Coastal Georgia has a very rich history as one of the original
thirteen colonies and one of the original states. At the time
of the founding of the United States of America, Georgia was the southern-most
state. A great way to show the rich history is to look at the
banners that have flown over Georgia
since the year 1500
. This document should be viewed as an overview of
the history of Coastal Georgia, and not as an extensive history. Links
have been created where in depth information is available. Some
links, such as settler's lists, stay within the site. Other links
go to external sites over which we have no control.
Some of the personalities that you find in Coastal Georgia
James Edward Oglethorpe
, John and
, Joseph Pulitzer
, and the U.S.S. Constitution
. On January 25, 1915, the
first intercontinental telephone call in the United States
was made between
(president of AT&T) while at Jekyll Island,
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell
in New York, Bell's Assistant
in San Francisco and President
(a former Georgian) in Washington, D.C.
Guale (pronounced Whallie") was the name given by the Spanish to the area
between the Altamaha River to the north and the St. Mary's River to the south.
This area included what is now Glynn County and Camden County. Guale
was the name of an Indian chiefdom in Georgia.
The first European to set foot on what is now Camden County may well have
been Captain Jean
of France. He came ashore on the order of Admiral de Chastillan
in order to find a suitable settlement for the French Huguenots on board.
Ribault named the two rivers that he saw there the Seine and the Somme
(now known as the Satilla River and the St. Mary's River).
The first European Settlement in the thirteen colonies
was actually in Georgia in 1526. The settlement was called
San Miguel de Gualdape
. While its actual location is unknown, historians have
placed this settlement at Port Royal located at the mouth of the Savannah
River and St. Catherine's Sound. A year later, in 1527, the starving
colonists would abandon San Miguel de Gualdape with only 150 of the original
600 settlers remaining alive.
The founding of
, the first permanent European settlement in North America in 1565
would come to be instrumental in the history of Georgia despite it
being over a hundred miles distant from the English colonies.
Sometime around 1563, a group of Frenchmen came into what
is now modern-day Georgia. They had been assigned to Charlesfort
in South Carolina. Their goal was to obtain whatever food products
they could for their stranded brethren. It is not believed that
the French ever established a fort or any other stronghold in Georgia,
but they were most assuredly here in 1563. For more information,
Consult the Carl Vinson Institute of Goverment at the University of
It is believed that a pirate of some fame, Blackbeard (a/k/a Edward Thatch
- not Teach as has been erroneously reported - possibly of Bristol, England),
used the Georgia coast and its meandering rivers, creeks and inlets as hiding
places. Blackbeard and his pirate brethren could strike a ship fast
and return to hiding. It is rumoured that Blackbeard buried treasure
on a Georgia island that was never recovered. Will you be the lucky
one to find it? Maybe it is on
In 1721, the English built
Fort King George
at the mouth of the Altamaha River at the behest of South
Carolina and under the supervision of Colonel John Barnwell, an Irishman.
While Fort King George was well placed from a military standpoint,
it is unlikely that it could have been in a worse place from a standpoint
of health. In 1721, there was no electrical power, and refrigerators
are an invention of the 19th century. Thus, the only way to preserve
meat was to salt it. In the humid heat of Georgia, the meat rotted.
Moreover, there was little, if any, knowledge of the importance
of fruits and vegetables in the diet. Thus, the men were often
sick, and the mortality rate at Fort King George was extremely high.
A fire in 1725 and haphazard reconstruction of the barracks caused
the garrison to be withdrawn in 1727. However, until 1732, there
were always two Carolina Rangers on duty in the fort to act as lookout
for enemy troop movements.
While the fort was abandoned in 1732, the need for a buffer
colony was established and known. In the late 1720's, General
James Edward Oglethorpe and others discussed this need. The primary
purpose of this thirteenth colony would be to protect South Carolina
from the Spanish in Florida.
Oglethorpe was granted a charter from King George II
to form a colony and a Board of Trustees to manage the colony,
Oglethorpe planned to establish Georgia as a refuge for Debtors
. The early settlers of Georgia were Scottish Highlanders,
Welsh, Germans and Italians. Catholics were essentially banned,
as were Jews from the other colonies.
Georgia was chartered with three essential goals in mind:
"1] as a hospice for the debtors of crowded English debtor's prisons
(remember, you could be jailed for not having enough money to pay your
debts in 18th century Great Britain); 2] to provide raw materials for
British manufactories and act as a market for British goods; and 3]
to provide a buffer between the Spanish at St Augustine and the British
colony of South Carolina."
The City of Savannah was founded by General James Oglethorpe
with 115 settlers on February 12, 1733. Savannah was the unofficial
government center for Georgia for over half a century of English
Rule. Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and still exists
today. It is the County Seat for
. A list of these
original settlers is set forth here
The second boatload of passengers to arrive in Georgia
came over on the James. It anchored at Port Royal on May 2, 1733.
Among its passengers was the youthful
, destined to gain fame as the proprietor of
, a gathering spot for the Liberty Boys in Revolutionary Georgia.
Tondee's Tavern, at Broughton and Whitaker streets, was but one of
many casualties of the fire of 1796.
Savannah was a planned settlement, with predestined blocks.
