To Guard the Harbor

Fort Taylor was designed in 1843 by Colonel Joseph Totten, Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as a key installation in the Army's Third Tier System of 42 coastal fortifications to guard the harbor at Key West and the island itself. Construction began in June of 1845 on a hard rock shoal 1,100 feet off the southwest point of the island. It was built by Irish brick masons with red clay brick reinforced with natural cement. The fort was two and a half stories tall, with walls forming a trapezoid, and it towered almost 50 feet above the water with outer walls over five feet thick. In 1866, the fort mounted 1981 cannons and housed 450 men. Bastions at each of the four corners protected against enemy forces attempting to scale the outer walls, and an extensive sand and masonry cover face protected the landward side, which was reached by a causeway and drawbridge.

Key West, Florida · United States