This is the first in a series of posts about the connections between the U.S. and Corsica.

Martello Towers get their name from Corsica’s Mortella tower in Saint-Florent, which during the Napoleonic Wars proved to be very hard to conquer.

Earlier this year I discovered a blog called Key West Diary written by “Conchscooter”, a resident of the Florida Keys who loves motorcycles.

Conchscooter wrote a post about the Key West Martello towers with a reference to Corsica’s Mortella Tower in Saint-Florent, shown in this photo. (Ideas for blog posts can be found in the most unexpected places).

Martello Towers

Captain Horatio Nelson was sent to Corsica in 1794 to help liberate the island from the French at the request of Pascal Paoli, Corsica’s revolutionary leader.

The first attack of the British navy was targeted at the tower of Mortella that guards the west end of the Gulf of Saint-Florent, a necessary step before capturing the town of Saint-Florent. Despite the efforts of the British, it took several days to gain control of the tower.

The British navy was so impressed by the tower’s ability to withstand attacks that it placed a series of these towers (renamed Martello) along the south and east coast of England, Ireland and other British islands. Each Martello tower is a mini-fortress that can house as many as 25 men.

During the American Civil War, two of these towers were built in Key West, Florida to be used as arsenals and were linked to Fort Taylor by railroad tracks for transporting ammunition. Although they were originally designed for coastal defense, the West Martello tower is now used to host cultural events while the East tower houses a museum.

---

Key West is one of America’s oldest cities discovered in 1513 by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon. Key West began to appear in European maps about 100 years later. The island is associated with stories of pirates, ship wrecks and sunken treasures and it is a popular tourist destination. The Key West Martello towers are located near the airport on S. Roosevelt Boulevard.

Saint-Florent is a seaside village on the Gulf of the same name located between a deserted area known as the Desert of Agriates and Patrimonio, one of Corsica’s wine producing regions. In the summer, bus loads of tourists, primarily from France and Italy, descend on Saint-Florent.

---

There are more interesting connections between the U.S. and Corsica dating back from the time of the American Revolution. We will explore these in future posts.

(There are numerous connections between England and Corsica as well however I feel they have been thoroughly documented and there is much more knowledge and awareness about Corsica in England than there is in the U.S.)

Filed under: Random