Confederate Funeral......In the last issue, I reprinted an article about a Union prisoner from Massachusetts, Lt. Edward John Kent Johnston, who's body is coming home to Fernandina Beach to be reburied there.  Some of you wanted more details about the service.  David Mullins emailed me that information.  The date of the service will be Saturday, October 26th at 2pm.  The ceremony will take place at the Bosque Belle Cemetery in Fernandina Beach.  Individuals and entire companies are welcome.  Period dress, either military or civilian, is requested for all those attending.  Lt. George Hagan from the CS Navy has the Honor Guard.  The precession will form up at the dock about four blocks from the cemetery and proceed to the cemetery and memorial service.  Contact Dana Chapman.  She will be the overall coordinator for the reenturment and can be reached at confederatenurse@yahoo.com

Know Your Job........The book Customs of Service for NCO's and Soldiers and Customs of Service for Officers are available at the link below.  Pick up whichever one applies to you.  The information in these books can help you improve your impression.

Click here:  BOOKSAMILLION.COM (BAMM.COM) - Title Details - Customs of Service for NCO's and Soldiers

Click here: Barnes & Noble.com - 1865 Customs of Service for Officers in the Army

Raising the Monitor........With a bad storm less than 24 hours away, the United States Navy had to work quickly but in the end did successfully raise the gun turret of the USS Monitor after a second attempt on August the 5th.  The rest of the ship is in too bad of condition to be salvaged.  The first attempt to bring it up did not go well.   ABC News announced on their newscast (August 4th) that "...Navy divers were unable to bring up the gun turret of the USS Monitor, a Civil War ship that has been in 220 feet of water since 1892."  I'm sure that those who noticed the minor Monitor mistake wonder where the ship was from 1862 to 1892.  Laying all jokes aside, this really is an historic achievement.  The depth of the water made it necessary for the divers to work in short 30 minute shifts so work was conducted around the clock.  The turret came to the surface at the end of a large crane's cable and was placed on a 300 foot barge.  This expedition by the Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cost $6.5 million to complete.  The innovative idea of the Monitor's revolving turret allowed the ship to maneuver out of the enemy's line of fire while maintaining accurate return fire.  The gun turret was completely full of silt and encrusted with coral.  Its contents and the condition of what may be inside at this time are unknown.

Brooksville Mural......Artist Tony Caparello is painting a 87 foot long and 18 foot high (about twice the size of a billboard) mural in downtown Brooksville.  Caparello is painting the mural based on photos taken at the last Brooksville Raid reenactment.  You may even recognize many of the soldiers depicted in the painting.  The Union Army is attacking from the right with guns blazing.  The Confederate Army marches forward from the left.  This detailed mural shows the artillery of both sides firing and the Confederate medical corps are at work tending the wounded in the lower center.  The mural can be seen at Patricia's Boutique, 11 South Broad Street.  If you would like to see it and are traveling west through the city, go west on Jefferson Street (the main one way street heading west through Brooksville) go one block past the old County Court House and Main Street.  Turn left.  South Broad is one block south of Jefferson.  Turn left onto South Broad Street.  The boutique is on the south side of Broad Street.  The mural is on the east wall next to the store's parking lot.  If you are heading east through the city on Broad Street, get in the right lane and look on your right and you can't miss it.

The letter below was written by Nikki Moor about the mural and appeared in the Tampa Tribune on Aug. 1........

I am a long-time member of the historical re-enacting community who is also a Brooksville resident.  I admit to having been concerned about the quality of the proposed mural of the Brooksville Raid when I first heard about it.  I also admit being pleased with the way it is being done.

We drove by it today, and seeing the artist was at work, stopped to compliment him on his work.  This grew into a discussion of the subjects in the mural, many of whom are friends of ours and clearly recognizable.  I was lucky enough to be shown the photo montage used to draft the sketches, and horrified to hear that the artist was specifically ordered not to paint one of the horsemen as a black man, because he was told by the local authenticity expert that "there were no black officers at Brooksville".

