Fort Jefferson: Archaeological divers at Dry Tortugas National Park in Gulf survey submerged Civil War-era graves

Grad student Devon Fogarty at John Greer's grave (C. Sproul/NPS)

A submerged Gulf of Mexico island reportedly spotted from the air a few years ago contains a cemetery holding the grave of a laborer who died at Fort Jefferson, the Civil War-era fortress.

Dry Tortugas National Park recently announced the discovery of the cemetery and the remains of a small 19^th-century quarantine hospital. The latter was used to treat yellow fever patients at the fort between 1890 and 1900. The park is 70 miles west of Key West, Fla.

Laborer John Greer died in the first year of the Civil War. The isolated Fort Jefferson is mostly associated with that time, when it held Confederate prisoners and Lincoln assassination conspirators.

Water color depicts hospital and cemetery on Dry Tortugas island (NPS)

The park released photos and video of the fascinating August 2022 find near Garden Key, with a maritime diver checking out Greer’s grave not far from the surface.

Research shows the post cemetery contains dozens of graves of US military personnel, prisoners and civilians who were at Fort Jefferson or nearby islands. Greer died at the fort on Nov. 5, 1861. His cause of death is currently unknown.

His grave was marked with a well-preserved large slab of greywacke, the material used to construct the first floor of Fort Jefferson. The slab was carved into the shape of a headstone and inscribed with his name and date of death. Greer’s is the only currently identified grave on the sand.

Greer's grave stone is still legible (C. Sproul/NPS)

“This intriguing find highlights the potential for untold stories in Dry Tortugas National Park, both above and below the water,” Josh Marano, maritime archeologist for the south Florida national parks and project director for the survey, said in a statement. “Although much of the history of Fort Jefferson focuses on the fortification itself and some of its infamous prisoners, we are actively working to tell the stories of the enslaved people, women, children and civilian laborers.”

Marano told The New York Times he noticed a strange pattern in the water while he was flying over the Gulf of Mexico in 2016. He then pored over nautical charts. “There was dry land here at one point. There was a structure on that island at one point,” Marano told the newspaper. “When did it disappear?”

The archaeologist and students surveyed the island last summer and have since been conducting more research.

John Greer's name appears on 1861 roll at Fort Jefferson (NPS)

Park officials note a couple factors that may explain why this island is now below water.

“While the facilities identified in this survey were originally built on dry land, the dynamic conditions caused many of the islands to move over time. Climate change and major storm events have even caused some islands to settle and erode beneath the waves.”

Fort Jefferson was ringed by other islands used for various purposes, including quarantine sites for ill military members, prisoners and civilians.

As the population of Fort Jefferson swelled, the risk of deadly communicable diseases, particularly the mosquito-borne yellow fever, drastically increased. Major outbreaks of disease on the island killed dozens throughout the 1860s and 1870s.

Fort Jefferson is surrounded by submerged and above surface islands (NPS)

The National Park Service’s South Florida National Parks Cultural Resources Program will monitor the archaeological site, and officials remind visitors it is protected by federal law.

Park cultural resources staff, assisted by members of the NPS Submerged Resources Center, the Southeast Archeological Center and a University of Miami graduate student conducted the 2022 survey. The park is not divulging the exact location of the site.

Fort Jefferson is accessible only by boat or seaplane. Visitors are required to provide their own food, water and all other supplies while at the park. 

Cockspur lighthouse at Fort Pulaski emerges from scaffolding after months of preservation work. Here's what was done on beacon

(All photos are recent and from Fort Pulaski National Monument)

Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, Ga., this week completed a five-month project aimed at protecting the small but resilient Cockspur Island Lighthouse from moisture and tides.

The 46-foot structure, built in 1855, has endured high tides, hurricanes, waves from ever-growing container ships, vandals and – for a deafening 30 hours – the April 1862 bombardment of nearby Fort Pulaski during the Civil War. 

The Union’s strategy was to put a chokehold on Southern commerce by controlling ports and coastal areas, including this area next to the Atlantic Ocean. Federal soldiers landed at Tybee Island and set about preparing for an attack on Pulaski, a brick guardian to the west.

