The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1950-10-05
ppited States Department of
the Interior

IN Fort Jefferson National
monument romance and history
are combined with superb natu-
raj features.
the monument includes the
Dry Tortugas islands. long fam
Gus for their bird and marine
life as well as for tales of sunk
en- gold and pirate lore. Fort
jefferson. a historic relic of the
nineteenth century, IS the CEN
tral feature.
The strategic value and use of
the fort have been outlived-it
y no longer the key to the
Mexican Gulf" but the old struc-
fare remains as dramatic evil
aence Of the energy and vigor
characteristic of the young and
expanding nation in preparing
for national defense. In the saga
q its construction, in the heroic
hattles Of its inhabitants against
sickness and death, Fort Jeffer-
son symbolizes the struggle of
man against physical difficulties
and oppressive nature.
Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas Islands form
the Southwestern tip of the
Florida reef @Tortugas," Spanish
for turtles was the name given
"a. the group in 1913 by the dis
coVerer. Ponce de Leon. who
found hundreds of the large rep
tiles there. Fantastic tales are
told Of the pirates who frequented
The florida keys. preying upon
Spanish treasure fleets from
Mexico but the pirate menace
was removed by Commodore
David Porter after Florida was
purchased by the United States
II 1925 lighthouse was erected
upon Garden Key, one of the
islands. and the present light on
Loggerhead Key was built In
1866
Reasons for FortifYing
Tortugas
Military strategiSts early saw
the need for fortifying the islands.
both to protect the shipping route
from the gulf to the Atlantic and
to prevent enemy seizure of the
islands for a base of operations
against the United States. In the
words of the naval captain who
surveyed the area in 1880, a mi
lItary base at Tortugas could
control navigation of the
Gulf It overlooks Havana,
Pensacola, Mobile. the mouths
Of the Mississippi. and both the
inlet and outlet of the Gulf ?
There were still keen memories
Of 1ackson's fight with the British
at New Orleans. and now Britain
began to develop her West In
dies possessions; trouble IN Cuba
was anticipated; an independent
Texas was seeking either to join
the Union or to invoke the pro-
lection of Great Britain and
France.
The United States had no in
tention of allowing any European
nation foothold on the gulf
coast. Fortifying the Tortugas
would help prevent an enemy
blockade of the gulf. while naval
tactics from this base could be
effective against even a superior
force
Fort Jefferson
Fort jefferson became one in
chain of seacoast defenses built
during the first half of the nine
teenth century. It is a six-sided
structure about half a mile IN
perimeter, with walls 8 feet thick
and IS feet high. Designed for a
garrison Of 1,5O0 men and an ar
mament of $50 cannon, it has
three gun tiers and is surrounded
BY a breakwater moat- The fort.
covers most of 16-acre Garden
Key and is one of the largest
brick Notifications in the United
States.
The Building of Fort Jefferson
Construction Of the fort was
started IN 1876 and continued for
30 years. It was never completed
The U. S. Engineer Corps super
vised the building, and from 1916
to 1868 the labor crew consisted
mainly of Negro slaves from
KEY West, In 1861 the gradual
replacement OF Negroes BY mil
itary prisoners started. Materials
were shipped mainly from the
New England States, though
during the 1865 many hand
made bricks came from southern
ports and were found to with
stand the climate better than
the northern products
At the beginning OF the War
between the States. about Sl.25D.-
600 had been spent upon this
fortress, yet II was less than
half finished. After 1866. little
new work was done. invention
Of the rifled cannon made the
fort obsolete before rs walls
were finished; and engineers
discovered too late that the
foundations. rested upon an IS
land Of sand and coral boulders
sr~iesd Of coral reef. The