Hidden Treasure

Hidden Treasure. . In the Beginning , On December 22, 1968, Howard S. England and a small group of volunteers started an eight-and-a-half year quest at Fort Taylor. Using shovels and a borrowed civilian construction crane, they began the search for American Civil War treasures at the Fort. Within an hour, they had discovered the first iron artifacts., Lt. McKinstry's Initiative , The artifacts were buried in 1898 under the direction of Lieutenant C.H. McKinstry of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Some were placed in the concrete face of Battery Osceola while others were buried in the gun rooms in front of the Battery's south face., His initiative not only helped protect the new magazines but also unwittingly ensured the bulk of the Fort's armaments would be preserved for the future. Several of the guns placed within the concrete of the Battery are still visible., "Sand Hog" Hard Work , Howard S. England and his volunteers, whom he called "sand hogs", excavated the fill and rubble from the second level of Battery Osceola. They discovered two 10-inch Columbiads, an 8-inch Siege Mortar and a rare 300-pounder Parrott Rifle buried in the fill. They also discovered 10-inch Rodmans still mounted on their gun chassis in the seven rooms excavated on the first level, as well as almost 7,000 round and cylindrical projectiles buried with the guns., (captions) , First cannon found at Fort Taylor in Casemate #13 in 1969, 10-inch Columbiad found under fill on top of south face in 1970, Rare 10-inch Parrott rifle just after excavation