Remarkably, the lighthouse suffered little or no damage. Crews manning 36 guns on 11 batteries stretching along the western end of Tybee likely used the lighthouse for sighting as they pounded away at the fort. The Confederate garrison, worried that exploding shells might reach munitions, surrendered within a day.

Louvered transoms on door, windows allow ventilation

The park over the years has undertaken work aimed at protecting the beacon. The Picket has communicated with Emily Forlenza, exhibits specialist and acting facility operations specialist at Fort Pulaski National Monument, about the project. Here are her emailed responses to questions, edited for brevity.

Q. Would you mind briefly summarizing all the work was done?

A. For this project, the masonry tower, stairs, keel, window and door openings, and interior of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse were cleaned, chiseled and repointed. These efforts were undertaken due to the damage that this structure sustained from tidal action. The mortar that was used was a match to what we believe was used historically, based on lab testing, material sampling, and test patches used in various areas. Most of the efforts for masonry repointing took place on the exterior of the structure, as that is where the most wind and water action is seen. The interior masonry also saw this repair work as well, but it was not as extensive. Additionally, the door and windows on the structure were replaced using materials and a configuration that are believed to be the configuration and material of the original fixtures. The only update to these new additions was to add a louvered transom instead of a fanlight above the door and windows. This was done to allow for passive ventilation through the structure, since it is closed most of the year due to its remote location. In total, we replaced one entry door and transom, three 6-light windows with transoms, and two porthole windows. 

Q. In October, you mentioned work “toward getting the light back on.” What do you mean?

A. Since this lighthouse is located in a major shipping channel, we want to make sure that no vessel would confuse this with an active aid to navigation (ATON.) We are planning to work closely with the Coast Guard to get the light back up in the lighthouse, facing out in the direction where ships will not be able to confuse their navigation. We are hoping this will come shortly, within the next few months. (The lighthouse was last used as a lighted beacon in 1909)

Q. Did anything require total or partial replacement?

A. The door and windows all required total replacement. We did not have a functional door at all, and what was in place for all of the openings was neither original nor historic. 

Q. What painting was done?

A. The cupola of the lighthouse was painted with a rust reformer and black metal paint in order to restore its appearance. The old cupola is located in front of the visitor center of Fort Pulaski, having been removed due to its state of deterioration in 1995. (See comments section below for why exterior of lighthouse was not painted)

Q. Will the lighthouse remain closed to the public?

A. This is a topic of discussion among Fort Pulaski staff, but for the foreseeable future it will remain closed.  

Q. How did the lighthouse fare during the recent super high tides? I know higher water levels have been of concern for a time.

A. The lighthouse itself held up very well, as she always does. None of our new repair work showed any sign of failure, and the new door and windows we put on look as good as they did the day we put them on.

Q. How will you regulate or manage moisture issues?

A. As stated above, the passive ventilation that is offered by the louvered transoms is our main mitigation against the stagnant damp air that would typically cause issues inside the structure. 

Q. You anticipated the project would cost about $150,000. Did that prove to be true?

A. Yes, we came in right around our anticipated budget. (Funding for the fabrication of the door and windows came from a grant given to the Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse by the Tybee Island Historical Society, which was matched by NPS Centennial Challenge funding.)

Q. Can you tell me about the replacement mortar being historically accurate? How so?

A. Historically, the mortar used for the lighthouse would have had a heavy makeup of natural cement due to its location being heavy impacted by the tides. During testing, it was determined that this was true. The park then did test patches to make sure that the mortar was going to hold up in this area. Even though the mortar was historically accurate, we still wanted to make sure that this would be the best fit for the structure. 

Q. What work was done by NPS staff and what was done by contractors?

A. The National Park Service provided all of the day labor and craft skills required to repoint the structure, paint the cupola, and install the door and windows. The door and windows were fabricated by Savannah Millworks, a local company here in Savannah. The scaffolding that was constructed around the structure was also contracted out, by Sunbelt Rentals. 

