Divers have uncovered the archeological remains of a 19th century hospital and cemetery on a submerged island near Garden Key, the second-largest island in the Dry Tortugas National Park near Key West, Florida. Of the graves they have found so far, at the previous location of Fort Jefferson, only one tombstone is legible. It belongs to John Greer, who died while working at Fort Jefferson on November 5, 1861. Records show that most of the interred people in the submerged cemetery were military members serving or imprisoned at the Fort. Some civilians may have been buried there as well. They say the details surrounding Greer's death are unclear, but his grave was prominently marked with a large slab of greywackle, the same material used to contruct the first floor of Fort Jefferson. Historians are continuing to look for more information on Greer and other individuals interred on the now submerged island.
Fort Jefferson was mostly known for its use as a military prison during the Civil War, but he islands and waters surrounding the fort were also used as a naval coaling outpost, lighthouse station, naval hospital, quarantine facility and safe harbor and military training. It was finally abandoned in 1873.
