Fort Jefferson

Six million dollars have been set aside by the Federal government for restoration of Fort Jefferson.  The largest brick structure in the western hemisphere has started to crumble at places on two of the six walls.  Two crews are working to save the structure, brick by brick.

Stone masons working on the restoration project are impressed by the workmanship on Fort Jefferson,  which was built by U.S. army soldiers, slaves, and during the Civil War, Union deserters.  The archways in particular are of fine workmanship and few masons could make them today.  Consider also that everything was carried to Garden Key by boat, and Key West is 70 miles away.  It’s even impressive that today’s restoration crews are working such a remote site, with the nearest hardware store so far away!

The mason work done on Fort Jefferson was of such fine quality that much of the fort would be in great shape if it weren’t for iron structures built into the brick.  In spite of 150 years of salt water corrosion and high winds, the bricks are in fine shape.  It’s the iron that expanded and cracked the surrounding bricks and mortar.

Crews are working carefully to re-use as many bricks as they can.  Other bricks will come from a factory in Louisiana that makes bricks from a press dating back to 1860.

The original lighthouse at Fort Jefferson was built forty years before construction on Fort Jefferson was even begun.  In 1826 a lighthouse was built on Garden Key, the future site of Fort Jefferson, to warn sailors of the shallow waters.  This was several years after the U.S. gained Florida from the Spanish.

The light was not sufficient, however, and the government received many complaints about its inadequacy.  The original lightkeeper didn’t keep the windows clean enough and the buildup of soot obscured the light.  More lights were added but there were still complaints.

A new, taller lighthouse was built three miles west of Garden Key, on Loggerhead Key.  The old lighthouse was downgraded and called the Tortugas Harbor Lighthouse.

In 1873 the lighthouse at Fort Jefferson was badly damaged so they built a new one.  The new one was ironclad and still stands today.  In 1921 there was no longer need for the light so it was discontinued.

Dry Tortugas has long been known as a critical location for ship navigators.  Ships passing from the Mississippi River who wanted to reach the Eastern seaboard had to swing down and out around the Florida Keys, and Dry Tortugas marked the edge of this route. A lighthouse at Dry Tortugas was built and completed in 1826.  Today there’s an iron lighthouse within the brick walls of Fort Jefferson, where the original once stood.  This marked the spot where ships could run aground as well as where they should turn to navigate to and from the Gulf of Mexico.

Militarily, whoever controlled the Dry Tortugas also controlled the Gulf of Mexico. Fort Jefferson was a gateway to the Gulf of Mexico, and was therefore dubbed Gibraltar of the Gulf.

Fort Jefferson was an important outpost for the United States in other ways as well.  It was from this fort and the good harbor behind it, that ships could weather a storm, get repairs, and load up on coal.

At the start of the Civil War, Fort Jefferson was a valuable asset for the Union.  The Union navy had only two bases in the South: Fort Jefferson in Key West and another in Virginia.  The Confederacy contained 3,500 miles of coastline.  The Union needed to patrol these areas  in order to maintain a blockade and this was no easy task given they had only these two bases.

Fort Jefferson was therefore very important, serving as a place where Union ships could recharge, get supplies and make repairs.  With so much coastline to patrol, Union ships spent almost as much time going to and from the bases as they did on actual patrol duty. Blockade runners had great odds at first, more often than not making it through the blockade to get goods in and out of the Confederacy’s ports.

As the number of Union blockade ships grew and as the Union captured more bases in the South, the importance of Fort Jefferson faded a bit, until it became mostly a prison for Union deserters.

Not many people associate Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas with the Underground Railroad during the Civil War era.   But starting in the 1940s, slaves were used to build the Fort, under terrible working conditions.  There were escape attempts, making Fort Jefferson part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.  This program recognizes attempts by enslaved African Americans to escape bondage.  Fort Jefferson was a particularly difficult place from which to escape, because of the remote location and harsh sub-tropical conditions.

Some of the original workers building Fort Jefferson were slaves whose owners lived in Key West.  Anyone who tried to escape faced incredibly unfavorable odds.  Fortunately, the use of slave labor on Fort Jefferson came to a halt in 1863.  By then, there were enough Union deserters held there as prisoners who could work on continuing development of the fort. The walls surrounding the fort required immense quantities of labor.  Work continued endlessly on the 425 feet of massive masonry wall that still stands today.  The walls became obsolete, however, due to the invention of a canon that would penetrate its thick structure.

Fort Jefferson was barely finished by the time the Civil War broke out in 1861.  The fifty foot high walls that surround the fort were not yet finished, but it was used as a prison for Union deserters and troublemakers.  It was garrisoned with 66 Union men, but shots were never fired during the war.

The most famous Civil War prisoner ever to be held at Fort Jefferson was Dr. Samuel Mudd.  He was the man who treated the broken leg of John Wilkes Boothe.  Boothe had just shot President Lincoln, who died of his wounds.  For treating Boothe, Dr. Mudd was considered one of the Lincoln Conspirators, the group responsible for the President’s death in 1865.

