To Guard the Harbor

To Guard the Harbor. . Where It All Began , Fort Taylor was designed in 1843 by Colonel Joseph Totten, Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Fort was to be a key installation in the Army's Third Tier System of 42 coastal fortifications. Its purpose was to guard the harbor at Key West, as well as 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 and the walls formed a trapezoid. It towered almost 50 feet above the water and had outer walls over five feet thick. In 1866, the Fort mounted 1981 cannons and housed 450 men., A Strong Defense , There were bastions in each of the four corners which provided protection from enemy forces attempting to scale the outer walls. An extensive sand and masonry cover face was designed to protect the landward side of the Fort, which was accessed by a causeway and drawbridge., (captions) , Drawing by Howard S. England , View of Fort Taylor from Key West