Fort Pulaski, GA: The siege that changed warfare

Welcome to the last great brick fortification on the planet. When construction began in 1829, some 25 million bricks made up the 11 foot thick walls. The prime directive? Guard the port of Savannah and serve as a confederate stronghold as the civil war raged.

On the morning of April 10th 1862, a collection of Union troops arrived and called for surrender. When Pulaski’s commanding officer refused - sure of himself that a fort which was so imposing it had never been previously attacked would hold, a 30 hour long bombardment ensued. Unbeknownst to the residents of Ft. Pulaski, the union forces were about to deploy revolutionary technology to the field of battle. Having spent the last six months constructing gun batteries across the river on nearby Tybee Island, their assault on Pulaski was well planed.

As the new James rifled cannons rolled into position, you can only imagine what the troops at the fort were thinking. Capable of firing at a distance of 4-5 miles, return fire was more participatory. The guns of Pulaski couldn’t reach the enemy and their confidence of surviving an infantry assault was but a distant miscalculation. As the battle wore on, one of the forts outer walls sustained enough damage that projectiles were now flying through the interior of the fort and coming dangerously close to the main powder magazine. Talk about potential for a big boom.

Pulaski’s commanding officer, Col. James Olmsted, newly humbled by the firepower of his opponent wrote of the decision to surrender: “There are times when a soldier must hold his position to the last extremity, which means extermination - this was not one of them.” Today, the fort stands in incredible condition considering its history thanks to restoration work from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) efforts at the turn of the 20th century. As a part of the national park service since 1933, no visit to coastal Georgia should exclude this piece of American history.