A History of Standing Strong

A HISTORY OF STANDING STRONG - The Forts of Southeast Coastal Georgia and Northeast Florida

The Southeastern coast has such stories to tell about the birth and growth of this place called America. The battles for her ownership and the fights that took place to maintain her freedom. Historic sites and forts are plentiful all along the coastline, and we have several worth visiting that are less than a couple hours away. Some sites were Native American settlements before they became colonial fortifications. It wasn’t only Confederate and Union soldiers holding these grounds, the battlements were traversed by British, French, and Spanish troops. Whether stone bulwarks, wooden barracks, or tabby armories, you can hear the echo of the cannons of America’s military history on these grounds if you take the time to listen.

FORT FREDERICA

Let’s begin our exploration of military history along the coast right here in our own backyard. St. Simons Island is the home of Fort Frederica. The struggle for domination of the New World took place between Great Britain and Spain on this island we call home. The “debatable land” was claimed by France, Spain, and Great Britain. A different outcome here may have led to a decidedly different future for this new colony of Georgia! Established in 1736 by Georgia’s founder, General James Oglethorpe, Fort Frederica was the focus of defense for the newly formed English colony of Georgia. A British victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh, which took place about six miles south of the fort in 1742, secured Britain's hold on Georgia. After Oglethorpe’s regiment was disbanded in 1749, the fort and town fell into decline, and a fire in 1758 destroyed most of the buildings. Remains of the fortified settlement include ruins of the fort, barracks, walls, moats, and foundations of several houses.

FORT FREDERICA

National Monument - US National Park Service

Established: 1736

Address: 6515 Frederica Rd., St. Simons Island, Georgia

Phone: 912.638.3630

Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Day)

Entrance Fee: Free

Pets: Allowed if leashed. Not permitted in buildings, on ruins.

Website: nps.gov/fofr

Upcoming/Special events: Follow @FordFredericaNPS on Facebook for upcoming event information.

FORT KING GEORGE

Fort King George, located at the mouth of the Altamaha River in Darien was Georgia's first colonial British garrison and is the oldest English fort remaining on the Georgia coast. It was the southernmost outpost of the British Empire in North America until 1735. Scoutmen led by Col. John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell constructed a cypress blockhouse, a palisaded earthen fort, and barracks in 1721 to stop French and Spanish expansion. The fort was destroyed by fire in 1726 and rebuilt the following year. His Majesty’s Independent Company garrisoned the fort until 1728, enduring threats of Spanish and Indian attacks, a harsh coastal environment, and disease. After the fort was abandoned, Gen. Oglethorpe brought Scottish Highlanders to the site in 1736. Their settlement, called Darien, saw the creation of an early sawmill operation and eventually became a foremost exporter of lumber until 1925. The facility today contains a reconstructed blockhouse, officers’ quarters, barracks, guardhouse, moat, and palisades in addition to the brick ruins of its early sawmill operation, tabby ruins, and a small graveyard. The surviving portions of the sawmill are significant and rare examples of early colonial industry in Georgia. A museum and film interpret the history of the area back to the days of the Guale Indians.

FORT KING GEORGE

State Historic Site – Georgia DNR State Parks & Historic Sites

Established: 1721

Address: 302 McIntosh Rd., Darien, Georgia

Phone: 912.437.4770

Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays

Closed Mondays (except holidays), Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Day

Entrance Fee: Adults (18-61) $7.50, Seniors (62+) $7, Youth (6-17) $4.50, Children under 6 admitted free of charge.

Pets: Allowed if leashed. Not permitted in buildings, on ruins.

Website: gastateparks.org/FortKingGeorge

Upcoming/Special events: First Saturday events; Cannons Across the Marsh, July 4 10am-4pm; Sights and Sounds of the Sawmills, August 12, 10am-2pm.

FORT MORRIS

Fort Morris is one of the few remaining Revolutionary War era earthwork fortifications in the United States. First fortified in the 1750s, the fort was manned to protect the once prosperous seaport town of Sunbury. When the Continental Congress convened in 1776, the delegates recognized the importance of a fort to protect their growing seaport from the British. Soon afterwards, 200 patriots fortified and garrisoned a low bluff on the Medway River at Sunbury. When the British demanded the fort’s surrender on November 25, 1778, the defiant Col. John McIntosh replied, “Come and take it!” Instead, the British withdrew back to Florida only to return forty-five days later with superior force. After a short but heavy bombardment, Fort Morris surrendered to the British on January 9, 1779, the last patriot post to fall in the American Revolution. Later called Fort Defiance, this bulwark was once again used against the British during the War of 1812, and Sunbury's harbor was guarded by armed barges. Today, visitors can stand within the earthwork remains and view scenic Saint Catherines Sound. A museum and film describe the colonial port of Sunbury and the site’s history.