On the "authenticity" front, first let me refer to the records that state that Capt. Jonathan W. Childs transported 250 men, largely the Second United States Colored Troops, to Brooksville via Bayport.  During their raid, they captured at least 18 horses.  I would like to point out the likelihood that once captured, the horses were put to use, not "led and fed."  The Second USC Troops were men who had been capturing horses and cattle and men in Florida for months to disrupt the flow of cattle to the Confederate armies further north.  It stands to reason that many of the USC Troops knew how to ride.  It also stands to reason the acquisition of a horse meant more flexibility for scouting, for communications.  Therefore, given that there were a lot more black individuals available, once the horses were allocated to the few white officers, the other horses were likely to be ridden by members of the USC Troops.  That takes care of the horse with a black rider.  As to the non-existence of a black officer, I would like to point out that the individual being objected to is not an Officer, he is a non-commissioned Officer.  Specifically, a sergeant.  It is the USC Troops were led by white lieutenants and captains, but the USC Troops non-coms were their own.

I bring this up because the man not allowed to be painted is John Russell, a respected member of the re-enacting community, a respected fire chief in Orlando, a man who has contributed hours to promote welfare of kids in the Orlando Projects, and most pertinently, a man who has been a regular participant of the Brooksville Raid.

It is ironic that he is banned from the mural for being "not authentic," when he and his entourage have been providing the Raid with its primary, if not only, source of USC Troops for years.

I freely confess that John Russell was the first re-enactor to really impress me with his presentation, and my husband and he have been opponents of the field of battle and friends in camp for years.  I think that it is certainly not in-authentic for a mounted black sergeant to be present on a field of battle which was supposed to be primarily UDC Troops, and I cannot think of a more providential choice of models for one.  It will be a pity if the character in the painting ends up "whitewashed."

