Joshism
Captain
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Location
- Jupiter, FL
My searching of the forums turned up nothing on this topic so I thought I would write up an overview of a subject that combines two of my favorite historical subjects.
Early Lighthouses
The earliest lighthouses in the United States were built in the colonial era. In 1789, the new Federal government placed all lighthouses under the Department of the Treasury. Early lighthouses were stone or wood. In the early 1800s, conical brick towers became the norm. Lighthouses were not especially effective, usually being visible for only a few miles away due to their height and lighting (oil lamps, usually with reflectors). The two people most associated with US lighthouses during the first half of the 19th century are Stephen Stephen Pleasanton, Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, and Winslow Lewis, lighthouse builder/designer. Stephen Pleasanton was in charge of the US Lighthouse Establishment (USLHE) from 1820 until 1852 and Winslow Lewis was paid to build many lighthouses during this time period - mostly of the same design and cheaply built (both in terms of cost and quality).
Lighthouse Board
In 1851, a group of military officers produced a lengthy report (800+ pages) criticizing the generally poor condition of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, and the USLHE. Congress responded by creating the Lighthouse Board in 1852. The Board was a combination of the Navy officers, Army engineers, the Secretary of the Treasury, and a few other civilians (usually at least one scientist or professor). The membership of the Board changed from year to year, but it brought much needed improvements and oversight. The Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts (plus the Great Lakes and Mississippi River valley) were divided into Lighthouse Districts. Each district had an Inspector (a US Navy officer, usually a LtCmdr or Cmdr) and an Engineer (a Army officer, usually holding a rank between Lt. and Major). Engineers designed new lighthouses and oversaw construction and repairs; Inspectors checked stations quarterly to ensure Keepers were doing their jobs. Keepers were still appointed by the local Superintendent of Lights, a secondary title held by some Collectors of Customs.
Numerous Civil War were involved with lighthouses during the 1850s, either as Board Members, Engineers, Inspectors, or assigned special duty to a specific lighthouse project. These include: P. G. T. Beauregard, William B. Franklin, Henry Halleck, Andrew A. Humphreys, George Meade,William Rosecrans, Raphael Semmes, W. F. "Baldy" Smith, and Daniel P. Woodbury.
The Lighthouse Board started construction many new lighthouses: lighting important areas of the coast that were previously dark and replacing old towers with new, bigger, better ones. They also rapidly introduced the cutting-age Fresnel lens from France. A Fresnel lens is made of prisms that concentrate light rather than simply reflecting it and were a massive improvement all forms of earlier lighthouse optics. Eventually every US lighthouse had a Fresnel lens, but this changeover was not complete by the start of the Civil War.
The Coast Goes Dark
Along with the more obvious Federal property seized by the Confederate government like forts, they also assumed control of lighthouses. The seceding states included the following Lighthouse Districts: part of the 5th (VA & NC) and all of the 6th (SC & GA), 7th (FL), 8th (AL, MS, eastern LA), and 9th (western LA & TX). The Confederate government established their own Lighthouse Board.
Soon after Fort Sumter, the Confederate Lighthouse Board ordered all Southern lighthouses darkened. The reasoning was twofold: the lights were more helpful to the Union navy than the Confederates, and the Fresnel lenses were valuable items to be removed and secured for the duration of the war. Since most lighthouse keepers were local residents, most of them complied voluntarily with this order. Even if a keeper was reluctant to follow Confederate orders, the local populace and government officials could ensure compliance or take matters into their own hands. Fresnel lens were removed (usually by local laborers untrained in proper handling of the special glass, crated, and transported to some nearby location believed safe. The former keepers often remained in some semi-official caretaker capacity during at least the first part of the war.
Not every lighthouse went out voluntarily or in some cases at all. I briefly talked about the somewhat remote Jupiter Inlet and Cape Florida lights in another post on these forums which were not darkened by the keepers, but were subsequently put out by local Confederate sympathizers. The Florida Keys remained under Union control throughout the war and as a result all the lighthouses there never went out: Carysfort Reef, Sombrero Key, Sand Key, Key West, Northwest Passage, and the two Dry Tortugas lights (Loggerhead Key and Garden Key - the latter within the walls of Fort Jefferson).
