NAMESAKE

USS Tortuga (LSD 46) is the second U.S. Navy ship to be named for the Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets 60 miles (97 km) west of Key West, Florida. The Dry Tortugas were discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513 which he named after the large population of sea turtles living in the surrounding waters; “tortugas” means turtles in Spanish. “Dry” was later added to the name because the land mass lacked fresh water. 

The Dry Tortugas provided inspiration, adventure, and tranquility to many historical figures such as Ernest Hemmingway and John Audubon despite the large, treacherous reefs that surrounded the area which made it incredibly difficult to navigate. Shipwrecks were commonplace in the 1600s, which unfortunately gave way for the Dry Tortugas to possess one of the richest shipwreck concentrations in North America. Due to the myriad dangers to navigation, a lighthouse was built on Garden Key in 1825 to warn mariners of foreseeable shoal waters. However, it is also because of these daring reefs that the U.S. was able to construct Fort Jefferson in 1846, one of the most strategic harbors in U.S. history. The most infamous prisoner to fill vacancy here was Dr. Samuel Mudd.