Both the Union and Confederacy had to fight two wars—one against their external enemy, one against their own people. Some people simply wanted to avoid the war or military service, while others willingly drew the sword against their own people. In the Union it was relatively easy to avoid military service; in the Confederacy it was much more difficult. Not a few men switched sides for one reason or another.
One such was another of my ancestors, S. F. Ray. A small farmer in Baldwin County, Alabama, he avoided the initial calls for military service but signed up with a local cavalry company in early 1862. By that time conscription was in force and he would have had to serve somewhere. Local service allowed him to avoid being sent to some distant theater. The company eventually became part of the 3rd Florida Cavalry Battalion, which in turn was absorbed into the 15th Confederate Cavalry, an amalgam of five Florida and five Alabama cavalry companies under the command of the raffish Col. Harry Maury.
Ray, who in the family tradition was “agin slavery,” deserted in late 1863, spent Christmas with his family, and presented himself in January at Fort Barrancas (near Pensacola, Florida) for service in the First Florida Cavalry (US), an outfit composed mainly of “gophers” (a slang term for local people)—deserters and Unionists. Although I like to think his motives were ideological the fact that the Yankees were offering a $300 bounty (a huge amount of money for that time and place) might have had something to do with it. Ray eventually rose to the rank of sergeant and was mentioned in dispatches for his success on a scouting expedition. Had he been captured he almost certainly would have been shot as a deserter.
Baldwin County Alabama seems to have been somewhat of a hotbed of anti-Confederate activity, and this may have helped ease S. F. Ray’s return to civilian life after his discharge in 1865, as might the fact that he stood 6’2″ and worked a good bit of the time as a blacksmith. He remained a respected member of the community and served many years as a justice of the peace. Later in life both he and later his widow drew a government pension, and as a Union veteran he was able to claim a substantial piece of land under a federal program.
Yet another chapter in the forgotten war inside the South.
UPDATE: Here’s a link to the Florida Archives, which has a note about the two Florida Union Cavalry regiments.
It is not commonly known that in addition to the Confederate units that were raised in Florida during the Civil War, two regiments of cavalry were organized in the state to serve in the Union Army. These units, the First and Second Florida Cavalry Regiments, consisted of elements from Florida’s sizeable pro-Union minority, along with disaffected ex-Confederates. A large percentage of the men were deserters from Confederate service, while many of the unit’s officers came from outside of the state.
The First Florida Cavalry was organized at Fort Barrancas (Pensacola) from December 1863 to August 1864. The unit operated in west Florida and southern Alabama during its enlistment. Elements of the First Florida Cavalry participated in various scouts and expeditions, among which were actions at Camp Gonzalez and near Pollard, Alabama; the expedition to Marianna, Florida; and the campaign against Mobile, Alabama. The regiment was mustered out of service in November 1865.
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