Notes for an upcoming trip

Key West was the only city in the south to remain under Union control for the duration of the Civil War. Although no battles were fought here it was the headquarters for the East Coast Gulf Blockading Squadron and the Federal Army’s District of Key West and Tortugas. The East Coast Blockading Squadron was responsible for the area from Mosquito Inlet (Ponce Inlet) in New Smyrna on the Atlantic Ocean to St. Andrew’s Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. With rumors that Florida may secede from the Union the garrisons in Key West and the Dry Tortugas moved inside Forts Taylor and Jefferson, respectively in January 1861. Captain Brannan of the First Artillery commanded a force of 44 men at Fort Taylor. In January a company of the 2nd US Artillery arrived at Fort Jefferson under Major Arnold who assumed command there. The Dry Tortugas are located 70 miles west of Key West on Garden Key. Fort Jefferson served as a supply depot for both the army and navy as well as a prison. Both masonry forts were still not completed. At Fort Jefferson the upper level embrasures were nonexistent and there were still many temporary sally ports in place for laborers (slaves) allowing easy access to the interior. Fort Taylor on Key West was much closer to completion with the casemate battery mounted. Work was quickly undertaken to make both forts more operational. Captain Montgomery Meigs (soon to become Quartermaster General of the entire Union army) was responsible for getting Fort Jefferson ready. He obtained six eight-inch guns from Fort Taylor to aid in the process. This post will cover Civil War sites in the keys except for three which will have their own posts and be covered separately- the Dry Tortugas National Park/Fort Jefferson, the Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, and finally the East and West Martello Towers.

Signs and sites in the city relevant to the Civil War include:

Highlights in History- N 24 33.596, W 81 48.403

Bust Park- Dr. Tepla Vining Harris- N 24 33.589, W 81 48.418 and Stephen R. Mallory N 24 33.585, W 81 48.411

Civil War Union Blockade- N 24 33.59, W 81 48.447

Historical Military Memorial Park- The Civil War N 24 33.578, W 81 48.447 and USS Key West N 24 33.573, W 81 48.45

Mallory Homesite Historical Marker- N 24 33.515, W 81 48.395 located at Front and Whitehead Streets in Clinton Square Park, this marker is near the site where the Mallory family home stood from 1839 to 1895. Stephen R. Mallory served as the Confederate Secretary of the Navy for the duration of the war. His son, Stephen R. Mallory, Jr. served in both the Confederate army and navy.

Mallory Square Stone- N 24 33.559, W 81 48.409

Naval Base Key West- The U.S. Navy first established a naval base at Key West in 1823. During the war Key West was the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s East Gulf Blockading Squadron. New Smyrna on the Atlantic coast to St. Andrews Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. Surviving buildings used by the navy during the war include the Clinton Square Market Building and the Marine Hospital.

Clinton Square Market Building- 291 Front Street. Built from 1856-1861, the building was used by the Union Navy as a coal depot and storehouse for vessels on blockade duty.

United States Marine Hospital- 401 Emma Street. The building was designed by Robert Mills, designer of the Washington Monument, and was constructed in 1845. It was used for treatment of Union military personnel including victims of yellow fever.

Union Monument- located at Greene and Whitehead Streets in Clinton Square Park. The monument was erected in 1866 in honor of Federal troops that died while stationed here during the war. It is thought to be the oldest Civil War monument in the state.

Key West’s Oldest House- is located at 322 Duval Street. Constructed around 1829 it was moved to its current location around 1836. The house was the residence of Francis Watlington, a lieutenant in the Confederate Navy who served on the gunboat CSS Gaines and the ironclad CSS Tennessee.

Hemingway House- located at 907 Whitehead Street. It was constructed around 1850 and was the residence of prosperous businessman Asa F. Tift, a delegate to the Florida Secession Convention. Tift fled to Georgia after the occupation of Key West by Union forces in 1861. Along with his brother Nelson he designed and financed construction of Confederate ironclads during the Civil War including the CSS Mississippi and the CSS Atlanta.

Key West Lighthouse- located at 938 Whitehead Street. The present lighthouse was constructed in 1847 and was an important navigational aid during the war. The lighthouse did not go dark in 1861 as most Florida lighthouses did, although the elderly lighthouse keeper, Barbara Mabrity, was suspected of being a Confederate sympathizer. In 1864, the 82-year-old, who had held the position since 1832, was removed from her job for being disloyal to the Union.

Key West Cemetery- is located at 701 Passover Lane. Founded in 1847, the cemetery contains remains of Civil War army and navy veterans, both Confederate and Union, many buried in special veterans sections. One of the Confederate veterans buried here is Captain Henry Mulrennan who commanded “The Key West Avengers”, a company formed from men who fled Union-held Key West. Mulrennan was captured and held in a prisoner of war camp in New York, he returned to Key West and was served as mayor after the war.

Key West Armory- N 24 33.582, W 81 47.635

US States Army Post Peary Court Burial Grounds- 3 signs White Yellow Fever Sign, post burial ground on fence, sign on rock

Union Yellow Fever Monument- is located in Bayview Park at the 1500 block of Truman Avenue. The monument was erected in memory of the men of the 90th and 91st New York Infantry who died in Key West in 1862, primarily from yellow fever.

Also in Bayview Park- American Civil War black plaque on white stone N 24 33.461, W 81 47.288

2nd USCT- N 24 33.446, W 81 47.285

Salt production- N 24 33.368, W 81 46.667

Black Cemetery- N 24 32.845, W 81 47.129

Sources

Official Records Series I Volume I January 14, 1861 JM Brannan

Official Records Series I Volume L January 6-August 1861, January 16 Montgomery Meigs

Florida Civil War Heritage Trail by the Florida Association of Museums