A Journal of the Proceedings of the House of Representatives of the General Assembly of the State of Florida at Its Twelfth Session

Tallahassee, FL: Office of the Floridian & Journal, Printed by Dyke & Carlisle, 1862. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A nicely-bound volume of the daily log of this legislative session in the Florida House, which ran from November 17, 1862 to December 15, 1862. The governor, John Milton, opened the session with a defiant message in the face of considerable setbacks to Florida in the early years of the Civil War: "Our enemy, the United States, have (sic) taken possession of Pensacola, Fernandina, St. Augustine, and the St. Johns River... The enemy threaten (sic) not simply to subjugate Florida, but to drive off, rob or murder the citizens, and to colonize the State with negroes and foreigners."

Milton goes on to rail against the Emancipation Proclamation, "as the means the most terrific which could be devised to alarm the people of the South."

311 pages plus 102 pages in the separately paginated "Documents Accompanying the Governor's Message." Confederate Imprint. Contents generally very good (no separate wrappers, as issued). The paper used at the end of the Journal is noticeably thinner and of lower quality than the rest of the volume, and it has become heavily foxed. Finely bound in three-quarter's leather and marbled paper-covered boards. The spine has raised bands and is stamped in gilt. A truly lovely period-style binding.