Lighthouse Dark During Civil War

Q: Do you know if either or both of the (Jupiter) lighthouse keepers kept their government jobs after the Civil War?
- Billy M. Rhodes, Titusville
A: The battle of the Jupiter Lighthouse, such as it was, cost both keepers their jobs. Confederate blockade-runners familiar with the waters didn’t need the light and didn’t want it revealing them to Union patrols.
Assistant keeper August Oswald Lang, a German immigrant who became a citizen of the Confederate States of America, ordered his boss, J.F. Papy, to surrender the lighting mechanism. Papy, loyal to his federal paycheck, said no, but was finally pressured into relinquishing the light.
The rebels hid the lamp, and it was recovered after the war. The lighthouse was relighted June 28, 1866.
Here’s the list of head keepers for that period, courtesy of the Loxahatchee River Historical Society: Capt. Thomas Twiner, head keeper, June 12, 1860 Jan. 1, 1861; Capt. Joseph F. Papy, head keeper, Jan. 1, 1861 August 1861. After the war: Capt. William B. Davis, head keeper, 1866-67; Capt. James Armour, assistant, 1866-68, head keeper, 1868-1908.
Loxahatchee River Historical Society: (561) 747-6639. Web site: www.jupiter lighthouse.org.

Tags: Civil War