Strategic location on the Altamaha River
According to Acronymmonster, the manageable -sized Fort Frederica is located in southern Georgia, near the Florida border. The Ford Frederica was built at the time when the British were conquering the North American continent. In 1736, Fort Frederica was built at the mouth of the Altamaha River in the Atlantic on St. Simons Island. The aim was to monitor shipping traffic from the fort.
The manageable Fort Frederica on the Altamaha River
Due to the strategically good location, one wanted to control the border with Florida at the same time. At that time Florida was occupied by the Spanish and Georgia by the British. Over a long period of time there were repeated armed conflicts between the British and the Spanish on the North American continent.
Archaeological excavations were necessary
In 1936, Fort Frederica became a US National Monument as a national memorial. Initially, the National Monument was not open to the public. The National Park Service initially conducted archaeological excavations at what is now Fort Frederica. Old maps from the 18th century were a great help for orientation. Some buildings of Fort Frederica have been rebuilt true to the original. The fort was finally opened to visitors in 1945. In 1966 Fort Frederica was included in the list of ” Historical Places ” in the United States. Fort Frederica is visited by over 300,000 tourists annually.
General James Oglethorpe builds Fort Frederica
The then British General James Oglethorpe had Fort Frederica built. A settlement was built in the well-secured fort. European emigrants lived there together with peoples of the “Native Americans”. Fort Frederica was extremely well protected against attacks and had a powerful arsenal of weapons.
Historic cannon protecting Fort Frederica
War of the British against Spain
General Oglethorpe launched an attack from Fort Frederica on two forts in Spanish Florida in 1740, but was unable to take them. In 1742, the Spaniards tried to take Fort Frederica in return. Despite great hardship, General James Oglethorpe was able to hold the fort and preserve Georgia for the British. Fort Frederica was rendered strategically useless by the Spanish-British Peace Treaty of 1748. The fort was quickly abandoned because the situation caused a permanent insect plague to severely impede everyday life. In addition, a fire in 1758 almost completely destroyed the fort and the small settlement. Fort Frederica fell into disrepair, nature took back her land.
Beware of flying and crawling bloodsuckers
Even today, visitors to Fort Frederica National Monument should be prepared for the fact that the plaguing insects still live there. Fort Frederica is maintained by the US National Park Service. There is a small museum on the history of the fort in the visitor center of Fort Frederica National Monument.
Fort Pulaski National Monument – Georgia
Built in the swamp
Fort Pulaski National Monument is located in the state of Georgia – USA, on Cockspur Island. The moated fort is located near the mouth of the Savannah River and the Atlantic Ocean, near the border with neighboring state South Carolina to the north. The first, simpler structure of Fort Pulaski was built in 1829 to protect the harbor of the nearby city of Savannah. The fort is now on the United States List of Historic Places.
Fort Pulaski on the Savannah River, with the Atlantic in the background
The construction of Fort Pulaski lasted until 1847 – the problem was that the fort was built in a swampy area and therefore had to be built entirely on stilts. Around 25 million bricks had to be brought in to build the weir. The defensive walls are about 10 meters high. The protected area of Fort Pulaski has a size of almost 23 km². The fortification was finally completed in Har 1847. Fort Pukaski was an expensive affair at the time. The work to secure the structure in the middle of a wetland cost a lot of money.
In the hands of the Yankees
On April 10, 1862, a major battle of the American Civil War (1861-1865) between northern and southern states took place at Fort Pulaski. After 30 hours of cannonballs, the Union Army took the fort. As a result, the southern states could no longer call at the port of Savannah. Mann found that building the fort walls out of brick was a wrong decision, otherwise the Northern States would not have been able to take the fort so relatively easily. The facility was later converted into a prison camp.
Military use of Fort Pulaski
After the American Civil War, the fort was initially expanded. However, at the beginning of the 20th century Fort Pulaski was in a very bad condition. In 1924 it was declared Fort Pulaski National Monument and a memorial and restored as faithfully as possible to the original. During World War II, Fort Pulaski was actively used by the US Army.
Defense wall at the moat with bullet holes from cannonballs
Moorland as a natural oasis for birds
The fort is situated on a wet bog near the Savannah River and close to the Atlantic Ocean. Valuable and rare animal and plant species are protected in the sanctuary of Fort Pulaski National Monument. Numerous migratory birds also like to stay in the region for the purpose of feeding. About 300,000 tourists visit the fort in the wetlands of Georgia every year.
