Editing History of Florida (section)

===American Civil War===
{{Main article|Florida in the American Civil War}}
[[File:Battle of Olustee.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Battle of Olustee]] was the only major Civil War battle fought in Florida.]]
Following [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s [[1860 United States presidential election in Florida|election in 1860]], Florida joined other Southern states in seceding from the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]. [[Secession]] took place January 10, 1861, and after less than a month as an independent republic, Florida became one of the founding seven states of the [[Confederate States of America]]. During the Civil War, Florida was an important supply route for the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]]. Therefore, Union forces operated a [[naval blockade]] around the entire state, and Union troops occupied major ports such as [[Cedar Key, Florida|Cedar Key]], [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], [[Key West, Florida|Key West]], and [[Pensacola]]. Though numerous skirmishes occurred in Florida, including the [[Battle of Natural Bridge]], the [[Battle of Marianna]] and the [[Battle of Gainesville]], the only major battle was the [[Battle of Olustee]] near [[Lake City, Florida|Lake City]].

In 1861, at the start of the war, the state had a population of roughly 140,000, with half of that being enslaved African Americans.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Weitz |editor1-first=Seth A. |editor2-last=Sheppard |editor2-first=Jonathan C. |title=A Forgotten Front: Florida during the Civil War Era |date=2018 |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |location=Tuscaloosa|isbn=978-0817319823 |page=11}}</ref> In spite of the state's relatively small population, Florida did send several units to fight up north, most notably the [[1st Florida Infantry Regiment|1st Florida]], the [[8th Florida Infantry Regiment|8th Florida]] and the [[3rd Florida Infantry Regiment]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sheppard |first1=Jonathan C. |title=By the noble daring of her sons : the Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee |date=2012 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |isbn=978-0817317072 |page=28}}</ref>

Most of the population were not enthusiastic about the secession, and the Unionist movement that was a minority in Florida between 1861 and 1862 increased notably during the last three years of the war, especially in [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], [[Sarasota, Florida|Sarasota]] and most of South and Northwest Florida, where [[List of Florida Union Civil War units|Unionist regiments]] were formed.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} At the time of the end of the war, most Floridians deserted the Confederate Army and the government in Florida was under anarchy until the Union troops returned to Florida.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Florida's Role in the Civil War: 'Supplier of the Confederacy' |url=https://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/cvl_war/cvl_war1.htm#:~:text=Florida%27s%20greatest%20contribution%20to%20the,supplies%20could%20get%20safely%20northward. |access-date=2023-01-22 |website=fcit.usf.edu}}</ref>