top of page

160. Pensacola's "Angel of Olustee" 1864

Writer's picture: AuthorAuthor

Updated: Mar 31, 2022


In a secluded spot of St. Michael's Cemetery, lies a forgotten grave of a brave and special woman! Thousands of people have passed by this grave site never realizing the story of the person contained within. Her story begins upon her birth on June 4, 1851 to the Reverend Edward and Elizabeth Powell. They named their daughter Delity who spent most of her childhood in Pensacola. They were not a wealthy family, but her father made a decent living operating a small fleet of fishing boats. Living on Spring Street, the young girl loved to ride horses and visit her friend Angela Belleview at their Mansfield plantation about fifteen miles north of town.


But the clouds of war were gathering over the nation that would directly effect this young girl and her family. Upon the election of Abraham Lincoln, the South took action and called for secession from the Union. After the first year of war, Reverend Edward decided to enlist in the Confederate Army with Captain Abell’s Light Artillery as the company's chaplain. Elizabeth could not stand the thought of him leaving so she joined her husband as a nurse, and brought Delity along because there was no one to care for her. So at the age of 12-years old she became a Confederate nurse in the footsteps of her mother.


Their service led the family to Olustee, Florida on February 20, 1864 where Southern forces met Union troops in a pitched and bloody battle. The Union army was soundly defeated and beat a hasty retreat back to Jacksonville with 1,861 casualties versus 946 Southern. The Powell's set about with aid to the wounded and dying on both sides in a makeshift hospital in Baldwin, Florida. Those that could be moved were transported to nearby Lake City. Through it all, young Delity witnessed more than her share of amputations, hideous wounds, and horrible death.


Following other battles and bloodshed, the Powells returned home after the war to Pensacola where Delity married a local carpenter, James A. Kelly on January 19, 1871. The couple rented homes throughout the years such as 715 East Gregory Street (1914), 411 East Chase Street (1920), 411 West Garden Street (1924) and 210 Davis Street (1938). James passed away in 1925 followed by Delity's death from pneumonia on November 1, 1939. At the age of 80, Delity was granted by a Special Act of the Florida Legislature, an annual pension of $480.00. Thus, she became the only Civil War pension granted to a woman by the State of Florida. Although her grave was lost for 50 years, it is now respectfully marked with a marble headstone in the Old Saint Michael’s Cemetery.


Delity Powell Kelly's grave marker

at St. Michael's Cemetery, Pensacola


Delity in later life


Delity in the 1930's




14 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin

©2018 by Unique History of Pensacola. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page