General Oglethorpe invited John Wesley to come to Savannah to serve
and the colony's chaplain. On October 14, 1735, Wesley sailed for
Georgia along with his brother, Charles, who served as Oglethorpe's personal
secretary. On February 6, 1736, the Wesley's finally set foot in
Georgia on what was then called Peeper Island. Peeper Island is a
small island in the mouth of the Savannah River that separates the north
channel from the south channel. It was called Peeper Island because
it seemed to "peep" out of the surf, and would be completed covered by water
twice a day at high tide. The arrived on The Simmonds
with Benjamin Ingham and Charles Delamotte and a group of Moravian Christians.
The Moravians seemed to have had a particular impact on John Wesley.
Charles Wesley was not well-suited to be the secretary to General
Oglethorpe. Likewise, he was not well-suited to be the parish priest
for the town of Frederica (remember, this came after the rise of the Church
of England). He suffered numerous illnesses, had trouble with the
colonists, and became so disheartened that he returned to England a scant
six months after their arrival.
John Wesley, too, battled his demons in Georgia. He was often
unpopular with the colonists, and a disastrous affair with Sophy Hopkey
only made matters worse for him. His continued contact with the Moravian
Christians made him question his faith and his soul. He would say,
"I came to convert the Indians, but who will convert me?" His dream
of an Indian mission was never realized, and he returned to England on
December 2, 1737 disheartened and unsaure of his future. Of his time
in Georgia, John Wesley said that he was "only beating the air".
The "Peeper" or Peeper Island soon grew to the point that it actually
stayed above the tides, and was renamed to Cockspur Island. It is
believed that the name comes from the burdensome plant of the same name
that grows abundantly on the island. Cockspur Island was the perfect
place to build a fort to warn against Spanish invasion, and three forts
have been built there over the years. The first, Fort George, named
for the king, was a simple blockhouse surrounded by a palisade.
On 19 January 1736, one hundred and seventy-seven Highlanders -
mostly MacKays from the Strathnaver region; and members of Clan Chattan
- mostly MacIntoshes from Inverness; arrived on the Prince of Wales
at the southern outpost of the Georgia Colony. Each Highlander was
granted fifty acres for himself and each member of his family. Their
primary mission after settling the land was to protect the colony from
the French to the west, the Spanish to the south, and fend off attacks
from Indians hostile to the British Crown. This new town was originally
named "New Inverness," and the name was later changed to "Darien" to
recall the Darien Isthmus colony of Panama which came to grief in 1698.
Darien was the only Gaelic-speaking community in the Georgia Colony.
The early Scots had a strong sense of family, integrity,
and a proud work ethic which contributed greatly to their success.
The Scot and other Celts are descended from the legendary fierce Norse-Gael
warriors, and they had a well-earned reputation in combat - and were
frequently employed as mercenaries. The Highlander's military prowess
and reputation in combat was Oglethorpe's prime reason in chosing
them to defend "his" colony.
In many ways the Scots were unique - especially from the
viewpoint of the Native American. Most Scots did not wear boots
- they wore soft leather footwear similar to a moccasin. They
did not wear pants - they wore a philbeg, or great tartan, they (for
the most part) spoke Gaelic, not English Finally, their family
structure was similar to the Native American's - tribal, or clan. The
Scots enjoyed the best relationship with Native Americans, especially the
Creeks. The Scottish women had rights under the law and were allowed to
own property. Women in the Darien community were trained in the "Manual
of Arms" for rifles and were capable of manning the battery of cannons
at Fort Darien when the men were on patrol or fighting the Spanish.
The town of Darien had been settled by
Scots who had left Scotland
. Many were recruited by Lt. Hugh Mackay, himself
a Scot. Interestingly, there was nothing against nepotism as
the records show that, in a 1741 shipment of Scots, over 46% were
known Mackay relatives.
Three years later, General Oglethorpe would establish Fort
Frederica on St. Simons Island, about 80 miles south of Savannah.
Like Savannah, Frederica was a planned settlement. In
1736, Fort Frederica Was founded, along with the town of Frederica.
Frederica was named for the son of King George, Frederic. The
location of the fort was chosen because of its location along the banks
of the river with two big bends on either side of the fort.
Click the Image for a Larger View
Frederica was initially settled with
44 men and 72 women
. Of course, the Fort
, named for the son of King George, had
plenty of soldiers
. All that remains of Fort Frederica is the
and part of the barracks
. Even less remains of the town of Frederica as the
tabby houses have not withstood almost 300 years of Georgia weather.
and Charles Wesley
are prominent in the history of Coastal Georgia. They
traveled here and established Christ Church at Savannah and Christ
Church near Frederica.
In 1739 the Scots of Darien petitioned the Trustees of Georgia
that no slavery be allowed in Darien. This petition was granted,
and it remained so until 1749, when the anti-slavery clause in the Charter
was removed despite their strong protests.
By the 1740's, Frederica was a thriving town of close to
1,000 souls. The town was abandoned after the end of the threat
of Spanish invasions brought about by the vistory of Oglethorpe at the
Battle of Bloody Marsh
. The fort was disbanded in 1749 because there was
no longer any threat of Spanish attack.
