Archaeologists Discover Original Grave of 1873 Yellow Fever Victim at Fort Jefferson

Archaeologists have located the original burial site of U.S. Army soldier George Tupper at Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park. Tupper, a 22-year-old bookbinder from Hyde Park, Massachusetts, enlisted in October 1872 and died of yellow fever on October 6, 1873, during an outbreak that killed 14 people. His comrades buried him in a lime pit near the parade ground because an approaching hurricane prevented transport to the post cemetery. The discovery was made in June 2024 using ground-penetrating radar during a survey for a new radio tower. Fort Jefferson, constructed starting in 1846 with 16 million bricks, was part of a coastal defense chain and served as a prison during the Civil War, housing physician Samuel Mudd. The survey also uncovered personal artifacts including buttons, a marble, and a bottle fragment from Ayer's sarsaparilla. Recent research at the park has revealed the submerged post cemetery and a 19th-century quarantine hospital. The National Park Service emphasizes the importance of careful archaeological work before construction projects.