In an effort to reduce the number of wrecks along the Florida Reef, the United States government funded the construction of lighthouses. Lighthouses were built in the 1820s at Cape Florida, Key West (both on the island itself and on nearby Sand Key), and on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas. A lightship was stationed at Carysfort Reef. Mariners complained that the lights were not visible enough. There were also long interruptions. The Cape Florida lighthouse was burned by Seminoles in 1836 and remained dark for ten years. It was also dark while the tower was made higher in 1855. It was put out of commission again in 1860 by Confederate sympathizers and remained dark until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. The Key West and Sand Key lighthouses were destroyed by a hurricane in 1846. A lightship was placed at Sand Key until the lighthouses could be rebuilt. Beginning in 1852 lighthouses were built directly on the Florida Reef, but it was 1880 before mariners could rely on having a lighthouse in sight at all times while sailing along the Florida Reef.