Around 1752, a new group of settlers came to Georgia. They were
Puritans from South Carolina, and had gone there from Massachusetts in
1695. These Puritans built
in 1754. Midway Church was burned by the English in 1777, and
it was rebuilt in 1792. Many of these Puritans were buried in
and it is estimated that more than 1,200 people are buried there. When
it was founded, the area was simply called the Midway District. In
the late 1750's, Fort Morris was built to protect the thriving port town
of Sunberry, which was founded in 1758. That same year, the Midway District
was renamed St. James Parish. The County was named Liberty County for
the efforts of these Puritans in the American Revolution.
Like with any base closing, the local economy was devastated
by the closing of the fort, and the town's last hurrah was a fire
in 1758 that destroyed what was left of Frederica. It was the
Scots Highlanders who won the
Battle of Bloody Marsh
, forcing the Spanish to return to Fort Augustine, forever
giving up any interest they had in Georgia.
Nonetheless, the Scottish people are so much a part of Georgia
history that the State of Georgia adopted an
official state tartan
in 1997. This is a matter of Georgia law, though other
tartans remain legal in Georgia (the author herein wears the MacNeil
tartan, which serves as the background on one or more pages of this
Commencing in 1736, Colonial Georgia's second city, Ebenezer,
was founded and populated after
negotiations with the Colony of Georgia
. Ebenezer is located about 25 miles north of Savannah
on the Savannah River. Ebenezer was established with about 60
German people from the Salzburg area (now Austria) seeking religious
freedom. These Salzburgers
were among 20,000 people expelled from Salzburg by
for following the teachings of Martin Luther.
By 1741, Ebeneezer reached a population of over 1,200 souls,
and continued to grow until the time of the Revolutionary War. The
town burned in 1779, and was never rebuilt. All that remains today
are a cemetery, the church and a home built in 1755. The first
Governor of Georgia, John Adam Treutlen, was a Salzburger.
In 1763, the Spanish abandoned Florida under a treaty of peace with England.
In 1765 three parishes were laid out between the Altamaha and St. David's
Rivers: St. Patrick's, St. Mary's and St. Thomas. The County of Camden was
formed from St. Mary's and St. Thomas Parishes in 1777. Camden County was
Charles Pratt, Earl of Camden of England. Woodbine is the county seat. In
large measure, the parishes were changed to counties as an outward sign of
shaking off English rule. Some of the
early settlers and officers of Camden County are listed here
Oglethorpe's mark on Georgia did not end with these settlements. Oglethorpe
founded Fort Williams, a strong battery, on the southern end of
. He also founded Fort St. Andrews on the northern end of Cumberland
Island. Fort Williams commanded the entrance to the St. Mary's River.
Oglethorpe was at Cumberland Island when an Indian chief named it,
and Oglethorpe later erected a hunting lodge on the island, which he called
. Dungeness was the predecessor to the
Greene Dungeness Mansion
Carnegie Dungeness Mansion
, both famous mansions built on Cumberland Island. Oglethorpe would
die in 1786, before the completion of Dungeness.
In 1771, the
City of Brunswick
was founded. It was rectangular in shape and consisted of 383 acres
and was named for the
Duke of Brunswick
, a brother-in-law of
King George III
who had served with honor in the
Seven Years War
. Those who wished to live in Brunswick were required to erect "a
good and Sufficient dwelling house not less than 30 foot in length and 18
foot wide with a good brick Chimney thereto"; failing that, the property
would "revert to his Majesty, his heirs and Successors."
Georgia and the American Revolution
The American Revolution was both a bloody time and a victorious
time for the colonies. To quote Charles Dickens, "It was the
best of times. It was the worst of times." As the fledgling
nation rebelled against it's founding land, the United Kingdom of Great
Britain, it suffered many trials and tribulations. It was no different
for the citizenry of Georgia. While most of the battles occurred
to Georgia's north in South Carolina, Virginia and Massachusetts,
Georgia did see some bloodshed
Just like all of the other colonists,
Georgians had negative reactions to many of the abusive laws and acts
passed by the Crown
Towards the end of 1775 and the beginning of 1776, James Wright,
the Royal Governor, became powerless to stop the rebellion in the Georgia
House. In early 1776, a part of the British Fleet arrives at Cockspur
Island (formerly Peeper Island) to buy provisions. Wright urges
the Georgians to allow this and is detained, effectively ending Royal
rule in Georgia. Shortly thereafter, additional ships and troops
arrive at the Port of Savannah, and Wright and his Loyalist advisors board
one of the ships. Further north, the British target and attack several
rice ships, and the Council of Safety reacts quickly in setting The
affire and sends it downstream, where it runs into the
. Royal Governor Wright barely escapes, and will
take up residence on Cockspur Island for the next several years.
Fort George, on Cockspur Island, was destroyed by the Patriots
over the course of two years from 1774 to 1776.