Nikki Moor

    Captain John J. Dickison had enjoyed a string of successes in defending Florida from Union troops.  Along with his own command of Company H, 2nd Florida Cavalry and various units occasionally serving with him, he seldom mustered a force of more than 200 soldiers.  Yet time and again, Dickison repeatedly thwarted Union efforts in the state.  In August of 1864, Dickison would face his largest engagement of the war.
   On August 15, 1864, Union troops marched from Baldwin in two columns.  One force consisted of three U.S. Colored infantry regiments and the 3rd Rhode Island Artillery with three cannons.  The other column commanded by Colonel Andrew Harris of the 75th Ohio Mounted Infantry, included the 75th Ohio Mounted Infantry and one cannon of the 3rd Rhode Island Artillery.  The two columns took different routes, and met that night at a place called Trail Ridge.   Here Colonel Harris added to his command some of the 75th Ohio that had been with the infantry column.  Colonel Harris' column  resumed their march the same night, and early in the morning of August 16 the cavalry force was at the town of Starke.  Here about 100 soldiers joined the command, including two companies of the 4th Massachusetts Cavalry commanded by Captain Joseph Morton and a small force of Floridians loyal to the Union. Now the cavalry column numbered some 342 troops.
   Captain Dickison was at Waldo, 14 miles south of Starke, on August 16 when he received word of the Union troops at Starke.  He assembled a force that included his own Company H, 2nd Florida Cavalry with 130 men, Captain Samuel Rou's Company F, 2nd Florida Cavalry, a detachment of Company H, 5th Florida Cavalry Battalion, ninety new infantry troops, and an artillery battery with two cannons commanded by Lieutenant A. J. Bruton.  The Union cavalry column left Starke at about 7:30 on the morning of August 16.   The infantry to be commanded by Colonel Elias Earle, one of Governor Milton's staff officers, marched toward Gainesville, while Dickison pursued the enemy with the cavalry and artillery.  A small force of local militia joined the command, and now Dickison had some 290 soldiers.
   Colonel Harris' troops made their way through the countryside, raiding plantations as they went. Around 6:30 on the morning of August 17, the Union cavalry arrived at the town of Gainesville, 12 miles from Waldo.  Seventy local militia commanded by Judge Thomas King awaited the Federals, but they were driven from the town by Company B, 4th Massachusetts Cavalry.  Colonel Harris deployed his men about the town and posted pickets.  The marches had taken their toll, and the horses were much in need of a respite. The men were ordered  to leave with  their accoutrements on  but also to attend to their mounts while coffee was made for the troops.  Once they were posted in a grove of trees and had seen to their horses, the artillery troops wandered the town. Scarcely had they returned to their battery when an artillery round struck near their position.
    Captain Dickison had halted his march some two miles from Gainesville when he saw the rear guard of the Federals.  When they had entered the town,  the Confederates advanced to within a mile of Gainesville where they encountered Union pickets and formed into a line of battle while the artillery open fire.  At about 7:00 A.M., Union pickets south of town reported the approach of the Southerners. Colonel Harris promptly began to organize a defense.  The 75th Ohio about-faced, the right flank becoming the left and their left was now the right flank.  Both flanks were anchored on swamps and brush, and Union troops took up positions along the railroad and in the depot.  Only one company of the 75th Ohio remained mounted, and was posted near a railroad fill and surrounding fences.  The 4th Massachusetts Cavalry was  in reserve, and the 12-pound howitzer of the 3rd Rhode Island Artillery was placed along the road near the center of the Union line.
   Colonel Harris' troops were not fully deployed when the Confederate attack began.   With their artillery engaged, most of the Confederates dismounted and advanced, driving in the Union pickets.  The railroad depot on the Confederate left was attacked by Captain Rou's and Lieutenant McCardell's troops.  The 5th Florida Cavalry Battalion under Lieutenant A. J. Dozier was to push  the enemy from the road in the Union center while a mounted company commanded by Lieutenant McEaddy moved on  the  Southern right. 
   For nearly two hours the battle would rage in Gainesville.  The Union line held the initial attack, but despite the Federals' superior numbers, the Confederates began to encircle the town.  Union troops were pushed from the railroad depot and the Southern troops opened a crossfire on the artillery limber..  Of the six horses on the limber, five were killed along with the artilleryman holding them.  Nevertheless, the Rhode Island battery kept up a steady fire from its position near the Beville Hotel, and soon found the range of the Southern artillery.  Lieutenant Bruton moved his guns and soon renewed the duel.

   The Union troops put up a steady fight.  The 4th Massachusetts Cavalry had been deployed into the battle, helping to briefly hold back the Confederates. The flanks of the 75th Ohio had been extended and for a time the Union line held.  But by 9:00 A.M. Colonel Harris realized his situation.  The enemy was surrounding him, his troops had been pushed back, many of the horses had been hit, and his artillery had nearly expended its ammunition.  Harris then ordered a retreat from the town.
   The Federals had held for nearly two hours, but now the line began to break as they retreated from the town.  With the Confederates closing in as they left their line, the Union troops had no time to make an organized retreat,  and Federal columns attempted to withdraw from the town in several directions.  Union Captain Morton, along with some of the cavalry and the howitzer, mistakenly took the wrong road.  Colonel Harris caught up with him and led the troops to the road to Waldo, but the gun was halted when one of the horses was hit. The Confederates closed in and captured the cannon and many of the artillery troops.  Captain Dickison rode through the town, ordering his troops to their mounts to pursue the enemy, and many of the Federals were captured as they attempted to withdraw.  Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Morgan of the 75th Ohio and the advance troops were driven from the Waldo Road.  Morgan had to abandon his wounded horse and went on foot through the swamps before being captured. Some 40 Union soldiers, Colonel Harris among them, escaped to safety.
   Of the Confederate force, 175 took part in the battle.  The rest did not enter the town until following the engagement and assisted in pursuing the enemy.  Southern troops searched the countryside and for a few days, some of the scattered Union soldiers were captured while other Federals found their way to Union forces. The Union losses were high: 28 dead, 5 wounded, and 188 captured.  The Confederates also captured 260 horses and the 12-pound howitzer.  Southern casualties were three killed and five wounded; two of these men were mortally wounded and died the following day.  Colonel Harris' report of the battle put the number of Confederate troops at 600 to 800, with three pieces of artillery.
   .  Upon hearing of the battle and the loss of the cavalry column, the Union infantry column was withdrawn to a Federal garrison. 
   The Battle of Gainesville was for a time an annual re-enactment held in the town of Orange Springs in Marion County.