FORT MORRIS

State Historic Site – Georgia DNR State Parks & Historic Sites

Established: 1750

Address: 2559 Fort Morris Road, Midway, Georgia

Phone: 912.884.5999

Hours: Thursday–Saturday: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's Day.

Entrance Fee: Adults (18-61) $4.50, Seniors (62+) $4, Youth (6-17) $3, Children under 6 admitted free of charge.

Pets: Allowed if leashed. Not permitted in buildings, on ruins.

Website: gastateparks.org/FortMorris

Upcoming/Special events: Memorial Day Commemoration, May 29, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Independence Day Colonial Faire 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

FORT MCALLISTER

Located south of Savannah on the banks of the Ogeechee River, this scenic park showcases the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederate Army. Built in 1861 on the plantation of Lt. Col. Joseph Longworth McAllister to provide protection from the US Navy and defense of the rice plantations, the earthworks were designed to withstand considerable bombardment by the Union. The fort was attacked seven times by Union ironclads but did not fall until the Confederate defenders were overwhelmed in a 15-minute land assault that took place on December 1864. That battle essentially ended General William T. Sherman’s “March to the Sea” by providing the Union with control of the Ogeechee River, an avenue to the sea and open supply line which would enable him to prepare for the siege and capture of Savannah. The grounds include cannons, a hot shot furnace, bombproof barracks, palisades, and the Civil War museum contains artifacts, a video and gift shop.

FORT MCALLISTER

State Park – Georgia DNR State Parks & Historic Sites

Address: 3894 Fort McAllister Road, Richmond Hill, GA

Established: 1861

Phone: 912.727-2339

Hours: Park 7:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. daily; Office 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Entrance Fee: Adults (18-61) $9, Seniors (62+) $8, Youth (6-17) $5, Children under 6 admitted free of charge. (Guests just visiting the historic site do not have to pay $5 parking fee.)

Pets: Allowed if leashed. Not permitted in buildings, on ruins.

Website: gastateparks.org/FortMcAllister

Upcoming/Special Events: Guided tours at 2:00 p.m. daily.

FORT PULASKI

In 1829 construction began on a fort to protect the port of Savannah. Named after Kazimierz Pulaski, Polish soldier and Revolutionary War military commander who fought under the command of George Washington, the fort, located at the mouth of the Savannah River on Cockspur Island, took 18 years and approximately $1 million to build. It was part of America's ambitious Third System of coastal fortifications. The completed two tier structure is a truncated hexagon that faces east and includes a demilune, moat, two powder magazines, and a large parade ground. The lower walls are made of local brownish "Savannah Gray" brick. Rose red brick from Baltimore, Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia, was used in the arches and embrasures because it is harder than the gray. With walls made of 7 ½ foot thick solid brick backed by massive piers of masonry, and surrounded on all sides by wide swampy marshes and the broad waters of the Savannah River, the fort was considered impregnable by most military authorities. Ships of the Navy could not safely come within effective range of this citadel, and there was no firm ground closer than Tybee Island (approximately 2 miles away) on which land batteries could be erected. All military experience prior to 1862 had taught that smoothbore guns and mortars had little chance to break through heavy masonry walls beyond a distance of 700 yards.

However, Sherman’s Chief Engineer, Cpt. Quincy Gillmore did some careful reconnaissance, and relying on his knowledge of the test records of the rifled gun, a new weapon with which the Army had begun to experiment in 1859, reported to Sherman that it would, in fact, be possible to reduce Fort Pulaski with mortars and rifled guns from Tybee Island. Sherman approved Gillmore’s plan to attack Pulaski, but had little faith that the attack would be successful. Yet in 1862, using newly developed rifled cannons with superior range and penetrating power, the Federals breached the walls of the fort in a 30-hour bombardment that forced a Confederate surrender. The restored fort stands today as a monument to that milepost in history where the power of technology and progress rendered previous concepts of invincibility obsolete and made an “impenetrable fortress” a relic of a bygone age.

