The 1st Florida Union Cavalry Volunteers in the Civil War: The Men and Regimental History and What That Tells Us About the Area During the War Paperback – Import, 15 March 2017

I started doing ancestry research in 2010 with Civil War ancestry being an important part of that research. Imagine my shock and surprise when a few years later I discovered that I have a 3rd great-great-great grandfather and uncle that was from lower Alabama that actually fought for the 1st Florida Cavalry, not for the Confederacy but for the Union. What would cause men from the deep south to desert the Confederacy and join the Union Army? What were their motivations? What happened in these smaller, more rural areas in the Deep South that would change the complexion of how these men and their families felt about the Confederacy? Anger at the Confederate draft? Money? Fear for their families because of marauding deserters? Deserters themselves? Author Sharon Marsh does a wonderful job of shedding light on these questions and helps provide answers on this largely unknown subject of the Civil War.It is sometimes easy to see the history of the American Civil War as simply blue and gray, north and south, but as this book shows, it was not always as simple as that. Although a smaller story of the larger war, Sharon helps explain the area, the history of it and the motivations behind why these men chose to join the Union. The book is also a great tool for people, like myself, that enjoy doing ancestry research. She has detailed the entire 1st Florida Cavalry roster with as much information as she has been able to discover after many years of research. I would recommend this book to anyone with an ancestor that fought in the 1st Florida Cavalry, anyone that has interest in learning more about Northwest Florida and lower Alabama and for Civil War history enthusiasts that would like to learn more about this smaller, but still interesting, aspect of the Civil War.

This is one of the neglected Union regiments of the War Between the States. I was relieved that I found no family members in this regiment in the very detailed roster. Still it is a stand alone part of Florida’s history.

While as a narrative, it might have very minor shortcomings, the amount of research that went into this book is astounding and worth of the full complement of stars. The 1st FCUV is an enigmatic group with a colorful history. That story is very well portrayed in this book. The depth of research should be found immensely valuable to anyone looking to drill down and determine biographical information about any of the members of the regiment.