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[16-Feb-2003] This year the battle was on a miserable day. I left Jax and drove past the site to the Olustee Depot to pick up some books there. While there it started to pour.
I was tempted to just go home at that point being sure the battle was canceled. Parking was good, so many people were leaving already. Still even parking rather close I was soaked by the time I got to the gate.
Many of the Sutlers were packing up and others had just closed up their tents. I was hoping to buy some geocaching fill and had some luck but not as much as I wanted. I had spent too much on books at the Depot too so my cash was low. I finally got tired of walking around in the rain and spent some time under the tent listening to the 11th NC Band.
It did slack up to a drizzle by 1:30 when the battle started but never stopped. Almost everyone left, including the reenactors. Instead of telling every one to sit in the front they announced you could do whatever you wanted. I don't think there were enough spectators to fill even 2 of bleachers.
The Union side had all of 2 regiments, of maybe 100 men each, the south a few more. No calvary, they went home. It looks really odd to have a square formation to defend against non-existent calvary. The battle was short, and they spent a lot of time in an artillery dual which they usually don't do. It was interesting to see the smoke hang on the field and completely hide the units on the far side. The Union also moved an artillery piece well forward on the far side of the field only to have it captured.
I added some text to the Battle Photos detailing the action and corrected by scripts so they display in the proper order.
There are also some shots of the Final Volley
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