The U.S. Navy in Key West, Fla. Lt. Cmdr. Matthew C. Perry planted the first U.S. flag on Key West in February 1822, marking the island United States property. A year later, Commodore David Porter arrived with a squadron of ships and established the first naval station to combat piracy. The Navy has been a part of Key West history since the beginning and the island has played an important part in Navy history as well. The island’s geographic location provides the nation a strategic military footprint and earned Key West the nickname: “America’s Gibraltar”. The relationship between Key West and the U.S. Navy continues today. This one-frame exhibit provides a unique collection of postal history and naval covers from Key West that highlight significant U.S. Navy historic operations and milestones.

Canceled aboard USS Hannibal during survey operations in Cuba. Shipboard post offices were established in 1908 but the ship’s name alone did not adequately indicate “place of mailing” by postal regulations. It’s believed placing the port in the cancels killer bars addressed the concern.

EXHIBIT PLANCivil War Banana WarsThe Road to War With Spain (1874) --Cuba’s Little Race War 1912Key West Navy Milestones (1909-1911) --Occupation of the Dominican Republic 1914-1924 --Navy Authorizes Shipboard Post Offices --Occupation of Vera Cruz 1914 --First Attempt to Fly from Key West to Cuba World War I 1917-1919Battleship Maine Burial March 16, 1912 Neutrality Patrol 1939-1941

World War II (1941-1945)Cold War

Rare items are bordered in red. In the case of shipboard postmarks, rarity based upon Universal Ship Cancellation Society Postmark guide

The Civil War (1861-1865)Although Key West sent delegates to the state assembly to vote for secession, Federal troops took control of Fort Zachary Taylor and Fort Jefferson in the nearby Dry Tortugas for the Union. As the only southern port not controlled by the Confederacy, Key West played an important role as the headquarters for the East Gulf Blockade Squadron that enforced the Union blockade of southern ports from Cape Canaveral to Pensacola. During the last year of the war, the Union launched several raids from Key West into southern Florida at St. Marks. Many Civil War scholars feel the Union seizure of Key West and the island’s strategic location in the Union blockade shortened the war.

Inbound letter to officer aboard U.S. Steamer Huntsville. The ship arrived in Key West, May 11, 1861 and seized more than a dozen blockade runners. In 1864, Yellow Fever claimed the lives of half the crew in quarantine at Key West.

Outbound letter from U.S. Steamer Fort Henry postmarked with cork cancel. Navy ships did not have post offices until 1908 and Sailors used shore-based facilities. The ship arrived for blockade duty in Key West on June 2, 1862. She had a successful career capturing blockade runners and in coordination with other U.S. Navy gunboats, Sailors and Marines raided various ports along Florida's coast.

The Road to War With Spain (1874)The Spanish Navy seized the U.S.-flagged ship “Virginius”, a known blockade runner that ran arms and men for Cuban insurgents, on Oct. 30, 1873. Put on trial, the American and British crewmembers were found guilty of piracy and received the death penalty. Before diplomacy could take hold, 53 of the ship’s 144 crew were executed. American newspapers declared the Virginius seizure illegal and demanded the U.S. go to war with Spain to avenge the death of executed Americans. Key West, already a Cuban exile community, was becoming a more important naval base and coaling station for an inevitable war with Spain.

Outbound letter from one of the Navy’s first chaplain’s aboard U.S. ship Colorado.

Outbound letter from U.S. monitor Manhattan postmarked Jan. 14, 1874 with cork cancel. Manhattan, a veteran of the Civil War, was ordered to Key West with other monitors in Dec. 1873. She participated in Caribbean fleet exercises and local operations until leaving for Pensacola in 1875.

Key West Navy Milestones 1909-1911

An early naval postmark on a Key West-picture postcard from the destroyer tender USS Prairie (AD-5) dated Feb. 18, 1909. Prairie’s post office was established July 29, 1908 and disestablished for the last time on Nov. 22, 1922. This is a Type I postmark and is considered scarce.

