On the morning of August 15, 1864, Colonel Andrew Harris left Baldwin with orders to destroy the railroad and warehouses in Gainesville. Gainesville was the second largest supply depot in central Florida for the Confederate War Department. Lake City was the largest. Harris left with 15 commissioned officers, 158 men enlisted men from the 75th OH, 12 enlisted men of Company A, 3rd RI Artillery and their one gun, 3 wagons, and a total of 15 cooks and blacksmiths (total 274 Union soldiers). By 6:00 PM that night he was at Trail Ridge. He arrived at Starke at 2:30 AM on the 16th. There he picked up 2 commissioned officers and 87 enlisted men from the 4th MA Cavalry commanded by Captain Morton along with 12-15 loyal Floridians. He arrived in Gainesville at 6:30 in the morning on the 17th. The town was defended by about 70 Rebels who were easily dislodged by Company B of the 4th MA Cavalry.

Once arriving in town his first action was to order his men to feed their horses and have the cooks make coffee (his own words in his report!). Within about 30 minutes the Confederates launched a counterattack by Captain J.J. Dickison commanding his 2nd FL Cavalry and a detachment of 40 men from the 5th FL Cavalry, a total of only about 175 men. The fight lasted about 2 hours, and the Federals were completely routed in one of the most one-sided engagements of the war. By Colonel Harris’ report he suffered 5 killed, 33 wounded, and 166 missing for a total of 204 casualties from a total fighting force of 274 men. Harris estimated that he was attacked by 600-800 Confederates, when in reality Dickison had less than 1/4 that number. Captain Morton left town via the wrong road resulting in the loss of the artillery piece. The small field howitzer that was lost is thought to be the one shown in the image below from the Silver River Museum in Ocala.

In his after-report to Major General John Foster, Brigadier General John Hatch summarized the action as follows “The more I hear of this affair the worse it appears. Colonel Harris undoubtedly allowed his men to scatter through the town and, I fear, to pillage. He was undoubtedly surprised and although the men individually fought pretty well, I do not believe they were at any time under control. You will perceive that neither the lieutenant-colonel nor the major of the regiment is a prisoner. It may be they were murdered after being taken, but they probably are in the swamps working their way to our lines. I shall have an investigation of the whole affair as soon as possible, but would like the testimony of some who are still absent, but not given up as lost. Colonel Harris has always borne the reputation of a brave man, but his regiment was without discipline.” The battle is interpreted only by the sign below in downtown Gainesville.

The other side of the sign above interprets the First Skirmish of Gainesville that occurred a few months before.

Source

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Volume XXXV/I Chapter XLVII pages 427-435

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Volume XXXV/I Chapter XLVII page 439