The brothers of Georgia's Royal Governor Wright, Charles and German Wright
- both English loyalists - built a fort to protect their land. The
fort was called Fort Wright, and it became a hangout not only for loyalists
from Georgia and northern Florida, but also outlaws who called themselves
the Florida Rangers. The Florida Rangers would rob south Georgians and
store their plunder at Fort Wright. Captain John Baker
led a failed attempt from Savannah to burn the fort and stop this outlawishness,
as did Major-General Robert Howe. The fort was burned by retreating
British soldiers in 1778. It would be rebuilt by the Americans, only
to be destroyed to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
Finally, Georgia could no longer stand by as the Crown committed
attrocities which many Georgians had come to America to avoid. To
be sure, Georgia had more than its share of loyalists, but loyalty was
beginning to wear thin. Georgia sent three men to the Continental
Congress with instructions to vote for independence. They were
. These men did vote for and sign the
Declaration of Independence
. It is with mirth and interest that we point out that
King George's diary entry for July 4, 1776
said "Nothing of importance happened today."
On February 14, 1779, Patriot militia troops meet with Loyalist
militia troops at a small place called Kettle Creek. Though having
significantly more men, the Loyalist troops are served with a bitter
defeat in large measure due to dissention among the ranks because expected
reinforcements have not arrived and these militia troops are not regular
army. With 700 Loyalist troops encamped at Kettle Creek, Col. John
Boyd is severely defeated by Patriot troops numbering 340 who attacked
in three separate columns. While the Loyalist troops take a great
advantage atop a hill, their ambush of the advancing Patriot troops is unsuccessful,
and the Loyalists begin to flee. As fate would have it, Col. Boyd
is felled by a musket shot and the troops under his command panic. Total
losses: Loyalist 40-70 dead, 70 captured, Patriots 9 dead, 23 wounded.
The men who escape the battlefield make their way to Wrightsville,
although some are captured and hung later that year. Col. Andrew Pickens
, who became famous for his many battles in the Revolution would
later write that Kettle Creek was the "severest chastisement" for the
Loyalists in South Carolina and Georgia. Dooly is later brutally murdered
by British Regulars.
On the same day as the Battle of Kettle Creek,
Col. Archibald Campbell
and his Loyalist forces are in control of Augusta, Georgia. Campbell
sees Patriot troops from North Carolina across the Savannah River from
Augusta and wisely chooses to withdraw. The North Carolina troops
are under the command of
General John Ashe
. They are ready for a battle because of the great success
at Kettle Creek, and, in the vernacular of today, are "pumped up". What
Ashe does not know and could not know is that Campbell is reinforced
by troops from Savannah under the command of
General Augustine Prevost
. The combined Loyalist forces total over 2,300 men. On
March 13, 1778, the Patriot troops are caught by surprise at their campsite
at the meeting of Brier (Briar) Creek and the Savannah River. The
North Carolina troops and Ashe retreat from the battle, leaving only
Col. Samuel Elbert
and his Georgia militia to defend the camp, and they do until
almost all of them are dead, and the Patriots suffer a most humiliating
defeat with 400 Patriots dead or captured as compared to only 5 Loyalists.
Elbert, a future Georgia governor, is captured and held by the British
Three months later, the battle begins to heat up at Savannah,
where a major battle is about to brew. General Benjamin Lincoln
has put together a small force to fight off the British in South
Carolina. Lincoln is ordered into Georgia and
General Lachlan McIntosh
is ordered back to Georgia to assist Lincoln's troops. McIntosh
is the man who killed Button Gwinnett (signer of the Declaration of Independence)
in a duel and has left Georgia as a result. McIntosh and Lincoln
are able to make contact with
Admiral Valerie D'Estaing
of the French Navy who is sailing in the French West Indies and
the three decide to attack Savannah together. In September, D'Estaing
makes land with 20 ships and 11 frigates. D'Estaing sends a surrender
demand to Augustine Provost, whose response is to simply fortify the city
quicker than before. On October 9, 1779, French and American troops
make a joint attack on the city. Among those fighting are
Count Casmir Pulaski
, a Polish Count,
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant
(architect of Washington, D.C.). Both Pulaski and D'Estaing
are wounded. Pulaski's wound is mortal, and he dies two days later
aboard the Wasp, an American ship. By day's end, 800 French and
American soldiers are dead (out of a combined invasion force of 5,000 men).
Lincoln and McIntosh retreat, heading for Charleston, where they
believe the British will next attack, and Savannah is now under British
Georgia was the only colony to ever fall completely under British
control, and the Patriots are forced to go into hiding, fearing all strangers.
Many leave for territories controlled by Patriots. Lyman
Hall, signer of the Declaration of Independence is one of those who leave.
Hall, a wanted man, goes to Connecticut, where he is not so well
known. Of course, the British destroy Hall's properties both at
Savannah and at Sunbury.
However, we all know that Georgia is not controlled by the British
today. This is due, in very large measure, to the heroics of
General Nathaniel Greene
"Mad" Anthony Wayne
. Greene made a decision to mount a weak offensive in Georgia.
This offensive is successful, and Augusta is liberated in 1781.
Now free of the British in upper Georgia, the Patriots are able
to recruit some militia men from the people of Georgia. After leading
Patriot troops to success at Fort Stoney Point, Wayne is placed in command
of operations in Georgia, and Savannah is the target of the Continental
Army and the Georgia militia. The British are lacking morale, due
in large part to the defeats they suffered at Ninety-Six and the surrender
of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. Even though they hold an advantage
of 2-to-1, the British surrender Savannah to Lt. Col. James Jackson and
evacuate Savannah. Within six months, the British are out of Georgia,
and the war in Georgia is essentially over.
