Exhibit Opening: “The Maple Leaf: An American Civil War Shipwreck” with Dr. Keith Holland
6 PM and Streamed Online

Speaker: Dr. Keith Holland, discoverer of the Maple Leaf and leader of the 1980s excavation

In April 1864, during the latter part of the Civil War in Florida, the Union transport ship
Maple Leaf was sunk in the St. John’s River near Jacksonville by a Confederate torpedo
mine. After it sank, the ship lay in the St. John’s River until 1984, when it was
rediscovered and partially excavated. The ship’s contents, encased by the river’s muddy
bottom, provide a time capsule of this period in history, offering a glimpse into previously
undocumented aspects of the war and its effects on northeastern Florida.

This exhibit features items used by the soldiers on board the Maple Leaf, an authentic
reproduction of the Civil War-era torpedo mine that was used to sink the ship, and an
informational video.