Well it sounds like a lot of confusion, which is not surprising given the conditions. UA may have not wanted you to leave from a co-terminal (assuming FLL, MCO, and MIA are co-terminals in the first place) because of the traffic conditions you encountered and the fact that they probably had no clue how many people were going to show-up for each flight.

So it sounds like you took it upon yourself to drive to MCO anyway, and then purchase a walk-up one-way Y fare to IAD, which is $1096 according to UA's site and Travelocity's Fare Finder. If I wanted to fly one-way MCO-IAD the Friday the week before or next Friday and booked that ticket on Friday, I also would have paid the same price you did yesterday, so I don't think UA gouged you anymore then they gouge anyone else who pays full Y.

If that's what it costs to get home, that's what it costs. As for my tax dollars, there is a reason we spend a half-billion a year on defense (more then the rest of the world combined, as I recall).