Fort Taylor

Fort Taylor (named after President Zachary Taylor) was built from 1846 to 1866. Through time, the fort was expanded with several batteries. Originally Fort Taylor was 1200 feet offshore, to defend the harbour, but in the 1960s it became landlocked. It was built with 3 stories, with 198 cannon and 450 men, but in 1898 the top two were removed and the new batteries installed.

In the American Civil War, the fort stayed in Union hands and became headquarters for the federal Navy's East Gulf Coast blockading squadron. In the Second World War, the fort itself remained also operational and radar, anti aircraft guns and searchlights were added to it. Two 90mm guns used as anti-motor-torpedo boat (AMTB) artillery were also added. In 1947, the fort was deactivated.

Battery Adair was a part of Fort Taylor and was built in 1904. During the Second World War, the heavy guns were removed already, but the battery remained operational and was equipped with anti aircraft guns.

During the 1898 modernisation many of the civil war era weapons were simply used as infill in the redevelopment. In 1968 , Howard England began a systematic search of the Fort leading to the uncovering of 20 large calibre Civil War Guns, some of which remain in the concrete defences.

Nowadays the fort is a State Park and open to the public.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries
• Photos: Anthony (Sharky) Ward