Annual Olustee Festival and Reenactment is This Weekend

The 33rd annual reenactment of the Battle of Olustee will take place this weekend at Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park near Lake City.

This battle, fought on February 20, 1864, was the largest Civil War battle in Florida and involved more than 10,000 men who stood toe to toe in the open pine woods. According to some sources, it was the worst Union defeat of the war (in terms of casualty percentages).

Lake City has memorialized the anniversary of the battle for decades now with its popular Olustee Festival. The event gets underway tomorrow and features festival activities, arts and crafts, etc. The annual parade will take place in Lake City on Saturday morning at 10:30 (Eastern), while the main battle reenactment will be on Sunday at 1:30 at the battlefield 13 miles east of town on U.S. 90.

Click here for more information on festival events and to check out the schedule. You can learn more about the battle by visiting www.exploresouthernhistory.com/olustee.

Annual Battle of Olustee Reenactment set for February

The 2009 version of Florida's largest Civil War reenactment will take place on the weekend of February 13-15 in Lake City and nearby Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.

For a schedule of events and other information, please click here.

Fought on February 20, 1864, the Battle of Olustee was the largest Civil War battle to take place in the state of Florida. More than 10,000 men battled each other for much of the day in the open pine woods just east of the Olustee rail station.

Confederate forces were able to use superior tactics and converging fire to defeat the Union army and drive it back to Jacksonville, ending a major effort to split Florida in half and return at least part of the state to the Union in time for the 1864 Presidential Election.

You can learn more about the battle at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/olustee.