By the Noble Daring of Her Sons: The Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee

4. Its Flag Will Show Where the Fight Was Hottest: January–April 1862, West Florida and Shiloh

4 its Flag Will Show Where the Fight Was Hottest January–April 1862, West Florida and Shiloh As the yankee and rebel armies in the east spent the winter of 1861–62 in relative inactivity, the fighting continued elsewhere. Union offensives, mainly in the form of joint operations, carried the war to the Confederate coastline. Crucial gains were made on the Atlantic and in the Gulf of mexico, but the most important coordinated attack occurred inland. Here in February, Ulysses S. Grant’s bold move up theTennessee and Cumberland rivers seized the momentum for the Federals in the Western Theater and exposed the heartland of the Confederacy to invasion. This latter offensive rattled the Southern people and then gave way to the carnage of Shiloh, where Floridians learned of the horrors of war. Back home, their kin and neighbors laid down their implements of peace and raised even more regiments, eager still to take part in the conflict. on the morning of February 15, 1862, Confederate troops smashed into Union picket lines near vital Fort Donelson, situated on the Cumberland river. Donelson , the sole barrier between the Union fleet and the important manufacturing center of Nashville, contained a garrison of twenty-one thousand Confederate soldiers ; they now found themselves surrounded by General Ulysses S. Grant’s Federal Army. Already, Fort Henry on the Tennessee river had capitulated, opening that waterway to the Federal Navy. in order to maintain their hold over the Cumberland river, and hence Nashville, Fort Donelson became a critical point for the Confederates.1 recognizing that losing both the fort and thousands of troops might have severe repercussions, the Confederates planned an attack to open a route by which the beleaguered garrison might reach safety. That way, if the fort fell, at least the troops might survive to fight again. The morning offensive succeeded in opening the road to Nashville. yet, owing to the ineffectiveness of the fort’s commanders, no breakout took place and Grant’s forces soon turned the tide on the attackers, ending any chance of escape. Though the Confederates might still have evacuated some troops from the position, the two ranking generals at the fort fled, leaving General Simon Bolivar Buckner to surrender the garrison the next day.2 The threat to Fort Donelson had precipitated a retreat into Tennessee by the Confederate Army occupying Anderson’s beloved Kentucky. in early march, Albert January–April 1862 37 Sidney Johnston’s jaded and tired force finally halted at Corinth, mississippi, where they combined with troops led by P.G.T. Beauregard to form the Army of the mississippi and prepared to defend WestTennessee and the mississippi valley. But the damage was done, as Nashville, along with middle Tennessee and Kentucky, were lost. Following the Federal forces’ stunning successes on the two rivers, the Confederacy scrambled to reverse its ill fortunes. After the loss of Fort Henry, Confederate District of Florida judge Jesse Johnson Finley sat at his desk in marianna and put pen to paper. Though the judge had turned forty-nine the previous November, he was determined not to let his age keep him from the army. in fact, Finley’s youthful appearance belied his age: he had a tendency to be overweight and it showed in his round face, and this, combined with a full head of dark hair, only enhanced his youthfulness. He addressed the paper to Judah P. Benjamin and announced: “i have been in doubt as to whether it was proper for me to continue my present position (Judge of the District of Florida) or whether it was my duty to enlist a corps of men for the war. . . . our late reverses at Fishing Creek, at roanoke island and on the Tennessee river, have ended this doubt.” The judge asked for permission to raise a company of infantry for the war.3 like Anderson, Jesse J. Finley hailed from Tennessee, being born in Wilson County in 1812. educated in lebanon,Tennessee, Finley commanded a volunteer company in Florida during the Second Seminole indian War and then returned to Nashville to read law. Widowed soon after, Finley migrated to Grenada, mississippi , where he practiced law and toyed with the idea of moving to Texas. He traveled to Arkansas instead, where as a Whig he gained election to the state senate . However, he relinquished this seat soon after to move to memphis to resume practicing law. Politics intervened once again, and Finley was elected mayor. However , when he became a widower...