America's Fortress: A History of Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, Florida

By Thomas Reid
Illustrated, endnotes, bibliography, index, 163 pp., 2006. University Press of Florida, 15 Northwest 15th St., Gainesville, FL, 32611-2079, $24.95 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Michael Russert
Michael Russert, a member of the North Shore Round Table of Long Island and the Company of Military Historians, has a MALS plus 60 hours in American Studies. He is Coordinator of The New York State Veteran Oral History Program.

Review:
Although accessibility is somewhat limited due to its location, between 70,000-80,000 people annually visit Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas. Located on a small chain of islands at the end of the Florida Keys, Fort Jefferson remains one of the United States' greatest 19th-century military forts. Construction began in 1846 and continued for 30 years, when the still uncompleted fortress was abandoned.

Following its closure as a military post, the site was initially a wildlife refuge, then President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 declared it the Fort Jefferson National Monument. In 1992 it was renamed Dry Tortugas National Park. Thomas Reid's excellent book is the definitive study of this military post, tracing its history from planning stage to its present use as a national park.

Planned and constructed as a hexagonal structure of three tiers, the fort was to hold 450 guns along with a garrison of 1,500 men. Construction was begun during the third phase (1816-1867) of America's coastal defense system. The structure, as noted by the author, remained in Union possession throughout the Civil War.

Reid walks the reader through the political and military issues affecting the fort's lengthy period of construction. The difficulties encountered during the construction phase along with the hardships suffered by the builders and the garrison are part of the author's well-detailed account.

He makes liberal use of an assortment of primary and secondary sources to relate the obstacles the laborers had to overcome while working on the fort and the inhospitable life of the garrison troops.

July 1863 was the turning point as the mission of the fort changed. As Reid observes, "As the strategic value of Fort Jefferson declined, its use as a dumping ground for victims of military justice increased." Dry Tortugas became the equivalent of France's Devil's Island when Fort Jefferson became a federal prison primarily for court-martialed soldiers.

The first internees arrived in September 1861; however, the number increased greatly after 1863. At its peak, about 900 internees were housed there. Unfortunately for historians, as Reid discovered, as the number of prisoners increased, the efficiency of record keeping declined, leaving gaps for the researcher.

The most notable convicts arrived following the conclusion of the war when four members of the Lincoln assassination conspirators - Dr. Samuel Mudd, Michael O'Laughlin (who died there), Samuel Arnold and Edman Spangler - arrived. In addition, some mutineers and Confederate officers were sent to Fort Jefferson.

America's Fortress is a fascinating and well-written blend of social, political and military history of a historic site that few know about.

Reid's lively narrative depicts the oppressive temperatures and harsh storms, the sheer brutality of daily life, and the omnipresent alcohol abuse rampant on most isolated military posts. His first-person anecdotes make the horrors of this coastal garrison realistic.

Reid's book is highly recommended for anyone interested in American history.