The Lost Fort - Fort McAlister

Fort McAlister

I left Orlando on the January 31st and headed north towards Savannah.  Fort Mc Alister is located just slightly south and east of Savannah Georgia. it was a "primitive" earth works fortification that guarded one of the water approaches to the city.  Ironically because of its sand earth work constructions it survived repeated shelling by Union gunboats, unlike the more modern brick / stone Fort Pulaski  just to the North. The latter fell quickly in April 1862 after shelling by rifled cannon fire. Ft Mc Alister was impervious to this type of shelling. The confederates would just fill in the craters at night and then laugh at the Gunboats who could do little.

USS Montouk

In February/March 1863 the fort was heavy bombarded by union gunboats. Casualties were relatively light. The Garrison commander was killed in one attack while the garrison cat was killed in the second. It appears that the cat was missed more.

 In late February 1863 the Blockade runner "Nashville" was caught by the gunboats just offshore from the fort and it was destroyed

Ft McAlister was seriously well armed with smooth bore and rifled cannon, morter and 230 soldiers

These batteries certainly would not make life pleasant for any union forces that got too close

To make life really nasty the Rebels would heat the balls in the "oven. Brings a whole need meaning to "What's cooking?"

Open Areas within the Fort and the ramparts

 Life for the soldiers was pretty basic. Here are the open areas within the Fort. Remember that there were no trees there at the time

Entrance to the central bombproof

Another view of the entrance to the central bombproof

For those of you who loved army drill here's the parade square.  Where's the Pipe Band?!

Living conditions were cramped. If you thought one room-mate was bad!!

Where not to be when people are shooting at you!!

The fort has some serious defenses but the spiked palisades only extended down to the high water marks. This would prove to be the Fort's fatal flaw

Would you want to climb that rampar

Ft McAlister would finally fall in December 1864 marking the end of Sherman's famous March to the Sea. Savannah was surrendered a few days later. The photo on the left shows the point where the Sherman's soldiers finally breached the fort. The union suffered 134 casualties compared to the Confederates 48.
 
That night Sherman had dinner with the fort commander but was so pissed off with him about the land-mining of the approaches that the next day he ordered the commander personally to go out and remove them. 
 
Ft McAlister was burned and abandoned by Sherman and then promptly forgotten. It was not re-discovered until the 1930's by Henry Ford who owned the land and heard stories about a "Confederate fort" on his property.  The site is now owned by the National Park Services and it is a beautiful site to visit.

Visitor Centre and parkland surrounding Fort McAlister