Other than neglect and the removal of their equipment, some Southern lighthouses survived the war relatively unscathed. The little lighthouse at the south end of Cockspur Island, GA took no hits during the bombardment of nearby Fort Pulaski and remains standing today. The Pensacola Lighthouse may have taken at least one cannonball hit during the Union-Confederate bombardment between Forts Pickens, McRee, and Barancas, but was not seriously damaged.
Many lighthouses were no so fortunate. The Confederates intentionally burned or blew up a number of lighthouses to deny them to the Union including Morris Island SC (outside Charleston Harbor), Tybee Island (mouth of the Savannah River, GA), St. Simons Island (near Brunswick, GA), and Sand Island (SW of Fort Morgan at the mouth of Mobile Bay). Other lighthouses are alleged to have been blown up or otherwise destroyed by either side of the war, but in some cases these stories are exaggerations or outright false. (St. Marks and Cape San Blas in the FL panhandle both survived the war, contrary to some stories.) At least one lighthouse in Texas was dismantled by Confederates to use the materials.
The elevation of Southern lighthouses ensured they were frequently used as observation posts by both sides of the war even if darkened.
Back In Action
The Lighthouse Board faced a mighty challenge with the Southern lights. Since most of Board, Inspectors, and Engineers were military officers, most were reassigned to more important duties during the Civil War and their responsibilities left to clerks or officers unfit for more active duty. Even properly staffed and equipped, the Board could do only so much while the lighthouses remained in Confederate hands.
As Union forces captured parts of the Southern coast, lights were slowly restored in a temporary capacity. Pensacola, FL had been recaptured by the Union navy in 1862, but it was not until 1864 that the lighthouse was reactivated. Even then, it only had a 4th order Fresnel rather than its normal 1st order Fresnel. Sand Key, AL was replaced by a temporary wooden tower after the surrender of Fort Morgan meant the island was once again safe for keepers.
After the war ended, repairs began in earnest. In some cases, the leading call for relighting the coast came not from locals, but worried insurance companies. The Fresnel lens that had been removed in 1861 were nearly all eventually recovered, but had to be sent back to France for repairs. Some eventually returned to their original lighthouses while others went to the main lighthouse depot at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York were they awaited use in a future lighthouse. Lights needing only a new lens and minor repairs were usually active again in 1866 or 1867. Lighthouses that had been complete destroyed during the war were in some cases not replaced until the early 1870s. (I haven't seen any claims for "last light restored after the Civil War", but I know St. Simons Island, GA was not rebuilt until 1872 so it was at least that late if not later.)
Aftermath
Many former Civil War officers served as members of the Lighthouse Board or as District Engineers or Inspectors in the years after the war. Perhaps the best known is Grant's trusted aide Orville Babcock. Babcock had survived the Civil War, but met his end in the 1880s when a boat capsized that was taking him ashore to supervise lighthouse construction at Mosquito Inlet, FL (now Ponce de Leon Inlet). Many postwar lighthouse keepers were former veterans, both North and South.
In some cases, prewar keepers resumed their old job after the war. Mills Olcutt Burnham, keeper at Cape Canaveral (FL), had a homestead near the lighthouse. His was the last lighthouse in FL to have the old lamps and reflectors. After obeying orders to put out his light in 1861, Burnham remained at his remote homestead throughout the war, taking care of the inactive lighthouse and other government supplies from the light station. His son died in the Confederate army. After the war, Burnham was commended for his caretaking of Federal property. The old Canaveral lighthouse was intact, but a new, bigger, better lighthouse was built next to it in 1868 and Burnham was appointed keeper. His daughters married some of his assistant keepers and the lighthouse essentially remained "in the family" until 1939.
The lighthouse service was transferred to the new Department of Commerce in 1903. The Lighthouse Board was abolished in 1910, being replaced by a purely civilian Bureau of Lighthouses. In 1939, the lighthouse service merged with the US Coast Guard.
