Eagle over Grants Site - Florida, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 29.525 W 091° 47.223
15S E 604301 N 4372088
Part of a display about General Grant's stay, a couple of battles in the Civil War, and the entrance to the small town where Mark Twain was born.
Waymark Code: WMQDG9
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 02/10/2016
Views: 4
County of display: Monroe County
Location of display: CR 528 & CR 543, former site of town of Florida
The EAGLE is atop a flag pole to simulate the act of flying over the memorial to the two Civil War battles, and to locate the site where Grant camped with his Illinois Regiment.
"Florida, Mo., a settlement of about 60 families and several businesses, "...had two streets, each a couple of hundred yards long; the rest of the avenues mere lanes, with rail fences and cornfields on either side. Both the streets and lanes were paved with the same material - tough black mud in wet times, deep dust in dry."
"Florida reached its zenith before the Civil War. During this period, one of the general stores was briefly owned by John Marshall Clemens, Mark Twain's father. Florida was destined to remain small. The Salt River was never navigable for steamboats. Railroad companies were not interested in building a line to the tiny village. The Community was relatively isolated from large towns." ~ Missouri department of Natural Resources
Two Civil War Battles:
The first was July 8, 1861. A group of Union soldiers discovered a Confederate camp and mounted a surprise attack on the camp. The Confederate soldiers were dispersed.
July 22, 1862 in Florida, Missouri - On July 22, Col. Joseph C. Porter and his band of Confederate raiders entered the town of Florida in the morning. Florida was currently being occupied by a 50-man detachment from the 3rd Iowa Cavalry. The Confederates attacked the Union cavalry and a brisk skirmish ensued. After an hour of fighting, the Union cavalry was forces from the town and headed to Paris with about 26 killed and wounded.