Tortugas

[Dave Taylor]

Rich,

Don't you worry. We fully intend to kayak out to where Bird Key is and try to stand, if possible.

Steve,

I appreciate you informing me that the men who had been buried on Bird Key were eventually transported to Pensacola for burial in the National Cemetery there. That was the original request that was made in 1875, but Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs nixed the idea stating his belief that, "Even if it can be done without actual danger it will disturb mens' minds, who do not know that such a transfer is safe - if safe it is." That is what led the former commander to request headstones for the men. Clearly it was eventually decided that it would make more sense to move the men than attempt to create a permanent cemetery on Bird Key.