My first stop for the day was at Fort Frederica. Since I didn’t know anything about the fort, I watched the NPS video first. In the 1700s, both Spain and England claimed the land between St. Augustine and Charleston; the state that is now Georgia. With Spanish power in North America waning, England decided found a colony on this disputed territory. Led by James Oglethorpe (who eventually settled on Cumberland Island), colonists built a fort. The town was named for Frederick, the king’s only son. Under Oglethorpe’s direction, the colonists built the fort and then the town around it. Over the years, the colonists grew for a couple hundred to a town of over 500 people. In 1742, the Spanish decided it was time to reclaim their land. Spanish commander Manuel de Montiano, governor of Florida, decided to destroy Frederica and lay waste the coast up to South Carolina. Spanish ships carrying 2,000 men landed a few miles up the inland passage by Fort Frederica. Oglethrope retreated to the fort, and when 200 Spaniards advanced up the military road Oglethrope routed the column with a fierce attack. Learning of the repulse, Montiano sent several hundred men to cover the retreat but they ran into a British ambush. Legend has it that the marsh ran red with blood, when in reality only a few men died. However, the battle was called the Battle of Bloody Marsh and was the last Spanish invasion north of Florida. It also spelled the eventual decline of the town. With the threat from Spain gone, the British disbanded the military that was stationed there. Without the support of several hundred soldiers’ pay, the town fell in decline and is now a ruin.
After Isaiah died, the family’s wealth declined with no income coming in and Isaiah’s widow had to sell off their belongings and eventually the house in order to get by. The next owners owned it for 109 years until the house was in decline. It was going to be demolished until the Historic Savannah Foundation bought it.
A couple of blocks from the Davenport house was the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. This was my next stop, but when I got there the next tour didn’t start for another 45 minutes. So I bought my ticket and then went walked a couple of blocks down to Subway to eat some lunch while I waited. By the time I got back it was time to start my tour. Instead of having a tour guide, they have an audio guide. You scan a QR Code with your phone and then you can listen to each area as you walk through the house.
After I finished walking around I went back to my car and drove to Fort Pulaski for my last stop of the day. Fort Pulaski was a Civil War era fort, and it was considered unbreachable. So it was a shock when the Confederate commander was forced to surrender it. By April 1861, 11 Southern states had left the Union and were at war with the North. By November, Fort Pulaski was under attack as the North tightened the blockades around Southern ports. While the Confederates controlled Fort Pulaski, the North controlled the batteries around it on Tybee Island. However, the Confederates weren’t concerned because they were being bombared by ammunition from a mile away. What they didn’t know was that the North was using 10 experimental rifled canons, which began to bore through Pulaski’s walls. After 30 hours of bombardment, Confederate commander Colonel Charles Olmstead surrendered when the holes threated the main powder magazine.
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |