By: Debra Hess
Yankee Freedom II Naturalist

General Joseph Totten, Chief of the Army’s Engineers from 1838 – 1864 designed the Totten Shutters used on the gun ports of Fort Jefferson. These large slabs of wrought iron complete with iron shutters were designed to protect gunners from small projectiles and musket fire while loading cannons weighing several tons per gun opening and integrated into both the exterior wall and the interior of the fort, these embrasures were crucial to fort construction during this time period.

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Dig Location in Paradeground

From March 13 – 16, 2009 visitors tot the Dry Tortugas National Park aboard the Yankee Freedom II were treated to an archaeological dig of an 1850’s storehouse foundation located in the paradeground of Fort Jefferson. March is Florida’s Archaeology Month and this weekend’s even allowed the public an opportunity to help sift and search soils taken from under a storehouse destroyed by fire in 1857.

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Vessel New Orleans, an Army LCU (Landing Craft Vessel), visits Dry Tortugas National Park on January 10-13th 2008 in a cleanup operation. Hurricane damage from the four hurricane strike summer of 2006 left Dry Tortugas National Park with lots of rebuilding and repairing. The remoteness of the park makes garbage service a challenge, especially for larger items such as air conditioning units, old appliances and such. The New Orleans carried Waste Management dumpsters and a large Front End Loader to assist the Park Service personnel in eliminating trash items. The New Orleans has a permanent crew of four and is assisted by fourteen Army reservists.

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By Wayne Landrum

After 26 years of working in National Park areas across the country, I moved to the Dry Tortugas; a unique and remote sub-tropical park. It is located in South Florida at the southwestern end of the Florida Keys. I was assigned the position of park manager for the 100 sq. mile park, a small group of islands surrounded by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

It was 1992 when I packed my bags and moved to the Dry Tortugas from Biscayne National Park in Homestead Florida. This was shortly after hurricane Andrew had blasted the southern tip of Florida. (more…)

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