Fort Zachary Taylor

Fort Zachary Taylor is in Key West and is located next to one of the better beaches in Key West.  You can take a guided tour of the fort everyday at 11 am.  Our guide was a Florida Gator so I knew it would be good.  I went to the fort knowing absolutely nothing about it but found the history to be fascinating.  It was commissioned after the War of 1812 when the U.S. realized it needed more bases along the water to protect it from enemy forces.  It was held by Union forces during the Civil War and was 3 stories high with 200 cannons spread out between the 3 floors.  The fort never saw action during the Civil War as it was decided that Key West was not an important hold.  However, because of it's location, they were able to stop supplies from getting to the Confederate soldiers and ended up being an important part of the war.  Eventually the 2nd and 3rd stories were removed to be less obvious of a fort and to not draw as much attention and part of the fort was fortified with concrete walls.  The fort was a part of the Navy base and was mostly forgot about for many years.  In 1968, volunteers began excavations of the fort and found the largest collection of Civil War cannons.  It was interesting to hear the history and thinking about standing in the same place that so many historical things happened in the same spot.

 Cannons lined up in the fort

 The courtyard

Old Civil War cannons that were found buried in concrete walls