Q. Any hitches or pleasant surprises or finds during the work?

A. The most fascinating part of working with historic structures in these historic settings is coming up with unique ways to start these projects off. The planning process was the most interesting part initially, because we needed to figure out how we were going to get sturdy enough scaffolding around a structure that was surrounded by huge boulders (revetment, to protect the island from erosion) while at the same time ensuring that the structure would be protected during tidal surges from the scaffolding swaying or moving in any way. We had to figure out how best to get a crew of 5-6 people out to the lighthouse every day safety and efficiently, while factoring in tides that would change where we could get the crew on and off the island.

And probably the most unexpected hitch: the crew shared the lighthouse with a very disgruntled barn owl for about a month, before the owl decided it was time to find a new home. He did continue to torment the crew each day upon their arrival until he moved out. 

Q. Any other thoughts on the project?

A. This project gave us an incredible amount of information that we are going to be using to develop future projects for the preservation of this structure. 

Projects like these are essential for future project development. It is such a unique experience to be directly involved in work like this, and I am thankful that my crew and I were able to take part in preserving this structure for future generations. 

Click here for previous Picket coverage on the lighthouse

Mackinac Island in Michigan briefly housed three Southern prisoners. Here's what we learned about them during a recent visit

Civil War-era barracks are in the background of this fort view (Picket photo)

Above the throng of tourists enjoying the restaurants, water views and fudge shops of Mackinac Island in Michigan stands a fort that briefly held three Southern prisoners during the Civil War.

I recently spent a few hours on the island, gawking at the Grand Hotel, moving to the side of roads to make way for carriage rides and taking a look at picturesque Fort Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw), which is perched above the harbor. Before the visit, I did not know anything about its brief Civil War episode.

Fort Mackinac, now a state park, is most famous for two clashes during the War of 1812. But during the summer of 1862, it housed three Tennesseans who military Gov. Andrew Johnson (later president) had ordered arrested for support of the Confederacy and “treasonous inclinations.”

“Johnson felt that the wealthy, planter class of the South was part of the reason for the war and he wanted the three men removed from Tennessee,” the fort’s website says.

Washington Barrow, Judge Guild and William G. Harding

Secretary of War Edwin Stanton arranged for the trio to be sent to Michigan.

Fort Mackinac had largely been used as deployment center during the mid-19^th century and was not in much use when the Civil War began.

But after the arrests of Judge Josephus Conn Guild, Washington Barrow and William G. Harding, officials prepared their quarters and secured a 90-member militia unit, the Stanton Guard, from the Detroit area.

The prisoners, all from the Nashville area, were able to walk the grounds on their own, being confined to their quarters at night. They could walk downtown under guard but were not allowed to interact with anyone. The men were never criminally charged; instead they were considered political or state prisoners.

One of the blockhouses at Fort Mackinac (Picket photo)

The park’s website provides this information about the three:

“Judge Guild was originally from Virginia, had served in the Tennessee legislature and was a founder of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Washington Barrow was a lawyer who served as a congressman and attorney general in Tennessee. He signed the Tennessee secession ordinance and helped finance a Confederate cavalry company. William G. Harding owned the 3,500 acre plantation Belle Meade where he raised thoroughbred race horses. He served as adjutant general of the Tennessee militia.”

A rifle firing demonstration on the grounds (Picket photo)

According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, Guild was outspoken in his support for the Southern war effort. Early in the Civil War, Harding headed the Military and Financial Board of Tennessee, which spent $5 million arming and equipping Rebel soldiers. 

The three prisoners were on the island during its most pleasant months. Perhaps with thoughts of a possibly harsh winter ahead, Guild and Harding took a loyalty oath and were allowed to return to Tennessee.

Barrow was shipped to the military prison at Johnson’s Island in Ohio. He refused to take an oath but was exchanged in March 1863.

“Barrow returned to Tennessee, ran unsuccessfully for Confederate governor of the state, and spent the balance of the war as a private with the retreating Army of Tennessee,” the encyclopedia says. “After the defeat of the Confederacy, Barrow returned to Nashville, broken in health and financially ruined. He died within the year.”

