Divers discover remains of 19th century cemetery and hospital underwater
Katherine Sidnell
Featured Image Credit: National Park Service
The remains of a military hospital and cemetery have been discovered in Florida.
Laying undisturbed for over a century, the 19th-century site was found on a submerged island near Garden Key.
As archaeologists uncover the first grave, experts now believe that even more individuals could be buried at the former quarantine hospital.
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The historical discovery was made after experts conducted a survey of a 100-square mile of Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park.
Teams from the park’s Submerged Resource Centre, the Southeast Archaeological Centre and a University of Miami graduate all assisted in the painstaking research - which culminated in divers discovering the site.
It’s now thought that the small hospital and cemetery were used to treat soldiers suffering from yellow fever, which is transmitted by mosquitos, and other similarly infectious diseases.
Most of the personnel would have been stationed at the nearby Fort Jefferson, which was a military prison used in the Civil War and later on in the 1890s.
The former military graveyard has now been identified as the Fort Jefferson Post cemetery and research continues into the land-mark find.
In fact, divers have discovered the first tombstone at the archaeological site - which had a very surprising back story.
Divers found a large slab of stone with the name John Greer and the date, Nov 5 1861, carved into the headstone.
Although details of his death are hazy, experts were able to use historical records to find out more about the previously unknown man.
Surprisingly, researchers found that it was made from the same material, greywacke, as the first floor of Fort Jefferson, with Greer being a labourer at the military base.
It is the first of many graves expected to be discovered on the ‘intriguing’ site, which is still being excavated.
Josh Marano, a maritime archaeologist and project director for the dig, has said that the discovery helps to tell a wider story about Fort Jefferson as well as the people who lived and worked within its walls.
“This intriguing find highlights the potential for untold stories in Dry Tortugas National Park, both above and below the water,” he said in a press release about the newly uncovered hospital and cemetery.
Continuing, he added: “Although much of the history of Fort Jefferson focuses on the fortification itself and some of its infamous prisoners, we are actively working to tell the stories of the enslaved people, women, children and civilian laborers.”