Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Super Museum Sunday in Savannah, Georgia

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Fort Pulaski
Fort Pulaski National Monument, Georgia Department of Economic Development

Georgians and visitors alike can experience the area’s rich history and cultural life on Sunday, February 5, 2012.  Super Museum Sunday is part of Georgia History Festival and on Sunday historic sites, house museums, art museums, and other points of interest in Savannah and coastal Georgia open their doors to the public for free. You can read more, and find the map to participants on our special events page for Georgia History Festival, just click here.

The Georgia History Festival makes it possible for us to experience the history in our own backyard. There are lots of different events going on, starting with the popular Super Museum Sunday and continuing with the Colonial Faire and Muster, a parade and much more. 

Click here to read more about Georgia History Festival. 

The History of Fort Pulaski

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Fort Pulaski was constructed after the war of 1812 when our coast line was vulnerable to attack by a foreign power. Between 1816 and 1860, Congress appropriated $40 million for coastal defense. Today that would be an investment in the billions.

Completed in 1846, the brick masonry structure was a five sided structure built on Cockspur Island in the middle of the Savannah River at the entrance to the river.  The fort is estimated to have been constructed of 25 million bricks and had two levels.  When built, the fort was considered impenetrable by the artillery of the time.  The fort’s 7.5 foot thick walls provided ample protection against smoothbore cannon fire in theory.

Fort Pulaski
Fort Pulaski National Monument, Georgia Department of Economic Development

 

The Third System of Defense

Originally the United States wanted to build 200 of these masonry forts along the eastern shore line but a lack of money brought that number down to 30.  Fort Jefferson in the Florida Keys, Fort Pulaski and For Sumter in Charleston harbor were forts built about the same time.  These forts were called the Third System of Defense.

Cannons have been used since medieval times to breakdown a castle’s or fort’s walls.  The defensive technology had been ahead of siege weaponry until 1862 when Union forces landed on Tybee Island and commence siege operations in April 1862.  Although the siege was not an important event in American history from the stand point like a Gettysburg or Vicksburg had, it was nevertheless a very important point in military history.

 

Thanks to New Technology Masonry Forts Can Be Penetrated

A new technology, rifled artillery, would prove that masonry forts were no longer impenetrable.  The Parrot rifle was a new twist on artillery siege weaponry.  The Parrot rifle had spiral groves inside the weapon that spun the projectile out the barrel, sending the projectile further, more accurately and with a greater impact.  I will use the analogy of throwing two balls.  The first is throwing a basketball.  When thrown, the basketball has no spiraling action and does not travel that far.  On the other hand, try throwing a football and you see it travel farther and more accurately.  With a spinning projectile, the embedded shell will penetrate farther into a masonry structure thereby exposing the structure to danger.  This is what happened as a powder magazine was threatening the walls at Fort Pulaski.  The fall of Fort Pulaski proved masonry forts were no match for rifled artillery and marked the end of coastal fortifications as a means of defense.  From April 1862 forward no coastal masonry forts were ever constructed in the United States.

 

Siege at Fort Pulaski

Siege operations on Fort Pulaski began in February 1862.  Command to take the fort was given to General Quincy Gilmore.  Union forces had begun and had controlled access to the fort by way of the river.  On April 10th, Union forces on Tybee Island began a 36 hour bombardment of Pulaski until the 11th when Gilmore sent surrender terms under a flag of truce.  Colonel Charles Olmstead, Confederate commander of the fort had to surrender.  The use of large artillery had taken an effect on Pulaski.  Shelling of the fort would start on the 10th and the rifled artillery began to effect the next day  The north powder magazine was exposed and Olmstead and 384 of his men surrendered to the Federals on April 11th.  The loss of the fort would result in the closing of the Savannah River to the Confederacy. Supply  ships could sail into Savannah indirectly by the Ogeechee Rivert on Savannah’s southside.Savannah would not fall into Federal hands until December 1864 with the capture of the city by William T. Sherman.  Fort Pulaski would later be used to house Confederate officers in late 1864. By wars end over 600 Confederate officers would be housed here.

Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Georgia
Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Georgia

 

 

History Lives

Today, the scars are still visible on the northeast side of the fort.  Start you visit to Fort Pulaski’s visitor center.  Inside you will find exhibits and displays relating to Pulaski’s history.  There is also a nice exhibit on artillery as well.   The park encompasses over 5,000 acres and includes the Cockspur lighthouse on the eastern side of the island.  Tour the inside as well as the outside of fort.  There are summer interpretative programs which may include musket firings, ranger led tours or cannon firings.  Within the park there are several hiking and biking trails.   There are also fishing opportunities within the park as you can fish the Savannah River.  Just make sure you have a Georgia fishing license.  The best time to visit is the non-summer months.  This site can get very hot and humid during the summer.  There are plenty of recreational opportunities for the visit to use at Fort Pulaski.  While visiting the fort, take advantage of Fort McAllister in Richmond Hill and nearby Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.  It is about a hundred miles between Fort Pulaski and Charleston.

 

Fort Pulaski Information

Fort Pulaski National Monument is located fifeteen miles east of Savannah and is a site to see in coastal Georgia during the sesquicentennial of the Civil War   Fort Pulaski is one of the over 370 National Park Service sites under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior.  The national monument is supported by federal tax dollars. One hundred percent of the admission fee goes towards interpretive and preservation program in the park.  The park is open year round except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.  Admission fee is three dollars per person sixteen and older.  The receipt is valid for seven days of visitation.  Golden Age and Golden Access passes are available for issuance to seniors and the handicapped for free. These passes allow the user free access to National Park Service sites.

The fort and visitor center are opened from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with extended hours in the summer.  For more information log onto NPS.gov or call the visitor center at (912) 786-5787 and a park ranger will gladly assist you.  There is no camping allowed on the park’s premises but ample hotel space is nearby in Savannah and on Tybee Island.  The visitor center, restroom and first level of the fort are handicap accessible.  There is a 20 minute film in the visitor center about the battle for Fort Pulaski.  Finally, for large groups it is highly recommended to call in advance.

Written By Joe Cates

Other Interesting Pages:
City of Savannah, Georgia
4th of July in Savannah, Georgia

 

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First Shot of the Civil War Happened 150 year ago in Charleston on April 12

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As you know, Charleston is rich in history, but this year is a very special year for Charleston. April 12, 2011 actually marks the 150 year anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, more commonly known as the First Shot of the Civil War. Now you can come and witness where it all began…right here on the coast.

April 12, 2011, Marks the 150-Year Anniversary of the Firing on Fort Sumter, First Shot of the Civil War.

The Charleston area served as the backdrop for many of the Civil War’s significant events, which include

  • the Bombardment and Surrender of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861
  • the Siege of Charleston, 1863 to 1865
  • the re-raising of the U.S. flag over Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865.

These events are some of the landmark dates of the American Civil War, which will be commemorated during the Civil War Sesquicentennial.

Listed below is a sampling of special Charleston area Civil War Sesquicentennial events and activities that range from concerts and theater performances to living history programs and reenactments, as well as events, lectures and complimentary film screenings.

• Fort Sumter will switch on two large, entwining lights aimed skyward on April 12; once the symbolic firing commences, the lights will separate to indicate the split of the nation. Motors will be fired intermittently until April 14.

• Spiritline Cruises Sesquicentennial Tour and Dinner Cruise, April 9, 12, 14; includes living history program, period music, lecture by a military historian, three-course southern-style meal and cruise aboard the Spirit of the Lowcountry; boarding at Fort Sumter Visitors Center

• Film on the Green, “Glory,” April 10; Marion Square Park, Charleston

• Voices from the Civil War Concert, April 11; Program includes music selections from the score to the PBS documentary film, The Civil War by Ken Burns, featuring Jay Ungar, Molly Mason and The Family Band with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sean Newhouse, along with the CSO Spiritual Ensemble & Mt. Zion AME Spiritual Ensemble; White Point Garden, Charleston

• Sunrise Concert: When Jesus Wept, April 12; In remembrance of the moment the first shots of the Civil War were fired, this candlelight concert features hymns by Colonial American composers including William Billings and others; White Point Garden, Charleston

• Reflections on the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War: Volunteers in Blue and Gray, Why they Fought, April 12; lecture by James M. McPherson, American Civil War historian and author of numerous books including For Cause and Comrades, winner of the Lincoln Prize; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston

• The Battle of Fort Sumter by Boat, April 12; historian and author Michael Coker leads guests of an intimate discussion of the events leading up the war and the Battle of Fort Sumter during a 1.5-hour boat tour • Stephen Marc – Passage of the Underground Railroad, April 8-July 10; exhibit organized by the University at Buffalo Art Galleries features Marc’s fascinating photographs and digital montages that explore the history of freedom-seekers on the Underground Railroad; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston

• A Soldier’s View of Civil War Charleston, April 8-July 10; exhibit featuring over 30 paintings depicting the batteries and forts around Charleston Harbor as painted by Conrad Wise Chapman (1842-1910) during the Civil War; Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston • Living History Programs with Confederate and Civilian Reenactors, April 9-17; Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center

• Union Reenactors Portraying Companies E&H, 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment, April 9-14; Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor • Encampment of Confederate Reenactors, April 9-17; Fort Moultrie, Sullivan’s Island

• Garrison of Fort Sumter Reenactment, April 14-17; Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor • South Carolina Masonic Research Society 2011 Banquet & Symposium, April 22; featuring keynote speaker Michael Halleran, author of The Better Angels of our Nature: Freemasonry in the American Civil War; Omar Shrine Temple, Mount Pleasant

• “The Beginning of the Civil War” Manuscripts Exhibit, through April 27; Karpeles Manuscript Museum • Post Civil War Charleston – 1865: A Photographic Retrospective, through April 30; City Gallery at Waterfront Park, Charleston

• Remembering the Civil War: South Carolina Artists’ Perspectives, through April 30; City Gallery at Waterfront Park, Charleston Ongoing permanent exhibits include: • City Under Siege: Charleston in the Civil War; provides a rich overview of events in and around Charleston from secession to 1865, including the Federal naval blockade, Union bombardment, social dislocations, privations and five major Union attempts to capture the “Queen City of the South;” Charleston Museum

• Threads of War: Clothing and Textiles of The Civil War; through Sept. 5, 2011, the exhibition offers a glimpse into the lives of those on the home front who battled deprivation and fear while raising their families and protecting their property, as well as the soldiers who fought on the front lines; Charleston Museum

• The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls, April 3-June 19, 2012; coordinated by the S.C. State Museum, celebrates Smalls’ commandeering of the C.S.S. Planter in which he sailed with his family and several others past five Confederate batteries and out to the Union blockading fleet; Charleston Museum • Secessionists, Soldiers and Slaves: The Alston Family’s Civil War, through Dec. 31, 2015, showcases the permanent collections of the Edmondston-Alston including a rare original copy of the Ordinance of the Secession as well as the parole Charles Alston received form President Andrew Johnson after swearing allegiance to the United States in 1965; Edmondston-Alston House, Charleston

• Secessionists, Soldiers and Slaves: The Middleton Family’s Civil War, through Dec. 31, 2015; exhibit exploring rice culture during the war, the building of Charleston’s defenses, investing in experimental “seegar boats” and more; Middleton Place, Charleston

Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Historical Trust is a consortium that supports the National Park Service’s efforts to preserve, protect and enhance the sites for the benefit and education of the public. The Trust has aligned with historians and community leaders to plan activities that invite the public to learn about one of the most significant eras of the nation’s history. Although somber in tone, the unvarnished truth will be on display throughout the Sesquicentennial anniversary, 2011 – 2014.

A complete listing and additional information can be found at www.sccivilwar.org.

Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival – Mt Pleasant, SC

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Our area is rich in history and culture, and one of the most fascinating cultures is the Gullah Geechee. This weekend you can learn more about the Gullah Geeche culture at the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival in South Carolina. This festival has the largest showcase of authentic sweetgrass baskets in the Lowcountry, but the festival offers music, arts and craft, storytelling and much more.
Click here to read more about the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

The Sack of St Augustine 2010

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This is a great opportunity to relive history in St Augustine when the Historic Florida Militia re-enacts the Sack of St. Augustine, March 6th, 2010. The sack happened back in the year of 1668. Captain Robert Searle and his privateers left Jamaica and set course for St Augustine to loot the silver ingots held in the royal coffers at St. Augustine.

At the encampment at the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park on Magnolia Drive, visitors can relive history. Take an up-close look at authentic 17th century arms, equipment and food at the encampment.
(The camp is set up Friday thru Sunday)

Then, on Saturday March 6, the buccaneers will gather and proceed to the Plaza de la Constitucion in downtown historic district of St Augustine. At 5 p.m. they will attack Spanish soldiers and St. Augustine citizens. Townspeople and soldiers will flee up St. George Street to the Redoubt at Orange and Cordova Streets in the Historic St Augustine.

For more information, please call 904.534.6168 or visit the website