In 1860, the U.S. Navy rescued 1,432 African men, women and children on three American-owned slave ships sailing for Cuba. The Africans were freed and transported to Key West. One thousand individuals attemped to return to Africa, but 294, suffering illness due to the conditions of thier confinement, died and were buried in a mass grave on Higgs Beach where West Martello Tower now stands.

Information provided by the Florida Division of Historical Resources, a division of the Florida Department of State

Image courtesy of Florida Memory Project, image number DM6467.