John Adam Treutlen
, a Salzburger, was elected Georgia's first governor in 1777.
There are several good biographies of him, including the
version. During the time of Treutlen's term as governor,
capitol of Georgia
. It was moved to
in 1783, then to
in 1796, followed by
in 1804, and finally,
in 1868. Another good story of the movement of the capitol
may be found
was the fourth state to ratify
of the United States
on January 2, 1778.
The English returned Florida to the Spanish at the end of the Revolutionary
War in 1784. Many residents of Camden County came home after the war
to find their property having been taken by the state.
With the revolution over, it was time to get down to business,
and Georgia did not wait long to do so. The first order of business
was to charter a state-run and state-sponsored university or seminary.
Georgia was the first to do so when the
University of Georgia
was founded. Of course, UGA is located on Athens, which
is not part of the Coastal Region. However, UGA is a religion in
every part of the state, thus it bears some mention.
was the first native-born American naturist. He traveled
extensively the pristine areas of Coastal Georgia and several other
modern-day states. A map of his Georgia
travels may be found here
Another course of immediate business was the
for Revolutionary War soldiers.
The town of St. Mary's was established in 1787.
In 1794, the construction of Fort Greene was commenced on Cockspur Island.
This fort was named for the Revolutionary War hero, Nathaniel
Greene. The construction of Fort Greene took two years. The
fort had an outer picket works, an earthen embankment reinforced with
timbers where artillery could be set, and a small guardhouse which housed
the garrison. Fort Greene was destroyed during a storm in 1804,
which is now classified as a hurricane.
Also in 1794, the government of the United States looked high and
low for the best timber on the Atlantic Coast with which to build vessels
for the United States Navy, and found Georgia's Live Oak to be particularly
suited for this task. Some of the wood for U.S.S. Constitution
was cut from the Couper property at Gascoigne's Bluff on St. Simons
Island in Glynn County.
Ebo Landing is an interesting and historically significant place. People
from Igboland (the "b" is silent) (now known as Nigeria) had been brought
into Savannah and were sold as slaves. They were purchased by two
families from St. Simons Island, who had them brought to the island on a
boat called the Morovia
. The captain's own slave was the first
to commit suicide by drowning in Dunbar Creek, a tributary of the Frederica
River. At this point, the Igbo Chief started chanting "the sea brought
me and the sea will take me home". The other slaves joined in the chant.
Instead of walking onto the bank and a life of slavery, the Igbo Chief
walked into Dunbar Creek, followed by the remaining slaves. Even though
this happened in May of 1803, they say you can go to Ebo Landing at night
and hear the chant and the chains. As you will see shortly, Coastal
Georgia has more than its share of ghosts.
On October 17, 1804, John Couper deeded four acres of land known as "Couper's
Point" to the federal government for the construction of a lighthouse at
the southern tip of St. Simons Island. In 1807,
was contracted to build the lighthouse. The lighthouse was to have
been built from brick. However, for economic reasons,
was used for a majority of the 75 foot tower, with brick at the top.
In 1810, the first lighthouse was built on St. Simons Island. The
tabby was brought over, in large measure, from the tabby of the ruins at
the abandoned town of Frederica. Upon the completion of the lighthouse,
Gould applied for, and was awarded, the job of lighthouse keeper. He
remained for 27 years.
Georgia was left alone during the War of 1812, at least for the
most part. British ships were commonly sighted off the coast of
Liberty County. This brought particular fear to the residents of
Sunbury, many of whom remembered the British occupation of that city during
the Revolutionary War. In order to protect (and placate these citizens),
the United States decided to curtail the "commerce raiding" of the English.
This was done by taking boats that amounted to barges, and fitting
them with small artillery (mostly small cannons). It was difficult
to find other weapons for these barges. Likewise, it was difficult
to locate crewmen for these barges. The expedition of these barges
left Charleston on July 29, 1812. It's commanding officer, who had
been detained, was left behind, leaving a junior officer, Charles Grandison,
in charge of the "fleet". On the maiden voyage, the flotilla heard
rumours of three British ships in the area, and searched for them as far
south as Sapelo Island. Grandison discovered that the ships had
been there, but were now gone. He decided to leave a barge at Sapelo
Island. The remainder of the flotilla headed for the Midway River
and Sunbury. No one bothered to tell the people of Sunbury of the
flotilla of barges, and the townspeople became scared and upset as they
saw the barges approaching. They quickly activated the militia and
prepared to fire on the flotilla, and would have, had they not seen the
American flag first. There were no provisions made for these men,
and by September, nearly a third of them had deserted. As word arrived
that the British privateer, Calednoia
, had captured the American
, they were unable to even launch the barges and the
mission was deemed a failure.
After the War of 1812, the federal government discovered the necessity
of a string of coastal forts from the Florida Keys to Maine to protect
the United States from foreign invasion. These forts were called
. Over 200 forts were planned, and only 30 were actually
built, although not all of them were finished (Fort Sumter in Charleston,
South Carolina comes to mind). Of those that were completed, none
were war-tested. Once they were war-tested, it became clear that
they were already obsolete, as shall be more fully explained later.
