Florida Cracker here, 5th generation. Born, raised, and still on a farm. Many longtime native Floridians call themselves Florida Crackers out of pride to identify their longevity in this crazy state. Has absolutely zero racial connotation. My family came here at the beginning of the civil war largely inspired by events in Georgia where the locals were hiding, sheltering, and feeding blacks who had their entire homes and farms torched by Union soldiers. The Union soldiers returned periodically to the town to water their horses at the artesian well, and if they would have seen the black families, they would have been captured and sent to Mississippi to be sold back into slavery. My family traveled to Florida then to enlist and fight, joining Finnegans Brigade. He fought -- and was wounded -- in the Battle of Olustee, simply because of inspiration from the events of Georgia.
Florida Cracker here, 5th generation. Born, raised, and still on a farm. Many longtime native Floridians call themselves Florida Crackers out of pride to identify their longevity in this crazy state. Has absolutely zero racial connotation. My family came here at the beginning of the civil war largely inspired by events in Georgia where the locals were hiding, sheltering, and feeding blacks who had their entire homes and farms torched by Union soldiers. The Union soldiers returned periodically to the town to water their horses at the artesian well, and if they would have seen the black families, they would have been captured and sent to Mississippi to be sold back into slavery. My family traveled to Florida then to enlist and fight, joining Finnegans Brigade. He fought -- and was wounded -- in the Battle of Olustee, simply because of inspiration from the events of Georgia.