To get salt for their table use our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had to have the dirt floors of their smoke-houses dug into, clumps of it washed and the salt panned out like miners get gold dust. Salt, a dollar a pound, was precious and, besides, was almost as nearly unattainable. The story of that establishment and maintenance of the salt works, of their rebuilding out of ashes again and again after destruction by the Federal raiders, of the heroic defense of these works by Florida troops is found in various historical records and gives us a drama of perseverance and bravery that makes us proud of the invincible spirit of the South and especially proud of our state and county. For, while Florida was less active than some of the other states in actual fighting, before the need of the war the state had become a principal source of meat supply for the armies and furnished the Confederacy with thousands of bushels of salt, so important as a preservative. The Gulf coast salt was the best produced in the whole Confederacy.
Realizing the necessity of building and rebuilding these salt works after the Federal navy destroyed them, President Davis and the Confederate government, as if by miracle, managed to raise money and materials and keep reassembling these of the Gulf coast salt industry. Some how they were able to finance the operation of works valued at several million dollars. As fast as the Federal gunboats could blow holes in the salt boilers, their crews, scouting the inlets of St. Andrews bay, would dump thousands of salt into lakes, kill the mules and oxen used for hauling, destroy fuel, arrest the workers as prisoners, other indomitable salt-workers, protected by cavalry troops recruited from all over this section, would rebuild. On their next trip of inspection the Federals would be astounded to see smoke coming from the same bayous where they thought they had wrought utter destruction.
So important was the industry to the Confederacy the Florida legislature allowed other states privilege of manufacturing here. Alabama's Governor Shorter, uneasy about our coast defenses and the few troops available to protect the salt works, went so far as to authorize the dashing Colonel Clanton to come to Florida and reorganize a regiment for guarding the works from St. Marks to Suwannee. In 1862 the Florida legislature made provision for the organization of all the salt-workers, citizens and non citizens, into military companies, subject to call invasion. The drama enacted on our own coast seems to have attracted the interest of the world.
Some writers seemed to be taking of sort of disintesested delight in the spunk with which the South almost wore out the Federals delegated for the raiding of the salt industry, before their final demolition of all works in 1865. The New York Herald, continually publishing accounts of the raids, on Jan. 5, 1864 comments with amusement, "Salt works are as plentiful as blackbirds in a rice field." The Comte de Paris notes a raid in Apalachee Bay; a London writer in 1863 tells of "certain adventurer from Marianna, Florida who was suspected of having salt wells" but who successfully foiled the Federals several times before they found his establishment. St. Andrews Bay, with its many arms and inlets was selected for huge salt works because the "swamps a in this bay were best adapted in the entire Confederacy, on account of a protracted drought that caused the evaporation of nearly all the fresh water, so that the water would test at least 75 per cent salt." The destruction of these works alone kept several gunboats and crews busy, and seemed an almost task for three years, although the Confederates had only one field- piece to defend the whole bay area.
West Bay the government works in 1863 constituted village of 27 buildings; many hundred ox teams were kept busy hauling salt to Eufaula sound where it was conveyed to Montgomery. A. Master Browne, whose rather boastful accounts in the U. S. Naval Records give numerous exploits of his raiding the Bay works tells of a ten day orgy in which the total result was five hundred works, thirty-three wagons, twelve flatboats, four thousand bushels of salt, probably a thousand kettles and iron boilers.
By the close of 1863 the Federals had caused the demolition of several million dollars of works and salt; but it took only two months, until Feb. 1864, to see these works rise, Phoenix-like, from their ashes and flourish again. In St. Andrews Bay, they rose to such an extent that Browne, not so boastful now, states that "the largest government salt-works ever created in Florida are in operation." Although complaining that they were rebuilt "as fast as I demolished them", he worked persistently, fitting out a new expedition to make raids. By February, 1865, when the Confederacy was spent of strength and funds, the work of demolition of Florida salt works was practically complete.
In 1864 our own men were stationed in various companies at the salt works, some at St. Marks, some St. Andrews; and on the day of the raid in Marianna, Captain William Milton's attack company was at St. Andrews and received the word of too late to be of assistance in defending their own town and families. As to blockade Florida's only means trade with the outside world, Governor Milton in theory, to the dangerous business and fretted objected, at the foreign doo-dads, perfumes, silks, etc, brought in, but both he and President Jeff Davis gave permits for certain commodities, such as munitions the medicines that doctors everywhere clamored for quinine for malaria, morphine wounded for pain-killer and thing like anaesthetics for men.
Dr. Robinson in the post-hospital in Marianna grew desperate for these. I think the governor must have smiled wryly when he heard of invitations ladies in Tallahassee and Marianna sent to friends to "come to my biscuit party, don't whisper a word about where my husband me the flour." The profit in blockade around our Gulf coast and bays, which seemed heaven-sent for such, ran - for on senator - to $3,938.91 within months, on an investment of $1,433! Trade schooners, carrying contraband goods to the North or Europe, headed usually to the British Bahamas. Three, cargoes were put aboard smaller vessels, and by the time these neared our own goods were relayed to small steamers the alert and brigs; which might be better able to escape eyes of Federal Navy officers, hidden no-telling where. (To be continued)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home