Great War of the Blue and Gray again takes center stage

Orlando Sentinel: Great War of the Blue and Gray again takes center stage

This month -- April 12, to be exact -- marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. On that day in 1861, Confederate artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, beginning what many historians consider the watershed event in our nation's past.

Today, when war deaths are often reported individually on television, the toll of the Civil War defies our comprehension. The casualties (dead and wounded) at the Battle of Gettysburg alone were 51,000: the population of a good-sized city. Estimates for the whole war put the deaths, including many from illness, at more than 600,000 for the period from 1861-1865.

It's no wonder that those four years continue to fascinate. It's been said that more books have been published in the United States about the Civil War than any other topic other than religion.

And many more will surely be published as we embark on the Civil War Sesquicentennial, which is inspiring a plethora of exhibitions and programs across the country. The Orange County Regional History Center is in the vanguard with "Florida in the Civil War," on display through June 15.

The smallest of the 11 Confederate states in population, Florida was ridiculed in the Union press as "the smallest tadpole in the dirty pool of secession," Paul Taylor writes in Discovering the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide.

But as the History Center's exhibit makes clear, the story of Civil War Florida has many interesting chapters, including the role of cattle king Jacob Summerlin (a pivotal figure in Orlando's history) in supplying more than 25,000 head of cattle to the Confederacy.

Discovery in murky depths

Another chapter, featured in the exhibit, concerns the ill-fated Union steamer Maple Leaf, which sank April 1, 1864, after it struck a Confederate mine floating in the St. Johns River.

More than a century later in 1984, a group of amateur archaeologists led by Keith Holland, a Jacksonville dentist, located the wreck of the Maple Leaf about 12 miles south of Jacksonville. Four years later, after years of research, legal proceedings, and negotiations with state and federal agencies, divers entered the intact hull, which rested below 20 feet of water and 3 to 7 feet of mud.

That mud and the tannin-infused water of the St. Johns had kept the ship's contents in a remarkable state of preservation, and in 1989, Holland's team brought to the surface about 3,000 objects from the treasure trove of Civil War artifacts in the Maple Leaf: the equipment and belongings of three U.S. Army infantry regiments from New York and Indiana, as well as the stock of at least two sutlers.

The team's discoveries also included china that may have been taken from abandoned plantations on Johns Island, S.C., which the troops marched across two months before the Maple Leaf sank.

Meet Maple Leaf explorer, folks of the Blue and Gray

Today, Holland is scheduled to be at the History Center's Civil War exhibit from 2 to 4 p.m. to chat about the discovery of the Maple Leaf and answer questions.

Visitors to the exhibit will also find other treasure, while supplies last: copies of It Leaves Bitter Thoughts Behind: Florida in the Civil War, by History Center research coordinator Barbara Knowles. It's full of information and pictures.

On April 10, the History Center presents a special program, "The Civil War Experience," from 1 to 4:30 p.m. (It's included that day with museum admission.) The event will feature demonstrations by Civil War re-enactors (North and South, black and white) focusing on varied topics including the Battle of Olustee, a rifle demonstration, the clothing of the period, the role of quilts in the Underground Railroad, and the social customs of the time. Desserts popular during the era (think apple streusel, pecan pie) will be available for purchase.

The History Center is at 65 E. Central Blvd. in downtown Orlando. For details, go to thehistorycenter.org or call 407-836-8500 or 800-965-2030.