Fort Pulaski National Monument, Georgia

On my drive from Savannah to Tybee Island, I passed a fort in the distance and a national park sign in the front of the entrance.  I almost U-Turned because I was curious, but decided that I could just pop in on the way back to Savannah.   So, on my way back I pulled in to Fort Pulaski National Monument and I was elated that my National Park Pass worked to cover this entrance fee!

This fort was constructed after the war of 1812 to protect the US from coastal attacks, but really became a larger part of history during the Civil War.  Fort Pulaski was under Confederate control when the Civil War began.  When the Union asked Colonel Olmstead to surrender the fort, he refused.  The Union attacked from land, finally blew a hole in a corner near the main powder storage.  This attack lasted only 30 hours and only one soldier from each side was injured. Pretty incredible.  The Union was able to fix the fort about a month and a half later and ceased shipping through Savannah, which played a huge part in hindering the Confederacy.  This fort served as a prison for a portion of the war (which you can see pictured below).

There is a great welcome center to the fort with artifacts from the Confederacy and the Civil War (the one I really thought was interesting is this ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ flag because it was such an iconic piece of Confederate history.

The fort itself is a beautiful structure.  It’s pretty incredible to picture men building this by hand, brick-by-brick.

A view from the top

Another view from the top.  Each of these circles would have had a cannon.  

The jail cells inside the fort

 I can’t imagine so much of what has happened, and the way so many lives were changed and affected throughout history, but exploring these pieces of American history really help me understand what our country has been through.