Near Key West in Monroe County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Bread, Bugs, and Beef

Fort Jefferson

— Dry Tortugas National Park —

Bread, Bugs, and Beef Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Pete Payette, May 7, 2024

1. Bread, Bugs, and Beef Marker

Inscription. Other than bread, fish, shrimp, and turtles, most of the food—salted pork, salted beef, and beans—came from the mainland. Officers fared better than the soldiers and prisoners. "The bread was a mixture of flour, bugs, sticks and dirt," Lincoln assassination conspirator Sam Arnold complained "Meat was rotten to such an extent that dogs ran from it." One soldier said the bread was "filled with Black Bugs...we pick out some...& eat the rest." Fresh vegetables were rare. A gleeful soldier wrote of enjoying "good Canada red potatoes...sweet yellow turnips [and] good fresh beef."

(caption) The huge ovens built into the walls in front of you were used to bake bread. Look around and consider how this space may have looked and smelled when these ovens were used to bake for 400 people three times a day.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil.

Location. 24° 37.736′ N, 82° 52.454′ W. Marker is near Key West, Florida, in Monroe County. It can be

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reached from Fort Jefferson - Key West. The marker is located on the grounds of Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Key West FL 33040, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Keys.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 15-Inch Rodman (a few steps from this marker); An Island of Civility (within shouting distance of this marker); The Moat (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Red-Hot Cannonballs (about 400 feet away); In Memory of Brevet Major, Jos. Sim Smith (about 500 feet away); Parade Ground Panorama (about 500 feet away); Navy Days at Fort Jefferson (about 500 feet away); Keeping Powder Dry and Safe

Photographed by Pete Payette, May 7, 2024

2. Bread, Bugs, and Beef Marker

(about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Key West.

Also see . . . Dry Tortugas National Park. National Park Service (Submitted on May 17, 2024.)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 15, 2024, by Pete Payette of Orange, Virginia. This page has been viewed 239 times since then and 30 times this year. Last updated on June 3, 2024, by Pete Payette of Orange, Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 15, 2024, by Pete Payette of Orange, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.