The East Gulf Blockading Squadron captured more than 300 Confederate blockade runners during the war and continually harassed salt-making facilities along the coast. The cargoes were taken to key West and put up for auction.
The end of the Civil War did not end the fort's history.
In 1898, the USS Maine sailed from Key West to Havana Harbor, Cuba, where, on February 15, at 9:40 p.m., a mysterious explosion wrecked the vessel, killing three quarters of its crew, propelling the United States into Cuba's war with Spain for independence.
During World Wars I and II, Fort Taylor remained on active duty. Radar and 5-inch anti-aircraft guns were added to the fort's defenses during World War II. With the end of this war, Fort Taylor's use ended. From 1947 and for almost a quarter century the fort was used as a naval savage yard.
--Old B-R'er
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