Laura P.
Yelp
I've spent many hours walking the beautiful coastal property of Fort Pulaski National Monument, and I never tire of its beauty and historical significance. Spend a few hours or spend the day touring the historic site of Fort Pulaski, walking the grounds to the beach side, Lighthouse Overlook Trail, bring a picnic lunch as they have a picnic area, bring your dog on a leash, and enjoy the beautiful coastal flora and fauna.
Adults, 16 +, $10.00 and children are free. Your receipt is valid for 7 days for return visits. Annual passes are available, as well as, lifetime passes for seniors, 62+.
Historical Highlights of Fort Pulaski:
*Following the War of 1812, President James Madison ordered new coastal fortifications to protect the young United States against foreign naval invasion.
*Construction began on Fort Pulaski in 1829, on Cockspur Island, at the mouth of the Savannah River. This location was chosen to protect the port of Savannah from upriver access by foreign invaders. This port city was the major exporter of cotton and the railroad epicenter reaching cities Albany, Macon, Charleston, Milledgeville, Atlanta and more.
*Recent U.S. Military Academy, West Point graduate, Robert E. Lee, oversaw the early construction of Fort Pulaski by choosing the site and designing the dike system.
* In 1833, Fort Pulaski was named in honor of Kazimierz (Casimir) Pulaski, an American Revolution soldier and military commander under George Washington.
* In 1847, after 18 years of construction, $1 million in cost, it was completed. Impressively, wooden pilings were sunk up to 70 feet, an estimated 25,000,000 bricks were used and its walls, thought to be impenetrable, were 11 feet thick.
* During the civil war, a risk was taken by Union Captain Gilmore to use new warfare technology in the Parrott Rifle Cannon. The bombardment from Tybee Island began on 4/10/1862 of the confederate occupied Fort Pulaski. It wasn't long before the Parrott Rifle Cannons had ripped two, 32 ft holes on the southeast side of the fort. Confederate Colonel Charles Olmstead surrendered the fort on 4/11/1862.
* The siege victory by the Union forces, using the Parrott Rifle Cannon, was a landmark experiment in military science history.
* Fort Pulaski served as a safe haven for enslaved African Americans occupied by Union forces.