One of these Third System forts was to be built on Cockspur Island
(now, you may understand why we have spent so much time discussing Cockspur
hereinabove). The Cockspur Island fort was to be called Fort Pulaski,
in honor of Count Casmir Pulaski, the father of the American Cavalry
(he trained, among others,
General Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee
, the Father of
General Robert E. Lee
. Lee's importance to Pulaski will become apparent in short
order. Just suffice it to say, "it all connects".).
Upon his graduation from West Point (Lee was second in the 1829
class of the United States Military Academy
), a young Lt. Robert E. Lee was assigned to the construction of
Fort Pulaski. More specifically, Lee was directed to design the
series of canals and earthworks to drain the excess water from Cockspur
Island. Because the soft mud would not support the 25 million pounds
of bricks required to build the fort, a foundation had to be built. This
foundation required driving 70 foot long pilings into the mud, followed by
two wooden layers of subflooring. Construction was slow, especially
during the long, hot and humid Georgia summers that brought mosquitoes and
disease with them. On many occasions, work was stopped for the summer.
The completed two tier fort is a truncated hexagon that faces east
with walls 7' 6" thick and up to 35' high. Included is a demi-lune,
moat, two powder magazines, and a parade ground a little bigger than a football
field. The lower courses of brickwork are local brownish 'Savannah
Gray' brick, while the red brick on the higher levels of the fort is from
Baltimore, Maryland, and Alexandria, Virginia. The red is harder than
the 'Savannah Grays', so it was used in the arches and embrasures. It
took almost 20 years to build Fort Pulaski.
John McIntosh Kell
, who would become a Confederate Naval Officer, was born in Darien in
1823. Kell would command the
prior to its sinking off the coast of Cherbourg, France.
In 1843, the Church of the Messiah was founded in St. Mary's, Georgia (it
is now Christ Church
Slavery was legalized in Georgia at some point after the founding of the
state, probably around 1749. Many plantation owners deplored the idea,
yet knew that they could not afford to operate their plantations if they
had to pay for labor. To many of them, slavery was a curse that they
would rather not bear so long as it did not affect the bottom line. In
many cases, the portrayal of plantation owners as wealthy is as much a myth
as the Medusa. In most cases (at least in Georgia), they never made
a profit from their land holdings and most died deeply in debt.
Secession and the Civil War
Georgia became the fifth state to secede from the United States
Declaration of Causes of Seceding States
was approved by the Georgia Legislature on January 29, 1861 (it
is with great interest that we point out that the vote total was actually
against secession with
42,744 votes in favor of remaining in the Union and 41,717 votes for
. This was only discovered in the 1970's and the error is attributed
to irregularities with the votes in Cobb and Forsyth Counties - not
unlike the Florida problems in the 2000 presidential election). Prior
to the election, and as shown by the revised totals, Georgia was closely
divided on the issue of secession. Floyd County voters are 3-2
in favor of secession, while Murray County voters are 3-1 in favor of remaining
in the Union, and Clarke County votes 3-1 in favor of secession. In
White County, voters prefer co-operation with the Union by a vote of 320
to 48 and in Dade County (which actually seceded from Georgia when Georgia
seceded from the Union), voters vote 346 to 42 in favor of staying in the
Union. However, prior to Georgia's secession, it seized Fort Pulaski
on January 3, 1861.
At the beginning of the Civil War, Camden County had a population of 5,482
of which only 1,721 were white. Yet Camden County would send two full
divisions to fight the civil war.
We are working on a Master List of CSA Muster Rolls
from the Coastal Georgia Counties
, as well as final resting places for CSA veterans who are buried in counties
that were created after Civil War.
The seizure of Fort Pulaski was a significant event in the Civil
War. The fort was taken by Savannah volunteer infantry units such
Oglethorpe Light Infantry
. Georgia Governor
Colonel Alexander Lawton
, commander of the 1st Volunteer Regiment of Georgia knew that
Fort Pulaski housed only two men and the time. They knew that the
federals were preparing to move more troops into Fort Pulaski. They
also knew that, with Savannah being a major port and a major rail hub,
possession of Fort Pulaski was vital to the State of Georgia in general
and the Confederacy as a whole. Pulaski was taken on January 3,
1961 by 50 men from the Savannah Volunteer Guards, 50 men from the Oglethorpe
Light Infantry and 34 men from the
who had made the 17 mile journey on the steamship Ida
volunteer soldiers entered through the main gate and took the fort without
resistance. While at Fort Pulaski, these volunteers were turned
into soldiers, and became very good soldiers. Fort Pulaski now belonged
to Georgia, and
Captain Francis S. Bartow
was given this command. In May 1861, Bartow's unit would
be sent to Virginia where they engaged the Union during First Manassas (Bull
Run). Bartow (promoted to Brigadier General) would suffer an injury
and be the first officer on either side to be killed on the battlefield.
(possibly the worst president the country has ever had) was president
when Pulaski was taken and when secession started. From an historical
perspective, it seems that he simply did not care that the Union was
crumbling around him. He took no steps to regain Fort Pulaski or
By October of 1861, it was apparent that the Union was preparing
to take Fort Pulaski and the City of Savannah. General Robert E.
