Florida State Archives Photographic Collection

Truman Seymour (1824-1891)

The Union army, commanded by Brigadier General Truman Seymour, spent the night of February 19th at Barbers Station, about twenty-five miles east of Lake City. Their commander was a thirty-nine year old Vermonter, son of a Methodist minister and 1846 graduate of West Point. An artilleryman, Seymour served in the Mexican and Florida wars, receiving several brevet promotions. He was present at the Fort Sumter bombardment in April, 1861, and in early 1862 was promoted to brigadier general, serving in the Army of the Potomac's Fifth Corps during the Peninsula Campaign. At Second Bull Run, South Mountain and Antietam he performed capably, particularly in his brigade's capture of Turner's Gap, Maryland. Seymour was sent to the Department of the South late in 1862, where he gained notoriety for the unsuccessful and controversial assault on Battery Wagner in July 1863. Wounded at Wagner, he saw little field duty for the remainder of the year.

One of the most experienced subordinates of Major General Quincy Gillmore, commander of the Union Army's Department of the South, Seymour was chosen to command a portion of the troops selected for the Florida campaign. Following Gillmore's return to department headquarters at South Carolina, Seymour found himself in overall charge of the expedition. Full-bearded, but with a deceptively youthful appearance, Seymour's reputation was that of an aggressive, sometimes rash commander, who often succeeded in battle, but at a heavy cost. Seymour's performance at Olustee reaffirmed this estimate of his generalship, and he was severely criticized in the northern press after the defeat.

Despite such criticism, Seymour next received assignment to the Army of the Potomac. Confederate forces captured him at the Wilderness in May 1864, but following exchange he commanded a division in the Sixth Corps during the war's latter stages. After the end of the war Seymour remained in the Regular Army until 1876. He then resided in Florence Italy, dying there in 1891.

After the initial Florida landings, Seymour placed a number of units on garrison duty at Jacksonville and other locations., He then organized his remaining units into three infantry brigades, a brigade of cavalry and mounted infantry, and supporting artillery elements. The first brigade of Seymour's small army, commanded by Colonel William B. Barton, consisted of the Forty-seventh, Forty-eighth, and 115th New York Infantry. These veteran units provided the Federal commander with his most reliable infantry force in the Florida campaign.,

Official Order concerning the February 14th raid on Gainesville
General Seymour's Initial Report of the Battle
Letter from Brig. Gen. Seymour to Brig. Gen. Finegan, February 23, 1864
Report from Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour, February 26, 1864
Report from Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour on Union and Confederate Wounded, March 2, 1864
General Orders No. 13, March 10, 1864
Boston Journal article on Brig. Gen. Seymour's laxness, March 10, 1864

Editor's Note: Seymour was a graduate of West Point and was on duty at Fort Sumter when the Confederates opened fire and the Civil War began.

Wikipedia page on General Seymour

Union Order of Battle
Battle of Olustee Home Page
http://battleofolustee.org/