As the Confederate cavalry was
driving back a determined Federal
attempt to seize the Chipola River
bridge, the last organized group of
their fellow defenders were fighting
for their lives in the small yard around
St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
For many veterans of the battle,
especially those from Marianna, this
phase of the engagement was the
real Battle of Marianna. Over time, in
fact, the legendary story of the fight
evolved until only this section of the
engagement was remembered at all.
There are several reasons for this.
Probably the largest is that most of
the people who later told their stories
of the battle were member's of
Norwood's Home Guard and, as
such, had not seen much else. Col.
Montgomery, of course, was captured
and if he ever wrote an account of the
Battle of Marianna, it has not been
found. Captain Chisolm died before
the end of the war. Most of his men
were from Alabama and went home
after the war. And, finally, no one in
Marianna had access to any of the
Northern accounts of the battle.
Exactly what happened at St. Luke's
Churchyard is debated to this day.
Some believe it was a determined,
hard-fought defense by Norwood and
his men. Others describe it as a
"massacre" by the African-American
soldiers of Asboth's companies from
the 82nd and 86th U.S. Colored
Troops.
Actual eyewitness accounts, in truth,
tell the story with remarkable clarity.
After being forced back from his
original position along the north side
of Lafayette Street, Captain Jesse
Norwood reformed his men behind
St. Luke's Episcopal Church. On the
surface this sounds like a remarkable
maneuver for untrained local
volunteers, but in truth Norwood and
many of his men had former military
experience. The captain himself was
a former member of the 2nd and 5th
Florida Cavalries. His company also
included volunteers home on leave
from the regular armies, as well as
older men who had fought in both the
Mexican and Seminole wars. There
were men and boys present who had
never fought before, but perhaps as
many has half of the volunteers
fighting under Norwood at Marianna
knew a bit about soldiering.
driving back a determined Federal
attempt to seize the Chipola River
bridge, the last organized group of
their fellow defenders were fighting
for their lives in the small yard around
St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
For many veterans of the battle,
especially those from Marianna, this
phase of the engagement was the
real Battle of Marianna. Over time, in
fact, the legendary story of the fight
evolved until only this section of the
engagement was remembered at all.
There are several reasons for this.
Probably the largest is that most of
the people who later told their stories
of the battle were member's of
Norwood's Home Guard and, as
such, had not seen much else. Col.
Montgomery, of course, was captured
and if he ever wrote an account of the
Battle of Marianna, it has not been
found. Captain Chisolm died before
the end of the war. Most of his men
were from Alabama and went home
after the war. And, finally, no one in
Marianna had access to any of the
Northern accounts of the battle.
Exactly what happened at St. Luke's
Churchyard is debated to this day.
Some believe it was a determined,
hard-fought defense by Norwood and
his men. Others describe it as a
"massacre" by the African-American
soldiers of Asboth's companies from
the 82nd and 86th U.S. Colored
Troops.
Actual eyewitness accounts, in truth,
tell the story with remarkable clarity.
After being forced back from his
original position along the north side
of Lafayette Street, Captain Jesse
Norwood reformed his men behind
St. Luke's Episcopal Church. On the
surface this sounds like a remarkable
maneuver for untrained local
volunteers, but in truth Norwood and
many of his men had former military
experience. The captain himself was
a former member of the 2nd and 5th
Florida Cavalries. His company also
included volunteers home on leave
from the regular armies, as well as
older men who had fought in both the
Mexican and Seminole wars. There
were men and boys present who had
never fought before, but perhaps as
many has half of the volunteers
fighting under Norwood at Marianna
knew a bit about soldiering.
The Battle of Marianna, Florida
Assault on St. Luke's Churchyard
Assault on St. Luke's Churchyard
The Battle of Marianna - Phase Five
All material on this site Copyright 2005 by Dale A. Cox.
| Battle of Marianna Little Known Facts |
| St. Luke's Episcopal Church Marianna, Florida |
Once they reformed in the churchyard,
Norwood kept his men organized and
firing. The grounds of the church were
surrounded with a plank fence, which gave
them some measure of security, as did the
windows of the church itself.
