Asa Tift (March 28, 1812February 7, 1889) was the most notable salvager in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of 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 con ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the early 19th century. He owned a large salvaging operation, parts of which can still be seen as the Key West Shipwreck Museum (where tourists are shown around by an actor portraying Asa Tift). He was also responsible for the building of the

Ernest Hemingway House The Ernest Hemingway House was the residence of American writer Ernest Hemingway in the 1930s. The house is situated on the island of Key West, Florida. It is at 907 Whitehead Street, across from the Key West Lighthouse, close to the southern ...

in Key West. He was also the brother of Nelson Tift (founder of Albany, Georgia).

Civil war

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Asa and his brothers financed a ship to be built for the Confederates in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

. After the North's victory at the

Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed th ...

, Nelson and Asa decided to blow up the ship rather than let it be captured by the Northern forces. After refusing to fuel a Union ship, Tift was expelled from Key West. He later returned and died in 1889.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tift, Asa 1812 births 1889 deaths People from Key West, Florida Businesspeople from Florida American Civil War industrialists