As the General Lay Dying: the Diary of a Confederate Officer\u27s Florida Odyssey

The obituary for ninety-four-year-old Confederate veteran Charles Wood notes some episodes from his Civil War experience: captured at the Battle of Antietam, service in the defense of Charleston, South Carolina, and his presence at the surrender of General Joseph E.Johnston\u27s army at Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1865. Missing is any mention of Wood\u27s military service in Florida in 1861-1862. Whether the obituary writer was not aware of Wood\u27s time in Florida or decided that period was not significant enough to include in the account of Wood\u27s life is unknown. Like Wood\u27s obituary, histories of the American Civil War have often omitted or paid little attention to Florida\u27s role in the conflict. This omission makes the appearance of additional primary sources from Florida\u27s Civil War years all the more important for adding to the relative lack of sources on the Civil War in Florida in comparison to the source material available on other Confederate states. Fortunately, Wood left behind a diary that provides information and observations from his assignment as a Confederate staff officer in Tallahassee in the fall and winter of 1861, a critical period in Florida\u27s Civil War history.