Name/Title
Civil WarEntry/Object ID
2020.9.56Description
Watch tower in Jacksonville, Florida dated to 1860 (during the Civil War). Over a hundred feet high, the structure was one of a series of Union signal towers that communicated up and down the river. Signals were sent to a tower at Yellow Bluff Fort and then relayed to the tower at Mayport Mills. Troops used inventive, yet highly structured, methods of pulsing lights and torches, along with flag waving, to send messages. The wooden enclosure provided a place to hide in case of snipers. The Confederates were actually the fist to use signal towers, and the Union followed.Collection
Photographs CollectionLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Photograph, Black-and-WhiteNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects