ABC Wednesday: "C" is for Confederates

"C" is for Confederates: During the American Civil War the Southern states that seceeded from the Union formed a Confederacy, which gave more power to the individual states instead of the federal government. The Confederates in the above photo are from last year's reenactment at Olustee, Fl. It was a very cold morning (for us anyway - strong wind, temperatures around 40 F., and a wind chill in the low 30's F.) Many of the soldiers were huddled around their camp fires trying to stay warm. The flag in the foreground conveniently was situated so that the name "Ocean Pond" was showing - appropriate because the Confederates referred to the Battle of Olustee as the Battle of Ocean Pond. Conventional naming practices differed between North and South: the North tended to name battles after the nearest body of water (Bull Run, Anteitam, Beaver Dam Creek, etc.) while the Confederates tended to name battles after the nearest town (Manassas, Sharpsburg, Mechanicsville, etc.). Olustee is rare because the Confederates used the nearest body of water (Ocean Pond) while the Yankees used the nearest town (Olustee) - they flip flopped on this one!