In Florida there were a number of reasons that men like your ancestor deserted the Confederate army. Many objected to being sent to far away places to fight when they felt their own homes were threatened. Others objected to the conscription (or "draft") which forced them into the service against their will. Southerners of that day and time were fiercely independent and felt that they should be allowed to volunteer if they wanted to go or stay home if they didn't. Also at the time of his desertion from the Confederate service, there was an outcry in Florida over what many considered to be outrageous conduct by Confederate commissary officers. These men went out to collect livestock, corn and other supplies from farms across the region for use in feeding the Southern armies. In many cases, however, they exceeded their authorization and left wives and children of soldiers to starve. Governor Milton of Florida protested this to the Confederate government in Richmond, warning that many loyal men were leaving the Confederate service because they believed the new government was trampling on their rights more than the old one. A military investigation determined that there had been unacceptable conduct in the region by commissary officers.

In looking back, we often try to judge the people of another era by from the comfortable distance of our modern era and not from the perspective of the time in which they lived. Many of the residents of Northwest Florida were Unionist in sentiment and had opposed secession. They served loyally in Confederate units as long as those units remained in Florida or nearby, but objected fiercely when they were ordered away from their home area. In 1864-1864, many also felt that their rights were being ignored by the new government. Their families were hungry. The camps were disease-ridden and short on supplies and medicine. They faced difficult decisions because they knew that if they marched away, they could do absolutely nothing for their families and would be leaving their home area wide open to Union raid (which is exactly what happened).

I would say that most of them did their best to watch over their families and homes and I respect them all, regardless of how long they served and on which side. They went through a time of difficulty that we can barely imagine.

Best,
Dale Cox