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Battle of Gainesville, August 17, 1864:
The Battle of Gainesville was an American Civil War engagement fought on August 17, 1864, when a Confederate force defeated Union detachments from Jacksonville, Florida. The result of the battle was the Confederate occupation of Gainesville for the remainder of the war.
The Union troops arrived in Gainesville on August 17, to find the town occupied by one company of the Second Florida Cavalry. The Battle of Gainesville took place on August 17, in the town square; many townspeople viewed the fighting from the windows of the nearby Beville house.
They were attacked from the rear by soldiers of the 2nd Florida Cavalry under the command of Captain John Jackson Dickison (Companies H and F), supported by local militia, elements of 5th Florida Cavalry Battalion, and a small artillery battery of two cannons. Dickison's men numbered about 290, although only 175 entered Gainesville and engaged in the fighting.
The Union troops were taken by surprise and had not fully deployed when the Confederate attack began. After about two hours Col. Harris gave the order to retreat from Gainesville; the Confederates continued to close in on the disorganized Union columns. Union losses numbered 28 dead, 5 wounded, 86 missing or unaccounted for, 188 captured, 260 horses and a 12-pound howitzer. The Confederates lost three killed and five wounded, of whom two died the next day. About 40 Union troops, including Colonel Harris, escaped. He reported his column was destroyed by a large Confederate force of 600—800 men and three cannon.
After hearing his account, the remaining Union forces in the north central Florida area withdrew to the garrisons at Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Gainesville remained in Confederate control for the duration of the war.