Exploring Fort Pulaski and Savannah History

Last weekend was a lovely January day in Savannah - sunny, not a cloud in the sky and right around 60 degrees. We decided to go on an "adventure," albeit a local one. Between Savannah and Tybee Island, right off of Highway 80, is Fort Pulaski. Since I had never been and it had been nearly 10 years since Peter visited, we decided to explore the old fort that is now maintained by the National Parks Service.

After the War of 1812, President James Madison ordered the construction of coastal fortifications to protect the United States against foreign invasion. In 1829, Fort Pulaski began being built, first under the direction of Major General Babcock and later under Robert E. Lee, fresh out of West Point.

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 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 million bricks. Fort Pulaski was finally completed in 1847 following 18 years of construction and nearly $1 million in construction costs.

Walls were 11 feet thick, thought to be impenetrable except by only the largest land artillery- which at the time were smooth bore cannons. 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.

From 1847 until 1860, Fort Pulaski was maintained by two caretakers. It was then that South Carolina seceded from the United States, setting the Civil War into motion. Preemptively, Georgia Governor Joseph Brown ordered Fort Pulaski to be taken by the state of Georgia. In February 1861, Georgia also seceded, joining the Confederate States of America, and Confederate troops moved into Fort Pulaski.

The following December, Union forces were able to move into and build batteries along Tybee Island, having been abandoned by Confederate forces because it was thought Tybee was too isolated and unprepared for a conflict. On the morning of April 10, 1862, Union forces asked for the surrender of the Fort to prevent needless loss of life -- an offer that was swiftly rejected.

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 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. Only one Confederate soldier and one Union soldier were injured in the attack.

Following the surrender, and 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.

Interestingly, members of the 48th New York Volunteers stationed at Fort Pulaski played baseball to pass the time, and one of the first photographs taken of the game of baseball was captured at Fort Pulaski in 1862.