John Koblas Web Page Minnesota Author.and Jesse James Author

Learn about history the fun and exciting way.

Doc & Tweed, two fourteen-year olds with a thirst for history as well as adventure, discover a whole lot more than they thought they'd find.

Don't miss these other Doc & Tweed adventures!!

Doc & Tweed History Mystery #1:
Peril of Pig's Eye Cave

Doc & Tweed History Mystery #2:
The Return of Jesse James

Doc & Tweed History Mystery #3:
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Caper

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DOC & TWEED

CIVIL WAR
HISTORY

J. J. Dickison: Swamp Fox of the Confederacy.
Captain John J. Dickison, 2nd Florida Cavalry, CSA, was Florida's equivalent during the Civil War to Virginia's celebrated partisian John Mosby, or to Kentucky's John Hunt Morgan. It was Dickison and his small band of horsemen who almost single-handedly kept Florida's interior from falling under Union control. Using the states natural terrain for cover and employing modern guerilla tactics, he inspired such fear and respect in his northern enemies that Federal forces rarely ventured west of the St. Johns River in central and north Florida. This land became known as "Dixie-land", a play on his last name, and he became known to all as the "Swamp Fox". Using numerous published and unpublished primary sources, Mr. Koblas has written the first-ever thorough military biography of this legendary and overlooked Confederate.

Swamp Fox and the Columbine.
In the early days of the Civil War, the Federal government controlled many of the rivers and coastal waters, forcing the South to use barricade runners to resupply its armies. Even in Florida, the Federal government controlled the waterways, using them to split armies and funnel the resources of the state to the north. J. J. Dickison, Florida's Swamp Fox, and his small army put more pressure on them than any other force. At the end of the war, he and his loyal band held the distinction of never having lost a single battle and having managed to sink the Columbine with land-based forces.