Military Reconstruction and the Growth of the Anti-Negro Sentiment in Florida, 1867

After months of bitter controversy Congress passed, over the President’s veto, the Reconstruction Acts of March 2 and March 23, 1867. The South was divided into five military districts, each ruled by a major general; Florida, Alabama, and Georgia comprised the third military district which was commanded by Major General John Pope. He in turn appointed Colonel John T. Sprague to head the sub-district of Florida, with headquarters at Tallahassee and later at Jacksonville. Sprague assumed command on April 1, 1867, with ten companies of the 7th United States Infantry and six companies of the 5th United States Artillery, comprising respectively 635 and 480 men, a total of 1,115 soldiers. 3 The artillery companies garrisoned the coastal defense bastions of Pensacola, Key West, and Dry Tortugas; the infantry companies were scattered about the state in small detachments of twenty to thirty men each. They were charged with aiding the civil authorities in enforcing law and order, and they served as a restraining force on civil officials or private persons who might wrong any individual. These troops were also available to aid Freedmen’s Bureau officials whenever the need arose

Lawlessness in Florida, 1848-1871

The clash of ideologies, conflicts over rights and status, and a struggle for power, all of which have marked man’s efforts to achieve a society satisfactory to himself, created an intense conflict in Florida during the years of Reconstruction, particularly in the period 1868-1871, In this bloody struggle the issue at stake was the possession of local, state, and national political and economic power, and this issue was colored and made more complex by social and racial elements, including the most virulent race hatred. The incipient conflict, created by the aftermath of war and the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, flared into open violence shortly after the reins of government were surrendered by the military in July, 1868. Protracted tension and violence ended with the victory of Southern white conservatives which was apparent by 1871. The familiar story of political reconstruction in the defeated South, and in Florida, does not need repeating here. This story furnishes the backdrop for the drama of conflict which was played out during the years 1868-1871. It is the purpose of this article to describe some of the elements of violence and intimidation which proved so effective in Florida during this period

Election of 1870 and the End of Reconstruction in Florida

William Dunnington Bloxham was the first Democrat to win a high elective office in Florida following Congressional Reconstruction. Just twenty-eight months after the end of military rule in the state this native Florida conservative was elected lieutenant governor. However, he was denied the fruits of victory for more than eighteen months. After tedious litigation he was finally awarded the office by the Florida Supreme Court and was inaugurated June 3, 1872