Samuel Cooley 1864
Samuel A Cooley (1821-1900) was living in Beaufort, South Carolina, when the city was captured by Union forces in the fall of 1861. He photographed combat in the Battle of Port Royal, then joined the US Army's 10th Corp with a wagon filled with cameras, chemicals, and glass plates. Cooley was the official photographer for the US Department of the South, focussing mostly on architecture he encountered during his travels. In December 1864, Cooley followed Federal forces through Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah, and Saint Augustine, producing more than 2000 negatives. Most of the images below were sold as stereopticon views.