Battle of Olustee in the Civil War

Battle of Olustee in the Civil War Battle of Olustee - Conflict Date: The Battle of Olustee was fought February 20, 1864, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders Union Brigadier General Truman Seymour5,500 men Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Finegan5,000 men Battle of Olustee - Background: Thwarted in his efforts to reduce Charleston, SC in 1863, including defeats at Fort Wagner, Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, commander of the Union Department of the South, turned his eye towards to Jacksonville, FL. Planning an expedition to the area, he intended to extend Union control over northeastern Florida and prevent supplies from the region reaching Confederate forces elsewhere. Submitting his plans to the Union leadership in Washington, they were approved as the Lincoln Administration hoped to restore a loyal government to Florida before the election that November. Embarking around 6,000 men, Gillmore entrusted operational control of the expedition to Brigadier General Truman Seymour, a veteran of major battles such as Gaines Mill, Second Manassas, and Antietam. Steaming south, Union forces landed and occupied Jacksonville on February 7. The next day, Gillmore and Seymours troops began advancing west and occupied Ten Mile Run. Over the next week, Union forces raided as far as Lake City while officials arrived in Jacksonville to start the process of forming a new government. During this time, the two Union commanders began arguing over the scope of Union operations. While Gillmore pressed for the occupation of Lake City and a possible advance to the Suwannee River to destroy the railroad bridge there, Seymour reported that neither was advisable and that Unionist sentiment in the region was minimal. As a result, Gillmore directed Seymour to concentrate his forced west of the city at Baldwin. Meeting on the 14th, he further directed his subordinate to fortify Jacksonville, Baldwin, and Barbers Plantation. Battle of Olustee - The Confederate Response: Appointing Seymour as commander of the District of Florida, Gillmore departed for his headquarters at Hilton Head, SC on February 15 and directed that no advance into the interior be made without his permission. Opposing the Union efforts was Brigadier General Joseph Finegan who led the District of East Florida. An Irish immigrant and an enlisted veteran of the prewar US Army, he possessed around 1,500 men with which to defend the region. Unable to directly oppose Seymour in the days after the landings, Finegans men skirmished with Union forces where possible. In an effort to counter the Union threat, he requested reinforcements from General P.G.T. Beauregard who commanded the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Responding to his subordinates needs, Beauregard sent contingents south led by Brigadier General Alfred Colquitt and Colonel George Harrison. These additional troops swelled Finegans force to around 5,000 men. Battle of Olustee - Seymour Advances: Shortly after Gillmores departure, Seymour began to view the situation in northeast Florida more favorably and elected to commence a march west to destroy the Suwannee River bridge. Concentrating around 5,500 men at Barbers Plantation, he planned to advance on February 20. Writing to Gillmore, Seymour informed his superior of the plan and commented that by the time you receive this I shall be in motion. Stunned upon receiving this missive, Gillmore dispatched an aide south with orders for Seymour cancel the campaign. This effort failed as the aide reached Jacksonville after the fighting had ended. Moving out early in the morning on the 20th, Seymours command was divided into three brigades led by Colonels William Baron, Joseph Hawley, and James Montgomery. Advancing west, Union cavalry led by Colonel Guy V. Henry scouted for and screened the column. Battle of Olustee - First Shots: Reaching Sanderson around midday, Union cavalry began skirmishing with their Confederate counterparts west of town. Pushing the enemy back, Henrys men met more intense resistance as they neared Olustee Station. Having been reinforced by Beauregard, Finegan had moved east and occupied a strong position along the Florida Atlantic and Gulf-Central Railroad at Olustee. Fortifying a narrow strip of dry ground with Ocean Pond to the north and swamps to the south, he planned receive the Union advance. As Seymours main column approached, Finegan hoped to use his cavalry to lure the Union troops into attacking his main line. This failed to occur and instead fighting intensified forward of the fortifications as Hawleys brigade began to deploy (Map). Battle of Olustee - A Bloody Defeat: Responding to this development, Finegan ordered Colquitt to advance with several regiments from both his brigade and Harrisons. A veteran of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville who had served under Lieutenant General Thomas Stonewall Jackson, he advanced his troops into the pine forest and engaged the 7th Connecticut, 7th New Hampshire, and 8th US Colored Troops from Hawleys brigade. The commitment of these forces saw the fighting rapidly grow in scope. The Confederates quickly gained an upper hand when confusion over orders between Hawley and the 7th New Hampshires Colonel Joseph Abbott led to the regiment deploying improperly. Under heavy fire, many of Abbotts men retired in the confusion. With the 7th New Hampshire collapsing, Colquitt focused his efforts on the raw 8th USCT. While the African-American soldiers acquitted themselves well, the pressure compelled them to begin falling back. The situation was made worse by the death of its commanding officer, Colonel Charles Fribley ( Map). Pressing the advantage, Finegan sent additional forces forward under the guidance of Harrison. Uniting, the combined Confederate forces began pushing east. In response, Seymour rushed Bartons brigade forward. Forming on the right of the remnants of Hawleys men the 47th, 48th, and 115th New York opened fire and halted the Confederate advance. As the battle stabilized, both sides inflicted increasingly heavy losses on the other. During the course of the fighting, Confederate forces began to run low on ammunition forcing a slackening of their firing as more was brought forward. In addition, Finegan led his remaining reserves into the fighting and took personal command of the battle. Committing these new forces, he ordered his men to attack (Map). Overwhelming the Union troops, this effort led Seymour to order a general retreat east. As Hawley and Bartons men began withdrawing, he directed Montgomerys brigade to cover the retreat. This brought the 54th Massachusetts, which had gained fame as one of the first official African-American regiments, and the 35th US Colored Troops forward. Forming, they succeeded in holding back Finegans men as their compatriots departed. Leaving the area, Seymour returned to Barbers Plantation that night with the 54th Massachusetts, 7th Connecticut, and his cavalry covering the retreat. The withdrawal was aided by a weak pursuit on the part of Finegans command. Battle of Olustee - Aftermath: A bloody engagement given the numbers engaged, the Battle of Olustee saw Seymour sustain 203 killed, 1,152 wounded, and 506 missing while Finegan lost 93 killed, 847 wounded, and 6 missing. Union losses were made worse by Confederate forces killing wounded and captured African-American soldiers after the fighting had concluded. The defeat at Olustee ended the Lincoln Administrations hopes for organizing a new government prior the 1864 election and made several in the North question the value of campaigning in a militarily insignificant state. While the battle had proved a defeat, the campaign was largely successful as the occupation of Jacksonville opened the city to Union trade and deprived the Confederacy of the regions resources. Remaining in Northern hands for the rest of the war, Union forces routinely conducted raids from the city but did not mount major campaigns. Selected Sources CWSAC Battle Summaries: Battle of OlusteeBattle of Olustee Civil War Trust: Battle of Olustee

