James McKay, Sr.: Confederate Hero, Union Agent, or Neither? Copyright 2001, by Kyle S. VanLandingham James McKay, Sr., (1808-1876), a native of Scotland, came to Tampa in 1846. Merchant, mariner and civic leader, McKay was one of the leading figures in Hillsborough County for three decades. His attitudes, allegiances and activities during the Civil War are complex but only in the last few years have they been carefully examined. Long considered a Confederate hero, and the founder of the State's cattle trade to Cuba in 1858, it is a matter of record that he was tried for treason against the State of Florida in 1861 due to his sale of cattle to Union-occupied Key West and Dry Tortugas. Bound over to the Circuit Court for further action, he left Tampa after posting bond. Reclaiming his ship, the Salvor, in Key West, the vessel was stopped and seized by a Union ship in October 1861, near the Florida coast, while McKay was ostensibly enroute from Havana to Nassau with cargo that included, among other things, pistols and percussion caps. For five months, McKay was a prisoner of war in Key West and later, Washington, D.C. His case was reviewed by President Lincoln, and in March 1862, he took an oath of allegiance to the United States and was paroled. By April 1862, McKay was back in Key West when he wrote to the U.S. Adjutant General that everything in his power would be "done for the restoration of the Union." McKay had written to U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward on Feb. 11, 1862 that "The people from whom I was obtaining cattle, numbering 150 persons, or families, never could see any benefit they could derive by breaking up the Govt., but to the contrary....I stood in the front rank in my section of the country, resisting with all my might the pestiferous progress of disunion sentiments." Returning to Tampa, McKay was exonerated on his treason charge. He took up blockade running, but in 1863 was appointed Commissary Agent for the 5th District of Florida by Major Pleasants W. White. The Cattle Battalion or "Cow Cavalry," established in 1864, is generally considered the brainchild of Capt. James McKay, Sr. It should be pointed out that in November 1860, James McKay's wife, along with many other Hillsborough Countians, signed a petition at Alafia which advocated secession of Florida from the Union. After Florida seceded and joined the new Confederate State of America, McKay's general store was one of the first places in Tampa to fly the newly adopted "Stars and Bars," the first national flag of the Confederacy. See Tampa Florida Peninsular, Dec. 1, 1860; March 23, 1861. Historian Canter Brown, Jr., has asserted that James McKay, Sr., was actually a Union agent. According to Brown, McKay made good his earlier assurances of support for the Union through his actions as Confederate Commissary Agent. He believes that McKay purposely frustrated the effort to supply beef to the Confederate army with a series of excuses ranging from "bad weather, lack of funds, a scarcity of cowhunters and drivers and poor health." Brown points out that cattle "shipments from Florida never met the needs or expectations of Confederate leaders, and the reasons given were questionable, at least to the extent that they provoked on-site visits by key officials of the supply system." As for the establishment of the Cow Cavalry in early 1864, the new unit "offered local men a way out of the draft while ostensibly providing McKay with assistance and the area with defenders." Brown acknowledges the lack of a "smoking gun" in proving McKay a Union agent but he believes that McKay had the motive and opportunity to act in that role. Chief Commissary officer Pleasants White expressed "exasperation" with the overall situation, according to Brown. The best cattle, far out of reach in the Kissimmee Valley of Brevard and Polk counties were never exploited. "James McKay's postwar prosperity was built upon the generosity of the United States. Early in the war he pledged his allegiance to the United States and his cooperation with the Union military. Available evidence suggests he honored his commitment to President Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward and that, from 1862, he served in south Florida as an agent of the United States government." Brown's assertions have not gone unchallenged. Historian Robert Taylor points out: "Frustrated, White journeyed south himself in September [1863] to have a firsthand look at conditions in his primary cattle region. He made the arduous trip with the goal of speeding up the beef shipments. After meeting with McKay and surveying the condition of the country, White came away convinced that all possible efforts were being made to maintain the flow of cows northward. If he entertained any doubts about the Scot's competence or commitment, White never expressed them." Late in the war, in the fall of 1864, "White replaced [Major A. G. Summer] by putting James McKay in charge of his district as well as his own until a permanent substitute was named. Obviously, when White doubled McKay's area of responsibility, he showed that he still had great confidence in him; his actions also showed that this cattle-rich area was far too important to the rebel war effort to be entrusted to inexperienced, incompetent, or untrustworthy officers." One of the earliest studies of the Cow Cavalry appeared in Alfred Jackson and Kathryn Abbey Hanna's book Lake Okeechobee, Wellspring of the Everglades, published in 1948. The Hannas did not believe that James McKay had become a convert to the Union cause: "Major White wrote McKay in November, 1863, '...if it were not for you, I don't know what the army would do.' " Canter Brown's thesis reached its apotheosis with the publication of his 2000 book, Tampa in Civil War and Reconstruction. Indeed, James McKay was now not only a Union agent but the savior and guide of Tampa during the War years and Reconstruction. "As he served the [Tampa] community, McKay also walked a tightrope, never forgetting his agreement with the United States nor his responsibilities to the region's cattle-owning families....James McKay's efforts to maintain the precarious and constantly evolving balance that had permitted south Floridians to survive with some hope for future economic wellbeing appeared to be succeeding as the New Year [1864] arrived." When Union troops arrived to briefly occupy Tampa in May 1864, Brown says "it seems that James McKay, Sr., aided local Unionists to ensure that fighting was avoided when the time arrived for the town's capture. As he did so, he likely believed that higher-ups were about to order his men to assignments elsewhere, leaving the place defenseless....McKay sent his command to Fort Meade under the leadership of James McKay, Jr. The senior McKay then absented himself from Tampa, headed for Gainesville." The occupation of the town took place on May 6, 1864. When James McKay, Jr., returned and rounded up a few more men for service against the Federals, he held off attacking for 24 hours, thus allowing the Union troops to complete their mission and depart. Union Captain James Green and a small detachment were then allowed to pass through McKay, Jr.'s lines. James McKay, Jr. admits as much in his own memoirs, but Brown's clear implication is that all of this was somehow orchestrated, somehow part of a larger purpose. The debate about James McKay, Sr., and his involvement with the Cow Cavalry should go on. The debate has not been settled, but the record clearly suggests that McKay tolerated and even worked with fellow Florida stock owners in their efforts to harbor significant numbers of cattle in isolated areas from army use, thus protecting their future interests and his own. For more on James McKay, Sr., see Canter Brown, Jr., Florida's Peace River Frontier (Orlando, FL, 1991); Tampa in Civil War and Reconstruction (Tampa, FL, 2000); "Tampa's James McKay and the Frustration of Confederate Cattle-Supply Operations in South Florida," Florida Historical Quarterly 70 (April 1992) 409-433; Robert A. Taylor, Rebel Storehouse: Florida in the Confederate Economy (Tuscaloosa, AL, 1995); and Leland Hawes, "Scholars Intrigued But Not Persuaded," Tampa Tribune, May 3, 1992. |