- Fort Pulaski State Historical
Marker
-
Located on U.S. 80 at entrance to the park, east
of Savannah
32.018766, -80.89978
(Text)
- FORT PULASKI
Named for General Casimir Pulaski,
the Polish hero who was mortally wounded at the siege of Savannah,
1779, Fort Pulaski was built in accordance with plans by General
Simon Bernard, formerly chief engineer under Napoleon. Begun
in 1829 and completed in 1847, the fort was constructed principally
under Lt. J.F.K. Mansfield. There Lt. Robert E. Lee saw his first
service after his graduation from West Point.
Pulaski was never garrisoned until
its seizure by Georgia troops in January, 1861, to prevent occupation
by Federal forces. On April 10, 1862, Federal batteries on Tybee
Island commenced the bombardment of fort Pulaski. After 30 hours
of bombardment as a result of which the walls were breached and
its guns disabled, Col. Charles H. Olmstead surrendered the fort.
The bombardment marked the first effective use of rifled cannon
against a masonry fortification and constituted an epoch in military
history.
Abandoned by 1885, Fort Pulaski
became a National Monument in 1924 and was placed under the National
Park Service in 1933.
- 025-61 GEORGIA HISTORICAL
COMMISSION 1958
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