The First Second Lieutenant

Union Lieutenant Stephen Atkins Swails the first African American to be promoted to an officer was wounded for the second time April 11^th 1865.

Stephen Atkins Swails was born February 23^rd 1832.  He married and was working in Cooperstown, New York as a waiter prior to the war.  When Frederick Douglass called for recruits for the 54^th Massachusetts Swails enlisted in Elmira, New York as a private.  He became a member of Company “F” and was soon appointed First Sergeant.  Following the assault on Fort Wagner in which the 54^th lost a lot of men, Swails was appointed Sergeant Major on November 12^th 1863.

The 54^th was posted in Florida in early 1864 under Union General Truman Seymour.  Swails was wounded the first time at the Battle of Olustee on February 20^th 1864.  When promotions came out on March 26^th 1864, Swails was promoted to Second Lieutenant.  The promotion made him the first African American to receive a commission in the Union Army.  While the 54^th was on reconnaissance near Camden, South Carolina on April 11^th 1865 Swails was wounded a second time.  They were near a railroad junction when a locomotive was steamed up.  A detachment led by Swails captured the train.  He entered the cab and waved his hat in triumph which drew the attention of a Union sharpshooter who mistook Swails for the engineer, and shot him.  Swails was promoted to First Lieutenant April 28^th 1865.  He was mustered out of service with the rest of the 54^th August 20^th 1865 in Boston, Massachusetts.

After the war Swails became a lawyer and worked for the Freedman’s Bureau.  He settled in South Carolina where he was the mayor of Kingstree, South Carolina from 1868 to 1879.  After Reconstruction and an assassination attempt Swails resigned from office.  He went to work in Washington, DC at the United State Treasury and the United Post Office.  He died May 17^th 1900 and is buried the Friendly Society Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Large Clash In Florida

The largest battle fought in Florida was the Battle of Olustee fought on February 20th 1864.


Union Major General Quincy Adams Gillmore ordered an expedition into Florida in February 1864 to cut Confederate supply routes. Union Brigadier General Truman Seymour was placed in command of the expedition. Confederate Generals Alfred H Colquitt and Joseph Finegan were in command of the troops defending Florida.

Using the route of the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, Seymour moved his 5,500 union soldiers toward Lake City, Florida. On the afternoon of February 20th 1864 they moved on the 5,000 Confederates commanded by Finegan and entrenched near Olustee Station. The two forces met at Ocean Pond. Seymour thinking these soldiers where the same as the Florida militia that he beaten easily before, sent in his troops piecemeal. Finegan and Seymour reinforced their committed troops placing the Union men under a withering line of rifle and cannon fire. The Union soldiers broke and retreated back to Jacksonville, Florida.

Union casualties in the Battle known as Olustee or Ocean Pond were 1,861 killed, wounded or missing. Confederate casualties were a lighter 946. The Union also lost 39 horses and 6 pieces of artillery.

For more information about this battle, check out the web site The Battle of Olustee