America's Fortress

America's Fortress PDF Author: THOMAS REID
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813072719
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
A little-known Civil War outpost that was the most heavily armed coastal defense fort in United States history Known as the “American Gibraltar,” Fort Jefferson, located in the Dry Tortugas, Florida, was the most heavily armed coastal defense fort in United States history. Perceived as the nation’s leading maximum-security prison, the fort also held several of the accused conspirators in the Lincoln assassination. America’s Fortress is the first book-length, architectural, military, environmental, and political history of this strange and significant Florida landmark. This volume also fills a significant gap in Civil War history with regard to coastal defense strategy, support of the Confederacy blockade, the use of convicted Union soldiers as forced labor, and the treatment of civilian prisoners sentenced by military tribunals. Reid argues that Fort Jefferson’s troops faced very different threats and challenges than soldiers who served elsewhere during the war. He chronicles threats of epidemic tropical disease, hurricanes, shipwrecks, prisoner escapes, and Confederate attack. Reid also reports on white northerners’ perceptions of enslaved people, slavery, and the emerging free black soldiers of the latter years of the war. Drawing on the writings of Emily Holder, wife of Fort Jefferson’s resident surgeon, Reid is the first to offer a female perspective on life at the fort between 1859 and 1865. For history buffs and tourists, America's Fortress offers a fascinating account of this little-known outpost which has stood for over 160 years off the tip of the Florida Keys.

Fortress America

Fortress America PDF Author: Elaine Tyler May
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465093000
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
An award-winning historian argues that America's obsession with security imperils our democracy in this "compelling" portrait of cultural anxiety (Mary L. Dudziak, author of War Time). For the last sixty years, fear has seeped into every area of American life: Americans own more guns than citizens of any other country, sequester themselves in gated communities, and retreat from public spaces. And yet, crime rates have plummeted, making life in America safer than ever. Why, then, are Americans so afraid-and where does this fear lead to? In this remarkable work of social history, Elaine Tyler May demonstrates how our obsession with security has made citizens fear each other and distrust the government, making America less safe and less democratic. Fortress America charts the rise of a muscular national culture, undercutting the common good. Instead of a thriving democracy of engaged citizens, we have become a paranoid, bunkered, militarized, and divided vigilante nation.

America's Fortress

America's Fortress PDF Author: Thomas Reid
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780813030197
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
"Historian Thomas Reid chronicles the threats and challenges Fort Jefferson's troops faced, which were unlike any faced by soldiers serving elsewhere during the Civil War. Tales of epidemic disease, hurricanes, shipwrecks, prisoner escapes, and Confederate attack stand in stark contrast to "the beauty of the sunsets and the surrounding panorama of nature." Reid offers keen insight into white northerners' perceptions of slaves, slavery, and the emerging free black soldiers of the latter years of the war. He also draws on the writings of Emily Holder, wife of Fort Jefferson's resident surgeon, to offer the first female perspective on life at the fort."--BOOK JACKET.

America's Fortress

America's Fortress PDF Author: THOMAS REID
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813072719
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Get Book Here

Book Description
A little-known Civil War outpost that was the most heavily armed coastal defense fort in United States history Known as the “American Gibraltar,” Fort Jefferson, located in the Dry Tortugas, Florida, was the most heavily armed coastal defense fort in United States history. Perceived as the nation’s leading maximum-security prison, the fort also held several of the accused conspirators in the Lincoln assassination. America’s Fortress is the first book-length, architectural, military, environmental, and political history of this strange and significant Florida landmark. This volume also fills a significant gap in Civil War history with regard to coastal defense strategy, support of the Confederacy blockade, the use of convicted Union soldiers as forced labor, and the treatment of civilian prisoners sentenced by military tribunals. Reid argues that Fort Jefferson’s troops faced very different threats and challenges than soldiers who served elsewhere during the war. He chronicles threats of epidemic tropical disease, hurricanes, shipwrecks, prisoner escapes, and Confederate attack. Reid also reports on white northerners’ perceptions of enslaved people, slavery, and the emerging free black soldiers of the latter years of the war. Drawing on the writings of Emily Holder, wife of Fort Jefferson’s resident surgeon, Reid is the first to offer a female perspective on life at the fort between 1859 and 1865. For history buffs and tourists, America's Fortress offers a fascinating account of this little-known outpost which has stood for over 160 years off the tip of the Florida Keys.

Fortress America

Fortress America PDF Author: J. E. Kaufmann
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0306816342
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
From the earliest colonial settlements to Cold War bunkers, the North American continent has been home to thousands of forts and fortress structures. Fortress America surveys the broad sweep of fortifications throughout North America-from seacoast forts of the late eighteenth century to wooden inland forts built to defend against Native American, English, French, or Spanish attack; from Civil War-era coastal and inland waterways forts to the Great Plains' forts of the Old West; from World War II subterranean bunkers to Cold War concrete missile silos. The text of Fortress America is complemented with never-before-published photographs, and extraordinary drawings, cut-aways, and diagrams illustrating the design and structure of American forts.

Defending America's Coasts, 1775-1950

Defending America's Coasts, 1775-1950 PDF Author: Dale E. Floyd
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Coast defenses
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description


Quaint and Historic Forts of North America

Quaint and Historic Forts of North America PDF Author: John Martin Hammond
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fortification
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description


America's War for Humanity

America's War for Humanity PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Spanish-American War, 1898
Languages : en
Pages : 638

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Book Description


A Legacy in Brick and Stone

A Legacy in Brick and Stone PDF Author: John Weaver
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1732391602
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
The definitive history of the American Third System of Fortifications that defended our coastline for more than half of century, these architectural wonders were built from 1816 through 1867 from Maine through the Florida Keys to New Orleans, with two forts in San Francisco Bay. Almost all of these 42 masonry forts still stand along our shores, and most are open to the public. A Legacy in Brick and Stone provides the background of these famous Civil War forts - why they were built where they are, who built them, and how they functioned - as well as descriptions of each fort. This revised and expanded edition has grown by over 100 pages, and over 400 new photographs and drawings have been included.

Forts of the American Revolution 1775-83

Forts of the American Revolution 1775-83 PDF Author: René Chartrand
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472814460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Though primarily fought in the field, the American Revolution saw fortifications play an important part in some of the key campaigns of the war. Field fortifications were developed around major towns including Boston, New York and Savannah, while the frontier forts at Stanwix, Niagara and Cumberland were to all be touched by the war. This book details all the types of fortification used throughout the conflict, the engineers on all sides who constructed and maintained them, and the actions fought around and over them.

Dry Tortugas National Park, Garden Key, Cultural Landscape Report

Dry Tortugas National Park, Garden Key, Cultural Landscape Report PDF Author: Susan L. Hitchcock
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dry Tortugas National Park (Fla.)
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description