The St. Johns River was the scene of much action during the Civil War.  Union troops garrisoned several towns along the shore, and Union navy ships sailed on the river.  Many of the Southern troops were in the main Confederate armies, and only a few Confederate forces remained to defend Florida. 

     In May of 1864, the Union gunboats U.S.S. Ottawa and U.S.S. Columbine and the transport U.S.S. Charles Haughton  started up the St. Johns River from Jacksonville.  The Ottawa  was one of the largest Union gunboats on the St. Johns, mounting twelve cannons, including two 150-pound guns.  The Columbine  was a steam tug outfitted as a gunboat, mounting two 32-pound rifled cannons.  The Columbine also had sand bags and hay bales for additional protection.  The ships were transporting 650 to 700 Union troops.

     The Union ships sailed to Palatka on May 22, where the Federal soldiers went ashore.  The Ottawa sailed up river to Brown’s Landing.  The Columbine  would continue upriver to the Union garrison at Volusia, then return.  Some 30 Union soldiers of the 35th United States Colored Troops remained on the Columbine as a guard.

     Captain John J. Dickison, commander of Company H, 2nd Florida Cavalry, had been alerted to the Union gunboats.  Dickison set out for Brown’s Landing with 50 cavalry and 25 artillery troops and two cannons of the Milton Light Artillery commanded by Lieutenant Mortimer Bates.  This Confederate force did not reach Brown’s Landing in time to attack the Ottawa.  Dickison rode ahead and took cover behind a cypress tree as the gunboat went by the landing some fifty feet from Dickison.

     Around 7:30 P.M. on May 22, the Ottawa  and the Charles Haughton  anchored near Brown’s Landing.  Lt. Commander S. Livingston Breese, commanding the gunboat, was unsure of why the transport was there and took a small boat to the ship.  Breese had barely reached the transport when cannon fired on the Ottawa.

     Captain Dickison had posted Lt. Bates and the artillery on the landing, while the cavalry dismounted and took up positions to guard the cannon.  Just before opening fire, the Confederates were presented with good targets as the Federals lighted the ships.

     Lt. Commander Breese quickly returned to the Ottawa.  Firing at the flashes of the Southern cannon. Breese thought the ship was being attacked by a battery of four guns.  The Confederate artillery fired 28 rounds before the Ottawa’s  guns responded.  When the gunboat began returning fire, the Confederates withdrew with no casualties.  The Ottawa  also had no casualties, but was heavily damaged.  Thirty-seven rounds had struck the gunboat.

     On May 23, the Columbine  was returning down river.  Captain Dickison selected 16 riflemen from his cavalry, and, along with the artillery, waited at Horse Landing, some five miles from Brown’s Landing.  The cannon were placed among the trees on the landing, and the riflemen took up positions among the cypress trees.  Around 4:00 P.M., as the Columbine  neared Horse Landing, the ship’s guns fired on the landing in anticipation of an attack.  When the gunboat was around 100 yards from the landing, the Confederates opened fire with both cannons.

     One of the first rounds struck the gunboat’s wheel chain, and  the pilot  abandoned  the   ship.  Another round hit the steam pipe.  The Columbine ran aground on a sand bar 200 yards from the artillery and 100 yards from the riflemen.  Captain Sanborn, commanding the Columbine, took command of the forward gun and ordered Acting Master’s Mate W. B. Spencer to attempt to move the ship.  The ship’s engineer reported the damage to the steam pipe.  Spencer brought word that the quarter deck was being struck with canister and rifle bullets, and that the infantry guard was abandoning the ship and swimming to the shore.

     Captain Sanborn reached the quarter deck and realized the way to save the ship was to drive off the Confederates.  Sanborn again took command of the forward gun, and some of the infantry guard were successfully rallied.  The wheel and the engine could not be used, and the gunners at the forward gun were being shot by the Confederate riflemen.  The decision to surrender was made among the remaining officers, and Captain Sanborn surrendered the ship.

     The Columbine  was boarded by the Confederates following the 45-minute battle, and only 66 of the 148 Union troops were found alive.  The Federal losses were 65 captured,  some of whom were wounded, and around 20 killed or drowned.  The Ottawa  was nearby, so the Confederates took as much property from the ship as they could and the Columbine was burned.   Some of the Union troops did make their way to shore and returned to St. Augustine.  There were no casualties for the Confederates.