This last week found me taking a 3000 mile road-trip to the southeastern portion of the good old US of A; having discharged my responsibilities I found myself with a bit of free time so I swung by the swampy coastline of Georgia for a visit to Fort King George for a some photo-survey action. This little establishment was founded by Colonel John "Tuscarora Jack" Barnwell tocreate a British claim to Georgia (the Spanish had inconveniently claimed the area a couple of hundred years earlier but had done little to enforce that assertion). Taking note of previous Spanish objections to other nations establishing
colonies on land that (on paper at least) belonged to the King of Spain
(the French effort came to a bad end) the British built a fort and garrisoned it with an Invalid Company (soldiers that due to age or infirmity were no longer fit for field operations).The longstanding inability of the British to get along with the native
inhabitants of the continent argued for a fort as well. The result was
this intriguing little establishment. After the fort was abandoned Sir George Oglethorpe established a colony called Darien at the same location. Having learned from the previous foolishness at Jamestown that there were not any mounds of gold to be dug the practical Sir George Oglethorpe sent them to harvest the obvious natural bounty of the land; timber. The first thing that the settlers did was to fortify their colony, but this time they chose Saint Simon's Island for their Fort Frederica. There is a pretty good history of all these events available on Wikipedia.
The map you see below will give some context top where the pictures were taken, locations are not exact but should serve to provide the viewer with some orientation as to what direction they are looking and where from.
the blacksmith's shop
looking northwest along the northeastern flank of the bastion
Officers Quarters
another little wall-gun,
the locations are in the order that I stopped to take pictures, I did not venture out the gates on the western or southern side of the fort as the staff advised me that a rather large alligator had been seen in the area just recently and I had left my sidearm in the car
Photos from A
who needs a moat when you have a marsh full of 'gators?
the inevitable plaque showing the park,
this one is actually pretty good
ruins of the tidal-powered sawmill
the Georgia clay makes decent bricks,
these are over a century and a half old
another plaque, it is self-explanatory
native huts were made from wattle and daub,
the universal building method for simple structures,
this would normally have a thatch roof
an old millstone
the walkway across the swamp,
position A on the map for photo reference
looking southeast across the old millpond
Heavens! another plaque!
looking very nearly straight east from A
toward the front gate
a few steps closer
at the other end of the bridge
I love the little wooden guardpost
looking south from the end of the bridge,
I would hope that the garrison would have kept the grass cut,
it was nearly five feet high at the time of my visit
Photos from B
looking straight south from B
the weedy line on the right edge of the picture is the moat
if you didn't know it was there you wouldn't notice it until you were in it
ruins from sawmill operations
they are from an era after the fort passed from use
by the way, stay off them!
the gate and bridge,
the flimsy looking picket fence is largely on the inside of a six foot deep moat and,
as such, would present a significant barrier to entry
looking southwest from B
straight south, the blockhouse is very imposing
another view of the main gate
looking east ,
this position is covered by two small wall-guns located on the parapet
closer
the far northeastern end of the fort
this is where I was cautioned by park staff of several large alligators
that had been seen a short time before
looking southeast toward the wall
the gun port with the wall gun
the entire area was covered by the musket and cannon ports of the blockhouse
the picket fence is sunk several feet into the ground and is surprisingly sturdy
the gate is simply massive, the planks are over 4" thick and the beams even thicker
I always wondered if they really hung up such signs,
it isn't as if there was another nearby fort that might confuse a visitor
on the bridge past the gate looking west along the moat
the view to the east. if you look carefully you will notice that the moat is
lined with planks to keep the sandy soil from subsiding into it
Photos from C
I might just build one of these for myself and put it in the corner of my garden
the earthen parapet is also lined with planks to hold everything in place
the wall is high enough to provide cover if you are off the firing step (and under about 6'6" tall)
the lower floor musket ports overtop the wall as well
back in the day there was a ladder to the door
instead of this OSHA approved stairway
the planks of the blockhouse are at least four inches thick
looking east along the inside of the parapet
a closer look at the wall gun
cannons from the blockhouse could fire directly along the gateway appraoch
that benign looking moat,
plus there might be snakes and alligators in it!
