Florida [1] became the 27th state in 1845, and not too long afterward, it experienced considerable upheaval, first with the three-year Third Seminole War and then with its adoption of the Ordinance of Secession in 1861, which saw it separating from the United States along with the rest of the Confederate States of America.
Given the state’s considerable history of violent shifts in control, it’s somewhat surprising just how small a role Florida played in the Civil War. The only major battle was the Battle of Olustee near Lake City, a Confederate victory in early 1864 that resulted in nearly 300 deaths, 2,000 wounded soldiers, and a decision by the Union that battles in Florida were strategically unnecessary to win the war. Although they continued to maintain naval blockades around the state in order to prevent supplies from flowing northward, there was little effort by the Union army to retake Florida.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/florida