Pensacola during the Civil War: A Thorn in the Side of the Confederacy. (Book Reviews).Pensacola during the Civil War: A Thorn in the Side of the Confederacy Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union. . By George F. Pearce. The Florida History and Culture Series. (Gainesville and other cities: University Press of Florida, c. 2000. Pp. xii, 286. $29.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-8130-1770-X.) Pensacola during the Civil War, a volume in the Florida History and Culture series, seeks to use local history to add depth and texture to the study of Florida's role in the Civil War, largely neglected since John Edwin John Edwin (August 10, 1749 - October 31, 1790), English actor, was born in London, the son of a watchmaker. As a youth, he appeared in the provinces, in minor parts; and at Bath in 1768 he formed a connexion with a Mrs Walmsley, a milliner, who bore him a son, but whom he Johns's Florida during the Civil War (Gainesville, Fla., 1963). As Florida's largest city in 1860, with about 2,900 inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. (including slaves and free blacks), the city deserves study. However, such an analysis is difficult because Pensacola (following the withdrawal of Confederate forces in May 1862 and the departure of Union occupation troops from the city in March 1863) became a virtual ghost town ghost town, term for any once flourishing American community that has been abandoned, generally for economic reasons. While most of the towns have little or no population, they often contain old buildings, which may serve as tourist attractions. and remained one throughout the final two years of the war. As historian George F. Pearce acknowledges, local materials are virtually nonexistent non·ex·is·tence n. 1. The condition of not existing. 2. Something that does not exist. non (p. xii). Faced with such a crippling lack of evidence, he has made every effort to find and use any and all existing sources. His examination of the primary and secondary literature is thorough, diligent, and wide-ranging. The result is a first-rate overview of Pensacola during the months leading up to, and immediately following, Florida's January 10, 1861, secession from the Union. He is especially effective in relating how one man, Union officer Adam J. Slemmer Adam Jacoby Slemmer (January 24, 1828 – October 7, 1868) was an officer in the United States Army during the Seminole Wars and the American Civil War, as well as in the Old West. Slemmer was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and raised in Norristown. , proceeded to gain and keep control of Fort Pickens Fort Pickens, fortification on the western end of Santa Rosa Island at the entrance to Pensacola Bay, NW Fla. When Florida joined the Confederacy in Jan., 1861, Fort Barrancas on the mainland was evacuated and its garrison sent to Fort Pickens. , thereby denying the South the use of the superb port of Pensacola for the duration of the war. It is at this point that Pearce begins to depart from his stated aim of writing a history of Pensacola at war. His sources force him more and more in the direction of focusing on the military personnel of both sides, which is understandable given that local civilian sources are very scarce and virtually disappear after the Confederates abandoned Pensacola in 1862. With the Rebel army's withdrawal, most civilians left the city. The Union occupation is well covered, but again the sources force the author to focus mainly on Union military personnel. Following the northern abandonment of the city proper in 1863, Pensacola became a virtual no-man's land No-Man's land Hand surgery A fanciful term for the fibrous sheath of the flexor tendons of the hand, specifically in the zone from the distal palmar crease to the proximal interphalangeal joint. See Rule of threes. (with the interesting exception of the Spanish vice-consul, Francisco Moreno, who remained for the entire war). From this point on, the book deals almost solely with military matters until the brief last chapter and epilogue. Pensacola during the Civil War is an example of the truism that what one would wish to accomplish often cannot be done. Pearce has written an informative book, but it is not what he set out to write--the lack of sources betrayed him. This work will be of some interest to historians of Florida but not to those seeking another study like Emory M. Thomas's The Confederate State of Richmond: A Biography of the Capital (Austin, Tex., 1971). W. ROBERT HOUSTON University of South Alabama |
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