Fort Mackinac was largely not garrisoned for the remainder of the war.

Several of the park’s 14 buildings go back before the Civil War, including its signature blockhouses and barracks that housed the Stanton Guard.

I enjoyed strolling the grounds and ramparts, and took in seasonal rifle firing and signal flag demonstrations put on by the staff.

Much of the programming focuses on the Army’s use of the fort in the 1870 into the 1890s, when it was deactivated.

Fort Mackinac is one of few surviving Revolutionary War forts.

The briefly constituted Stanton Guard at Fort Mackinac

Fort Pulaski gives TLC to tough Cockspur Island Lighthouse, which survived Civil War shelling and challenges from humans and nature

Scaffolding went up this month at the Cockspur Island Lighthouse (NPS photos)

A reopened trail and a new observation deck will provide visitors at Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, Ga., a front-row view of preservation work on a beloved lighthouse that survived the intense shelling of the neighboring fortification during the Civil War.

The national park’s preservation team earlier this month began deferred work on the exterior and interior of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse, which is in serious need of some TLC, officials said.

Most of the estimated $150,000 project will focus on the masonry and making sure that the mortar is stable. The team will be removing failing mortar and replacing mortar with a more compatible mix. Work is expected to conclude in October.

“These efforts will help stabilize the structure and mitigate damaged caused by rising damp, moisture infiltration, tidal conditions and past incompatible mortar and paint applications,” Emily Forlenza, exhibits and acting facility operations specialist at the park, told the Picket in an email.

Fort Pulaski also is replacing the 46-foot lighthouse’s door and windows. “These have been fabricated to match historic configuration and materials, while enhancing security to the site from wildlife and visitors,” Forlenza said.

The structure has endured high tides, hurricanes, waves from ever-growing container ships, careless individuals and – for a deafening 30 hours – the April 1862 bombardment of Fort Pulaski.

The Cockspur light’s masonry base was built in the shape of a ship’s prow to deflect the forces that have worn away at her, consuming much of the small island that serves as its foundation. And while her light was extinguished more than a century ago, the beloved beacon exudes charm for boaters and those making the trek on U.S. 80 from Savannah to Tybee Island.

Interpretive sign on the new observation deck (Picket photo)

Motorists and those venturing on the 45-minute round-trip walk to the observation deck will notice scaffolding all around the lighthouse.

Forlenza emphasized that the lighthouse remains closed, even when workers are present.

“There is no current plan for the park to open the site up for visitation once work is completed; these repairs are being done to stabilize the structure and for interpretive purposes at a distance,” she said. The park ended public access to the site several years ago, citing the precarious ecological situation and increased vandalism (people can walk to the lighthouse during low tide).

Lighthouse while it was still in operation; island has eroded (National Archives)

The South Channel of the Savannah River was the prime gateway to Savannah in its early years. One brick tower, used as a landmark, was built on Cockspur Island between 1837 and 1839. A major upgrade came about a decade later when an illuminated station was built. That tower has a focal plane 25 feet above sea level, according to the NPS.

A hurricane leveled the lighthouse in 1854 and a new tower was rebuilt a couple years later. The dawn of the Civil War brought a temporary extinguishment of its light.

Then the war itself came to Cockspur Island, home to Fort Pulaski.

Robert Knox Sneden map showing batteries that fired on fort (Library of Congress)

The Union’s strategy was to put a chokehold on Southern commerce by controlling ports and coastal areas, including this area next to the Atlantic Ocean. Federal soldiers landed at Tybee Island and set about preparing for an attack on Fort Pulaski, a brick guardian to the west.

Capt. Quincy A. Gillmore, a Federal engineer officer, began the bombardment on April 10, 1862, after Col. Charles H. Olmstead refused to surrender.

“The Federal batteries were 1,500 to 4,000 yards away from the fort,” said Charlie Crawford, who as president of the Georgia Battlefields Association led tours of Civil War sites in the Savannah area. “Part of Battery Halleck is still discernible on the south side of the road. Had the Federals chosen to aim at the lighthouse, the closest batteries would have been about 700 yards from it.”

