The photographs

This photograph shows a section of a light battery. The building says A.B. Hussey & Co., a “Cheap Cash Store” selling general goods, and was at the foot of Bay Street. The St. Johns River is clearly seen in the back. This building was probably at the present-day site of the parking lot across from the Cowford Chophouse. Water Street, Independent Drive and Coastline Drive did not yet exist because the river’s boundary came up to Bay Street.

Photograph of the Provost Marshall’s guard house on December 10, 1864 at Bay and Ocean. The A.B. Hussey & Co. building is on the right.

Signal towers like this one were used to communicate with other Federal units in the area. This signal tower is said to have been either at James Weldon Johnson Park or in the neighborhood of Forsyth and Main. In my opinion the signal tower was most likely on Forsyth at the present-day Bank of America Tower. The photograph was taken on December 12, 1864.

Colonel John Pease Sanderson’s house was used as the Union headquarters in Jacksonville by General Truman Seymour. This photograph by Cooley shows the side of the house. The house was on the corner of Ocean and Forsyth where a parking lot now exist.

This photograph shows the front of Sanderson’s house. This was probably taken on Ocean Street looking north toward the present-day parking lot. In the lower right is an African American Union soldier who was part of the United States Colored Troops. The USCT accompanied the Union occupation forces in 1864.

United States Army Colored Infantry 7th Regiment. In the photograph are Joseph Mark Califf, Oscar E. Pratt and George R. Sherman with an African American boy.

This photograph from December 11, 1864 shows a Union prison in Jacksonville. The location of this prison is unknown.

Photograph of a bakery from December 11, 1864. The bakery was located on the northside of Bay between Ocean and Newnan. Sanderson’s house is in the background. This building was behind the present-day Florida Theatre.

Photograph of a Commissary Store taken on December 11, 1864. The signal tower can be seen in the back. These buildings are probably on Bay Street.

Photograph titled Hospital number 1 from December 11, 1864. This street is either Laura or Hogan.

Photograph titled Hospital number 2 from December 11, 1864. This hospital is in the vicinity of the signal tower.

Photograph titled Hospital number 3 from December 11, 1864.

Photograph titled Hospital number 4 from December 11, 1864.

A street with Live Oak trees. Union forces concealed their rifles with brush and tree limbs as seen in the photograph on both sides of the Union soldiers. The date of this photograph is unknown but still assumed to be 1864.

The United States Sanitary Commission at an unknown location in Jacksonville. The tent to the right says “Capt. W.V. Hutchings”. It appears that the same signal tower is on the far right so this location might be near the hospital buildings from the previous photographs.

Photograph of the Post Commissary’s office from December 11, 1864. This building was formerly the warehouse of Theodore Hartridge. The caption for this photograph is not clear exactly where this was taken and only gives a vague location somewhere between Newnan and Ocean.

Photograph taken between 1864 and 1865 at the corner of Bay and Hogan. On the left is Calvin Lewis Robinson’s store which burned down in 1865.

Article by Andrew R. Nicholas. Follow Andrew on Twitter at a_r_nicholas.