With Asboth wounded and incapacitated,
Colonel Ladislas L. Zulavsky assumed
command of the Federal forces and quickly
brought up his two companies of mounted
infantry. Composed of picked volunteers
from the 82nd and 86th U.S. Colored
Troops, these men had once been held in
slavery on Louisiana plantations but by the
time they arrived in Marianna were
seasoned veterans.
According to their own muster rolls, they
dismounted under a "galling fire of buck
and ball" and formed ranks about thirty
yards away and in direct view of Norwood's
men. Ordered to charge, they fixed
bayonets and swarmed over the board
fence and into the churchyard. As his men
started going down around him from
bayonet and gunshot wounds and blows
from musket butts, Captain Norwood had
no choice but to surrender.
The fighting did not immediately end.
Confederate participants later claimed that
the Union infantrymen continued to fire on
them even after they had surrendered and
the town's newspaper reported that several
men were beaten to death after they given
up. Federal eyewitnesses confirm this.
Several members of the 2nd Maine Cavalry
reported that it took officers a few minutes
to bring the situation under control and
several Confederates were killed or
wounded after they had surrendered. The
Northern eyewitnesses attributed this to the
fact that the black soldiers usually did not
expect or receive quarter if captured in
battle and, as a consequence, often did not
give any either.
Norwood kept his men organized and
firing. The grounds of the church were
surrounded with a plank fence, which gave
them some measure of security, as did the
windows of the church itself.
With Asboth wounded and incapacitated,
Colonel Ladislas L. Zulavsky assumed
command of the Federal forces and quickly
brought up his two companies of mounted
infantry. Composed of picked volunteers
from the 82nd and 86th U.S. Colored
Troops, these men had once been held in
slavery on Louisiana plantations but by the
time they arrived in Marianna were
seasoned veterans.
According to their own muster rolls, they
dismounted under a "galling fire of buck
and ball" and formed ranks about thirty
yards away and in direct view of Norwood's
men. Ordered to charge, they fixed
bayonets and swarmed over the board
fence and into the churchyard. As his men
started going down around him from
bayonet and gunshot wounds and blows
from musket butts, Captain Norwood had
no choice but to surrender.
The fighting did not immediately end.
Confederate participants later claimed that
the Union infantrymen continued to fire on
them even after they had surrendered and
the town's newspaper reported that several
men were beaten to death after they given
up. Federal eyewitnesses confirm this.
Several members of the 2nd Maine Cavalry
reported that it took officers a few minutes
to bring the situation under control and
several Confederates were killed or
wounded after they had surrendered. The
Northern eyewitnesses attributed this to the
fact that the black soldiers usually did not
expect or receive quarter if captured in
battle and, as a consequence, often did not
give any either.
The Battle of Marianna raged
around the grave of one of
America's most popular 19th
century writers. Caroline Lee
Hentz (buried in the grave at
upper left) was a noted
novelist and insightful social
commentator. Once a
member of the same literary
guild as Harriett Beecher
Stowe, she took exception to
Stowe's landmark work,
Uncle Tom's Cabin. Hentz
penned a now virtually-
forgotten rebuttal titled
Planter's Northern Bride. The
book was a best-seller in the
decade before the Civil War.
Another of her books, Earnest
Linwood, gave rise to
Jackson County's popular
Bellamy Bridge ghost story.
Her son, Thaddeus, was a
member of Captain
Norwood's company and was
wounded while standing very
near his mother's grave.
around the grave of one of
America's most popular 19th
century writers. Caroline Lee
Hentz (buried in the grave at
upper left) was a noted
novelist and insightful social
commentator. Once a
member of the same literary
guild as Harriett Beecher
Stowe, she took exception to
Stowe's landmark work,
Uncle Tom's Cabin. Hentz
penned a now virtually-
forgotten rebuttal titled
Planter's Northern Bride. The
book was a best-seller in the
decade before the Civil War.
Another of her books, Earnest
Linwood, gave rise to
Jackson County's popular
Bellamy Bridge ghost story.
Her son, Thaddeus, was a
member of Captain
Norwood's company and was
wounded while standing very
near his mother's grave.
 | |  | |  | |  |
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| The History of Florida's Forgotten Civil War Battle |
$19.95
| The Battle of Marianna, Florida |
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