Despite the surrender of Norwood's
men, shots continued to ring out
along Marianna's main street. A
determined group of Confederates
holed up in the church and two nearby
homes and - quite simply - refused to
give up. Frustrated, Col. Zulavsky
ordered them to surrender. When they
refused, he ordered the church and
homes burned.
The blame for this act has traditionally
been placed on the shoulders of Gen.
Asboth, but in truth he was severely
wounded and incapacitated by that
time. Zulavsky, however, took
responsibility for the act, telling Col.
WIlliam Holbrook of the 7th Vermont
Infantry that he gave the order
because, "It became necessary to
burn the church to dislodge the
enemy, several of whom were
burned."
The church was fired near its
southwest corner by men armed with
kerosene and artillery swabs.
Armstrong Purdee later recalled the
scene:
All of the soldiers were off their
horses. Orders were given to fire the
church. Three men, two with long
poles, and one with what seemed to
me to be a can, threw something up
on the church and the other two
having something on the end of their
poles, seemed to rub it as high as the
poles would reach, after which
something like twisted paper was
lighted and placed to whatever was
put on the church and it blazed up.
Men were shot down as they came out
of the building.
The adjacent home of Dr. R.A.
Sanders was burned a short time
later, as was the two-story boarding
house of Mrs. Carolina Hunter. After
the Hunter home was in flames, the
Union soldiers realized that a woman
and her newborn baby were still in
one of the upstairs bedrooms.
Surgeon Henry Robinson learned of
the incident from eyewitnesses, who
related that the mother and child
were, "miraculously saved after being
thrown out of a window on a
mattress." The identities of the Union
soldiers who braved the flames to
save them have, unfortunately, been
lost.
men, shots continued to ring out
along Marianna's main street. A
determined group of Confederates
holed up in the church and two nearby
homes and - quite simply - refused to
give up. Frustrated, Col. Zulavsky
ordered them to surrender. When they
refused, he ordered the church and
homes burned.
The blame for this act has traditionally
been placed on the shoulders of Gen.
Asboth, but in truth he was severely
wounded and incapacitated by that
time. Zulavsky, however, took
responsibility for the act, telling Col.
WIlliam Holbrook of the 7th Vermont
Infantry that he gave the order
because, "It became necessary to
burn the church to dislodge the
enemy, several of whom were
burned."
The church was fired near its
southwest corner by men armed with
kerosene and artillery swabs.
Armstrong Purdee later recalled the
scene:
All of the soldiers were off their
horses. Orders were given to fire the
church. Three men, two with long
poles, and one with what seemed to
me to be a can, threw something up
on the church and the other two
having something on the end of their
poles, seemed to rub it as high as the
poles would reach, after which
something like twisted paper was
lighted and placed to whatever was
put on the church and it blazed up.
Men were shot down as they came out
of the building.
The adjacent home of Dr. R.A.
Sanders was burned a short time
later, as was the two-story boarding
house of Mrs. Carolina Hunter. After
the Hunter home was in flames, the
Union soldiers realized that a woman
and her newborn baby were still in
one of the upstairs bedrooms.
Surgeon Henry Robinson learned of
the incident from eyewitnesses, who
related that the mother and child
were, "miraculously saved after being
thrown out of a window on a
mattress." The identities of the Union
soldiers who braved the flames to
save them have, unfortunately, been
lost.
The Battle of Marianna, Florida
Final Shots
Final Shots
The Battle of Marianna - Phase Six
All material on this site Copyright 2005 by Dale A. Cox.
| Battle of Marianna Little Known Fact |
| The church burned during the battle was built of wood and was similar in appearance to the existing one. |
Eyewitnesses agree that at least one
Union officer objected to the incendiary
acts, particularly the burning of the church.
Local eyewitnesses credit this act to Major
Nathan Cutler, the 20-year-old battalion
commander from the 2nd Maine Cavalry.
According to Jeanet Love MacKinnon, who
witnessed the battle as a teenager, Major
Cutler objected to the order to burn the
church, but when it was repeated, he
rushed into the building and saved the
Bible from the lectern.
Cutler himself, when interviewed many
years later by Marianna resident John
Carter, did not make this claim himself:
He said that he did not remember all of the
circumstances, as he was shot from his
horse about that time, but he afterwards
learned that an express order was given to
burn the church. Someone from the
Federal forces protested, but the command
from the same source was repeated....
Whether by Cutler's hand or someone
else's, the Bible from St. Luke's Episcopal
Church did indeed survive the Battle of
Marianna.
Four of the Confederate defenders inside
the church, however, did not. John C.
Carter, Littleton Myrick, Francis "Frank"
Allen and Woodbury "Woody" Nickels all
died in the blaze. Carter, a veteran from the
6th Florida Infantry home on leave, and
Allen, a 76-year-old Sunday school leader
from Greenwood, were burned beyond
recognition and their bodies were only
identified by items found on their persons.
The St. Luke's Episcopal
Church Bible is something of
a local legend. Not only did it
survive the burning of the
church during the Battle of
Marianna, it survived a
second - accidental - burning
of the church in 1947. Today
the Bible is encased in glass
and protected within the
sanctuary, with a small card
detailing the traditional story
of how it was supposedly
saved during the battle by
Major Cutler. The edges of
the book show clearly that it
was subjected to heat and
smoke, but whether this
damage was sustained
during the Battle of Marianna
or during the later fire is not
known.
Church Bible is something of
a local legend. Not only did it
survive the burning of the
church during the Battle of
Marianna, it survived a
second - accidental - burning
of the church in 1947. Today
the Bible is encased in glass
and protected within the
sanctuary, with a small card
detailing the traditional story
of how it was supposedly
saved during the battle by
Major Cutler. The edges of
the book show clearly that it
was subjected to heat and
smoke, but whether this
damage was sustained
during the Battle of Marianna
or during the later fire is not
known.
 | |  | |  | |  |
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| The History of Florida's Forgotten Civil War Battle |
$19.95
| The Battle of Marianna, Florida |
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