Civil War Memorials in Jax

Civil War Memorials in drive-able order:

1. Yellow Bluff Fort Monument

Address: 9230 New Berlin Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32226.

• Confederate monument erected 1950 to mark the Yellow Bluff Fort.

• The monument was erected and dedicated to the Confederate defenders of Jacksonville during the Civil War by the United Daughters of Confederacy.

Yellow Bluff Fort Historic State Park-New Berlin Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32226.

• Park preserving a Confederate, then Union, army fortification. Made into a state park in 1970.

• Yellow Bluff was used as an encampment that was fortified and equipped with heavy machinery and made ready for an impending attack. At some point in time it was occupied by both the Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War.

2. Sinking of the Maple Leaf marker

Address: 300 Water St, Jacksonville, FL 32202.

A historical marker commemorating the sinking of the U.S.S. Maple Leaf by Confederate torpedo mines on March 30, 1864. Placed 2005.

Approximately 15 miles up river from this point, the Union transport Maple Leaf was destroyed by a Confederate mine during the early morning hours of April 1, 1864. The Maple Leaf sank to the bottom of the St. Johns River after hitting one of twelve Confederate mines along Mandarin Point. At the time of the explosion, the steamboat was transporting 68 passengers and crewmembers from Palatka to Jacksonville. Passengers included 42 Union sympathizers seeking protection of federal troops in Jacksonville. Four crewmembers died in the explosion. After sinking, only the top of the wheelhouse and smokestack were visible. These parts were later removed to keep the channel clear for navigation. The hull with its valuable cargo had settled deep within the muddy river bottom. On the Maple Leaf were 400 pounds of cargo, primarily the equipment of three Union regiments and two brigade headquarters. In 1981the Maple Leaf was located by St. Johns Archaeological Expeditions, Inc. Hundreds of artifacts have been recovered from the site, which is now a National Landmark.

3. MOSH features Maple Leaf artifacts

Address: 1025 Museum Cir, Jacksonville, FL 32207.

Features exhibits on the Maple Leaf shipwreck.

There are over 3,000 artifacts recovered from the site where the U.S.S. Maple Leaf went down that are on display at an exhibit dedicated to the ship.

4. Fort Hatch marker

Address: 818 West Adams St., Jacksonville, FL 32204.

Marker at the site of Fort Hatch, which guarded the western gate in the Union wall built around Jacksonville in 1864. Placed February 2018.

During the Civil War the Union built a wall around Jacksonville with the purpose of defending the important port city from an attack by the Confederate army. The Fort Hatch marker shows the place of a very important strong hold along the wall.

5. Line of Entrenchment marker

Address: 1000 Water St., Jacksonville, FL 32204.

Marks the extent of the Union entrenchments around Jacksonville during the final occupation. Placed 1931.

6. Camp Captain Mooney Cemetery Graves

Address: 512 Ernona St., Jacksonville, FL 32254.

Confederate graves from the Battle of Cedar Creek in 1864. Markers placed 2001.

On March 1st, 1864, a running battle known as "Skirmishes as Cedar and McGirt's Creeks' Fla." began near Whitehouse. Steel reeling from their defeat at Olustee, five hundred men from the 40th Massachusetts mounted infantry overran the 19 defenders of a small Confederate army outpost known as Camp Captain Mooney. Seven were shot dead. Twelve were captured. The dead were buried where they fell.

7. Camp Finegan Monument

Address: 8080 Hammond Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32220.

Small monument near Camp Finegan, a large Confederate encampment, erected at the Thomas Jefferson Civic Club in 2015.

8. Camp Finegan

Address: 7848 Lenox Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32221.

Site of Camp Finegan, a major Confederate encampment (unmarked).

Named after General Joseph Finegan the camp was established in 1862 during the Civil War and served as the Confederate army’s main base in Northeast Florida. In February 1864 Union forces took over the camp during their fourth and final occupation of Jacksonville. After the Union took over the camp they renamed it Camp Shaw. After the war the area was slowly taken over by growing neighborhoods, so the exact location and acreage of the camp isn’t marked or fully known.

9. Skirmish at Cedar Creek marker

Address: 6610 Lenox Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32221 *NOTE: There is no parking nearby to walk and view this marker. This marker is on the side of the main road, Lenox Ave.

Marker for deadliest battle in Duval County during the Civil War, where 8 people died on March 1, 1864. Marker placed 2005.

At Cedar Creek the Union forces made a stand against the Confederate army using the creek as a natural barrier that would slow the Confederate army’s advance. A short battle ensued that pushed the Union back and the Confederates advanced towards Jacksonville. Reinforcements from Camp Mooney met Union forces and were ordered to go back to Cedar Creek but ended up retreating to Three Mile Run. At the end of the battle 7 Confederates were killed, 12 wounded, 2 Union killed, 3 wounded and 5 captured. The Confederates ended up staying in the area protecting it from any further advances made by the Union while the Union held on to Jacksonville for the rest of the war.

10. Museum of Southern History

Address: 4304 Herschel St, Jacksonville, FL 32210.

Museum founded by Sons of Confederate Veterans members in 1975, opened in this location in 1993.

The Museum of Southern History was established to maintain and perpetuate an educational facility for those who are interested in the history of the United States, its early and current problems and difficulties in becoming the Nation it is today. The museum covers from the Native Americans, American Revolution, Civil War and continues forward to current history. We are also dedicated to historical accuracy in presenting the lifestyle and culture of the Antebellum South, a unique civilization, misunderstood by many, belittled and misrepresented by some, but deeply revered by the grateful descendants of the brave men and women whose sacrifices and dedication to a cause that created a chapter in our nation’s history. Special attention is given to the education of young people as groups of school children are given basic education in our nation’s history in the hope that they will better understand and perhaps develop an interest in learning more about their history.

11. Mandarin Museum and Historical Society

Address: 11964 Mandarin Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32223.

Features exhibits on the Maple Leaf shipwreck and other Historic Jacksonville memorabilia.

The Mandarin Museum & Historical Society was founded in 1989 by a group of citizens concerned with the loss of historical structures in Mandarin and interested in preserving and celebrating the rich heritage and history of the area.

The first major project conducted by the organization was restoring the Historic Mandarin Post Office and Walter Jones General Store, which served as the heart of the community until it closed in 1964. In 1998, the Mandarin Store and Post Office was reopened to the public as a museum exhibiting artifacts that illustrated the role of the general store and post office as a social and commercial hub for the Mandarin community. In 2001, the building was listed on the National Register of Historical Places and earned a designation as a local landmark by the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission.

12. U.S.S. Maple Leaf

Address:11964 Mandarin Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32223

Commemorates the sinking of the U.S.S. Maple Leaf by Confederate torpedo mines on March 30, 1864.

On April 1st, 1864 after carrying 87 horses and a Union Calvary south through Confederate territory earlier in the day the U.S.S. Maple Leaf hit one of eleven mines that had been planted by the Confederates in the St. Johns river the night before. It was moored to the bottom of the river just below the surface of the dark waters. The ship quickly sank but fifty-eight passengers were able to climb into three lifeboats and row safely to Jacksonville’s shores.

Maple Leaf Shipwreck-Union Civil War shipwreck in the St. Johns River dating to 1864. Rediscovered in 1984.The site where the Maple Leaf went down can be viewed from the U.S.S. Maple Leaf Marker.