Details
Creator Kurz & Allison.
Title Battle of Olustee, Fla. [graphic] : Feby 26' 1864 - Union: (Gen. Seymour) 8' U.S., 54" Mass., 1' N.C. Col'r T[roop]. Loss: 193 k'd, 1175 'd, 460 miss'g - Conf. (Gen. Finnegan) Loss: Abt 660.
Publisher Chicago: Kurz & Allison
Publisher ILL. Chicago. 1894
Date 1894
Physical Description 1 print: chromolithograph; sheet 57 x 71 cm (22.25 x 28 in.)
Description Commemorative print depicting the participation of African American troops in the only major battle fought in Florida during the Civil War. Shows an African American regiment from the 8th U.S. Colored Infantry advancing against Confederate troops hunkered down behind fortifications in the left distance. The troop is led by a white officer on horseback. Behind a single cannon, the first line of men has their guns drawn and aimed. Two rows behind is the African American flag bearer. He holds an American flag with a gold streamer reading "8 U.S. Inf[antry]." Two rows of African American soldiers advance from behind him. Dead soldiers and two dead horses lie to the advancing troop's left. A white soldier uses one of the dead horses as a shield while firing. To the far rear of the advancing troop, a white officer on horseback gives directions to another white officer on foot. An African American soldier assists an injured fourth white officer who holds his hand to his head as they walk toward the officer on horseback. In the far left foreground, African American soldiers survey the scene, fire a rifle, prepare a rifle to fire, and lie dead near an overturned dray and ammunitions locker.
In the right background, white troops man cannons as a bomb blasts near them. Palm and pine trees as well as train tracks line the clearing in which the battle ensues. Smoke billows from the many gun and cannon blasts. The Battle of Olustee was fought on February 20, 1864 in Baker County near Olustee Station on the Florida, Atlantic, and Gulf Central Railroad. Union troops, led by Brigadier General Truman Seymour, met reinforced Confederate troops under the command of General Joseph Finnegan when on an expedition to capture Florida. Union troops entered the battle piecemeal, were barraged, and were forced to retreat to Jacksonville. Reserve forces from the Massachusetts 54th and the 35th United States Colored Troops provided cover. Union forces never fought Confederate forces from behind fortifications, nor in a clearing as portrayed in the Kurz & Allison print. The Battle of Olustee was the second bloodiest battle of the war for the Union.
Notes Name of publisher and date from copyright statement: Copyrighted 1894 by Kurz & Allison - 76 & 78 Wabash Ave., Chicago.
Purchased with the Davida T. Deutsch African American History Fund.
Description review 2022.
Access points reviewed 2022.
Biographical / historical note Kurz & Allison, a Chicago firm known for sensational views, was established in 1880 by lithographer Louis Kurz and Alexander Allison. Through the 1890s, Kurz & Allison issued several popularly marketed views of the Civil War. Many documented African American participation in the war.
Subject United States. Army. Colored Infantry Regiment, 8th (1863-1865)
African American soldiers.
Campaigns & battles -- Florida -- Baker County.
Afro-American soldiers -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Geographic subject United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, African American.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Battlefields.
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Casualties.
Genre Chromolithographs -- 1890-1900.
Commemorative prints -- 1890-1900.
Location Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| **GC - Civil War - Campaigns & Battles - Olustee [P.2017.51]
Accession number P.2017.51