Palmettos in the War.......Some of our local reenactors helped with the following article.  It is reprinted here with permission of the author........ 

  Maybe frontier Florida wasn't such a vast wilderness. Maybe, it was just an untouched medicine cabinet waiting to be opened.
  Last Sunday's history column about how important Florida salt was during the Civil War for residents and the armies of the North and South prompted a question from a reader about palmetto plants.
  The reader wanted to know more about a Florida Historical Society's "Today in Florida" listing for July 21, 1863, which reads: "The Quartermaster General of the Confederacy issued a call for as many Florida palmettos as can be harvested for use in Richmond hospitals."
  I've read about some medical uses for saw palmetto berries. I've seen some references to using palmetto leaves to build shelters and the like. And, I have found lots of references in Florida history to swamp cabbage made from the crunchy core of sabal palmetto, Florida's state tree that's sometimes called cabbage palm. (It's called heart of palm on the grocery shelves today.)
  But what use would the Richmond hospitals have for so much palmetto? Surely, the Confederate hospitals couldn't have needed that much swamp cabbage.
  Clueless, I turned to a few experts.
  Civil War and Revolutionary War re-enactor Roger Schlievert, a major and surgeon with Hardy's Brigade, has been a re-enactor for at least 12 years, often portraying a mounted surgeon for the Confederate cavalry. In recent years, he has also researched the role of military medicine during the Revolutionary War. He concentrates on education, not performing. He and other medical re-enactors take part in living history programs for Florida schools and appear at battle re-enactments throughout the state, including the annual mid-March staging of the Battle of Narcoossee Mill east of Kissimmee at Chisholm Park.
  Schlievert told me of two basic palmetto plants (trees) in Florida.
  "One is the sabal palmetto, and this is the tall palmetto trees you see for ornamental purposes." He said he knew of no medical benefits from this palmetto.
  "The saw palmetto was used to treat lung disorders and bronchial problems," he said. "Many soldiers died from pneumonia due to complications from their wounds or disease. This would be my logical reasoning for the request. Now, it is used to treat problems with the mucus membranes and prostrate problems."
  Just as during the Seminole wars in Florida, far more Civil War soldiers died from disease than battle wounds. Lung disorders and bronchial problems, Schlievert said, were common ailments among the wounded and sick.
  Nick Wynne, the Florida Historical Society's researcher for the "Today in Florida" listing, added more details. Florida's palmetto plants and trees could have had a lot of uses in a Confederate hospital:
  Fans could be made from the fronds. The Richmond hospitals were often stifling hot.
  Palmetto could be used as a substance to staunch the flow of blood. When ground to a powder, the dust can halt the free flow of blood -- useful during operations to remove limbs or to stop blood from bullet wounds.
  Ground palmetto berries were prescribed for enlarged prostates, a practice that continues today. "Consider how many men, living in the rough conditions of the Confederate army, would suffer from this malady," Wynne added.
  Old-timers have told Wynne that "ground palmettos were sometimes used to combat constipation."
  Palmetto fronds were used as floor coverings "to reduce the filth caused by vomit, diarrhea, and blood from amputations."
  Palmetto fronds also were made into brooms and mops to scrub floors.
  "My guess is that probably all of these usages figured into the call for palmettos, although the cost of collecting and shipping them was pretty high," Wynne concludes.
  After the Civil War, pioneers made hats from the palmetto fan-shaped fronds, and the tender white-yellow crunchy core of the young palmetto was a pioneer treat -- swamp cabbage. Pioneers sliced it raw for salads or simmered it with salt pork. The palmetto fibers from the tops -- some measuring a yard across and weighing up to 60 pounds -- were used to make brush and broom bristles.
  The Ox Fiber Brush Co. had a processing plant reached by the Kissimmee River near Okeechobee. The company took its name from the oxblood color of the finished fiber brushes, which resembled the deep-red color of the Devon ox.
  The company canned the heart of palm on the site of its plants. Once the world's largest brush manufacturer with international markets, it went out of business in the 1970s.
  The berries are a cash crop in Florida, the main ingredient of herbal dietary supplements, writes Steven Foster, author of Herbs for Your Health and other similar books. Growing palmetto for medical uses is a $50 million-a-year crop for the state.
  Find out more about Roger Schlievert's military medicine re-enactments at:
http://userpages.aug.com/cwdoc/web_page-1_001.htm
  Read or subscribe to the Florida Historical Society's "Today in Florida" listing at:
http://list.florida-historical-soc.org/mailman/listinfo/fhstoday

