Fort McAllister was a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

earthen-work fort used to defend

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. It was the southernmost of the forts defending Savannah and was involved in the most battles. It was located on the

Ogeechee River The Ogeechee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 26, 2011 blackwater river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and Sout ...

in Bryan County. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(#70000197). Fort McAllister was one of three forts protecting Savannah, the others being

Fort Pulaski Fort Pulaski National Monument is located on Cockspur Island between Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. It preserves Fort Pulaski, the place where the Union Army successfully tested rifled cannons in 1862, the success of which rendered brick ...

and

Fort James Jackson Fort James Jackson (usually shortened to Fort Jackson and informally known as Old Fort Jackson) is a restored nineteenth-century fort located one mile east of Savannah, Georgia, on the Savannah River. It is currently operated by the Coastal Heri ...

standing in Confederate defiance of the Union naval blockade. The southeast coast of the United States was the place where both combatants tested the latest in naval artillery and coastal defenses. Fort McAllister was the key to unlocking the defenses around Savannah, one of the most important Confederate ports on the Atlantic Ocean.

History

The fort was designed by Capt. John McCrady. In 1861 Gen.

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

inspected the fort and recommended making it stronger. McCrady made the changes recommended by Lee and the earthen walls were better able to withstand bombardment from artillery fire. The fort had seven cannon emplacements. The bombproof area in the center housed a hospital, supply area, barracks, officer's quarters, gun power, and additional guns. A 10-inch mortar was kept outside the fort to keep it from shaking the dirt off the walls when it was fired. The fort was attacked seven times by ships over the next two years. The fort withstood all of these attacks with only minimal damage and few casualties. There were four naval attacks in 1862. Union

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

s began to attack the fort on January 27, 1863, starting with the '' Montauk'' and later with the ''

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,Nahant Nahant () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,334 at the 2020 census, which makes it the smallest municipality by population in Essex County. With just of land area, it is also the smallest municipali ...

'', and '' Patapsco''. The ''Montauk'' had an 11-inch and a 15-inch cannon, the largest size used in the war. The ironclad bombarded the fort for 5 hours but caused no casualties and little damage because the earth absorbed the artillery shells and the damage was easily repaired. Similarly, the fort's cannons hit the ironclad 15 times but caused no significant damage. The ''Montauk'' made another unsuccessful attack on February 1, except that fort commander Maj. John B. Gallie was killed. A 7-hour bombardment on March 3 also failed to damage the fort. The fort was the site of the sinking of the

CSS Nashville Two ships in the Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confedera ...

on February 28, 1863. On December 13, 1864, Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

reached the fort on his March to the Sea. Gen.

William B. Hazen William Babcock Hazen (September 27, 1830 – January 16, 1887) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Indian Wars, as a Union general in the American Civil War, and as Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army. His most famous ser ...

's infantry division attacked the fort, defended by Maj.

George Wayne Anderson Major George Wayne Anderson Jr, (August 5, 1839 – August 10, 1906) was an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He commanded the Republican Blues and later Fort McAllister near Savannah, Georgia before its captu ...

and some 230 troops. The Union force overpowered the fort's defenders in about 15 minutes of battle. Fort McAllister was the last fort defending Savannah. After it fell, Gen. William J. Hardee withdrew his 10,000 troops that were defending Savannah and Sherman captured the city without resistance. Sherman's army abandoned the fort and burned its bunkers. During the evening that the fort fell, Anderson was being held at the McAllister family home, the new headquarters of General

William Babcock Hazen William Babcock Hazen (September 27, 1830 – January 16, 1887) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Indian Wars, as a Union general in the American Civil War, and as Chief Signal Officer of the U.S. Army. His most famous ser ...

. General Hazen and Lt. Col. Strong invited General Sherman to dinner, to celebrate their victory. In a kind gesture of respect, General Hazen also invited Major Anderson to attend the meal, after clearing the request with Sherman. The discussion was surely lively - during the meal Anderson engaged in a heated exchange with General Sherman about the tactics employed to defend the fortDurham, p. 169 and the bravery of all who fought there. Cigars were exchanged and smoked, and tributes were made to the fallen. However, Sherman remained greatly upset at Anderson's use of land mines in the defense of the fort, and ordered the Major to personally join his fellow captured Confederates on mine-clearing detail.

After the war

In the late 1930s,

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

bought the property and began restoring it. The

International Paper Company The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 39,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

purchased the property from Ford's estate and gave it to the State of Georgia in 1958. The

Georgia Historical Commission The Georgia Historical Commission was an organization created by the U.S. state of Georgia for purposes of historic preservation. The Georgia legislature created it in February 1951 to promote and increase knowledge and understanding of the his ...

continued to restore the fort to its 1863-64 appearance. The museum displays many artifacts. The fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The fort site was combined with the adjacent Richmond Hill State Park to create the

Fort McAllister State Historic Park Fort McAllister State Park is a Georgia state park located near Keller and Richmond Hill in south Bryan County, Georgia and on the south bank of the Ogeechee River (some parts of the park border the Atlantic Ocean). It is roughly ten miles sout ...

Gallery

File:The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14576243590).jpg, Fort McAllister Captured File:USS Montauk 8harpers1863.jpg, USS Montauk Attacks Fort McAllister File:Fort McAllister Now 08.JPG, Mortar at Fort McAllister File:Flag of Fort McAllister, GA, US.jpg, Confederate National Flag captured from Fort McAllister

References

Citations

Sources

*Livingston, Gary, ''Among the Best Men the South Could Boast - The Fall of Fort McAllister'', Caisson Press, 1997, Library of Congress Catalog 96-92895 *Christman, William E., ''UNDAUNTED: The History of Fort McAllister, Georgia'', Darien Printing & Graphics, 1996, Library of Congress Catalog 96-77666 ASIN: B002DHN66S *Dixon, William Daniel and Durham, Roger S, ''The Blues in Gray - The Civil War Journal of William Daniel Dixon and the Republican Blues Daybook'', University of Tennessee Press, 2000, *Durham, Roger S., ''Guardian of Savannah - Fort McAllister, Georgia, in the Civil War and Beyond'', The University of South Carolina Press, 2008, * ''Fort McAllister State Historic Park'', brochure by the Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites

External links

Georgia State Parks Fort McAllister Website
*
Cheves' Rice Mill
historical marker
Fort McAllister
historical marker {{National Register of Historic Places 1861 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Bryan County, Georgia Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) McAllister McAllister National Register of Historic Places in Bryan County, Georgia