Navy Authorizes Shipboard Post Offices June 27, 1908Until the round-the-world cruise of the Great White Fleet, the U.S. Navy was largely coastal and made use of local post offices in U.S. ports. With the rise of a global Navy, foreign post offices proved unreliable and with sailors deployed from home for longer periods of time, the demand for shipboard post offices arose. Today, more than 40,000 different postmarks from more than 5000 ships have been cataloged using the Locy-system, designed by Dr. Frances E. Locy who published the first serious research in collecting Navy postmarks. In general terms, naval postmarks can be categorized in approximately 10 different types with different letters describing variations in the postmark.

A rare naval postmark on a Key West-picture postcard from Patrol Yacht Hist dated Nov. 23, 1909. The ship was conducting a hydrographic survey of the southern coast of Cuba between Cape Cruz and Casilda at this time. The Hist’s post office was established Nov. 27, 1908 and disestablished June 30, 1911. This is a Type I postmark and fewer than 25 are recorded.

Navy Milestones Key West 1909-1911

A postcard from USS Paulding crewmember to his grandmother informing her of his arrival in Key West. Destroyers like Paulding, given their size, did not have shipboard post offices. This postcard was postmarked at Key West with the one-cent domestic rate for postcards. Postcard was published by W.A. Johnson of Key West, Fla. who ironically was aboard USS Paulding during McCurdy’s attempt and photographed the aviator ‘s rescue.

First Attempt to Fly From Key West to Havana, Jan. 30, 1911In Dec. 1910, four new Navy ships of the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet arrived in Key West: USS Paulding, USS Terry, USS Roe and USS Drayton. The ships had recently had their engines converted from burning coal to oil: the first ships in the U.S. Navy to do so. Upon arriving in Key West, Lt. Cmdr. Yates Stirling, group commander of the torpedo squadron and commanding officer of USS Paulding, received orders from Capt. Irving Chambers, the officer in charge of research the airplane for Navy purposes, to render any assistance to J.A.D (Douglas) McCurdy, in his attempt to fly from Key West to Havana. Though McCurdy’s Curtis-built seaplane developed engine problems and was forced to land in Cuba waters, the attempt provided the Navy not only valuable information about Naval aviation but developed the procedures for wireless telegraphy communications between ships and shore stations which was still in its infancy.

Front of Postcard USS Paulding (DD-22)

Battleship Maine Burial, March 16, 1912Sunk in February 1898, the Maine wreckage became a navigation hazard in Havana Harbor and the wreck had to be removed. Twelve years later, Congress authorized the salvage of the ship and the recovery of remaining bodies. The Army Corps of Engineers was directed to supervise the work, which involved the building of a cofferdam around the sunken hulk, the pumping out of the water, and the removal of the wreck itself. On March 16, 1912, the wreck was towed to sea and sunk in deep water. USS North Carolina carried the remains of 36 Sailors back to Hampton Roads, with USS Birmingham as escort. Key West played a support role for the operation.

USS North Carolina Type 2 cancel postmarked Mar. 12, 1912. Post office opened Nov. 13, 1908; disestablished June 1920. Written:Dear Cousin, I received your card the day we left Cuba for Key West. We will only be here a short while as we are going back to Cuba, Havana this time, to bury the old Maine.

Light cruiser USS Birmingham Type 1 cancel postmarked Mar. 9, 1912. Stamp missing. Post office opened July 29, 1908; disestablished Aug. 10, 1923. Birmingham was part of the Navy flotilla that celebrated the arrival of Henry Flagler the first overseas train arrival in Key West, Jan 22, 1912. Written: “…leave Havana for Hampton Roads, Va.on 15th with Maine victims.”

The Banana WarsOccupation of Dominican Republic, 1914-1924. The Navy was sent to the Dominican Republic several times to protect U.S. interests. In 1916, the Navy was sent to resolve a coup with the threat of force. United States Marines landed and took control of the country. Occupation and a military government restored order. Key West was an important logistics and support base for the Navy.

