18) Fort Pulaski National Monument
US Highway 80 East (14 miles, 25 mins.)
A massive five-sided edifice, Fort Pulaski was constructed in the 1830s and 1840s on Cockspur Island at the mouth of the Savannah River to protect the city of Savannah from naval attack.
Wooden pilings were sunk up to 70 feet into the mud to support an estimated 25,000,000 bricks. Walls were eleven feet thick, thought to be impenetrable except by only the largest land artillery, which at the time were smooth bore cannons. These cannons had a range of about a half mile, and the nearest land (Tybee island) was much further away.
Fort Pulaski was finally completed in 1847 following eighteen years of construction and nearly $1 million in construction costs. It was assumed that the Fort would be invincible to enemy attack. But during the Civil War it had the unfortunate distinction of being the first Confederate masonry fort to succumb to the Union’s rifled cannon fire.
Time to spend: 1 - 2 hours
Hours:
Daily 9:00a - 5:00p