The Tale of the Immortal Six Hundred

In October 1864, Union troops stationed at Fort Pulaski accepted transfer of a group of imprisoned Confederate officers who were being held in South Carolina. Following word that 600 Union officers imprisoned in the city of Charleston were exposed to direct line of fire from Federal artillery, Federal Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, ordered that 600 prisoners of war be positioned on Morris Island in Charleston harbor within direct line of fire from Confederate guns at Fort Sumter. A standoff continued until a yellow fever epidemic forced Confederate Major General S. Jones to remove the Federal prisoners from the city limits. The Confederate prisoners were then transferred the from the open stockade at Morris Island to Fort Pulaski. On October 23,1864, more than 500 tired, emaciated, and ill-clothed troops arrived at Cockspur Island. These prisoners became known as the Immortal Six Hundred. Early on they received extra rations and were promised extra blankets and clothing; however, despite the best intentions of the fort’s command, these promises fell short. Thirteen prisoners died, mostly from dehydration due to dysentery, and were buried on site. The remainder of the prisoners were transferred to Fort Delaware in March of 1865.

FORT PULASKI

National Monument - US National Park Service

Established: 1829, construction completed 1847

Address: US Highway 80, Savannah, Georgia

Phone: 912.786.5787

Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily (except Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Day). Visitor Center and Bookstore open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Entrance Fee: Ages 16 years and older $7, under 16 admitted free of charge and must be accompanied by an adult. (Good for admission 7 consecutive days.)

Pets: Allowed if leashed. Not permitted in buildings, on ruins.

Website: nps.gov/fopu

Upcoming/Special events: Follow @FortPulaskiNPS on Facebook for upcoming event information.

CASTILLO DE SAN MARCOS

Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest existing permanent seacoast fortification in the continental United States. The northernmost outpost of the Spanish Caribbean, Castillo de San Marcos was the focus of the struggle between Great Britain and Spain for regional supremacy during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the American Revolution, it was the site of a British garrison. The fort was last employed for defensive purposes in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Constructed from as yet untested quarried coquina stone and tabby mortar, the Castillo was built between 1672-1756 to protect Spanish territory in Florida and the shipping routes along the Florida coast. The present star-shaped fort, surrounding moat, and earthworks replaced an earlier series of earth and wood fortifications. In 1702, Governor James Moore of Charleston led his English forces against St. Augustine. He captured the town and set his cannon up amongst the houses to bombard the Castillo. However, instead of shattering, the coquina stone of the fortress merely compressed and absorbed the shock of the hit. Cannon balls either bounced off or sunk in a mere few inches. Thirty-eight years later, when General Oglethorpe bombarded the Castillo for 27 days, the walls still held firm. Seeing that success, coquina stone was used once again when the Spanish decided to fortify the southern approaches to St. Augustine by building Fort Matanzas later that year, and, like the Castillo, this smaller fort was never captured. If not for coquina, perhaps the British would have captured St. Augustine much earlier than 1763, when they finally gained Florida by treaty. That might have changed the course of the American Revolution.

CASTILLO DE SAN MARCOS

National Monument – US National Park Service

Established: 1672

Address: 1 South Castillo Drive, Saint Augustine, Florida

Phone: 904.829.6506

Hours: Open daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. First admission 8:45 a.m. and last admission at 5:00 p.m. with the Castillo closing at 5:15 p.m.

Entrance Fee: Ages 16 years and older $10, under 16 admitted free of charge and must be accompanied by an adult. (Good for admission 7 consecutive days.)

Pets: Permitted around monument exterior, if leashed, but not allowed in the Castillo interior.

Website: nps.gov/casa/

Upcoming/Special events: Follow @CastilloNPS on Facebook for upcoming event information.

FORT MATANZAS

It was the threat of the British in the Carolina and Georgia colonies which led to the building of the Castillo de San Marcos in 1672-1695, and following two failed sieges by the British, the building of Fort Matanzas in 1740-1742 to guard the southern approaches to the city. Fort Matanzas takes its name from the Spanish word for "slaughter." At this site in 1565, Spanish forces killed 250 French Huguenots in an effort to protect their territorial claims from the French. Fort Matanzas, constructed from 1737 to 1742, was part of an important Spanish defense network which included nearby Castillo de San Marcos. Like Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Caroline, Fort Matanzas represents the struggle between European nations for possession of the New World.

FORT MATANZAS

Established: 1737

National Monument – US National Park Service

Address: 8635 A1A South, Saint Augustine, Florida

Phone: 904.471.0116

Hours: Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. except Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Boarding passes are required to ride the ferry to the Fort. They are issued for free in the Fort Matanzas Visitor Center (NOT the St. Augustine Visitor Center). See website for ferry times and rules. **Due to damage from Hurricane Matthew - there is no ferry service to the fort at the present time**

Entrance Fee: Admission to all areas of the park and the ferry to the fort are free.

Pets: Pets on a 6-foot leash are welcome in the park, including on the beach and trails. Pets are not allowed in the visitor center, on the boat, or at the fort.

Website: nps.gov/foma/

Upcoming/Special events: Follow @FortMatanzasNPS on Facebook for upcoming event information and details about ferry access.

