Fort Pulaski

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Fort Pulaski National Monument
Aerial view of the plant
Aerial view of the plant
Fort Pulaski (USA)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
Coordinates: 32 ° 1 ′ 38 "  N , 80 ° 53 ′ 25"  W.
Location: Georgia , United States
Specialty: Off to coastal defense
Next city: Savannah
Surface: 22.8 km²
Founding: 1829
Visitors: 333,400 (2006)
Plan Fort Pulaski (with Fleche after 1872)
Plan Fort Pulaski (with Fleche after 1872)
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Fort Pulaski was a coastal defense fort of the United States . It is now preserved as a national monument under the Fort Pulaski National Monument . The fort is located in Chatham County on Cockspur Island in the mouth of the Savannah River , which forms the border between the states of Georgia and South Carolina at this point . It is named after the Polish-born officer Kazimierz Pułaski , who fought under George Washington in the American War of Independence .

The fort has been listed as a memorial since 1924 and is under the administration of the National Park Service . It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966 .

history

construction

In the course of the necessary defense measures with regard to the effects of the British-American War of 1812 , the American government under President James Madison decided to protect the most important ports and coastal areas of the country by permanent fortifications against enemy attacks. It was therefore decided to build a fort at the mouth of the Savannah River to seal off the mouth of the river and the port of Savannah to the west of it .
Construction began in 1829, first under the leadership of Major General ( Major General ) Babcock, who later as a supervisor to Second Lieutenant ( Lt. ) Robert E. Lee , a graduate of the United States Military Academy began. Because of the swampy subsoil, it was necessary to build the fort on stakes. The oak trunks used for this reached a length of up to about 23 meters. 25 million bricks were needed to build the facility. After 18 years of construction, the fort was completed in 1847 and had devoured the enormous sum of one million dollars for the time. During the construction phase, it was decided in 1833 to name the fort Fort Pulaski .

The core plant had a pentagonal ground plan with the point facing east (downstream). The fort is surrounded by a wet moat (moat) 16 meters wide and 2.5 meters deep. The ramparts reach a height of about ten meters with a total length of 526 meters. It was considered storm-free .

Civil War

Upon completion, the fort was not occupied by troops, but was subject only to the care of two guardians or caretakers ( caretakers ) until triggered South Carolina's secession in the 1860th
After the further development began to emerge, the then governor of Georgia Joseph E. Brown claimed the fortress for his state. Without authorization, he put a 110-man Georgia National Guard command on a steamer from Savannah. This detachment held the fort for the state of Georgia occupied until after Georgia left the Union in February 1861, the National Guard was replaced by regular troops of the Confederate Army.
In December 1861, the Confederate Army Command decided to give up Tybee Island, south of Cockspur Island, because of its isolated and poorly serviced location. This was the US troops under Gen. Quincy A. Gilmore given the opportunity to establish himself below Fort Pulaski without much ado. The Northern Forces immediately began laying siege batteries along the beach at Tybee Island.

Throat of fort with right flank
Damaged masonry

Siege and rededication

On the morning of April 10, 1862, the fort was requested to hand over to avoid unnecessary loss of people. The fort commandant Colonel Charles H. Olmstadt rejected this request with the words I am here to defend, not to surrender (I was placed here to defend, not to surrender). Thereupon the Northern State troops opened fire with 36 guns against the right flank of the fort at around 10 o'clock. For the first time, rifled guns ( James Rifled Cannon ) were used, the higher speed of which achieved a much better effect than the previous smooth-barreled cannons with full bullets. After a continuous bombardment of 30 hours, a breach had been made in the south-west corner of the fort, placing the main powder magazine in the direct firing range. The commandant then raised the white flag. At this point at the latest , wall walls made of brick ( masonry ) had proven useless .

Within six weeks of the capture, the northern states had repaired the fort and are using it for their own purposes in that the port of Savannah could no longer be reached by blockade breakers, which caused the southern states a severe setback.

During this time Fort Pulaski was the target of escaped slaves who were transported north from there on the Underground Railroad .

The garrison, which initially consisted of 600 soldiers, was gradually reduced to 250 men, as a reconquest or an attack by the southern troops became increasingly unlikely. Towards the end of the war the fort was converted into a prisoner of war camp.

After the civil war

First of all, high-ranking members of the southern government were arrested, such as the foreign minister, the finance minister, the war minister and his deputy, three state governors, a senator and the fort's first southern commander.

Construction work was carried out between 1869 and 1872 and the throat was protected by an earthwork in the form of a patch . Powder magazines and some gun emplacements for heavy artillery were built on the area. The moat was extended and led around the area, but here it is only about ten meters wide.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the building began to show signs of severe deterioration. To counter this, the US War Department declared the facility as a National Monument on October 15, 1924, based on a proclamation by President Calvin Coolidge . On August 10, 1933, responsibility passed to the National Park Service , which immediately began the security work with members of the Civilian Conservation Corps .

At the beginning of the Second World War , the fort was closed to the public and used by the US Navy as a base. After the war ended, the fort was returned to the National Park Administration and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966 .

Fort Pulaski is open to the public.

literature

Web links

Commons : Fort Pulaski National Monument  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files