historic,  travel

Old Fort Jackson, Savannah, GA

June 30, 2021 /

Our last adventure on our mini vacation to Tybee Island took us to Old Fort Jackson. The fort is right off the road you take to the island so after reading a brief description, I decided it would be a fun outing for us and it did not disappoint.

“Georgia’s oldest standing brick fortification perches on the banks of the Savannah River so its guns could fire on any vessel coming into Savannah. Chances are good that you will get an up-close view of an oceangoing ship during your visit. Walk on the parapet of the fort and investigate the structure’s many nooks and crannies. Two powder magazines and most of the casemates are open to the public, and they contain displays of weaponry and tools used at the fort and artifacts from the CSS Georgia, a Confederate ironclad whose remains lay on the river bottom a few hundred feet away. The 9-inch Dahlgren cannon is one of the largest functional pieces of pre Civil War–era heavy artillery in the United States. Cannon-firing programs are presented daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. throughout the spring and summer.

Construction of Fort Jackson was begun in 1808. It was manned during the War of 1812, and Confederate forces used it as headquarters of the Savannah River defenses during most of the Civil War. It was garrisoned by Union troops after the city’s surrender in December 1864.” ( from the Official Georgia tourism website) https://www.exploregeorgia.org/savannah/general/historic-sites-trails-tours/old-fort-jackson

We arrive just as they shot the cannon and there was several presentations by a young man in uniform for the following couple of hours. There was some time in between each little sesssion so we were able to explore on our own. We learned about how to fire the cannon, the communication from fort to fort through codes sent by flags, how the first triage and ambulance worked (and more than I knew about amputation!), and how the riffles worked.

 

Another interesting point the young man made which we often forget is that the southerners who fought were rarely slave owners. For the most part, the soldiers were common people attempting to defend their land. We often forget about the individuals in the scheme of the larger ideas that were at war. I had just read a historical novel taken place in Georgia during this time period with the protagonist being a teen so it was really interesting to me to vist the fort.

I am glad we live in the era of modern medicine and procedures: this was a very interesting topic!

For some reason I always love taking pictures of doors, windows and openings and this fort provided me with many picture opportunities.

The fort is right my the river so we had nice views of it and it reminded us how important this area was to the economy of the south during the civil war.

Not sure where all of these oyster shells come from as they are opened but they were picturesque!

Of course we had to take the obligatory photo next to one of the cannons. Those things are massive.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour and if you are ever in the Savannah stop by Old Fort Jackson!

A bientôt!

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