Item contributed by Massachusetts Historical Society
In February 1864, commander of the US Department of the South Major Gen. Quincy Gillmore ordered an expedition into Florida intended to obtain military supplies and recruit African American soldiers. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment sailed from Hilton Head, South Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida on February 5. After engaging with Confederate forces at the Battle of Olustee, soldiers from the 54th retreated to Jacksonville. Here, they established an encampment with tents on March 14. Captain Luis Emilio found “camp-life under canvas” to be “a pleasure,” noting that “our frequent tours of picket duty in the pine woods were always delightful.”1
This photograph is included in Captain Luis Emilio’s collection of photographs related to the regiment, now at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
1. Luis F. Emilio, A Brave Black Regiment: History of The Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1863-1865 (Boston: The Boston Book Company, 1864), 150, 182; “Olustee,” National Park Service, accessed May 25, 2022.
About item:
Photograph, circa 1863-1864, 5.5 cm x 9 cm.
From the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment photographs.
Photo. 72.101
