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Most people don't know that, during the Civil War, Key West was a Northern town, even though it was part of the Confederacy. Here's what happened:
The US military built Ft. Zachary Taylor on a man-made island approximately 100 yards off the shore from Key West (which was since filled in). Since Key West was a major port for ships that traded in South America and the Carribbean, they needed a southern port close to Cuba, and Key West was only 90 miles from La Habana, an easy day's sail (in good weather). To protect this shipping the US military maintained a base in Key West, including Ft. Zachary Taylor.
When Florida seceded from the Union, both the Confederate Navy and Army were too occupied and spread too thin to worry about a backwater such as Key West. The waters around this island were too shallow for the Confederate's main war ships to attack and liberate it. Since it was not possible to access Key West at that time from land, the Confederate army could not assult the Fort. So it remained in Union hands under martial law thruout the remainder of the war.
The inhabitants of Key West were not all that upset since Union naval and army troops continued to invest their pay with the city's merchants, bars, and brothels. Merchant ships continued to call at this port, which was fine with the townspeople and the Union liked the goods that came in and then went out again on ships flying the Stars and Stripes. The fact that Confederate spies came and went on those ships was not lost on the Union, nor did the Confederacy waste that intelligence.
So, without going into great detail, this is how and why Key West was a Union town in a Confederate state.
The US military built Ft. Zachary Taylor on a man-made island approximately 100 yards off the shore from Key West (which was since filled in). Since Key West was a major port for ships that traded in South America and the Carribbean, they needed a southern port close to Cuba, and Key West was only 90 miles from La Habana, an easy day's sail (in good weather). To protect this shipping the US military maintained a base in Key West, including Ft. Zachary Taylor.
When Florida seceded from the Union, both the Confederate Navy and Army were too occupied and spread too thin to worry about a backwater such as Key West. The waters around this island were too shallow for the Confederate's main war ships to attack and liberate it. Since it was not possible to access Key West at that time from land, the Confederate army could not assult the Fort. So it remained in Union hands under martial law thruout the remainder of the war.
The inhabitants of Key West were not all that upset since Union naval and army troops continued to invest their pay with the city's merchants, bars, and brothels. Merchant ships continued to call at this port, which was fine with the townspeople and the Union liked the goods that came in and then went out again on ships flying the Stars and Stripes. The fact that Confederate spies came and went on those ships was not lost on the Union, nor did the Confederacy waste that intelligence.
So, without going into great detail, this is how and why Key West was a Union town in a Confederate state.
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