Expedition up the Blackwater River and the Action at Milton- October 25-28

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Spurling led several raids up the Blackwater River from Pensacola in the fall of 1864. The area was richly forested and Spurling was seizing large amounts of lumber and bricks. On the morning of October 25th he would not only command 100 men from his own Second Maine Veteran Cavalry but also soldiers from the 25th, 82nd, and 86th US Colored Troops. In addition, he would bring 100 dismounted men from the 1st FL Cavalry, a detachment from the 29th Iowa and a company of dismounted men from the 2nd Maine Cavalry to serve as artillerists for two howitzers (Company M). He would command a total of about 700 men. They left Fort Barrancas aboard two transports the USS Planter and the Lizzie Davis. Each boat landed at a different point and the two forces were to converge on Pierce’s Mill, 8 miles up the Blackwater River, and capture the small Confederate outpost there and advance to Milton. The mission was successful from the standpoint of seizing a large quantity of lumber in Bagdad (85,000 feet), and destroying a large amount of military stores and foodstuffs two miles upriver in Milton. However, one of the forces landed too close to the mill losing the element of surprise and the the 70-80 men from the 8th MS Cavalry were able to escape. The raid is interpreted by the two signs below.

During the raid, Union troops from the 2nd Maine Cavalry, 1st Florida Cavalry, 19th Iowa Infantry and United States Colored Troops of the 25th, 82nd and 86th regiments camped in and around the Thompson house, leaving graffiti including drawings and signatures on the plaster walls. In 1913 the house, which originally faced the Blackwater River, was moved to its present location when the Mill complex expanded.