His orders were to prevent the fort from falling into Confederate hands .
At the outset of the U.S. Civil War on 13 Jan. 1861 , Union Captain John Milton Brannan , moved his 44 men of the First U.S. Artillery from Key West Barracks to Fort Taylor .
John Milton Brannan 's orders were to prevent the fort from falling into Confederate hands .
At the outset of the U.S. Civil War on 13 Jan. 1861 , Union Captain John Milton Brannan , moved his 44 men of the First U.S. Artillery from Key West Barracks to Fort Taylor .