Fort James Jackson
| Fort James Jackson | |||
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| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| National Historic Landmark | |||
 Entrance area |
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| location | Savannah , Chatham County , Georgia | ||
| Coordinates | 32 ° 4 '54.8 " N , 81 ° 2' 10" W | ||
| Built | 1808-12 | ||
| NRHP number | 70000200 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | 18th February 1970 | ||
| Declared as an NHL | February 16, 2000 | ||
The Fort James Jackson is a coastal fortress at Savannah in the US state of Georgia . It is the oldest surviving fort in Georgia. The brick fort, built directly on the Savannah River , is about 100 meters long and at its widest point about 65 meters wide.
history
To protect their city from possible naval attacks in the American Revolutionary War , residents of Savannah built a first small fort in 1776, which was abandoned in 1778. At the beginning of the 19th century, tensions between Great Britain and the USA rose and war was on the horizon. Therefore, the old fort was demolished in 1808 and Fort Jackson was built in its place. It was named after James Jackson . It was completed at the beginning of the British-American War in 1812.
During the war of 1812 the fort was continuously occupied. During the first months of the war, British ships fired at American schooners and sloops in the immediate vicinity of the Georgia coast and thus also near the fort. In the last months of the war the British fleet under Vice Admiral Cochrane allegedly stayed near the fort. The fort survived the war relatively without a fight.
During the Civil War , residents of Savannah hid in the fort to protect themselves from attacks by Northerners. On October 1, 1862, Fort James Jackson was able to repel an attack by Union troops successfully. On December 17, 1864, Northern General Sherman demanded the extradition of the city of Savannah and all forts dependent on that city. General Haardee was in command of this area. He outnumbered Shermann and his men and so he gave up the city without a fight. Sherman occupied town and fort on December 20th. The fort saw little use for the next 40 years until it was decommissioned in 1905.
Fort James Jackson is one of only five forts of the second system phase of American coastal defense that have been preserved in this form. Today the fort houses a museum. In February 1970, Fort James Jackson was listed as a monument on the National Register of Historic Places . The fort has been a National Historic Landmark since February 16, 2000 .
See also
Web links
- Coastal Heritage Society of Georgia: Old Fort Jackson (official site - English)
Remarks
- ↑ Fort James Jackson in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 8, 2017.
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Georgia. National Park Service , accessed July 20, 2019.