11 February 1864 Letter from
Captain Winston Stephens
Company B, 2nd Florida Cavalry


Winston Stephens
Winston Stephens (1856) in his Seminole War uniform
Photograph courtesy of P.K. Younge Library of Florida History,
Archivist Bruce S. Chappell

In 1861, Winston Stephens was a lieutenant of the St. John's Rangers under Captain Hopkins. By 1862, he assumed command and the company became "Captain Stephens' Independent Cavalry." In December 1862, by special order, it became Company B, 2nd Florida Cavalry.

Near Sanderson
Feb. 11, 1864

My Dear Wife

I write you these few lines to allay the anxiety you may feel on my account. We have so far been able to elude the enemy, though we have at times been surrounded and from appearances we thought our prospect was fair for a northern prison. Our Command consists of 256 men in the Infantry and 52 Cavalry and we are trying to join Genl Finegan but so far the enemy's cavalry have out traveled us. I dont know if we will be able to get out without being captured. Davis [his brother-in-law] left me at Camp Finegan and was on Pet [the name of Davis' horse] and from all I can gather he has been captured or is lost. If he has gone through safe you will hear from him. We are having hard times and plenty of it. I think the enemy has some ten thousand or more. [1] I have lost some men Captured and some lost and not yet reported. I have but about 45 men with me. I must close as the Courier is waiting, love to all and may God bless you [and] protect you all. Do my dear Wife wait calmly and dont give your self unnecessary trouble. We are about 8 miles from Sanderson. Ben Gaines [his half-brother] is here with us. Good bye, I hope to see you soon. your Devoted Husband

Winston

This letter from Winston Stephens is from pages 315-316 of Rose Cottage Chronicles: Civil War Letters of the Bryant-Stephens Families of North Florida edited by Arch Blakey, Ann Lainhart and Winston Bryant Stephens, Jr., published in 1998 [ISBN 0813015502].

The editors of Rose Cottage Chronicles provide numerous footnotes to the letters and diary entries. Here are parts of two associated with this letter.

[1] On 6 February 1864 some 7,000 troops under the command of Brigadier General Truman Seymour left Hilton Head, South Carolina, for another invasion of Florida. The first Federal contingent landed at Jacksonville on 7 Florida and the stage was set for... the Battle of Olustee on 20 February 1864. .... In the meantime the Federals raided into the interior, capturing Camps Cooper and Finegan and sending the rebels back west of Baldwin to regroup.

[2] Winston [Stephens] was ordered from Camp Cooper to Camp Finegan on 6 February, and was forced to leave there in haste when the Federals captured it on the night of 9 February. He and Rowe's company [Company F, 2nd Florida Cavalry] fought a delaying action on 10 February at the St. Mary's River and then retreated to Sanderson. The next day, they helped infantry units fire all supplies stored there and escaped just as the Federals arrived. Davis was not captured, but he had several narrow escapes. Ben Gaines, Winston's half-brother, is not listed in the Soldiers of Florida in the Seminole Indian-Civil and Spanish-American Wars, but he served in the Sixth Florida Infantry Battalion.

21 February 1864 letter from Capt Winston Stephens
27 February 1864 letter from Capt Winston Stephens
15 March 1864 journal entry of Octavia Stephens

Boston Herald article on 40th Massachusetts Mounted Infantry and Ambush at the St. Mary's River

Other Letters from Olustee
Battle of Olustee home page
http://battleofolustee.org/