Fort Pulaski National Monument is located between
Savannah and
Tybee Island, Georgia. It preserves Fort Pulaski, notable as the
place where, during the
American Civil War, in 1862, the
Union
Army successfully tested a
rifled
cannon. The
success of the test rendered brick fortifications obsolete. The fort was also
used as a
prisoner-of-war camp. The
National Monument includes most of
Cockspur Island (containing the fort) and all of adjacent McQueens Island.
Entrance to Fort Pulaski.
Construction
Following the
War of
1812, President
James Madison ordered a new system of coastal fortifications to protect
the United States against foreign invasion. Construction of a fort to protect
the port of Savannah began in 1829 under the direction of Major General
Babcock, and later Second Lieutenant
Robert E. Lee, a recent graduate of
West Point. The new fort would be located on Cockspur Island at the mouth
of the
Savannah River. In 1833, the new fort was named Fort Pulaski in honor of
Kazimierz Pulaski, a
Polish
soldier and military commander who fought in the
American Revolution under the command of
George Washington. Pulaski was a noted
cavalryman
and played a large role in training Revolutionary troops. He took part in the
sieges of
Charleston and of
Savannah.
Wooden pilings were sunk up to 70 feet into the mud to support an estimated
25,000,000 bricks. Fort Pulaski was finally completed in 1847 following 18
years of construction and nearly $1,000,000 in construction costs.
Walls were seven feet thick, thought to be impenetrable except by only the
largest land artillery- which at the time were smooth bore cannon. These
cannons had a range of only around a half mile, and the nearest land (Tybee
island) was much further away than that. It was assumed that the Fort would be
invincible to enemy attack.
Civil War
Wall that was breached and repaired.
Though completed in 1847, Fort Pulaski was under the control of only two
caretakers until 1860 when South Carolina seceded from the United States and
set in motion the Civil War. It was at this time that Georgia governor
Joseph E. Brown ordered Fort Pulaski to be taken by the state of Georgia.
A steamship carrying 110 men from Savannah traveled downriver and the fort was
signed over and now belonged to the state of Georgia. Following the secession
of Georgia in February 1861, the state joined the
Confederate States of America. Confederate troops then moved into the
fort.
By December 1861 Tybee Island was thought to be too isolated and unprepared
for conflict and was abandoned by Confederate forces. This allowed Union
troops to gain a foothold across the Savannah River from Fort Pulaski. Union
forces under
Quincy A. Gillmore began construction of batteries along the beaches of
Tybee.
On the morning of April 10, 1862 Union forces asked for the surrender of
the Fort to prevent needless loss of life. Colonel Charles H. Olmstead,
commander of the Confederate garrison, rejected the offer.
Siege and
reduction of Fort Pulaski
Damaged wall of Fort Pulaski
Damaged wall of Fort Pulaski shortly after its surrender.
Fort Pulaski was prepared for a possible infantry attack. However, Fort
Pulaski never endured a direct land assault. With 36 guns, including the new
James Rifled Cannon, Union troops began a long sustained bombardment of Fort
Pulaski. The new rifled cannon fired a rifled projectile that could go farther
(4-5 miles) than the larger and heavier smoothbore cannonball (.5 mile.)
Within 30 hours, the use of the new rifled cannon had breached one of the
fort's corner walls. Shells now passed through the fort dangerously close to
the Fort's main powder magazine. Reluctantly, Colonel Olmstead surrendered the
fort.
Within six weeks of the surrender, Union forces repaired the Fort and all
shipping in and out of Savannah ceased. The loss of Savannah as a viable
Confederate port crippled the Southern war effort. With the Fort securely in
Union control, General
David
Hunter, commander of the Union garrison issued General Order Number
Eleven, which stated that all slaves in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina
were now free. President
Abraham Lincoln quickly rescinded the order, but later issued his own
Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. At this time, Fort Pulaski was made a
final destination on the
Underground Railroad as slaves throughout the area were freed upon arrival
on Cockspur Island.
The garrison of Union soldiers reached 600 during the initial occupation,
but as the War dragged on it became obvious the Southern forces would not be
able to retake the Fort. The garrison was later reduced to around 250. Late in
the War the Fort would be made into a prison for a group of captured
Confederate officers known as "The Immortal Six Hundred." Thirteen of these
men would die at the Fort of enforced ill treatment. After the War ended Fort
Pulaski continued as a military and political prison for a short while. It
would house a Confederate Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury,
Secretary of War, Assistant Secretary of War as well as three state governors,
a senator and the man who had commanded the Fort after it had been taken by
the South.
Post war
Between 1869 and 1872 the demilune to the rear of the Fort was covered with
powder magazines and the few gun positions left were enlarged for heavier
guns.
By the turn of the 20th century, the fort began to fall into disrepair. In
an effort to save the old fort, the War Department finally declared Fort
Pulaski a National Monument on
October
15, 1924 by
presidential proclamation of
Calvin Coolidge. The monument was transferred from the
War Department to the
National Park Service on
August 10,
1933. At that
time repairs were started, when members of the
Civilian Conservation Corps arrived on Cockspur Island and began
rehabilitation of the fort.
Fort Pulaski was opened to the public only for a short time before the
beginning of World War II. This war would see further use of Cockspur Island
as a section base for the U.S. Navy. Following WWII, Fort Pulaski reverted to
the Park Service's control, and it was administratively listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on
October
15, 1966.
Fort Pulaski remains open to the public.
Fort Pulaski National Monument
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