the overhead shot , courtesy Google Earth
Having visited Savannah half a dozen times over the years it escapes me as to how I managed to have missed a visit to Old Fort Jackson so far. I decided to set that oversight right as I was in the South and would be passing near Savannah on my way back to dreary Michigan. Located just east of Historic Old Savannah the fort is a National Historic Site that is run and maintained by the Coastal Heritage Society who also run several other museums in the Savannah area (all of which are well worth a visit). If you are planning on attending do try to visit between October and may as the summers in Savannah are absolutely brutal.
Position 1, the approach walkway,
the old fort is looking pretty good for being over 200 years old
position 2, looking north, the Savannah River in the distance
scanning east and south along the the western wall of the fort
position 3,looking at the southern face of the fort
the southern sally port
Position 4, looking west across the southern wall
Position 5, the sun was fighting me and the eastern sally port is barely visible
Position 6, the corner of the demi-bastion
Position 7, I broke the rules and stepped over a rope fence to
walk out on the breakwater so that I could photograph the northern face of the fort
(please don't tell anyone)
Position 8, despite my best efforts the breakwater was too close
to the fort to allow me to get a good photo of the walls
Position 9, safely back inside the rope fence but I got caught and was bawled out
(in a typically very polite Georgian manner) by one of the staff
he was nice enough to let me stay as long as I promised to stay off the breakwater in the future
Position 10, that same polite staff member also performed a loading and firing
demonstration of the cannon mounted outside the fort, an interesting and enlightening speech
he fired a salute as the steamboat sailed past
Position 11, the main gate
a view down the moat,
a bit far north for 'gators, but who wants to take chances?
looking north from the same spot
inside the gateway, murder-holes on both sides
and massive oak doors to keep you trapped there
Position 12, looking back at the main gate
and scanning counterclockwise around the courtyard
the later magazine, this was added later in the fort's life
the fort was built in fits and starts,
the portion under the parapet was the first finished and
was the only living quarters for quite some time
I haven't been able to determine if the fort was whitewashed when it was built
the doors were all thick and eavily reinforced with iron strapping
this being hurricane country the windows were provided with substantial shutters
bombproofs were small
the jail was smaller
even Officer Country was limited
the Old Magazine had a sturdy door
Position 14, looking west across the parapet
the top of the old magazine
I'm sure that the steps and sentry box are modern additions
cannons on the eastern face of the parapet
and the view from that parapet, east down the river
and north across it
the southern face of the old magazine
the massive earthen hill over the magazine
position 15, this nice couple agreed to stand in for
the crew to lend a sense of scale to the massive cannon
Position 16, cannon on the western face
looking west toward Five Fathom Hole
looking down into the northern demi-bastion
a howitzer wold have been placed there to sweep the moat with fire
the new magazine made this a narrow approach
looking down into the courtyard from Position 16
the old magazine from the northwest
shutteres facing into the parade ground
Position 17, the southern demi-bastion
and the howitzer to defend it
cannon ports were built to allow fire along the walls to either side
the gun itself
and musket-loops to keep the enemy busy while the cannon reloaded
looking out the eastern sally port
Position 18, looking back in the eastern sally port
Position 19, the privies
brick trackway to support gun pivots
gun-ports in the half-bastion the southern end of the fort
Position 20, inside the southern sally port
Position 21, the privies that actually got built
models and maps under the veranda
cannons on the grounds
intriguing, I will have to look into this further
a couple of last shots from the parking lot as I was leaving
Nice pics. Apparently that ironclad is submerged in the mud and muck right there at the bank of the river. My family and I went out there a few years ago (it was summertime and of course blazing hot) and the tour guide gave us the low-down on the CSS Georgia.
ReplyDeleteGreat article. Did you go to the Eight Air Force Museum? The museum is 45 minutes from Fort Jackson. Lots of good places to eat. Looks like you had a great time
ReplyDeleteNo I only stopped for a break while driving, I will be returning to the area sometime soon. I will put it on the list with Fort McAllister.
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