The Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, better known simply as Fort Taylor (or Fort Zach to locals), is a Florida State Park and

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

centered on a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

-era fort located near the southern tip of

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

History

1845–1900

Construction of the fort began in 1845 as part of a mid-19th century plan to defend the southeast coast through a series of forts after the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. Thompson Island, at the southwest tip of Key West, was selected as the site for the fort in 1822 and plans drawn up by

Simon Bernard Baron Simon Bernard (28 April 1779 – 5 November 1839) was a French general of engineers. Born in Dole, Simon Bernard was educated at the École polytechnique, graduating as second in the promotion of 1799 and entered the army in the corps of e ...

and

Joseph G. Totten Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...

were approved in 1836. Two supporting

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

Martello Towers Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

, provided additional coverage, one of which exists today as the

Martello Gallery-Key West Art and Historical Museum The Martello Gallery-Key West Art and Historical Museum (also known as the East Martello Tower), is a historic site located at 3501 South Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, Florida, United States. On June 19, 1972, it was added to the U.S. National ...

. The fort was named for

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

in November 1850, a few months after his sudden death in office. The army corps of engineers leased slaves from local slave-owners for construction of the fort and its neighbor Fort Jefferson. This resulted in an influx of enslaved peoples into the immediate area as, before the construction of the fort, there was no large agriculture ventures and thus not a high demand for slaves ( salvaging being the main industry). By some estimates, the number quadrupled from a little less than 90 enslaved peoples in Key West before construction to over 400 after. The fort's foundation consists of oolitic limestone and New England

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

. Its five-foot thick walls rose 50 feet above mean low water and included two tiers of

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" me ...

s with a terreplein or

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protectio ...

at the top. Three seaward

curtains A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain), water. A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theatre that separates the stage from the auditorium ...

495 feet between

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s, each containing 42 guns on three levels, were augmented by a land-facing

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

. Troop barracks were built into this gorge with a capacity for 800 men. At either end of the barracks was a large

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications ...

while a sally port was located in the center, connected to land by a 1200-foot

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...

. Rainwater was collected in underground cisterns along the perimeter of the fort.

Yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

s and material shortages slowed construction of the fort, which continued throughout the 1850s. The

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

firm of Raiford and Abercrombie provided bricks for Fort Zachary Taylor and Fort Jefferson, which was under construction at the same time. Even before the outset of the

, the United States government recognized the importance of holding Fort Taylor if the southern states seceded. An official report to the Secretary of War on December 28, 1860 stated that: "Lieutenant-General Scott will further ask the attention of the Secretary to Forts Jefferson and Taylor, which are wholly national, being of far greater value even to the most distant points of the Atlantic coast...than to the State of Florida. There is only a feeble company at Key West for the defense of Fort Taylor." On January 13, 1861, Union Captain

John Milton Brannan John Milton Brannan (July 1, 1819 – December 16, 1892) was a career United States Army artillery officer who served in the Mexican–American War and as a Union brigadier general of volunteers in the American Civil War, in command of the Departm ...

moved his 44 men of the First U.S. Artillery from Key West Barracks to Fort Taylor. His orders were to prevent it from falling into

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

hands. It became a key outpost for threatening blockade runners. Major William H. French arrived in April with his artillery unit. In 1898, the fort was reduced down to the second floor and Battery

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

was added to the south casemate. The battery consisted of two 12-inch artillery pieces. The Civil War-era pieces were used as fill, being buried within the new battery to save on materials. Battery Adair was added to the west casemate and included four 3-inch, 15-pounder Rapid Fire rifles. The fort was heavily used again during the 1898

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, World Wars I and II, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Key West FL Fort Zachary Taylor05

1900–present

In 1947, the fort was no longer of use to the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and was turned over to the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

for maintenance. In 1968, volunteers led by Howard S. England excavated Civil War guns and ammunition buried in long-abandoned parts of the fort to form what would be considered the nation's largest collection of Civil War

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s. Fort Taylor was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1971 and designated a

in 1973. Due to the filling in of land around the fort, including the creation of an attractive stretch of

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

, the park now occupies 87 acres (352,000 m²).

Truman Annex

The fort's land closer to downtown Key West became part of the

Truman Annex Truman Annex is both a neighborhood and military installation in Key West, Florida, United States. It is the part of the island that is west of Whitehead Street, with the exception of Bahama Village. It is where the winter White House for P ...

Naval Air Station Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an air ...

. It was originally a separate major installation known as Naval Station Key West and, until its closure in 1974, included a submarine base. President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

used Naval Station Key West for his Winter White House for 175 days in 11 visits. The

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

had a private beach (eventually named after him) built on the land for the president's security, but he reportedly only visited it once, preferring the public beaches. Naval Station Key West was decommissioned in 1974 as part of post-Vietnam War force reductions because the Navy had decommissioned nearly all of their diesel-electric submarines and contemporary nuclear powered submarines were too large for the station's port. Most of the former naval station became an annex (e.g., Truman Annex) to the remaining Naval Air Station Key West and served as the landing point for many during the 1980

Mariel boatlift The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and E ...

of Cuban refugees. Those buildings in the Truman Annex and associated real estate not retained by the Navy as part of NAS Key West were sold to private developers. A museum for the Truman White House was built and the Navy continues to own and maintain the piers and that portion of the former Naval Station Key West property to the south of Fort Taylor, primarily in support of

Joint Interagency Task Force South Joint Interagency Task Force South is a United States multiservice, multiagency task force based at Naval Air Station Key West (Truman Annex), Key West, Florida. It conducts counter illicit trafficking operations, intelligence fusion and multi-s ...

(JIATF-S). The site also supported Naval Security Group Activity Key West (NAVSECGRUACT KEY WEST) until NAVSECGRUACT's decommissioning in 1996.

Current uses

In addition to the role of the fort and its adjacent beach as tourist attractions, Fort Taylor is also the location of a number of annual events, including week-long Civil War reenactments.

Gallery

File:Fort Zachary Taylor.JPG, The fort as seen from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

File:Fortzacharytaylor.jpg, Outside view of the fort showing the moat File:Key sign.jpeg, Sign overlooking the picnic area and beach File:Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park - 49770728427.jpg, Shoreline and the Gulf File:Inside the Barracks.jpg, Inside the barracks File:Ft Zachary Taylor.jpg, Cannons inside the fort

References

External links

Fort Zachary Taylor
a
Florida State ParksFlorida Department of State: State Archives of Florida Online Catalog Architectural and technical drawings of Fort Zachary Taylor 1969-1980
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zachary Taylor, Fort American Civil War forts in Florida Buildings and structures in Key West, Florida Landmarks in Key West, Florida Florida in the American Civil War State parks of Florida Forts in Key West, Florida History of Key West, Florida National Historic Landmarks in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Key West, Florida Museums in Key West, Florida Military and war museums in Florida American Civil War museums in Florida Protected areas established in 1971 Parks in Monroe County, Florida Tourist attractions in Key West, Florida Historic American Buildings Survey in Florida

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

Beaches of Monroe County, Florida Beaches of Florida American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places 1971 establishments in Florida