Mutual Intelligibility Definition and Examples

Mutual Intelligibility Definition and Examples Mutual Intelligibility is a situation in which two or more speakers of a language (or of closely related languages) can understand each other. Mutual intelligibility is a continuum (that is, a gradient concept), marked by degrees of intelligibility, not by sharp divisions. Example and Observations [W]hat allows us to refer to something called English as if it were a single, monolithic language? A standard answer to this question rests on the notion of mutual intelligibility. That is, even though native speakers of English vary in their use of the language, their various languages are similar enough in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar to permit mutual intelligibility. . . . Hence, speaking the same language does not depend on two speakers speaking identical languages, but only very similar languages.(Adrian Akmajian, Richard Demers, Ann Farmer, and Robert Harnish, Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. MIT Press, 2001) The Mutual Intelligibility Test [The] distinction between language and dialect is based on the notion [of] mutual intelligibility: Dialects of the same language should be mutually intelligible, while different languages are not. This mutual intelligibility, in turn, would then be a reflection of the similarities between different varieties of speech.Unfortunately, the mutual-intelligibility test does not always lead to clear-cut results. Thus Scots English may at first be quite unintelligible to speakers of the various varieties of Standard American English, and vice versa. True, given enough time (and goodwill), mutual intelligibility can be achieved without too much effort. But given an even greater amount of time (and goodwill), and a greater effort, also French might become (mutually) intelligible for the same speakers of English. In addition, there are cases like Norwegian and Swedish which, because they have different standard varieties and literary traditions, would be called different languages by most people, including linguists, even though the two standard languages are mutually quite intelligible. Here, cultural and sociolinguistic considerations tend to overrule the mutual intelligibility test.(Hans Henrich Hoch, Principles of Histoprical Linguistics, 2nd ed. Mouton de Gruyter, 1991) One-Way Intelligibility [A]nother problem regarding the use of mutual intelligibility as a criterion [for defining a language is] that it need not be reciprocal, since A and B need not have the same degree of motivation for understanding each other, nor need they have the same amount of previous experience of each others varieties. Typically, it is easier for non-standard speakers to understand standard speakers than the other way round, partly because the former will have had more experience of the standard variety (notably through the media) than vice versa, and partly because they may be motivated to minimise the cultural differences between themselves and the standard speakers (though this is by no means necessarily so), while standard speakers may want to emphasize some differences.(Richard A. Hudson, Sociolinguistics, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2001) Theres a fat man who comes in here with pills sometimes and I cant understand a word he says. I told him Ive got no problem with wherever he comes from but I have to be able to understand him. He understands what Im saying and he talks louder. I dont hear well, but it doesnt help anything for him to say whatever it is hes saying in a louder voice.​(Glen Pourciau, Gone. Invite. University of Iowa Press, 2008) Bidialectalism and Mutual Intelligibility in The Color Purple Darlie trying to teach me how to talk. . . . Every time I say something the way I say it, she correct me until I say it some other way. Pretty soon it feel like I cant think. My mind run up on a thought, git confuse, run back and sort of lay down. . . . Look like to me only a fool would want you to talk in a way that feel peculiar to your mind.(Celie in The Color Purple by Alice Walker, 1982.) Also Known As: interintelligibility