Lee was sent to Savannah to take personal command of the situation. Lee's
first move was to order the withdrawal of forces from Tybee Island. This
was because Lee was aware that, based on the shortage of troops, without
a sufficient garrison, the artillery units could be easily overtaken. If
there was one commodity that the Confederacy could not afford to lose,
it was human bodies. Lee ordered the artillery units moved to Fort
The Union troops were under the command of
Flag Officer Samuel F. DuPont
Thomas W. Sherman
. Because of the Confederate withdrawal of Tybee Island,
the federals were able to take Tybee without a fight. Tybee Island
was important to Sherman because it contained a lighthouse and gave the
federals the ability to see ships navigating the waters around Savannah,
and also provided the federals with a refueling depot for its coal-burning
fleet (and to think of our complaints about CARS!). Pulaski was commanded
Col. Charles H. Olmstead
. His troops believed that Pulaski was impenetrable and believed
that they could hold the fort despite the federal troops just south
of them. General Lee made an inspection of the fort, and discovered
that the system of canals and earthworks that he had designed to drain
the excess water from the island really worked.
Pulaski and the city of Savannah were well protected by the fleet
Commodore Josiah Tattnall
, and there was no shortage of supplies. On the morning of
February 13, 1862, the steamship Ida
was surprised when it was
fired on from the north
bank of the Savannah River, which could
only mean that the federals had fortified a position on the northern bank
of the river without the Confederates even knowing about it. Then
to add insult to injury, the federals cut the telegraph wire, thus cutting
the men at Pulaski off from the outside world, save for the weekly courier
who swam the channel at night to avoid detection.
Nonetheless, Fort Pulaski's 385 men with 48 cannon and 6 months
worth of rations believed that they could probably hold out until September,
even if the federals did storm the walls. Sherman realized that the
only clear approach to Pulaski would result in an unacceptable loss of life,
and turned to
Captain Quincy Adams Gilmore
to command the troops. At this point in history, the rifled
gun was experimental. No one knew its true range or power. While
Union commanders doubted whether the rifle cannon would have any effect
at a range of two miles or more, Robert E. Lee himself stated, "Colonel,
they will make it pretty warm for you here with shells, but they cannot
breach your walls at that distance."
Union troops worked primarily at night, constructing 11 sand batteries
at the northwest end of Tybee Island (four of which were on land used
to quarantine newly arrived African-Americans in the 1770's). As
the federals worked at night, they were as quiet as possible and whispered
more than anything else. They used whistles instead of drums and
bugles. Everything that was used in constructing the batteries,
food, ordinance, weapons and shelter materials, had to be carried over
and through swampland. Many loads, particularly of weapons, required
250 men or more to carry them. And, the new construction had to be
covered with vegetation before the break of day in order to avoid being
seen by the Confederates. Despite the measures taken to conceal these
batteries, the Confederates knew that something was going on. However,
curiosity never turned into the concern that it should have arroused, in
large measure because of comments like that of General Lee above.
On the morning of April 10, 1862, the Confederates noticed the
overnight changes to the landscape. They also noticed a boat sailing
under a flag of truce as Captain Gilmore was offering a chance to surrender
the fort. Col. Olmstead refused the surrender demand, and the battle
At ten minutes past 8:00 on the morning of April 10, 1862, federal
gun positions opened fire on Fort Pulaski. The important guns
were the rifle cannons, whose fire was concentrated on the southeast
corner of the fort, which soon knocked out many of the Confederate guns.
The corner started to crumble. By the morning of April 11,
1862, the corner had effectively been breached, and the magazine could
be hit. Now that the magazine was exposed, the Confederates had
no choice but to raise the white flag and surrender the fort.
General David Hunter
was assigned to command Fort Pulaski. Hunter freed the slaves
in Georgia, Alabama and Florida by issuing
General Order Number 11
President Abraham Lincoln
ordered Hunter to retract the statement, and
issued his own statement on the issue
In 1862, the Confederates destroyed the St. Simons lighthouse by dynamiting
it. This was to prevent the federals from using it as a navigational
St. Mary's in Camden County suffered greatly during the war. Federal
gunboats targeted the city's waterfront, and many of the residents moved
inland. Major Thomas Higginson, the commanding officer of the federal
troops in St. Mary's, ordered that the town and all of its churches be burned.
This included the Church of the Messiah (now Christ Church).
By no means was this an end to the War of the Rebellion, or to
the war in Georgia. However, very little else of the war occurred
in Coastal Georgia.
Fort McAllister was located on what was previously known as
Jennis Point. Over the course of the hundred-plus years since the
founding of Georgia, the land had passed through several owners before
being acquired by Joseph McAllister. At the outbreak of the Civil
War, McAllister founded the Hardwicke Mounted Rifles, which served in
Virginia. He also agreed to allow the construction of Confederate
gun defenses and earthwork fortifications on his land in order to guard
the entry into the Ogeechee River, which led to an important railroad bridge
and cotton and rice plantations. This was also important given the
loss of Pulaski and, for all intent and purposes, the Port of Savannah.