Photos from D
the weather and insects pose a constant threat to the wooden structures
view from the guardhouse, looking west
north
and east
looking east from the platform just outside the guardhouse
the blockhouse from the same spot
south-southwest from the same spot
straight west
northwest
and back north from slightly further along the wall walk
Photos from E
northeast at the blockhouse, the cannon were positioned to sweep the glacis
straight east
looking southeast along the water battery
a view along the wall southwest toward the next guard post
while the fort was in operation the trees and underbrush were al cut away
straight west
and back north at the first guard house
to the northwest
to the west from the corner of the bastion flank
the southwestern guard post
it has a much fancier approach the the first one we visited
straight east along the top of the water battery on the southern face of the fort,
in an effort to deter erosion the outer face was covered with wooden pales
the blockhouse with the Officers Quarters in the background
the western gate
which does not appear on period maps
looking north from the guardhouse steps
the moat is nearly invisible
another look at the water battery
a wood paved walkway is at the foot of the parapet
the blockhouse with the historical mode of entry
another look at Officer Country
Photos of the Battery
the water battery faced a hair-pin turn in the river
no information was provided as to the make and caliber of the guns,
I have to assume that these are simply representative
as cannon in the 1720's were often used on field carriages
this appears to be more along the mines of a carronade
again, the underbrush would have been cut to allow a better view
an idea of the narrow constraints of the river
a better view through another gunport
the water gate, this also does not appear on the drawings that I have seen
a closer look at the logs laid against the face of the parapet to stem erosion
looking east into the water gate
and looking west from the same location
looking in through an embrasure
a cute little coehorn mortar
Photos from F
the watch tower near the slipway for the watch boat
note the sand eroding between the logs of the parapet,
this was a constant problem for the garrison and still is one for the Parks staff
the palisade surrounding the watch boat
the watchboat
this area must have proven to be a weak point in the defenses
looking west into the interior of the fort
an outdoor workshop, the stifling heat must have come as a shock to the British
Photos from G
looking east into the interior from the water battery,
the open-framed structure in the left distance is the bakery
huts for indigenous tribesmen and slaves
primitive, to say the least
there was a lonely little 3lbr on a late 18th century carriage in one of the sheds
it looked so lost and sad that I wanted to load it up in the truck and bring it home
unfortunately the Parks staff demurred
even after I promised to take care of it and bring it back when they needed it
Photos from H
the eastern gate, again this does not appear on the drawings that I have seen
but does appear in the very nice model in the museum
the Parks grounds crew were part way through rebuilding the base of the watch tower
the bakery was outdoors and away from the other buildings
quite a way away from the other buildings
the interior looking west
I guess you could call it a parade ground but,
with only 100 men stationed here, that might be a bit grandiose
looking south at the loo
the bread oven was stoutly built
as was the shed that contained it
a look west along the parapet
one of the pivot guns,
given the length of the tiller at the back reloading would seem problematic
it covers the main gate quite nicely
a hovel next to the Officer's Quarters
a closer look at the chimney of the Officers Quarters
peering westward between the Commandant's House and the Officers Quarters
the other pivot gun has an even better view of the front gate
looking northwest from the northern flank of the bastion
and then back east along the parapet
looking east along the outside of the works,
if you look closely you can spot the moat
this pivot gun has an excellent field of fire along the moat as well
The Commandant's House
it faces south
and has a very substantial hearth
not very luxurious accommodations
the western face of the Commandant's House
Officers Quarters
the western side
the southern end
detail of the window and hinges
this fancy outfit has two doors!
and two very impressive fireplaces
the interior is Spartan
but at least they have proper cots
the equivalent of a "footlocker"
plenty of room on the mantle for steins and mugs
looking at the northwest corner of the Officers Quarters
The Barracks
the western end
the side facing out over the water battery has only windows which overlook the glacis
detail of the window and the cedar shake shingles
chimney details
only two doors, both facing the parade ground
looking back out at the Officers Quarters
both fireplaces are large and well made
the building served as a barracks and a chow-hall
this place looks like it is only getting one star from Michelin
detail of the inner roof framing
the northern face of the barracks
The Privy
that would be some crowded circumstances
In the museum
there are many maps and drawings of the fort,
none of them agree exactly on how it loked
the special "museum-only" ultra high glare glass makes another appearance
the last thing in the world that I would want to face is an angry Scottish woman with a cannon!
a beautiful little model of the fort under a dome of the high-glare glass
a Spanish soldier ca 1700AD
this map gives a good idea of how the fort could obstruct the movement of boats on the river
a lovely larger model (roughly 1/30th scale) of the fort buildings
a nice "as built" vision of the fort
an English soldier @ 1700AD
this one is real
paintings in the video room
some nice uniform displays rendered almost impossible to photograph by the glass reflections
a Scottish soldier @1720AD
I have to think that the point on a targe was smaller than that
King George I
Well worth a visit, it is also close to Fort Frederica and the forts in and around Savannah.
What a great site/museum. A very small part of history excellently preserved. Thank you for the write up.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. Interesting Fort and awesome notes.
ReplyDelete