Since the founding of Georgia, Savannah has been an important city due to its position on the coast. After the war of 1812, the United States government decided to plan fortifications to protect Georgia's coastline. Since Savannah was a major Georgia port, a fort was to be built on Cockspur island to protect the city from attacks via the Savannah River.
Impressive Construction of Fort Pulaski
Fort Pulaski's interior courtyard was where the garrison would plant food crops, keep animals, and enjoy downtime.Photo byAuthor Jan Baker Construction began on Fort Pulaski in 1829. It was named for Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish immigrant soldier in the American Revolution. Two well-respected Confederate Lieutenants managed the project. The first was Robert E. Lee, who oversaw the choosing of the site, the design of drains and dikes to support the weight of the fort, and the preliminary construction. After 2 years, in 1831, Lieutenant Joseph K. Mansfield took over and managed the project for the next fourteen years.
At its completion in 1847, Fort Pulaski had the ability to mount 146 cannons on the parapet and in castmates inside the walls. The entire project took approximately $1 million dollars, and an estimated 25 million bricks were used.
The walls were an astounding eleven feet thick and thought to be impenetrable by top military engineers in both the Confederate and Union armies.
Considerable Deterioration
Unfortunately, from its completion in 1847 until just before Georgia seceded from the Union in 1861, the fort experienced substantial deterioration. It was in no condition to serve its purpose of defending the crucial city of Savannah. The moat was reportedly filled with mud, rendering it useless, and even worse, there was not even one cannon mounted in place and ready to fire.
Knowing Fort Pulaski would be much needed, five companies of troops hailing from Savannah and Macon began restoring the fort to its former glory. The moat was cleared, the cannons were mounted in their rightful positions, and other improvements were made to prepare the fort for use.
In December of 1861, General Charles H Olmstead took control of a much improved and defensively prepared Fort Pulaski...or so they thought.
The Gamble That Paid Off
View from the top of the parapetPhoto byAuthor Jan Baker In February 1862, Union Commander Brigadier General Thomas W. Sherman planned to take Fort Pulaski by Siege. He placed Captain Quincy Gillmore in charge of the siege operations on Tybee Island, which was located less than one mile away from Fort Pulaski.
Captain Gillmore and his unit secretly built artillery batteries under the cover of darkness so that General Olmstead and his garrison would not discover their plan. Keep in mind that each piece of artillery weight over 17,000 pounds and had to be positioned in the wet marshland by sheer manpower.
Captain Gillmore had 20 cannons and 14 mortars in position to attack Fort Pulaski by April 9, 1862.
Demand of Surrender
On April 10, 1862, Captain Gillmore demanded the surrender of Fort Pulaski. Colonel Olmstead refused. He was confident that the fort could withstand anything the Union army fired its way. He couldn't have been more wrong.
The Attack on Fort Pulaski Begins
Reportedly at around 8:15 am on April 10, 1862, Captain Gillmore and his Union soldiers began attacking Fort Pulaski. It was a steady attack that lasted all day. By the afternoon, it was obvious to both sides that, eventually, the Union army would penetrate Fort Pulaski's walls. Unfortunately, Fort Pulaski's return fire was ineffective on the Union army and no match for its state-of-the-art artillery.
A day later, on April 11, 1862, Captain Gillmore and his unit made major strides when they blasted 2 thirty-foot holes in the Southeastern wall of the fort. After that, it was all downhill for the Confederate garrison. Increasingly more firepower began penetrating the walls and reaching the interior of the fort. Colonel Olmstead had no choice but to surrender the Fort.
Fort Pulaski Falls
In approximately 30 hours, Fort Pulaski fell to the Union troop. In an overwhelming victory, the Union troop only lost one soldier. Much of their success can be attributed to cutting-edge technology the Union army was using that the Confederate army just couldn't match.
Cutting off the Confederacy's Blood Supply
The fall of Fort Pulaski was a surprise to both sides. It was a gamble on the Union's side since their engineers, like the Confederate's believed the Fort to be resilient to attack. It was a gamble that paid off in spades.
With the Union army in control of Fort Pulaski, the Confederacy was deprived of a port vital to their success which ultimately aided in the Union victory in the Civil War. It also marked a shift in the approach to military engineering.
For the remainder of the Civil War, Fort Pulaski was utilized by the Union army to prevent confederate shipping to and from Savannah and to imprison captured Confederate soldiers.
Fort Pulaski Today
In 1924, the United States Government declared Fort Pulaski a National Monument. In 1933, it proudly became a unit of the National Park Service, which to this day maintains it. Visitors from all over the state and country can visit Fort Pulaski.
Largely in its original state, visitors can really get a sense of how it must have felt to be a part of the garrison defending the fort at the time. Explore the grounds where the living quarters are, along with the jails and cannon placements. Visitors are even allowed on the parapet for a birds-eye view.
If you haven't had the opportunity, be sure to visit Fort Pulaski and soak up this impressive bit of Georgia history. Click here to learn more about planning your visit.
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