Rising like an apparition from the sea, Fort Zachary Taylor was built on an almost 13-acre island located near Whitehead Spit on the southwest shore of Key West. Originally set in 10 feet of water approximately 440 yards offshore, the fort was connected to the mainland by a 720-foot-long wooden causeway, complete with a drawbridge. Construction of the fort, originally designed as part of Florida’s coastal defense system, began in November 1845, and was finally completed at the end of the Civil War. Progress was frequently impeded by outbreaks of yellow fever that proved fatal to many of the workers. Less than a year after construction started, the hurricane of October 11, 1846, left a path of destruction. Four workers drowned in the storm, while much of their work was also eradicated. Built of brick and local coral rock and named after President Zachary Taylor, who died in 1850, the fort was finally completed in 1866. (Monroe County Public Library.)
In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, Union troops led by Capt. James Brannan took over Fort Taylor, preventing its control by local Confederate sympathizers. As a result of his actions, Key West remained in Union control throughout the war. No longer an active military installation, today Fort Zachary Taylor is operated by the National Park Service as a historical site. (Key West Art and Historical Society.)
Maj. James Glassel of the U.S. Army and two companies of infantry arrived in Key West in February 1831. They set up camp on the northern side of the island near the present site of White Street and Palm Avenue. Glassel’s troops erected officers’ quarters, barracks, a guard house, and several smaller buildings. This encampment became known as the Key West Barracks, and as pictured here in 1891, had grown in both size and sophistication. (Key West Art and Historical Society.)
At the beginning of the Civil War, two onshore fortifications were begun to provide additional protection for Fort Taylor. Before work could be completed on either the East or West Martello towers, however, construction was suspended. Formerly considered impenetrable, advances in weaponry had made such masonry structures obsolete. (Authors’ Collection.)
Capt. Charles D. Sigsbee served as commander of the USS Maine. On the night of February 15, 1898, the ship exploded as it lay at anchor in Havana Harbor, sending 266 Americans to their deaths. Of the destruction of the Maine, Sigsbee recalled, “She had settled in the mud and her poop-deck, where we had stood at the last possible moment, was under water.” (Key West Art and Historical Society.)