Observation deck at end of Lighthouse Trail (Picket photo)

The Confederate garrison at Pulaski would learn first-hand about advances in technology.

“When Fort Pulaski was built (1830s, with Robert E. Lee as one of the principal engineers), the rifled gun was not around, so thick masonry walls were the best type of fortification, and the distance to Tybee Island would prevent any 1830s-era gun from getting close enough to do significant damage,” Crawford previously told the Picket. “By 1862, the James Rifles blasted apart the walls relatively quickly.”

The situation steadily grew worse.

“When the breach on the southeast bastion allowed the Federals to shoot across the parade ground and start bouncing shells off the temporary wood wall in front of the powder magazine, Olmsted knew that a potentially catastrophic explosion was likely,” said Crawford. He surrendered on April 11.

Remarkably, the lighthouse suffered little or no damage during the Federal attack. Crews manning 36 guns on 11 batteries stretching along the western end of Tybee Island likely used the lighthouse for sighting as they pounded away at the Confederate fort located about 1 mile beyond.

“Not much point to aiming at the lighthouse,” Crawford told the Picket in 2015. “If the Federals could capture the port, the lighthouse would be useful.”

Pulaski remained in Federal hands and the city fell in December 1864 in the closing months of the conflict. About a year after the war’s end, on April 25, 1866, the beacon was relit and painted white for continued use as a navigational aid. (At right, 1850s schematic for the current lighthouse, courtesy of NPS)

A storm in 1881 destroyed the keeper’s residence and the surge filled the lighthouse interior with seawater. The plucky tower remained in duty for another three decades, but the writing was on its walls.

To accommodate large freighters, the Savannah port routed vessels to the deep, more navigable North Channel. Effective June 1, 1909, the beacon light was snuffed. Its Fresnel light is long gone.

Nature’s assault on the lighthouse has continued, with officials fighting back against the effects of erosion and shipworms on wooden support timbers.

This isn’t the first preservation work on the lighthouse. It is a constant process, when funding is available. Hurricanes have damaged Fort Pulaski's grounds. The revamped trail (left, Picket photo) has been improved.

Forlenza said funding for the fabrication of the door and windows came from a grant given to the Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse by the Tybee Island Historical Society, which was matched by NPS Centennial Challenge funding. The Picket reached out to the friends group for comment on the project but did not receive a reply.

The lighthouse has a white exterior and that look persisted for decades. But much of that paint is gone or weathered now. The park does not plan to repaint the exterior, officials said.

“There will be no additional coating applied to the lighthouse, and the coating that is there will not be removed by any mechanical means,” said Forlenza. “Our cultural resource team decided that it was best to not risk further damage by removing the existing coating, and the brick is vulnerable enough in the extreme tidal conditions. Natural weathering of the exterior coating was decided to be the most appropriate treatment.”

Fort Pulaski was pulverized by rifled Federal guns (Picket photo)

Your chance to adopt a cannon in Charleston

A nonprofit group is urging people to lend a hand to help conserve pieces of history: the guns at the South Carolina forts where the Civil War began. Jim Thompson of the Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Trust said that the group has started an Adopt-A-Cannon drive to help the National Park Service conserve the guns at Sumter, which is in Charleston Harbor, and at Moultrie, on nearby Sullivans Island. • Article

This summer in history: Morris Island

Union forces spent the summer of 1863 trying to dislodge Confederates around Charleston, S.C.

Two attacks focused on Fort Wagner. The one made famous by the movie "Glory" took place on July 18, when the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, made up of African-Americans, tried in vain to take the fort.

On Aug. 1, the Union began a prolonged bombardment of entrenchments, according to Georgia's Blue and Gray Trail. Confederates fired back on Morris Island on Aug. 11, starting a barrage between the enemies that lasted four days.

Confederate-held Fort Sumter took fire beginning Aug. 17. The shells caused heavy damage but the Union made no assault. Federal assaults continued off and on until September 1864.