Location of Fort: Key West, FL
County of Fort: Monroe County
Donated to State by U.S. Department of the Interior
Fort Remodeled in 1997.
Some History of Fort:
Fort Zachary Taylor
The United States exploited the strategic defensive location of the Florida Keys soon after Florida was ceded to the Union. In 1823 the West Indian Anti-Piracy Squadron was established at Key West in an effort to rid the neighboring waters of pirates. The construction of Fort Zachary Taylor at the tip of Key West, from 1844-1860, and Fort Jefferson, its companion fort farther west in the Dry Tortugas, strengthened the strategic importance of the Florida Keys. The trapezoidal shaped fort was constructed about 1000 feet offshore. Years of silt build-up in the harbor, however, have made the fort landlocked. Several years after the fort was constructed, "Dr. Normandy's Patent Marine Aerated Fresh Water Apparatus," a French desalting plan, was installed to provide fresh water. Excavations have uncovered this fascinating machinery as well as cannons and projectiles. During the Civil War, Key West was the center of naval operations and the base for the blockade of the South. At one time, 299 captured Confederate ships were held in the Key West Harbor under the guns of the fort. Toward the end of the Spanish-American War, the massive walls of the fort were reduced to a single story.
ZACHARY TAYLORZachary Taylor was an American president born on November 24, 1784, near Barboursville, Virginia. Known as a national war hero for his battles in the Mexican War, Taylor was elected as the 12th president of the United States in 1849. He led the nation during its debates on slavery and Southern secession. After serving only 16 months in office, Taylor died from cholera morbus on July 9, 1850.
Here were I live, and just north of me in Lincoln County, MO, Zachery Taylor, then a Lt. in the Army, he defended the pioneers at a place called "Woods Fort" [still standing in Troy, MO] against the British and Chief Black Hawk.
In 1845, Taylor gained prominence as an “Indian fighter” in the nation’s battle with Native Americans in present-day Wisconsin, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Florida and Texas. Though he fought Native Americans, he also wanted to protect their lands from white settlers and believed a strong military presence was the solution to coexistence.
In November 1848, Taylor won the election and became the nation’s 12th president, replacing President James K. Polk. Taylor narrowly defeated the Democratic Party, led by Michigan’s Lewis Cass, and the Free-Soil Party, led by former President Martin Van Buren. Thrown into the middle of the slavery debate, Taylor took on an anti-slavery slant. He urged California and New Mexico residents to write constitutions and apply for statehood, knowing that both would likely bar slavery. He was correct in his assumptions, and in doing so angered Southerners who viewed his actions as a betrayal.