Early Lighthouses
The earliest lighthouses in the United States were built in the colonial era. In 1789, the new Federal government placed all lighthouses under the Department of the Treasury. Early lighthouses were stone or wood. In the early 1800s, conical brick towers became the norm. Lighthouses were not especially effective, usually being visible for only a few miles away due to their height and lighting (oil lamps, usually with reflectors). The two people most associated with US lighthouses during the first half of the 19th century are Stephen Stephen Pleasanton, Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, and Winslow Lewis, lighthouse builder/designer. Stephen Pleasanton was in charge of the US Lighthouse Establishment (USLHE) from 1820 until 1852 and Winslow Lewis was paid to build many lighthouses during this time period - mostly of the same design and cheaply built (both in terms of cost and quality).
Lighthouse Board
In 1851, a group of military officers produced a lengthy report (800+ pages) criticizing the generally poor condition of lighthouses, lighthouse keepers, and the USLHE. Congress responded by creating the Lighthouse Board in 1852. The Board was a combination of the Navy officers, Army engineers, the Secretary of the Treasury, and a few other civilians (usually at least one scientist or professor). The membership of the Board changed from year to year, but it brought much needed improvements and oversight. The Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts (plus the Great Lakes and Mississippi River valley) were divided into Lighthouse Districts. Each district had an Inspector (a US Navy officer, usually a LtCmdr or Cmdr) and an Engineer (a Army officer, usually holding a rank between Lt. and Major). Engineers designed new lighthouses and oversaw construction and repairs; Inspectors checked stations quarterly to ensure Keepers were doing their jobs. Keepers were still appointed by the local Superintendent of Lights, a secondary title held by some Collectors of Customs.
Numerous Civil War were involved with lighthouses during the 1850s, either as Board Members, Engineers, Inspectors, or assigned special duty to a specific lighthouse project. These include: P. G. T. Beauregard, William B. Franklin, Henry Halleck, Andrew A. Humphreys, George Meade,William Rosecrans, Raphael Semmes, W. F. "Baldy" Smith, and Daniel P. Woodbury.
The Lighthouse Board started construction many new lighthouses: lighting important areas of the coast that were previously dark and replacing old towers with new, bigger, better ones. They also rapidly introduced the cutting-age Fresnel lens from France. A Fresnel lens is made of prisms that concentrate light rather than simply reflecting it and were a massive improvement all forms of earlier lighthouse optics. Eventually every US lighthouse had a Fresnel lens, but this changeover was not complete by the start of the Civil War.
The Coast Goes Dark
Along with the more obvious Federal property seized by the Confederate government like forts, they also assumed control of lighthouses. The seceding states included the following Lighthouse Districts: part of the 5th (VA & NC) and all of the 6th (SC & GA), 7th (FL), 8th (AL, MS, eastern LA), and 9th (western LA & TX). The Confederate government established their own Lighthouse Board.
Soon after Fort Sumter, the Confederate Lighthouse Board ordered all Southern lighthouses darkened. The reasoning was twofold: the lights were more helpful to the Union navy than the Confederates, and the Fresnel lenses were valuable items to be removed and secured for the duration of the war. Since most lighthouse keepers were local residents, most of them complied voluntarily with this order. Even if a keeper was reluctant to follow Confederate orders, the local populace and government officials could ensure compliance or take matters into their own hands. Fresnel lens were removed (usually by local laborers untrained in proper handling of the special glass, crated, and transported to some nearby location believed safe. The former keepers often remained in some semi-official caretaker capacity during at least the first part of the war.
Not every lighthouse went out voluntarily or in some cases at all. I briefly talked about the somewhat remote Jupiter Inlet and Cape Florida lights in another post on these forums which were not darkened by the keepers, but were subsequently put out by local Confederate sympathizers. The Florida Keys remained under Union control throughout the war and as a result all the lighthouses there never went out: Carysfort Reef, Sombrero Key, Sand Key, Key West, Northwest Passage, and the two Dry Tortugas lights (Loggerhead Key and Garden Key - the latter within the walls of Fort Jefferson).
