Blockaders, Refugees, and Contrabands chronicles the role of the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in creating civil strife and warfare along the west coast of Florida during the Civil War. This history illuminates the Squadron's impact on Florida - the Confederate state most susceptible to actions by the U.S. Navy - and the far-reaching effects of its activities on the outcome of the War.

Florida was the third Southern state to secede from the United States in 1860-61. With its small population of 140,000 and no manufacturing, few Confederate resources were allocated to protect the state. Some 15,000 Floridians served in the Union and Confederate armies (the highest population percentage of any southern state), but perhaps Florida's greatest contributions came from its production of salt (an essential need for preserving meat and manufacturing gunpowder), its large herds of cattle (which fed two southern armies), and its 1500 mile shoreline (which allowed smugglers to bring critical supplies from Europe and the Carribean). Florida in the Civil War: Blockaders will focus on the men and ships that fought this prolonged battle at sea, along the long and largely vacant coasts of the Sunshine State and on Florida soil. The information will be drawn from official sources, newspaper articles and private accounts. Approximately fifty (50) period photographs and drawings will be incorporated into the text.

Born into a prominent Baltimore family in 1811, C.T. Jenkins defies his father's demands that he continue the Jenkins' family enterprise and makes a dash into the pages of Confederate history. After his capture by Union forces off Florida's Gulf Coast for the crime of blockade running and facing a life sentence, Jenkins realizes that to survive his ordeal he must face the challenge of realigning with his Baltimore family.

Fascinating facts and significant events of the Civil War in Florida, organized by calendar dates and accompanied by photos and illustrations. Mainland America’s southernmost state has more than its share of Civil War stories. In January 1861, Florida militia forces captured the old Spanish Castillo de San Marcos, then known as Fort Marion, from the single Union soldier who guarded it. In 1862, Union forces recaptured it without a single shot fired. Union general Edward Moody McCook—later minister to Hawaii—accepted the surrender of Tallahassee on May 10, 1865, and on May 13, he read the Emancipation Proclamation to an assembled crowd of white Floridians and former slaves on the steps of the Knott House in the city. In this illustrated book, local historians Nick Wynne and Joe Knetsch detail a Civil War moment for each date on the calendar—so you can take in a tidbit every day, or enjoy a fascinating read all at once.