7th New Hampshire enter at "E", while the 8th U.S.C.T. and Co. E of the 3rd U.S. Artillery enter at 'T". All of Barton's Brigade enter at "Ell on the 3:00 P.M. turn. Montgomery's Brigade enters at 3:30, Montgomery and the 1st North Carolina (U.S.) at "E", and the 54th Massachussetts at 'T". SOURCES Richard Ferry, "The Battle of Olustee (Or Ocean Pond), February 20, 1864"; BLUE AND GREY MAGAZINE, March 1986. R. Johnson and C.C. Buel (eds.), "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War", Vol. 4; 1887-88. Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 35, #'s 1 and 2; 1886 Back to The Zouave Vol II No. 3 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1988 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com