Other than neglect and the removal of their equipment, some Southern lighthouses survived the war relatively unscathed. The little lighthouse at the south end of Cockspur Island, GA took no hits during the bombardment of nearby Fort Pulaski and remains standing today. The Pensacola Lighthouse may have taken at least one cannonball hit during the Union-Confederate bombardment between Forts Pickens, McRee, and Barancas, but was not seriously damaged.
Many lighthouses were no so fortunate. The Confederates intentionally burned or blew up a number of lighthouses to deny them to the Union including Morris Island SC (outside Charleston Harbor), Tybee Island (mouth of the Savannah River, GA), St. Simons Island (near Brunswick, GA), and Sand Island (SW of Fort Morgan at the mouth of Mobile Bay). Other lighthouses are alleged to have been blown up or otherwise destroyed by either side of the war, but in some cases these stories are exaggerations or outright false. (St. Marks and Cape San Blas in the FL panhandle both survived the war, contrary to some stories.) At least one lighthouse in Texas was dismantled by Confederates to use the materials.
The elevation of Southern lighthouses ensured they were frequently used as observation posts by both sides of the war even if darkened.
Back In Action
The Lighthouse Board faced a mighty challenge with the Southern lights. Since most of Board, Inspectors, and Engineers were military officers, most were reassigned to more important duties during the Civil War and their responsibilities left to clerks or officers unfit for more active duty. Even properly staffed and equipped, the Board could do only so much while the lighthouses remained in Confederate hands.
As Union forces captured parts of the Southern coast, lights were slowly restored in a temporary capacity. Pensacola, FL had been recaptured by the Union navy in 1862, but it was not until 1864 that the lighthouse was reactivated. Even then, it only had a 4th order Fresnel rather than its normal 1st order Fresnel. Sand Key, AL was replaced by a temporary wooden tower after the surrender of Fort Morgan meant the island was once again safe for keepers.
After the war ended, repairs began in earnest. In some cases, the leading call for relighting the coast came not from locals, but worried insurance companies. The Fresnel lens that had been removed in 1861 were nearly all eventually recovered, but had to be sent back to France for repairs. Some eventually returned to their original lighthouses while others went to the main lighthouse depot at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York were they awaited use in a future lighthouse. Lights needing only a new lens and minor repairs were usually active again in 1866 or 1867. Lighthouses that had been complete destroyed during the war were in some cases not replaced until the early 1870s. (I haven't seen any claims for "last light restored after the Civil War", but I know St. Simons Island, GA was not rebuilt until 1872 so it was at least that late if not later.)
Aftermath
Many former Civil War officers served as members of the Lighthouse Board or as District Engineers or Inspectors in the years after the war. Perhaps the best known is Grant's trusted aide Orville Babcock. Babcock had survived the Civil War, but met his end in the 1880s when a boat capsized that was taking him ashore to supervise lighthouse construction at Mosquito Inlet, FL (now Ponce de Leon Inlet). Many postwar lighthouse keepers were former veterans, both North and South.
In some cases, prewar keepers resumed their old job after the war. Mills Olcutt Burnham, keeper at Cape Canaveral (FL), had a homestead near the lighthouse. His was the last lighthouse in FL to have the old lamps and reflectors. After obeying orders to put out his light in 1861, Burnham remained at his remote homestead throughout the war, taking care of the inactive lighthouse and other government supplies from the light station. His son died in the Confederate army. After the war, Burnham was commended for his caretaking of Federal property. The old Canaveral lighthouse was intact, but a new, bigger, better lighthouse was built next to it in 1868 and Burnham was appointed keeper. His daughters married some of his assistant keepers and the lighthouse essentially remained "in the family" until 1939.
The lighthouse service was transferred to the new Department of Commerce in 1903. The Lighthouse Board was abolished in 1910, being replaced by a purely civilian Bureau of Lighthouses. In 1939, the lighthouse service merged with the US Coast Guard.