Jim Robison can be reached at jrobison@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5137.
Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel 

Imagine for three mornings being awakened at 6:00 AM to the sounds of Confederate bugles and drums and within an hour hearing the sounds of thousands of marching feet passing in front of your tent and seeing the awesome sight of several regiments of Confederate soldiers in all their colorful gray regalia with rifles pointed upwards, haversacks and swords swinging by their sides. Later in the day, ladies are seen in an array of long bouffant dresses in a rainbow of colors, held out with hooped skirts, heads covered with veiled-feathered-flowered-tiny hats, umbrellas, gloves and purses, strolling about gracefully or entering sutler tents to purchase jewelry, other accessories or perhaps another outfit. The question, "Why are you dressed like that?" directed to a man, may receive the reply: "I'm dressed as a country gentleman," or "a Confederate or Union military officer" or " an undertaker."

A person browsing around in any one of the scores of sutler tents, which are exact replicas of the Civil War era, can find on display for purchase, every item used during the Civil War. There were copies of the Yankee New Testament Bible, The Confederate New Testament Bible, also every item both the Union soldiers in blue and the Confederate soldiers in gray used to wear, from their boots and hats to their mess kits and fighting pieces.

At the 26th Reenactment of the Battle of Olustee, the entire Civil War U.S. population was represented. The Central Florida Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) and the reenactors of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment. The First North Carolina Colored and the Eight U.S. Colored Infantry participated representing "people of color" who lived at the time of the Civil War.  The three regiments named fought bravely and courageously during the Battle of Olustee.

Students and adults from Shiloh Baptist Church and the AAHGS were reenactors dressed in slave attire and as "free people of color."  Television and newspaper reporters gave extensive coverage to their participation and the informative display on the "Secret Symbols sewn into Quilt Blocks." K.O. Mitchell, Joel V. Fears and Mary J. Fears informed audiences throughout the weekend of February 15-17, of the true facts about the participation of the three black regiments and three women of color who served in the Civil War. Three persons costumed as the subject of stories told by Mrs. Fears were: Mrs. Sarah Rone as Elizabeth Keckley, Ms. Ernestine Johnson as Harriet Tubman, and student Sameasha Johnson as Susie King Taylor. Kevin, a student from Shiloh, proudly expressed to the audience who the group represented.

The climax of the weekend for all the visitors was the sight of 2500 reenactors of Confederate and Union troops on the battle grounds shooting at each others in the same area where the Battle of Olustee took place on February 20, 1864.

Mrs. Fears states, "To experience a weekend at Olustee as a reenactor dressed in slave attire, imparting information to folks from all over the country, facts that they did not know about Afro-Americans in the Civil War, was an experience that I shall never forget. Our presence was welcomed by the planners of the program, especially Mr. Eric Hague and Mrs. Martha Nelson. So often have we heard, "I am so happy to see you here. Be sure to come back next year," and "Your program was very enjoyable. I learned much that I did not know."

