Jefferson Froy Beasley

Jefferson Froy Beasley was born in 1836 in Ware County, Georgia, according to information found on his Confederate Soldier’s Pension Application. He was the son of Bud Beasley and Elizabeth Sweat Beasley.

At this time, it is not known when Jefferson Froy Beasley moved to Florida.

He enlisted in Columbia County as a Confederate soldier in Capt. Asa A. Stewart’s Company on Sept. 17, 1863; however, he was transferred from that company to Capt. Reynolds’ Independent Company on October 1, 1863. During the Battle of Olustee, this company fought as part of the 6^th Florida Battalion under the command of Major Pickens Bird.

According to his official report, Brigadier-General Alfred H. Colquitt, commander of the First Brigade at the engagement at Olustee, used the 6^th Florida Battalion as support and re-enforcement for the Georgia regiments. In the report, Brigadier-General Colquitt had high praise for the 6^th Florida Battalion. He stated, ”The enemy stood their ground for some time, until the Sixth Florida Battalion, on the right flank, and all the troops in front pressing steadily forward, compelled them {the enemy} to fall back and leave five pieces of artillery in our possession.” As a soldier in the 6^th Florida Battalion at the Battle of Olustee, Jefferson Froy Beasley surely did his part in achieving the victory.

After the Battle of Olustee, the 6^th Florida Battalion was sent to Virginia, and, subsequently, became the 9^th Florida Regiment. The company of Capt. B. L. Reynolds became known as Company H, and the military service records of Jefferson Froy Beasley showed that he was a member of this company. Because of pneumonia, Private J. F. Beasley was admitted to General Hospital, Howard’s Grove, Richmond, Virginia, July 2, 1864. He returned to duty August 8, 1864. Jefferson Froy Beasley was honorably discharged from military duty on April 10, 1865 at Appomattox, Virginia.

On September 1, 1901, Jefferson Froy Beasley applied for and was granted a Confederate pension. B. E. Raulerson and Jno. M. Caldwell, comrades in Company H, 9^th Florida Infantry, gave a sworn statement as to his military service.

Returning home from the war, Jefferson Froy Beasley married Mary Boyd in 1866, and they settled in the Olustee area of Baker County, Florida. They became the parents of the following children:

George Alfred Beasley, born February 17, 1868, died September 25, 1955, married

Margaret Tanner, born 1869, died 1940;

Sarah Beasley, born about 1870;

Ola Beasley, born about 1880;

Ander Jefferson Beasley, born October 3, 1883, died July 15, 1925, married Eva Harvey, January 28, 1906. She was born September 19, 1878, died July 3, 1967.

Jefferson Froy Beasley led a quiet, though difficult, life as a farmer. After the war, he was never physically strong again because of the bout with pneumonia in Virginia.

He died March 16, 1927 from influenza and was buried in the Olustee Cemetery. His wife predeceased him in death, although the exact date of her death is unknown at this time.

At the 2008 Olustee Festival, the Blue-Grey Army will honor the descendants of Jefferson Froy Beasley through his grand-daughter, Bertha Beasley Williams.