FORT CLINCH

The site at the entrance to the St. Marys River and the Cumberland Sound has been occupied by various military troops since 1736. In order to protect the natural deep-water port of Fernandina, construction of a fort, later named Fort Clinch for General Duncan Lamont Clinch, a prominent figure in the Second Seminole War, was begun in 1847. The pentagonal brick fort with both inner and outer walls was one of a series of masonry forts constructed between 1816-1867 known as Third System Fortifications. Never fully completed (likely due to lessons learned during the fall of Fort Pulaski) Fort Clinch was a safe haven for blockade runners during the Civil War and was considered the base of Union operations in the area throughout that time. Briefly occupied by Confederate forces, its recapture by Federal troops in early 1862 gave the Union control of the adjacent Georgia and Florida coasts. The fort was used in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, but was then abandoned. Fort Clinch became one of the state’s first parks in 1935, and the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) began restoring the buildings in 1936, followed by the creation of roads and campgrounds in 1937. Today, visitors touring the fort can see what it may have looked like as it was being built by Army Engineers.

FORT CLINCH

State Park – Florida State Parks

Established: 1847

Address: 2601 Atlantic Ave, Fernandina Beach, Florida

Phone: 904.277.7274

Hours: Park is open 8:00 a.m. to sunset, daily. Fort is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Visitor Center is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Entrance Fee: Park admission: $6 per vehicle (2-8 people per vehicle), $4 single occupant vehicle; $2 pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers; Fort admission $2 per person.

Pets: Domestic pets are permitted in designated day-use areas at all Florida State Parks. They must be kept on a handheld leash that is six feet or shorter and be well-behaved at all times. They are not allowed on beaches or playgrounds, in park buildings or cabins.

Website: floridastateparks.org/park/Fort-Clinch

Upcoming/Special events: On the first weekend of every month, the park holds a garrison of many soldiers who demonstrate skills such as carpentry, masonry, cooking, blacksmithing, small arms demonstrations and cannon firing as well as interpreting the use of many of the buildings such as the quartermaster, infirmary and jailhouse. $2 fee in addition to regular admission for this family-friendly educational event.

FORT CAROLINE/TIMUCUAN ECOLOGICAL & HISTORIC PRESERVE

Fort Caroline National Memorial and the Ribault monument are part of the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve at the mouth of the St. John’s River. France made its first attempt to state a permanent claim in North America by establishing a settlement here during the sixteenth century. While the settlement was originally intended as a commercial venture and to gain a share of the riches that Spain was obtaining through trade and plunder due to their foothold in the Americas, religious conflict in France broadened the goals and the colony was offered up as refuge for the persecuted Hugeunots (French Protestants). An exploratory expedition, commanded by Jean Ribault, left France in February 1562. On this voyage, Ribault erected a stone column bearing the coats of arms of his French King Charles IX to claim Florida for France. In 1564, with help from the Timucua Indians, the colonists began building a village and fort on the river’s south bank, naming the area La Caroline. Spain viewed the settlement of La Caroline as a threat to its sovereignty in the New World and King Philip II of Spain ordered Admiral Pedro Menéndez and his armada to remove the French. On September 20, 1565, the fort was attacked and more than 140 Frenchman were killed. Another 350 settlers and soldiers were massacred by the Spanish at the place that became known as Matanzas. France never again strongly challenged Spanish claims in North America.

In 1924, land was donated near Mayport for a column designed by Florida sculptor Charles Adrian Pillars to mark the location of Ribault’s first arrival. The monument has since been moved to its permanent home on St. Johns Bluff as part of the Fort Caroline National Memorial, an outdoor exhibit of the original fort constructed by the National Park Service in 1964. The original site of Fort de la Caroline has never been determined, but is believed to have been located near the memorial. Recently, however, there has been evidence discovered that suggests Caroline may have been located farther north, perhaps in Georgia.

FORT CAROLINE/TIMUCUAN ECOLOGICAL & HISTORIC PRESERVE

National Memorial – US National Park Service

Established: 1564

Address: 12713 Fort Caroline Road, Jacksonville, Florida

Phone: 904.641.7155

Hours: Facilities and grounds for Fort Caroline are open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Entrance Fee: Free

Pets: Dogs are welcome in the park but must be on a six foot leash at all times.

Website: nps.gov/timu/

Upcoming/Special events: Follow @TimucuanPreserveNPS on Facebook for upcoming event information.

Now you know what’s out there, take a visit for yourself  and honor the soldiers who stood sentry on those battlements and fought for the freedoms we celebrate as Americans today. Without them, this may have been a very different place.