Mayor Flees Jacksonville

A band of angry citizens provoked by the Jacksonville’s Mayors’ incendiary words of surrender, hunted suspected traitors and threatened to kill any that were found. One man brandishing a sawed-off shotgun shouted “We will kill the traitors! We will never give up!”

One man who agreed with the Mayor’s remarks (of surrender) was shot dead on the spot. Witnesses stated they saw blood oozing from his multiple gunshots. Later, two men who the group described as “sympathizers” were caught at the boat dock and executed. Luckily, the Mayor escaped.

Since the city of Jacksonville, Florida, was first established in 1822, there have been approximately 50 city Mayors. The first Mayor, William J. Mills, originally from Amelia Island, served from 1832 until 1835. Some Mayors have been young, some old, there were skinny Mayors and there were obese Mayors, there were book-trained intelligent Mayors and admired farmhands who reached the highest office.

Only one Mayor, Halstead H. Hoeg (1860-1862; 1865-1866), faced the troubling decision of whether to surrender Jacksonville to the Union troops during the Civil War (considered by Southerners as the War of Northern Aggression).

The year was 1862, and the Civil War was heating up in the Georgia and Florida. Union soldiers were becoming more aggressive in their tactics and pushing deep into the South.

The Mayor, described as a “strong drink of milk”, was not a big man by any means. A “book reader” by nature, he was non-confrontational and hoped that all arguments could be settled amicably. He had served the city for two terms and felt comfortable in his decisions. A major misjudgment of Jacksonville’s fighting spirit could have cost him his life.

According to a Savannah, Georgia, newspaper, it all began on or around March 10, 1862, when Mayor Hoeg was notified of Union troops approaching the city. He might have received a telegram or message which ordered him to “surrender the city or witness it burned to the ground.”

Meeting with senior townspeople and several legal scholars they decided that “without munitions”, the town would be unable to defend against 10 Pounders (mortars) and were ill-equipped to put up any type of reasonable fight.

It was the combined decision of this group (of what people in 1862 might describe as “learn-ned men”) that the city surrendered immediately as ordered. Thus, with a stroke of his pen, the Mayor quickly issued a proclamation which read:

“TO THE CITIZENS OF JACKSONVILLE: FEDERALS ARE MARCHING TOWARD JACKSONVILLE AND WILL ARRIVE SHORTLY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RESIST THIS OCCUPATION. STAY AT HOME AND GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS NORMALLY. WE HAVE NO MEANS TO RESIST THIS THREAT. IT IS THE OPINION OF OUR MOST EXPERIENCED AND INTELLIGENT CITIZENS (AND I THINK A CORRECT ONE) THAT IF THE ENEMY MEETS WITH NO RESISTANCE, PRIVATE PROPERTY WILL BE RESPECTED AND UNARMED CITIZENS WILL BE ALLOWED TO PURSUE THEIR USUAL OCCUPATIONS.”

Early Jacksonville pioneers, who were naturally used to defending their own property from intruders, took up arms immediately. Shouts of “We will kill those Yankee bastards!” could be heard throughout the city.

Discharging his gun into the air another yelled, “Till the last bullet I will defend our city!”

Jacksonville’s citizens must have felt betrayed by the Mayor’s “Proclamation of Surrender.” This collective anger suddenly turned on those associated with the northern states. To make matters worse, there was only one officer of the peace available to restore order. Anyone with means took every opportunity to flee the expected Union occupation and the volunteer armed resistance.

Realizing that the Mayor’s life was in danger, someone suggested that he leave the city immediately. The Mayor’s final order was to bury the town’s records in deep holes just in case the town was burned to the ground.

One man, known as Mr. Mitchell, was shot and killed by local soldiers for “utterance of treasonable sentiments.” He was standing on the back of a wagon holding up the Mayor’s proclamation, shouting, “We must give up and save our city from destruction!” This sign of defiant action only acted as fuel to the angry mob. “I saw two Yankees heading for the docks!” one man yelled. Another chimed in, “Me, too!” The crowd ran down to toward the boat docks leaving the mortally wounded man lying in the mud to die.

The “Yankees” attempted to make an escape using a small sailboat but unluckily for them there was no wind. The boat did not move. Spotting the men running from the area, one man yelled, “There they are!” Guns were discharged and the men died on the spot.

This action still did not chill the heated crowd. More residents gathered and joined in the ruckus. One man shouted, “Look, those Yankees will take our wood and ship it North to Washington. We cannot let them get their hands on it.” A resounding “Yeah!” could be heard throughout town. The group, now like a giant swarm of wasps moved as one toward the mills. Within hours, two steam mills and all its stacked finished wood (4,000,000 board feet of wood) was set ablaze. Interestingly, a Mr. Scott saved his mill by raising a British flag on its property. Later under the veil of darkness, locals burned three town buildings including the Judson House hotel.

Another man considered the situation, and said loudly, “They’ll take our gunship.” The city had a boat equipped with guns that could be converted to a Union gunship with minor modifications. It too was set on fire and sank in the shallow waters.

The Union soldiers getting closer to the city could get a glimpse of the flames lapping over the tall pine trees north of the city.

Fear of actions of the Federal forces drove many more from town. The town train was taxed to capacity. Those with wagons loaded up and left town, too.

On March 11, 1862, four Federal gunboats, Seneca, Pembina, Ottawa, and Isaac Smith, along with two transports of Commodore DuPont’s squadron, anchored at the mouth of the St. Johns River. Between March 11 and March 19, 1862, the forces seized the town making the nicest hotels and homes officers quarters and turning other facilities into soldier’s quarters. Jacksonville’s town sheriff waved a white flag surrendering the city to the invaders.

On March 19, 1862, famous General William Tecumseh Sherman arrived in Jacksonville to evaluate the situation. He was pleased with his commanding officers’ decision to hold Jacksonville.

Jacksonville was occupied four times during the war. Each time, Federal forces promised to do no harm to local citizens and not burn the town. However, after the third occupation, evacuating northern troops burned the town to the ground.

Military Doctor, Alfred Walton, Eighth Maine Regiment, saved two items from the fiery infernos destruction. One saved item was a prayer book from the altar of St. John’s Episcopal Church and the other was a manuscript map from the city clerk’s office. Both items were returned to its rightful owner after the war.

In 1865, Mayor Hoeg (Democrat), who had returned after calmer minds prevailed, was begged to resume his position as the city’s Mayor. The city government consisted of the Mayor, the Clerk of Council, six city councilmen, and three policemen. Though the city had reestablished the city government, the actual control remained with the military (African-American Soldiers). The buried town records were exhumed but all were destroyed by decay.

On April 6, 1869, the last federal troop was removed from Jacksonville and its recovery was in full swing.

By 1872, Jacksonville was described as a “thriving little city.” And the rest of the story is purely history.

NOTE: A March 30, 1862, New York Times article about the above incident reported, “The Mayor made his escape from Jacksonville.” This could be interpreted as he was fleeing angry citizens or the advancing Yankee soldiers. Additional research will be performed to verify which statement is correct. This quote accompanied the story regarding the murders and the burning of the mills; nothing was printed about threats from advancing soldiers.

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Joseph Miller is a life-long resident of Jacksonville, Florida, and an active member of the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville. As a historian, he recently completed his first book on the Founder of Rotary, Paul P. Harris, titled “That Paul Harris.”

Joseph can be reached at JaxHistory@gmail.com.