Special Edition: Florida Iron (March 13, 1862)
When President Jefferson Davis withdrew most of the coastal garrison troops from Florida, Governor John Milton was incensed that his state was left (for the most part) unprotected. To facilitate the movement of troops and supplies to his state, Milton turned his attention to the 47-mile gap between Live Oak, Florida, on the Pensacola & Georgia Railroad, and Lawton, Georgia, on the Atlantic & Gulf Line. According to Milton, a direct rail connection between Florida and the rest of the Confederacy was “indispensable to the proper defense of the State of Florida.”
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