Fort Meade, 1849-1850 (review)

book reviews159 Cattle had grazed in Florida since the Spanish period and well-heeled ranchers were in place by the time of the war. As a removed and presumably safe outpost, the state was a natural source of beef. The export of cattle rivaled in importance that of salt. The Army of Tennessee was a major beneficiary. Yet, with beef, as with much else in the "rebel storehouse," expectations were unfulfilled . Some ranchers balked at selling beeves to the Confederate government, and commissary officials were sometines inefficient. In the meantime, as other army of Confederate beef acquisitions were shut off by advancing Federal armies, Florida beeves took on increased importance. Union troops targeted cattle just as surely as they did salt works, and fewer and leaner cattle was the reality by 1864. "As in the past," Taylor writes, "too much was expected from the Florida peninsula when plans were being formulated to provision the faltering South and its gray warriors" (126). Admittedly, the activities ofcommissary and quartermaster officials does not promise inherent drama and riveting reading. Even so, some might hope for a more lively account ofthe subject, and a greaterfocus on individuals as providers would help.The vignette ofJacob Summerlin, a colorful cattleman who furnished beeves to the Confederacy, is fleshed out well. But that is the exception.A more human dimension could only add flavor and readability. A variety of sources have been consulted, but little research has apparently been done at the National Archives, where a close look at the record collections seems appropriate. These objections do not unduly detract from the contribution that has been made. The Southern economy, as with the homefront generally, has received less attention than is warranted. This book may inspire similar treatments in other states or regions. What was particularly indigenous and valuable to the Confederacy elsewhere? Failures regarding logistical supply may add to the multifaceted explanation for the Confederacy's defeat. At least in Florida, production/supply might best be described as an extremely qualified success. Most fundamentally, the author argues that the state could not be the bottomless granary or the limitless provider that some envisioned. Even so, he notes that scholars have neglected "the extent to which Florida contributed the bounty of its lands to the rebel governments" (67). Taylor has righted that neglect. William Warren Rogers, Jr. Gainesville College Fort Meade, 1849-1850. By Canter Brown. (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1995. Pp. 232. $19.95.) In 199 1, Canter Brown published Florida's Peace River Frontier, a wellreceived study detailing the settlement ofthe southern peninsula during the nineteenth century. Brown's current work focuses specifically on Fort Meade, described by the author as the "oldest town in interior south Florida" (xi). In just over 150 pages of text he outlines the founding of the town, its role during the i6oCIVIL war history Third Seminole and Civil Wars, and its postwar development and eventual decline. The southeastern frontier, Brown contends, has been relatively neglected , as have studies ofcommunities that failed to prosper after the frontier's close. In this regard Fort Meade offers a contrasting view to examples of better-known frontier settlements. Lt. George Gordon Meade established an army post along Florida's Peace River in 1849. Officers later stationed there included A. P. Hill and Thomas J. Jackson. Fort Meade quartered troops and protected settlers during the Third Seminole War and several engagements took place nearby. The war's close brought more white settlement, and by i860 a profitable cattle industry had begun to develop. Fort Meade's inhabitants suffered severe hardships during the CivilWar. The town volunteered its share of men to the Confederacy, but the population included a sizable percentage of Unionists as well. Many Florida cattlemen, Brown argues, hoped to keep their herds intact to take advantage of postwar profits and thus held strong allegiances to neither side. Early in 1864 Federal troops occupied Fort Myers, on the Caloosahatchee River south of Fort Meade. Over the next year southwest Florida was the scene of small-scale, yet bitter fighting, with Union troops attempting to disrupt the supply ofcattle being sent northward from Florida ranges. Significant numbers of Unionists journeyed to Fort Myers...