Battle of Olustee - Aftermath

Aftermath

Union casualties were 203 killed, 1,152 wounded, and 506 missing, a total of 1,861 men—more than 30%. Confederate losses were lower: 93 killed, 847 wounded, and 6 missing, a total of 946 casualties in all—but still about 20%. Additionally, Union forces allowed six artillery pieces and 39 horses to be captured as well. The ratio of Union casualties to the number of troops involved made this the second bloodiest battle of the War for the Union, with 265 casualties per 1,000 troops. Soldiers on both sides were veterans of the great battles in the eastern and western theaters of war, but many of them remarked in letters and diaries that they had never experienced such terrible fighting. Following the battle, men of the 54th Massachusetts manually pulled a train of wounded Union soldiers for five miles, until horses could be secured to transport them further. This story of bravery and sheer strength became widely known over the whole United States.

The Union losses caused Northern authorities to question the necessity of further Union involvement in the militarily insignificant state of Florida. There is also considerable evidence from Confederate memoirs and letters that the high Union casualties were partially the result of Confederate troops murdering wounded and captured African-American Union soldiers.

In the South, the battle was seen as a spirit-raising rout. One Georgia newspaper referred to Union forces as walking "forty miles over the most barren land of the South, frightening the salamanders and the gophers, and getting a terrible thrashing…"

Today, the battlefield is contained within the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park, a part of the Florida State Park system. This park is located within the Osceola National Forest, on U.S. 90.

There is an annual historical reenactment that takes place on the site of the battle, and nearby Lake City (in Columbia County) has hosted the yearly Olustee Battle Festival since 1976.

On one weekend every February (see Footnotes), thousands of reenactors from across the U.S. and even from overseas, come to the Park to reenact the Battle of Olustee. Reenactors begin arriving as early as Thursday to set up. Friday is "School Day" as thousands of students arrive to spend the day watching demonstrations and listening to living historians discuss various aspects of the war and life in the United States during the 1860s. The public is invited to attend the reenactment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, visit the camps, view demonstrations, interact with living historians, shop at numerous sutler tents for Civil War merchandise, and attend the battle on each day. A large selection of modern day food is available from Friday through Sunday inside the park.

The reenactment of the Battle of Olustee is co-sponsored by four organizations: the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park Citizens Support Organization; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection - Recreation and Parks; the USDA Forest Service - Osceola National Forest; and The Blue-Grey Army, Inc.