Jacksonville- the First Occupation (March-April 1862)

Jacksonville was occupied four times by the Union during the Civil War. After a Union Naval expedition captured an undefended Fernandina (March 3-4) to the north and St. Augustine (March 11) to the south the Confederates withdrew west of the St. John’s River and on March 12, 1862, Union forces occupied Jacksonville. When the Rebels under Major Charles Hopkins left they burned the railroad depot at Clay and Adams Street, sawmills, foundries, machine shops, a Confederate gunboat at the Mooney Shipyard, and a hotel (Judson House). They also fired the homes of a half dozen suspected Union sympathizers. The Confederate commander in northeastern Florida General James Trapier was replaced by Brigadier General Joseph Finnegan. Federal regional commander General Thomas W. Sherman encouraged local Unionists to form a loyal government and pledged to protect them. A preliminary convention was held at the courthouse on March 24th. On March 15th Major General David Hunter replaced Sherman as commander of the Department of the South. He thought his forces were overextended and ordered the evacuation of the 1,470 men at Jacksonville and Mayport on April 2nd. Local residents were informed on the 7th the very day that they had scheduled local elections and only three days before a planned second convention. The Federals left on the 9th taking several families of Unionists with them. Admiral Du Pont was furious over the evacuation calling it “silly beyond measure” pointing out that the “overextended” Hunter allowed sixty officers to go on leave only two weeks after abandoning the town.

There is little that remains within the downtown area of the city to memorialize the war with the exception of Springfield Park, a few signs, and several cemeteries including the Old City Cemetery (rare Union monument in the south), the Evergreen Cemetery, and the Clifton Cemetery just outside the city. The next post covers- The Second Occupation of Jacksonville and the Yellow Bluff Fort.