In late 1862, a blockade runner known as the Thomas L. Bragg
, outran Union ships and slipped into the Ogeechee River. To get
to this ship, the Union Navy had to pass the guns of Fort McAllister. Despite
four bombardments of the fort, the Union Navy was unable to silence these
On January 27, 1863, the
U.S.S. Montauk attempted to capture the fort, but failed
. A second attempt was made on February 1, 1863, with the
same result. By this time, the blockade runner had been converted
into a Privateer and renamed Rattlesnake
. The Rattlesnake
attempted to run the Union blockade on February 27, 1863, and was
forced back into the Ogeechee River, where it ran aground at Seven Mile
Bend, not far upriver from the fort. The Montauk
on February 28, 1863 and begun to attack the crippled Rattlesnake
. The fort's guns fired heavily on the Montauk
, but could
not seem to damage her. She fired on the fort, with no result. Finally,
as the Montauk
was leaving the area, she struck a mine and was
heavily damaged. On March 3, 1863, three Union ironclads joined in
the assault on Fort McAllister, but were unable to silence her guns. They
finally withdrew a few hours later, ending the naval engagement.
On June 11, 1863, federal troops burned the city of Darien "to the ground".
Darien had become a major port for shipping cotton that was grown
inland and sent down the river to the port.
Col. Robert Gould Shaw
, a U.S.C.T. regiment of black troops (the unit made famous in the move,
). The unit was stationed on St. Simon's Island from June 10 to
June 24, 1863. On June 11, 1863,
Col. James Montgomery
ordered the unit to Darien with instructions to burn the town to the
ground, in large measure because it was used by blockade runners. The
town consisted of between 70 to 100 homes, three churches, a market, a courthouse
and a school. The town was looted and burned, and the fires were visible
from St. Simon's Island, 15 miles away. Shaw, who was the son of a
noted Boston abolitionist, did not approve of the burning of the town and
wrote to superior officers to convey the same.
Fort McAllister would continue to defend the Ogeechee River until
late in 1864. In late 1864, the Civil War was all but over. Atlanta
had fallen and the Confederacy was in tatters.
General William Tecumseh Sherman
was on his march to the sea. Being deep into the south, and
having cut many of the rail lines that brought much-needed supplies (a
double-edged sword, but a necessary act to defeat the Confederacy), the
federals needed the Ogeechee River. Thus,
Sherman dispatched a division to cross Bryan's Neck and attack Fort
McAllister from the rear and over land
on December 13, 1864. While Fort McAllister was essentially
immune to naval assaults, it was neither prepared nor able to defend itself
from land attacks. As a result, Fort McAllister fell after only
15 minutes of fierce combat. While never having surrendered, the
fort was nonetheless taken, and Savannah would be taken within a week.
Sherman reached Savannah on December 10, and the city had surrendered
within 10 days. Sherman issued a special field order regarding Savannah
. On December 26, 1864, Sherman issued
Field Order 143
, which established the guidelines for the governance of the City
of Savannah by civilian authorities as a military outpost. Thus,
the capture of Georgia was complete and the War of the Rebellion was
over in Georgia.
As William T. Sherman marched through Georgia, he brought
the Emancipation Proclamation with him. As Sherman marched east,
he created a path of destruction that destroyed what was the best rail
system in the South before the War of the Rebellion. Georgia was faced
with problems of famine, drought and anarchy. The state was left
bankrupt by the war, and was essentially broke from 1865 to 1871.
In May of 1865, the federal government abolished the state government
President Andrew Johnson
appointed Columbus attorney Charles Johnson, a man with strong
Unionist ties, as the provisional governor. In short, Johnson is
only a babysitter until the State of Georgia fulfills the mandate required
by the federal government. These requirements are that the state
repeal the secession ordinance, outlaw slavery, repudiate an $18,000,000.00
debt to the Confederate government, and acknowledgement of the federal
government as supreme. Georgia met all of these requirements in
December of 1865, and President Andrew Johnson recognized the elected government
of Georgia, and Georgia was
reconstructed as a state of the union
of Savannah reacted strongly to the abolition of slavery
. Savannah, being a little bit different, never truly accepted
slavery, so it was easy for Savannahians to accept the abolition of slavery.
From 1870 until 1910, Darien became a huge port town again. This
time, the cargo was timber. However, as that resource was depleted,
it became the sleepy fishing town that it is today.
A new lighthouse was built on St. Simons Island in 1872.
The town of Ludowici enjoyed a short golden age in the early days of the
Twentieth Century. For a detailed
article on the Golden Age of Ludowici
by Thomas D. Houston (a personal friend of the author of this page),
During the Second World War, the
J.A. Jones Company
built "Liberty Ships", which carried supplies to American troops in the
Kings Bay Submarine Base
was opened in . It is located in
near St. Mary's, Georgia
. You can stand on Cumberland
and see the "
" coming in and out of Kings Bay. Were you or a member of your family
born at Kings Bay? Contact our Camden County Coordinator,
Nancy Gay Crawford
(c) 2002, 2003, 2004 by Richard R. Pettys, Jr.
May be used freely without permission or consent for personal or
No license is granted for commercial purposes,
domestic or otherwise.