The many lighthouses of Florida played a key role during the Civil War. In an article in the Triton-Megayacht News by Donna Mergenhagen, Neil E. Hurley, the historian of the Florida Lighthouse Association, talked about his book "Florida's Lighthouses During the Civil War."
At the start of the Civil War, there were 20 lighthouses and 1 lightship along the 1,197 miles of Florida coastline.
During the course of the war, lamp oil and lenses came into short supply for Confederates. Union forces took control of seven of the lighthouses early in the war. Dry Tortugas and Key West became Union bases.
The 14 other lighthouses became battle sites with some becoming extinguished.
It took until 1972 for all the lighthouses to get back into operation.
I Think I See a Light. --Old B-Runner
No comments:
Post a Comment