Lightships

Soon after Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, commercial interests in Louisiana and New York began pressuring Congress for navigational aids in Florida. Ever since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, much of the water borne commerce between the central part of the nation and eastern ports traveled down the Mississippi River, through New Orleans, and then through the Straits of Florida and up the Atlantic coast.

Of all the scourge of the sea, fog is by far the most contemptible. On the lightship LV 5114 [BUZZARDS Lightship Station near Cape Cod, MA] sailors learned to distrust fog more than the dreaded southwest wind - detested its influx. It was an unwelcome visitor. It became a hated arch-enemy. Most preferred the hoisting of storm warnings to the invasion of fog, which was cursed more than any other single object, condition or person. There are several types of fog, several known causes for its formation and various reasons why it was so unpopular.