When Vicksburg fell and cattle were no longer available from west of the Mississippi, Florida became an important source of beef for the Confederacy. In December of 1863 Union General Daniel Woodbury reoccupied Fort Myers with a force made up of Floridians loyal to the Union which would later become the 2nd Florida Cavalry. The fort had been abandoned since 1858 after the Third Seminole War ended. Fort Myers would serve as a base for launching raids into the interior of the state to disrupt the cattle trade. The forts defenses were strengthened and a long wharf was built to load cattle onto Union ships for transport. Another role for the outpost would be to move inland into areas the navy could not reach and destroy salt works and other targets of value.

The raids were so successful that the Confederacy formed a Cattle Guard Battalion called the “Cow Cavalry” to deal with them. It was commanded by Colonel C.J. Munnerlyn and was made up of cattlemen that were exempt from service in the Confederate Army. In early February of 1865, Major William Footman would leave Fort Meade with a force of between 275-400 men in four cavalry companies commanded by Captains Agnew, Hendry, John Lesley and L.G. Lesley along with one 12-pounder cannon. The Rebels arrived near old Fort Thompson (modern day LaBelle, Florida) on February 19th and marched down the Caloosahatchee River and camped. On the morning of the 20th an advanced Confederate six man detachment captured four Federal pickets near Billy’s Creek one mile east of the fort. Three quarters of a mile from the fort at a pond the same group came upon six Union soldiers, five surrendered and one was killed. Another picket post spotted the Confederates and raised the alarm at the fort around noon. Fort Myers was garrisoned by about 200 men from the 2nd Florida Cavalry, the 2nd USCT, and members of the 110th NY all commanded by Captain James Doyle of the 110th NY. They had two pieces of artillery. Upon arriving at the fort the Confederates sent a flag of truce forward that was met by Union Captain Bartholf demanding the surrender of the fort. Captain Doyle declined and at 1:10 PM the Confederates opened fire with their 12-pounder from a distance of about 1,400 yards. The Union guns returned fire and skirmishers from the 2nd FL Cavalry were deployed in the brush and trees outside the fort. The Confederates fired about 20 shells at long range and fighting continued until darkness fell. The Confederates out of rations decided to abandon the siege. There were no Union casualties except for those involving their pickets.

The blockhouse below is seen in the lower part of the image above just to the right of center.

Attack on Fort Myers sign- 26.6455833, -81.8676667

Fort Myers sign- 26.6451389, -81.8686667

2nd Regiment Infantry, U.S. Colored Troops Memorial and Companies D and I which Served at The Battle of Fort Myers- 26.6445954, -81.8730914 (park across street at the post office) Link

The IMAG History and Science Center- 2000 Cranford Avenue

Sources

Federal Expedition against Saint Marks Ends at Natural Bridge by Ed Bearss The Florida Historical Quarterly Volume 45 No. 4, pages 369-390.

Florida’s Civil War Years by Keith Kohl

Official Records of the war of the Rebellion Series I, Volume XLIX, pages 53-54.