On our recent trip to Savannah, we stayed on Tybee Island. Along the 17-mile drive between the two, we passed the gates to Fort Pulaski National Monument. We decided to visit after our breakfast companions at the B&B had toured it and said it was worth seeing.
Cockspur Island
The fort sits on Cockspur Island, located at the mouth of the Savannah River. Cockspur Island is where John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, landed in 1736 to begin his ministry in the colonies. Additionally, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse, first erected around 1839 as a daymark, lies at the southeastern tip. High tides to the islet prevent accessibility to visitors.
Fort Pulaski History
The US Army Corps of Engineers completed Fort Pulaski in 1847 to protect the Port of Savannah. Officials named the fort after Casimir Pulaski, an exiled Polish military leader who aided the Colonists during the Revolutionary War. Known as the “Father of the American Calvary,” Pulaski died during the Siege of Savannah in 1779.
After the War of 1812, the US Government fortified its borders with 42 coastal forts. These forts, including Fort Pulaski, contained bombproof rooms (casemates) and cannon openings. Designed by Brigadier General Simon Bernard, one of Napoleon’s chief engineers, Fort Pulaski’s construction began in 1829 but took over 18 years (and nearly a million dollars) to complete.
Guided Tour
We hit the fort at the perfect time. When we arrived, the park ranger informed us that the guided tour, the only one of the day, was set to begin in just a few minutes. Plus, it was free, so why not?
Our guide took us to a cross-section model of the fort in the visitor center. You’ll have to excuse the not-so-great picture, but it is important to understand the construction challenges of the fort. The two-story fort would consist of 25 million bricks, but Major Samuel Babcock, accompanied by a young Robert E. Lee, determined the marshy island couldn’t support that weight.
Major Joseph K. F. Mansfield took over the project and modified the fort to one story. Workers drove 70-foot-long lumber pilings into the ground (as seen in the model), which were covered by two layers of timber decking. In effect, Fort Pulaski sits on a “floating raft” which holds 18 million bricks. Even 170 years later, the fort has shown no signs of settling.
Another engineering feat was the fort’s ventilation system. To provide cool air during the scorching summer heat, air was pulled into the bottom of the fort. As the heat rises, the cool air pushes through open slats in the floor. In the summer, rangers often stand on top of these slats to remain cool. The walls, at least five feet thick, keep the cool temperatures in.
Accessing Fort Pulaski
At the demilune, our guide stopped and told us about the fort’s security. Facing the enemy, Spanish Florida, the fort was surrounded by a moat, measuring 32 to 48 feet wide and 7 to 8 feet deep, channeled from the South Canal of the Savannah River. A triangular-shaped demilune provided additional protection from a land attack, with 28 cannons on a flat surface.
However, today’s demilune looks quite different. In the 1870s, the government added gunpowder magazines and covered them with mounds of earth. The mounds are interconnected with limestone and oyster-shell-lined tunnels that are open to the public.
After crossing the moat in front of the demilune, we walked through the earthworks and faced another moat leading to the main entrance. Our guide reminded us that had we been the enemy, we wouldn’t have made it this far. First, we would have had to get onto Cockspur Island, then swim across the moat in front of the demilune, all while avoiding cannon fire. Then we would have to cross this second moat secured by a drawbridge and somehow break through the heavy wooden door secured by iron bolts. He pointed out the slots in the fort, also called loopholes, that contained cannons that would have fired on us had we tried to swim across this second moat. To top that off, soldiers could pour slick oil down the ramp preventing further access to the inside of the fort.
Inside Fort Pulaski
Inside the fort, brick walls ranging from 5 to 11 feet thick encompass the 2-acre parade ground. We walked to the Southwest Bastion to see the fort’s inner structure with arches. After fire destroyed this section in 1895, it was never repaired.
Brick came primarily from two sources: Maryland and Savannah. The Savannah brick, called Savannah Grey because of its slightly gray-blue color, was handmade by enslaved people at nearby Hermitage Plantation. It was typically used on the lower levels of the fort, while the brick from Maryland was used for the arches. Fingerprints embedded on the bricks can be seen. Our guide pointed out a small fingerprint in the brick, which historians believe was made by a small enslaved child of no more than 8 years old.
If you look at the picture above, the area where you see the trees was originally the ocean. When the Port of Savannah was deepened, the dredge was dumped at Cockspur Island in the early 1900s. Our guide told us that everywhere we see trees, that is where the ocean was during the 1800s.
Siege of Fort Pulaski
Four of the five walls contain casemates. Cannons sit on arched tracks so soldiers can rotate them during a battle on both the lower level and on the deck above.
When South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860, Georgia’s governor sent over 100 men by river to occupy Fort Pulaski. It became part of the Confederacy when Georgia joined in February 1861. The battle for the fort would be challenging for the Union, especially since smoothbore cannons, widely used at the time, could only fire up to 700 feet, too far from the US batteries at Tybee Island.
Unbeknownst to the Confederates, Union General Quincy Adams Gilmore became familiar with rifled artillery, a newer but untested technique in battle. Specifically, the Parrott rifle cannon could travel up to five miles. Over a period of several nights, Union troops moved rifled cannons to Fort Tybee Island. On the morning of April 9, 1862, the bombing started.
Imagine the surprise on both sides when gunfire created not one, but two, gaping holes in the fort’s southeast wall. When cannon fire reached the parade ground, narrowly missing the powder magazine, General Olmstead surrendered by raising a white bedsheet.
The US Army set about to repair the breached walls, but faced boredom. For entertainment, they played baseball on the parade grounds. Later, Fort Pulaski held Confederate prisoners, called the Immortal 600, in retaliation for the inhumane treatment of Union prisoners at Andersonville.
Upper Level at Fort Pulaski
When the tour concluded, our guide encouraged us to go up the winding stairs to the terreplein. There, we found cannons perched into position on all sides.
Life at Fort Pulaski
Most of the officers lived along the Gorge Wall, the wall closest to the demilune. We walked into the large room for the commanding officer. During the Civil War, Colonel Philip Brown invited his wife to come down to live with him. Surprisingly, other officer wives also came here as well.
The next room was a converted infirmary. The plaque explained that the infirmary typically resided in the Workers’ Village (near the site of the visitor center). However, during the Siege of 1862, the soldiers couldn’t leave the fort, so they converted a room into a trauma center.
The rooms all had doors leading to the parade grounds, as well as interior doors to the adjacent rooms. We walked through the dining area, a room of barracks, and even a chapel.
Before heading out, we passed by the room where Olmstead surrendered during the Civil War. Two days after the defeat at Fort Pulaski, Major General David Hunter proclaimed freedom for all enslaved people who arrived at Fort Pulaski and Cockspur Island, making it a part of the Underground Railroad.
Fort Pulaski only lasted a few more decades before becoming abandoned. The National Park Service took the property over in 1933.
Conclusion
Fees for Fort Pulaski are $10 per person over age 16. However, it is free for those who have the annual America the Beautiful pass. With the guided tour, we spent a little over an hour at the site.
For more information about Fort Pulaski and tours, please visit the NPS website here. You can also watch the NPS movie, “The Battle for Fort Pulaski,” here. This is the same movie shown at the top of every hour at the Fort Pulaski National Monument.