It is my fervent hope that parents, pastors and youth leaders of churches would become very active in helping youth to learn African American history by providing the opportunity for many to attend next year's reenactment. It is truly worth the effort to help people learn African American history.

Mrs. Fears and members of the Central Chapter of the AAHGS plan to continue as a part of the Battle of Olustee Reenactment in the future.  She will be in continuous contact with ministers and church youth groups urging attendance. - Mary Fears

Thomas R. Fasulo
extension entomologist
University of Florida
http://pests.ifas.ufl.edu/

Contest Winner.......This is a first for the photo contest section.  There were no winners, not even any guesses.  So here is the answer........The insignia is a 1st Lt. of Artillery in the Uniform Rank of the Order of Knights of Pythias (URKP).  The KP was (and still is) a fraternal organization somewhat similar to the Masons. It was founded in 1864 and had great growth after the Civil War.  Like many other organizations, the Civil War veterans established a military department (designating it the "Uniform Rank" because the members had to get uniforms and drill).  The local units were a combination of marching society and militia.  They used uniforms and insignia similar to the US Army but with the lily on most items (shoulder straps, buttons, sword scabbards, etc.).

Greetings!  Just for enjoyment, here are some trivia questions to test your knowledge about movies of the War Between The States.  The answers are provided below the questions.

1)   This Civil War movie was based on a Margaret Mitchell novel.
2)   This actor won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the 1989 movie Glory.
3)   Jimmy Stewart starred in this 1964 movie about a man trying to keep his family out of the 
       Civil War.
4)   Lloyd Bridges played this role in the television mini-series North and South II.
5)   This television movie depicted the engagement between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia.
6)   Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, and Anthony Perkins starred in this 1956 movie about a Quaker family 
       trying to not be involved in the Civil War.
7)   This actor portrayed Abraham Lincoln in the television mini-series The Blue and the Grey.
8)   This actor portrayed General Robert E. Lee in the 1993 movie Gettysburg.
9)   This 1951 Civil War film  was based on a Stephen Crane novel.
10)  In this 1959 movie, John Wayne led a Union cavalry raid across the South.

ANSWERS

1)   Gone With The Wind.
2)   Denzel Washington.
3)   Shenandoah.
4)   Jefferson Davis.
5)   Ironclads.
6)   Friendly Persuasion.
7)   Gregory Peck.
8)   Martin Sheen
9)   The Red Badge of Courage.
10)  The Horse Soldiers.

Stars And Stripes........Who hasn't heard of the Stars and Stripes newspaper?  This has been a military news publication for a long time - in fact, as far back as the Civil War.  A recent issue of the University of Missouri alumni magazine sent to Tom Fasulo has a letter from one member stating that the Stars and Stripes was first published in Bloomfield, Missouri, in 1861.  It seems that when Union forces occupied Bloomfield, the troops found that the local newspaper office had been abandoned.  The troops took over the presses and put out a newspaper they called the Stars and Stripes.  A library and museum in Bloomfield memorializes the newspaper and even has one of the only three known copies of the first issue.

For Sale....Gun Socks.  These socks were made by reenactors for reenactors.  They are made of duck canvas, padded and are water resistant with a fleece lining with rawhide ties.  They will fit any rifle.  All proceeds will go to advancing Living History Scouting.  $25 each.  Contact Ed Smith (79th N.Y. Co. B.) at (727) 526-2851 email at edscout@aol.com

For Sale.....Horse.  7yr. old bay Standardbred mare.  16 hands high.  Rides/drives sweet disposition.  Good on trails.  Has been ridden in reenactments, can shoot off her.  One foal, good mother.  With new sulky.  One never used gig rig, one used.  $3,500 for all. Call Glen Kemp at 407-957-3651.

