The Lincoln Conspirators at Fort Jefferson

[Dave Taylor]

Forgive the shameless self-promotion, but this evening, I have just published the first part of an eight-part video series about the Lincoln assassination conspirators who were imprisoned at Fort Jefferson. My wife Jen and I visited the Dry Tortugas back in March of 2023 and spent the bulk of our three-night camping trip shooting footage with my phone. After letting the footage languish on my computer for the last year and a half, I have finally attempted to edit it all together. I'm no Ken Burns, but as far as homemade YouTube documentaries go, it's not bad.

This first video is about the geography of the Dry Tortugas, the construction of the fort, and the Civil War.

https://youtu.be/KUmaGodxyUQ

The next part (which I'll post in a few days) gets into the introduction of prisoners to the fort, the assassination of Lincoln, and the arrival of the conspirators. From that point on, I relied heavily on the work of fellow forum member Robert Summers, who gets a special credit at the end of the series.

[RJNorton]

Wonderful, Dave!!

[Rob Wick]

Well done, Dave! This was something I was not aware of.

Best
Rob

[Dave Taylor]

Thank you, Roger and Rob. I'm glad you've enjoyed the first part and have learned something new. I may not be teaching anymore, but that educational background never leaves you (as Roger rightly knows).

As a preview of coming attractions, here's a transition shot I made using a historical image of the entrance to the dungeon cell in which Dr. Mudd and the gang were placed and a modern photograph of the same area. I couldn't get everything to line up exactly, but it's pretty close.

[Dave Taylor]

Parts 2 and 3 of my Fort Jefferson series are now up.

In the second part of the series, I discuss Fort Jefferson's transformation into a prison, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the arrival of the Lincoln conspirators to their new island home:

https://youtu.be/B3YcwzhFyjw

In the third part, I recount Dr. Samuel Mudd's attempt to escape Fort Jefferson in September of 1865 and the consequences of his actions:

https://youtu.be/88l1RLOjoO8

[Rob Wick]

Good to know, Dave. Cheryl is spending Thanksgiving with her family and I am dog-sitting, so I will spend part of my holiday watching your videos.

Best
Rob

[Anita]

Congrats Dave. Looking forward to the series!

[Rob Wick]

Yet two more interesting pieces, Dave. In the first video, I noticed a tall metal tower in the background of your shot. What is that tower for? Also, if I had known about Mudd's escape attempt, I had forgotten it. Can't wait for the other parts.

Best
Rob

[Dave Taylor]

(11-28-2024 05:55 PM)Anita Wrote:  Congrats Dave. Looking forward to the series!

Thanks, Anita!

(11-28-2024 10:12 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  In the first video, I noticed a tall metal tower in the background of your shot. What is that tower for?

Rob,

I'm not exactly sure what the function of the large antenna attached to the fort is, but I imagine it is related to some communication system used by the NPS Rangers to communicate with mainland Key West, 68 miles away. There is a small contingent of rangers and volunteers who live at the fort and only take occasional furloughs to the mainland. About one-third of the fort is blocked off to visitors as it is used as the ranger's residence. That antenna is coming out of one of the closed, ranger-only bastions. For all I know, it is a big TV antenna!

By the way, Part 4 is up now:

https://youtu.be/Zb5dM7zgjhQ

[jbarry]

Awesome content as always, Dave!

[Dave Taylor]

(11-29-2024 03:10 PM)jbarry Wrote:  Awesome content as always, Dave!

Thank you very much!

Part 5 is now up. In this installment, I cover what everyday life was like for those at Fort Jefferson and the period of time just before Yellow Fever struck the fort.

https://youtu.be/oZcCxXADF9s

[Rob Wick]

Finished parts four and five this morning. Looking forward to the rest of the series. For all those who haven't watched it yet, I would highly recommend it.

Best
Rob

[Steve]

Great videos, Dave and fascinating history of the Fort! I binged the first 5 parts tonight!

[Rob Wick]

Just watched part six on the yellow fever epidemic. Dave, when they took the sick to Hospital Key, were they placed in tents, or was there an actual building on the island? If they were in tents, I can't imagine that sleeping in the open air would have been very healthy. Forgive me if you addressed this and I missed it.

Best
Rob

[Dave Taylor]

(12-03-2024 10:58 AM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Just watched part six on the yellow fever epidemic. Dave, when they took the sick to Hospital Key, were they placed in tents, or was there an actual building on the island? If they were in tents, I can't imagine that sleeping in the open air would have been very healthy. Forgive me if you addressed this and I missed it.

Best
Rob

Great question! A small isolation hospital building had been built on Hospital Key during the Civil War years. Initially, those infected with yellow fever were rowed to this key in order to isolate them. Dr. Joseph Smith and a series of nurses rowed back and forth to care for these men. However, eventually, the number of cases grew to be too much, and it was obvious that this practice of isolation was not working. After Dr. Smith himself contracted the fever and fell ill, Dr. Mudd gave up on the idea of isolating the sick elsewhere and converted more of the fort into a hospital. The dead were still considered a health risk, which is why they were transported to Bird Key for burial (as was the case for Michael O'Laughlen).

Here is a circa 1864 drawing of Hospital Key (then called Sand Key). It shows the isolation hospital building that had been constructed there. Hospital Key had also been used as a burying ground during earlier yellow fever epidemics, which explains the graves shown in this drawing.



As Rob pointed out, Part 6 about the yellow fever epidemic is now up:

https://youtu.be/iPClI6rof4E