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The Shuler Brothers
Samuel Daniel Shuler, brother to Lewis Shuler, owner of Cedar Lane Plantation, mentioned below, and father to William, James and Thomas, moved his family from St James Goose Creek Parish, Charleston, South Carolina to the area that would become Bristol, Liberty County, Florida, in late 1850. His first wife, Olivia Mims, had died in South Carolina, and it was his second wife, Rebecca Mims (sister to Olivia), that accompanied him on the move. Olivia and Rebecca were the daughters of James Mims, related to the Mims from Goose Creek, South Carolina, successful planters and pioneer settlers of the area.
By 1860 the family was well established as planters in Liberty County. The family was worth $52,000, quite a sum in 1860. The 1860 Slave Schedule shows Rebecca as owning 12 slaves, with son William (now working his own land) owning 9. William's household value was a more modest $11,200. Samuel is not listed on the 1860 census, and although his date of death is normally given as being in 1864, he may have died earlier.
In the spring of 1862 the two eldest Shuler sons, James and William, mustered in for Civil War service. Both joined Company H (Liberty Guards), 5th Infantry Regiment (Florida). Twenty-one year old James joined as a Third Lieutenant while thirty-seven year old William was a Private.
Company H was commanded by Captain W.T. Gregory. Immediately upon its organization the Regiment was ordered to Virginia, where it joined the 2nd Florida Infantry Regiment, being assigned to Pryor's Brigade.
The Regiment was engaged at the Second Battle of Manassas (Second Battle of Bull Run), Virginia, in August 1862, and at the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg, Maryland) where the Regiment won distinction. During the battle at Sharpsburg (17 Sep 1862), Capt Gregory was wounded in action. He was hospitalized and then sent home, where he died on Dec 18th, 1862. LT James G Shuler was promoted to Captain and, as the ranking officer, presumably took over the company.
The Regiments next large engagement was at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia in December of 1862. By the spring of 1863 the Liberty Guards were still in Virginia and in early May the unit was engaged in the Battle of Chancellorsville, where it lost several members on May 4th. Although the heavily outnumbered Confederate forces dealt a significant defeat to the Union forces, this victory was tempered by the mortal wounding of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson by friendly fire.
The next major battle for the Regiment was July 1st - 3rd, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On the last day of battle, Captain James G. Shuler was wounded and captured by Union forces. He was sent to a POW camp on Johnson's Island (near Sandusky Ohio), where he died on December 11th, 1863. He is buried in the Confederate Cemetery there.
In October of 1863 Thomas P. Shuler, now 18 years of age, enlisted with Company B, 5th Florida Cavalry Battalion as a Corporal. Older brother William had transferred to Company B in September 1863. Many men from Liberty County served in the company, which was commanded by Captain A.C. Smith. 5th Cavalry Battalion was active in north Florida during the last years of the war and no doubt the Shuler brothers were able to visit home often. No specific information on the missions of Company B has been found, but several members were involved in herding cattle to nearby rail heads for feeding the confederate Army.
July 15, 1864 Confederate forces under Captain McElbey (Company D) of the 5th Florida Cavalry were located at Green's Plantation on the road to Baldwin. Federal forces were advancing down the road. A small skirmish was fought at Little Trout Creek. The Confederate forces retreat toward Baldwin, while the Federal forces move to the vicinity of Otter Creek.
On September 27, 1864, Confederate (to include 5th Cavalry) and Union forces fought for control of the Jackson County, Florida city of Marianna. Unusually bloody for its size, The Battle of Marianna sparked an economic, social and cultural upheaval that forever changed the face of Northwest Florida.
The Battle of Marianna was the culmination of the deepest penetration of Confederate Florida by Union forces during the entire Civil War. A number of veteran participants called the fighting the "most intense" they had seen during the war. The aftermath was marked by allegations of massacre, allegations that continue to be debated to this day.
At the close of the war the two surviving Shuler brothers (William and Thomas), returned home to Liberty County. Both parents may have been dead by the end of the war (Rebecca's death date is not known, but occurred before 1870). Samuel and Rebecca were both buried in a field, close to Shuler Branch on what was the family land.
On March 7th, 1867 Thomas married Mary Ann Hosford (1845-1931) and on October 15th, 1868 William married Mary Lou Larkins (1850-1921). Along with their younger brothers - Olin Blumfield Shuler, married to Annie Nora Strickland and William Robert Carson Shuler, Sr., married to Mary Priscilla (?) - these men began the Shuler family tree in Liberty County that now includes hundreds of members.
Brother Samuel Daniel Shuler, II moved to Coleman County, Texas, where he married Nellie Frances (Fannie) Jones in 1889. Youngest brother, Eugene Lewis Shuler, isn't seen after the 1860 census and is probably buried near his parents.
A Little History of the Shuler Family
The Shuler family is one of the "First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina". Originally from Switzerland, they lived for a short time in Germany, and then in 1736 came to America. By 1739 the family was living in Orangeburgh District, South Carolina.
George Nicholas Shuler bought 50 acres of land in Four Holes Swamp near Providence about 1768, the first land purchase of many that would become known as "the Shuler-belt". Lewis Hayne Shuler II, Born on 2 Dec 1795, bought three hundred acres of land near Bowman and built Cedar Lane Plantation. He grew indigo and was a very successful planter. Through the years, his land was divided between his children and their children, and is still owned by his descendants. In 1860 the extended Shuler family in the Orangeburg area owned over 375 slaves. Several of the Shuler daughters married into well to do plantation owning families. So within two generations of coming to America the family was living the antebellum life in South Carolina.
All that is left of the Cedar Lane Plantation now is two tall chimney's standing in the midst of several large and stately oak trees. The plantation ruins are about three miles out on Bowman Road on 178, and right off the hard surfaced road. There is a Shuler cemetery nearby, and many more of the Shuler's are buried at the Old Shiloh Methodist Church Cemetery (Tattnall County). The book "Brightly shines her lamp: The diary of Rebecca Ann Dantzler Shuler (the last years at Cedar Lane)" tells the story of life at Cedar Lane Plantation, to include the Civil War years.
Thomas Shuler - Pension Application Nr. A00255; William Shuler Nr. A00251 (Click to search and view at the Florida Memory Project)
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