USS Petrel played a role in moving U.S. citizens and diplomatic personnel who supervised elections in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Postmarked May 1, 1914, this cancel is rare (less than 100 copies recorded). It’s classified a Type 3 (AC) and “Key West” is just visible in its killer bars. The ship’s post office was established Jun 24, 1910, and disestablished Jan. 19, 1915.

USS Panther embarked a Marine force in Haiti and landed them in Santo Domino on May 22-23, as part of the occupation force. Postmarked Mar. 13, 1916, this cancel is rare (less than 100 copies recorded). It’s classified a Type 3 (AC) with “Key West” in its killer bars. The ship’s post office was established Jun 10, 1909, and disestablished Nov. 25, 1921.

The Banana WarsOccupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1914. U.S. intervention and occupation of Mexico are related to the same general commercial and political causes but was unique as it was done to cut off German munitions to a Mexican government the U.S. did not recognize. Key West was an important logistics and support base for the Navy and an important relay point for wireless communications between the military and Washington, DC.

The battleship USS North Dakota stopped in Key West on her return from Vera Cruz where she had landed Marines at Fort San Juan de Ulloa. Postmarked Oct. 11, 1914, with a Type 3 (N-20b) and “Key West” in its killer bars. The ship’s post office was established May 26, 1910, and disestablished Nov. 22, 1923. Sailor wrote on reverse: “As we send a body ashore at Key West, I think I will also go ashore. See, we are all kinds of a ship; funeral ship, priosn ship, ship hospital, ship passenger, and also a transport for animals and birds as we have a donkey and a goat forward and a bunch of parrots.”

The battleship USS Virginia was enroute to Vera Cruz when it stopped in Key West. Postmarked Apr. 28, 1914, it’s classified a Type 3 (BC) with “Key West Florida” in its killer bars. The ship’s post office was established Aug. 11, 1908, and disestablished Aug. 2, 1920. A Marine writes home: “We are going to Mexico and land the firing party. John and I are in the same company. It’s very hard in Mexico just now. So tell Mae not to worry about us.”

The Neutrality Patrol, 1939-1941The Neutrality Patrol, organized on Sept. 4, 1939 as a response to the war in Europe, was ordered to track and report the movements of any warlike operations of belligerents in the waters of the western hemisphere. Key West , which suffered greatly from a Navy drawdown during the Great Depression , benefited enormously by a the resurgence of military activity on the island.

This cover was carried aboard a Navy P2Y seaplane of Patrol Squadron 53 (VP-53) from Norfolk to Key West. Very few were carried. The pilot who carried these letters was Lt. Jesse G. Johnson who was a stamp collector and made other commemorative covers during his career.

The destroyer USS Sturtevant was one of 77 warships recommissioned for the Neutrality Patrol. Shortly after leaving Key West on Apr. 26, 1942, she accidently sailed into a mine field and was sunk by three explosions. Fifteen sailors were killed. Her post office was reestablished Nov. 20, 1939.

The Cold WarAfter World War II, Key West became an important submarine base. The Navy’s Sonar School trained the sonar technicians of the fleet’s ships, submarines and aircraft. Almost every new submarine visited the city on shakedown cruise. Defense budget cuts following Vietnam closed Key West’s waterfront and nearly decimated the island’s economy until tourism became the major industry. The former Navy base was sold to a private developer after the city declined the Navy’s offer to accept it.

USS Thresher made a brief stop in Key West during sea trials. Considered the state-of-the-art nuclear attack submarine, it was lost with all hands 10 months later on Apr. 10, 1963 during sea trials. The submarine did not have a post office. This cover was postmarked in Key West during her brief stop and signed by the commanding officer, Cmdr. Dean Axene.

Surrendered to the allies in May, 1945, the former German U-2513 was commissioned into the U.S. Navy the following year. Assigned to Key West, the submarine was exploited for it’s engineering and sonar developments. President Harry S. Truman became the 2nd President to submerge in her to a depth of 450 feet. The sub was decommissioned in 1951 and sunk as a target near Key West and the Dry Tortugas.