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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
The ground of Florida's largest Civil War battle, fought February 20, 1864, with 2,807 men killed, wounded, or missing; preserved in 1912 as the state's first historic site.
5815 Battlefield Trail Road, Olustee, FL 32072
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free day-use admission. The annual reenactment in February may carry a separate parking or event fee.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Flat pine flatwoods. A roughly one-mile interpretive trail with markers loops the battlefield. A visitor center and monument are near the parking area.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1864 · Largest Civil War battle fought in Florida · 2,807 combined casualties on February 20, 1864 · Three regiments of U.S. Colored Troops engaged, including the 54th Massachusetts · Designated Florida's first state historic site in 1912 · Annual February reenactment, among the largest in the Southeast
The Battle of Olustee was fought on February 20, 1864, in the pine flatwoods near Olustee, in present-day Baker County, Florida. A Union force advancing inland from Jacksonville met a Confederate force near Ocean Pond, and the two sides fought for about five hours. It was the largest Civil War battle on Florida soil, with more than 10,000 men engaged. The Union attack failed and the federal troops retreated to Jacksonville, where they remained for the rest of the war.
The cost was heavy on both sides. Combined casualties totaled 2,807: Union losses of 203 killed, 1,152 wounded, and 506 missing, for 1,861 men, against Confederate losses of 93 killed, 847 wounded, and 6 missing, for 946. Three regiments of U.S. Colored Troops fought at Olustee, among them the 54th Massachusetts and the 35th United States Colored Troops, who covered the Union withdrawal.
The battlefield was set aside as Florida's first state historic site in 1912, a period when Civil War veterans still gathered for reunions. The granite monument on the grounds was begun in 1897 by the Florida Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and dedicated on October 23, 1912. Today the state park preserves the core of the battlefield with an interpretive trail of about a mile, a visitor center, and the monument. Each February, on Presidents' Day weekend, the park hosts a large reenactment that has drawn participants from across the country and abroad.
Sources
Olustee carries the reputation that attaches to many Civil War battlefields where large numbers of men died quickly. Visitor accounts gathered on paranormal listings describe cold spots along the interpretive trails and near the cemetery area, the sense of being watched, and shadow shapes moving among the pines at dusk. Some visitors report seeing figures in period uniform near the road by the cemetery, and photographers occasionally claim unexplained spots of light in images taken during the February reenactment.
These reports are informal and come from visitors rather than from any documented investigation; they should be read as the kind of atmosphere people bring to and take from a place with this history. What is documented is the battle itself: a five-hour fight in 1864 that left 2,807 men killed, wounded, or missing. The interpretive trail and monument are the reason to come, and the quiet of the pine flatwoods does the rest.
A roughly one-mile loop trail crosses the battlefield with interpretive signs describing the course of the February 20, 1864 engagement. A monument and a small visitor center near the parking area provide additional context on the units that fought here, including the U.S. Colored Troops. Self-guided and free.
Each February, on Presidents' Day weekend, thousands of reenactors stage one of the largest Civil War reenactments in the Southeast on the battlefield. The event includes living-history camps and a re-creation of the battle. Dates and any parking fees are posted on the park and Battle of Olustee organizers' sites.
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