Cedar Key

A couple weeks ago I stopped by Cedar Key. There is presently no sign of oil there, and I hope it stays that way. This is a beautiful fishing village and a favorite place in Florida to visit.

In 1839 during the 2nd Seminole War, General Zachary Taylor established his headquarters here. The previous army commander in Florida was Army Quartermaster General Thomas Jesup, who emphasized that the Army needs supplies and support to continue a campaign. Well Taylor continued that idea and put it into practice, and established Cedar Key as the Army Depot for the west coast of Florida. In Florida Taylor ordered the construction of hundreds of miles of roads, hundreds of bridges, and dozens of forts watching over twenty mile wide squares in east Florida. While Jesup knew how to get support and supplies delivered to the troops during a campaign, Taylor implemented a permanent supply network.

If Cedar Key became a quartermaster depot, calling it an army headquarters was no big deal. Any place the commander of forces in Florida was at the time is called the headquarters. Since news traveled slow back then, any place the commander of forces stood would become the headquarters. The commander himself was the headquarters.

At the time the island was called Depot Key. After the war it was renamed Atsena Otie Key, which is from the Muskogee words for cedar key or cedar island. (Vcenv OtE for the correct Muskogee spelling.) This island became a major lumber source for Faber pencils with the many cedar trees that were harvested until they were gone.

Okay, go to my main blog and read the rest, with a lot more photos. You'll enjoy it. Go here:
http://seminolewar.livejournal.com/137560.html