For Sale.......Horse.  5yr old black Tenn. Walker gelding.  Good disposition, personable horse good on trails.  $3,000.  Call Glen Kemp at 407-957-3651.

August 22, 2002.  Round Table Meeting.  The Greater Orlando Civil War Round Table will present a program about Military Art.  The emphasis will be on Civil War art.  The meeting will be on Thursday the 22nd.   The meetings are held in downtown Orlando at 7:30pm.  It is not hard to find.  For more information contact Ruth Wood at  cwldy@aol.com

September 7, 8, 2002.  Fort Clinch State Park.  Fernandina Beach.  Federal (Union Army) Garrison and Living History. Living historians free.  Admission to Park: $3.25 per car.  Admission to Fort: $2. Also check at gate for possible candlelight tour on Saturday night. Candlelight tour admission is $3.  Take I-4 east to I-95 North.  Go to Ft. Clinch State Park and exit on US1/Fernandina Beach.  Go east thru Fernandina and follow the State Park signs.  Contact the park at (904) 277-7274.  Fort Clinch State Park

September 21, 2002.  Blue and Grey Cotillion (Saturday 8pm to 11pm).  Pinellas Park.  Sponsored by the 97th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company A.  8:00 PM until 11:00pm.  at the Pinellas Park Civic Auditorium, 7690 59th Street. The 97th Pennsylvania String Band to provide music.  The auditorium is next to the Police Station on 59th St. North, along the railroad tracks which cross Park Blvd (S.R. 694).  Admission is $10.00 per person or $18.00 per couple at the door.  No advanced ticket sales.  Contacts:  Dave Krieger Radm1@aol.com (727) 796-8208 (Clearwater),  Dona Casey DelitedFifer@aol.com (Largo) (727) 393-4234

September 21, 2002.  Olustee Civil War Exposition, Encampment and Living History.  Olustee, FL. Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm http://extlab7.entnem.ufl.edu/olustee/, Sunday: 10 am - 3 pm. Admission - Living Historians Free; Spectators: $3 per car. Contact the Olustee Battlefield Historic Site at (386) 758-0400

September 27, 28, 29, 2002.  Raid on Fort Pierce at the old St. Lucie County Fairgrounds next to the airport.   School Day on Friday the 27th. Dinner provided Friday night for those that assist with school day.  Powder rations to first three Union and Confederate Artillery pieces.  The normal hay, firewood, ball, etc. provided.  No sutlers fee.  Dance Sat night.  Proceeds go to the Explorer Post 400.  Driving directions From the north I-95 to Indrio Rd. East on Indrio Rd. to Kings Hwy.(to 1st. light you come to) South on Kings Hwy to Airport Rd. (first light) head east on Airport approx 2 miles grounds on the north side of the road.  From the south I-95 to Okeechobee Rd. SR 68. West on Okeechobee Rd to Kings Hwy. North on Kings Hwy to third light (Airport Rd.) east on Airport to Fairgrounds.  From the turnpike to Okeechobee Rd. SR 68. Once you exit the turnpike you will be on Kings Hwy. Head north to the third light (Airport Rd.) Contacts: Tim Futch (561) 489-9974 cocfl8@aol.com Rick Eckert surgeon@bellsouth.net (561) 336-3100

October 5, 2002.  The Town of Lady Lake is having their 3rd annual Heritage Festival.  This festival commemorates the 77th birthday of Lady Lake.  The hours are from 9-5 with opening ceremonies starting at 10am.  The centerpiece of the festival is their authentic log cabin that now houses their chamber of commerce and a park called "Heritage Park".  The towns folks would like to use this area for "living history".   There will also be various types of performances, crafters, food vendors and a carnival.  Located on the northwest corner of Rolling Acres Road & Highway 466.  Contact Paulina Peltola at: 352 751-1545 or email: ppeltola@ladylake.org further information can be found at: www.ladylake.org Click the button in the left frame "Heritage Festival".