Conditions at Fort Jefferson were miserable.  Dr. Mudd had holes in his cell because whenever it rained, the cell would fill up with water.  Food was contaminated and bug-filled, and often made the men even sicker.  The weather was hot and sticky and there was little relief from the sun, which beat down heavily on men as they labored to keep building the fort.

Although sentenced to life in prison for his role in the assassination of President Lincoln, Dr. Mudd spent only about three years in prison.  After his arrival in 1865, an outbreak of Yellow Fever swept through the fort.  He helped treat the victims and was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1969.

Visitors to Fort Jefferson who take the guided tour will be led to his cell on the bottom level.  If you take a self-guided tour, the cell is near the Park Headquarters.

If camping on a remote island in the Gulf of Mexico that’s closer to Cuba than to the United States sounds like heaven to you, then you must check out Fort Jefferson.  The fort is part of Dry Tortugas National Park, located 70 miles out to sea from Key West, FL.  The remote ocean island has no fresh water, but plenty of scenery, history, and wilderness.  Explore the fort and learn about its history, then go snorkeling after lunch.  In the evening, enjoy the most beautiful sunset over the water as you relax by your oceanside tent spot. During winter, watch for migrating birds.

Conditions are primitive so you’ll have to bring everything you’ll need for your camping adventure.  There’s not even any fresh water, hence the name “Dry Tortugas” for the group of islands that make up the National Park.  The name is from the 1600s, and served as a warning to ships who wanted to anchor here: “No Fresh Water”.  The rangers who live at Fort Jefferson today get their water from rainwater barrels.  They get their electricity from a diesel generator, which runs 24 hours a day.  Restrooms are not available – ferry passengers who visit the fort must use the restrooms on board the ferry.  For campers, there are composting toilets which are very fragile.

The campsites are located at the south western corner of the fort, outside the walls.  The ferry that takes day passengers to tour Fort Jefferson and go snorkeling will take overnight campers with their gear.  Just call ahead to make arrangements.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started building Fort Jefferson in 1846.  The Fort was meant to protect the anchorage at Dry Tortugas, as a departure point for U.S. ships patrolling the important shipping area.  By the time of the Civil War era, almost twenty years later, the fort served an entirely new purpose.

Fort Jefferson was used as a prison during the Civil War.  Union warships also used the fort as a base from which to block Southern supply ships.  Most of the prisoners at Fort Jefferson were Union deserters.  Dr. Samuel Mudd was the most famous prisoner.  He was the doctor who treated John Wilkes Boothe after he shot President Lincoln.  Today when you visit Fort Jefferson you can take the guided tour and see Dr. Mudd’s cell.

By 1865 there were almost 2000 people at Fort Jefferson, including a few civilians.  Most were soldiers and prisoners.  Dr. Mudd was one of several “Lincoln Conspirators” jailed at Fort Jefferson.  All prisoners at Fort Jefferson, including Dr. Mudd, suffered at this notorious prison.  It was known as one of the harshest Unions prisons during the Civil War.  A sentence of hard labor at Fort Jefferson was a sentence on Devil’s Island, as it was sometimes called.   Prisoners, attached to ball and chain, worked on the never-ending construction of the fort, and suffered from malaria as well as yellow fever.

Fort Jefferson is built on a remote island in the middle of nowhere.  It’s way out there, even via today’s modern transportation.  Imagine the year 1846, when construction on the fort began.  Why did the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers build a fort in the middle of nowhere?

If you look a map of the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Straits, you may be able to answer this question yourself.  It’s a strategic location for shipping channels that run from the New Orleans area of the upper Gulf , around the Florida Keys, and up the Eastern Seaboard.   In the 1800s, it was easier to ship goods via this route than to carry them across land.

Another look at the map shows that Fort Jefferson is ideally located to protect the United States from ships cruising near its southern boundaries.  Dry Tortugas was also an important deep water anchorage.  Ships from all over the world would stop here to get shelter from storms, resupply, or fix their vessels.  By controlling the Dry Tortugas, the U. S. controlled one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

U.S. warships anchored here and served as a reminder of who was in control of the area.  If Fort Jefferson were to fall into enemy hands, the U.S. would have faced threats and danger.  The fort would have served as a staging area for warships to attack the mainland.  The entire Gulf Coast would have been threatened.

Fort Jefferson and the Docks

Fort Jefferson is the Civil War-era fort at Dry Tortugas National Park. Visitors can take a tour of the fort as part of a day trip from Key West harbor.  A large comfortable boat leaves in the morning and takes passengers 70 miles west to Dry Tortugas, and brings them home by 5:30.  In addition to touring Fort Jefferson, visitors can go snorkeling, bird watching, have a picnic, or lay on the small beach.   However, the most interesting thing here is the fort and its history, plus the views you get while walking on top of the fort’s walls.

You can also charter a sea plane to take you out to Fort Jefferson.  However, the boat ride on the Yankee Freedom is a pleasant trip and the National Park guide comes along for the ride.  He or she will point out things of interest along the way and will give short talks on what you’ll see once you get to the Fort.  They serve breakfast and lunch with beverages.  On the way home you can purchase food and drinks too.

You can  drive your own boat out to the Dry Tortugas, but check with the Ranger for rules on mooring and docking at Fort Jefferson.