COLLECTION DESCRIPTION
RECORD GROUP: 900000
CALL NUMBER: M76- 139
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CREATOR:
Watson, Robert, 1835-1911.
TITLE:
Diary
DATE:
1861-1865
VOLUME:
0.25 cubic ft.
ARRANGEMENT:
Chronological.
BIOGRAPHICAL/
HISTORICAL NOTE:
Born in the Bahamas, Robert Watson first came to Florida in 1847.
He settled in Key West, where he became a carpenter. Watson left
Union-occupied Key West in September 1861 and he enrolled in a Florida
"Coast Guard" company at Cedar Key. In April 1862 this company was
mustered into Confederate service as Company K, Seventh Florida Infantry
Regiment. Watson's company remained along Florida's west coast,
primarily at Tampa and Point Pinellas, until late June, when it joined
the Confederate Army in Tennessee.
Watson's unit participated in the Confederate invasion of Kentucky in
1862. On September 2, ill with fever, Watson was captured and paroled
by Union troops at Boston, Kentucky. He returned to his unit in
March 1863. During the rest of 1863, his unit campaigned primarily
in east Tennessee. In September the unit fought in the bloody battle
of Chickamauga, a Confederate victory, followed by defeat around Chattanooga,
two months later. Watson and a number of men from his company were
transferred to the Confederate States Navy in March 1864. He served
aboard the C.S.S. Savannah until December of that year, when, upon the
evacuation of Savannah, the ship was scuttled to prevent it from falling
into Union hands. Watson was briefly sent to Charleston, South Carolina;
then to Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, North Carolina.
Following the fall of Fort Fisher in January 1865, Watson traveled by
rail to Richmond, Virginia, assisting in the defense of the James River.
Watson accompanied Lee's Army of Northern Virginia when it evacuated the
Confederate capital. He was captured by Federal forces on April
8, 1865, one day before the surrender at Appomattox. After the war,
Watson returned to Key West, Florida.
SUMMARY SCOPE NOTE:
The collection contains the Civil War diary, 1861-1865, of Robert Watson.
It documents his service during the Civil War in the 7th Florida Infantry
Regiment and in the Confederate Navy. The first entry is September
27, 1861 from Key West (Monroe County). The diary continues with
fairly regular entries until April 25, 1865. A part of the diary
was originally printed in the Pass-a-Grille Gulf Beach News; copies of
this version are also in the collection. It is arguably the most
detailed and complete diary kept by a Floridian during the Civil War,
and it is certainly unique in documenting the activities of a Floridian
who served in the Confederate States Navy.
REPRODUCTION NOTE:
Photocopies.
LOCATION OF ORIGINALS: Unknown.
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