On Februaby 18, 2000 a total of 54 people from Pack 303 including family
members and Tiger Cubs went together to Camp Olustee. Although there were
no facilities other than outhouses, it was a very fun weekend and one that we will
never forget. The main reason we all went was to see the Battle of Olustee
Reenactment that takes place every year.

The following information on the battle and on the battle field after the war
we received on the pamphlet that they handed out. I have included this to
show a little history on what we saw and what all took place. The reenactment
that we did see lasted about 2 1/2 hours and the one that took place on
Sunday Feb 14 lasts about 4 hours but they get approximatly 30,000 people there
each year to see it.

The Battle of Olustee

The Union campaign that climaxed in the Battle of Olustee (or Ocean Pond) began in February, 1864, when troops commanded by General Truman A. Seymour began an offensive in Florida. Their immediate objective was a fourth occupation of Jacksonville. The Union force could then disrupt transportation links and deprive the Confederacy of food supplies from Central Florida; capture cotton, turpentine, and timber; gain black recruits for the army; and induce Union sympathizers in east Florida to organize a loyal state government.
	Confederate forces noticed the movement of the Federal troops and began preparations for an offensive. The defense of Florida was placed in the hands of General Joseph Finegan and Brigadier General Alfred Colquitt. Once it was apparent the Union forces were moving westward in Florida, General Finegan began searching for the Confederate army's best defendable position.
Finegan found that position in Olustee; with a lake called Ocean Pond on his left, a nearly impassable swamp on his right, and only a narrow passage between, he called for troops to help defend Florida.
On February 20, the Union force of nearly 5,500 men marched westward from near Macclenny. By this time, the Confederate forces almost equaled the opposing Union army in number. Skirmishers were sent out early that day to drive the Union forces to Olustee; they make contact that afternoon.
The battle ensued as the troops engaged in a forest of virgin pines, free of underbrush and of constructed earthworks. The battle raged until dark, when the Union forces began a hasty retreat, having suffered a stinging defeat. Battle casualties amounted to 1,861 Union and 946 Confederate soldiers.
Union forces remained in Jacksonville until the end of the war and occupied several coastal towns and various places along the St. Johns River. They carried out frequent operations against Confederate forces defending east Florida, but did not venture out in significant force again. In 1897 the Florida Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy began raising funds for a monument at the battle site, and in 1899 the Florida Legislature estableished a commission to oversee construction of the monument which was finally completed in 1912. The battle site was acquired by the State of Florida in 1909, and is now a unit of the Florida Park Service

Blue and Gold banquet	Conservation Project	Scout Blast
Cub/Adult Weekends	Day Camp	Home Page
Fund Raiser	Family Picnic	Our Change of Command Ceremony
Family Camping	Zoofari	Treat O Ree Weekend