The Civil War Fall Out – Part 2 December 9, 2009

At the age of 56, having spent 25 years in a distinguished public career, Senator Yulee commenced, and carried on for 20 years more the most strenuous work of his life: that of restoring to vitality that part of the railroad system of Florida in which he was personally invested.

Senator Yulee was the driving force behind The Florida Railroad, the state’s first trans-state line. It was his vision to unleashed the “iron dragon” and send it rumbling through the swamps and pine forests from the ocean to the gulf. Yulee’s railroad opened up the center of the state and planted new towns in the wilderness.

Senator Yulee was a true civil servant to Florida throughout most of his adult life.  He made significant contributions to my home state of Florida and to my little town of Homosassa. The Yulee Sugar Mill stands tall and proud as a reminded of his diligence to his state, my state.

The Civil War Fall Out – Part One December 9, 2009

After the Union burned Homosassa, all that was left standing was the Sugar Mill, which still stands to this day.

When the Confederacy vanished into history, the Governor of Florida appointed Senator Yulee one of a commission to go on to Washington, DC and confer with the President, as to Florida’s reestablishment into the Union.

During this trip, Yulee was arrested and charged with treason for his support of the Confederacy.  He was imprisoned at Fort Pulaski, Georgia (near Savannah) were he was interrogated for six months. Gen. Grant intervened to get Yulee out of prison.

David Yulee and the Civil War – Part 2 December 9, 2009

 The Sugar Plantation was run by 1,000 workers. For two years, the Yulee family lived comfortable in Homosassa. At the end of two years, the whole family went off to visit Captain Taylor, a “neighbor” some fifty miles away. The family was enjoying their stay when, one morning, two of the Homosassa people appeared and told a startling tale…

The servants at the Yulee residence, alarmed by barking dogs, saw coming through the gloom of the night a large boat rowed with muffled oars. The servants had to act fast. They took a few belongings to a boat on the other side of the island; they hurried up to the plantation, 3 miles away and sounded the alarm. The croppers took command. Torches flared through the darkness, wondering mules and oxen were hitched to dozens of sugarcane wagons, bedding, children, cooking utensils, and odd treasures heaped in confusedly. As dawn came, a long line marched rapidly away from the strangers known to be bearing their freedom towards a loved and trusted master. 

On the second day, four caution scouts went into the empty residence, finding a heaving box similar to the one used for silver–but really containing books–and carried it to their boat and started upon their return. Unfortunately, a navy launch appeared from a branch river. They were able to escape the ship by turning down a narrow creek. 

The Yulee’s home was destroyed and the family relocated to a cotton plantation near Archer.

David Yulee and the Civil War – Part 1 December 9, 2009

Months before Lincoln’s election, David Yulee addressed a public letter to his political allies announcing his intention to retire from public life and devote himself to the development of the state.

At the beginning of the war, Senator Yulee and his family lived at Fernandina on the Atlantic coast, but, for safety reasons, his wife and children were subsequently sent to live on the family’s sugar plantation called Homosassa (Indian – Little Pepper) on a small river flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Later, he rejoined his family when Fernandina was capture by the Federals, who open fire on the train in which he was escaping. During this time, several attempts were made on Senator Yulee’s life.  For some time a couple of companies of infantry were, at Senator Yulee’s expense, kept on the river to guard against the destruction of the sugar mill. When the troops were withdrawn, there was nothing left to tell the tale of the great war except the news brought by the post which toiled slowly in twice a week.

Antebellum – Part 2 December 9, 2009

 

In 1841 David was elected democratic territorial delegate to the national House of Representatives and served in this capacity for four years. During his time in office he advocated for the causes most important to the southern states at the time,  and he fought for Florida’s admittance to the Union. In 1845 David was elected as Florida’s first U.S. Senator, at the same time becoming the first Jewish person to serve in the Senate. He officially changed his name to David Levy Yulee in 1846, resuming the use of his family’s original surname.

He served two non-consecutive terms in the Senate. Although he lost the 1850 election to Stephen Mallory, David came back with vengeance in 1854, defeating Whig candidate, Thomas Brown, to win a second term. While in the Senate he took strong stands to promote the building of iron ships and to improve the postal service, especially in his home state. Yulee also fought for the expansion of the number territories in the Union, believing that without expansion the southern states would become static and lose political clout.

Antebellum – Part 1 December 9, 2009

 

David Levy’s father, Moses Elias Levy, came to Florida after the War of 1812 and became a pioneer in its settlement. At the age of seventeen, David Levy moved to live on his father’s plantation outside Micanopy, Florida. While there he made many trips to St. Augustine and developed strong friendships with several Spanish and East Florida families, including some officials of the federal government. Through these contacts he was able to met and eventually study law with Robert Raymond Reid, who was later governor of the state and a federal judge. After being admitted to the bar in 1832, David was successful at practicing law in St. Augustine. He began his public career by becoming a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1838 and clerk to the Territorial Legislature in 1841.