Brochure at Dry Tortugas National Park that May Be Discontinued

The Dry Tortugas National Park may be one of the most remote locations of any park having to do with the Civil War. The Dry Tortugas are the westernmost part of the Florida Keys. These islands are 68 miles west of Key West and reachable only by boat or seaplane. Roughly 63,000 people visit the islands every year. One of the central attractions is Fort Jefferson, which was held by the Union throughout the Civil War. The fort is the largest brick masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere.

The work on the Dry Tortugas was done by both enslaved African Americans and newly arrived Irish workers fleeing the Famine. The brochure distributed at the park begins its history of the Underground Railroad at Fort Jefferson with those enslaved workers. The brochure tells the story of seven enslaved workers constructing Fort Jackson. On July 10 of 1847 the workers got on board a boat to take them to freedom. They also took all other vessels with them so that they could not be pursued.

The escapees said 120 miles east, but they could not sail to freedom and they were captured by the United States armed forces and five were sent back to work on Fort Jackson. The brochure tells us that slaves were still used on the fort for labor until 1863 when military convicts replaced them. After the war, Black men returned but this time they were United States Colored Troops.

The brochure describing this has now been flagged by the Interior Department for review so that he might be suppressed or edited under the president’s 2025 Executive Order.

The president’s Executive Order says that some of the National Parks harm the “United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.” The president says that proper history should “foster unity.” He writes that “Rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame.” The president sketches out how the National Park Service should approach history:

“It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing. ” If you are going to present the fort, it makes sense that you would also discuss the workers who built, and in doing so you would note that many of them were enslaved and that seven tried to escape.