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Fort Pulaski National MonumentAerial of Cockspur Island
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Fort Pulaski National Monument
Fort Facts
  • Fort Pulaski took 18 years to build, from 1829-1847.
  • Around 25,000,000 bricks were used to construct Fort Pulaski.
  • Many of the bricks were locally made in Savannah. Known as "Savannah Gray." Other bricks were shipped in from Maryland and Virginia.
  • Granite and sandstone blocks arrived from New York and Connecticut.
  • The United States government spent nearly $1,000,000 in construction costs.
  • A labor force of skilled workers, both free and slave under the supervision of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the fort.
  • A young Second Lt. Robert E. Lee was in charge of subsistence and other planning during early construction.
  • Fort Pulaski's moat average seven to eight feet deep.
  • Fort Pulaski's walls tower 22 feet high inside, and 32 feet up from the outside moat.
  • The parade ground inside Fort Pulaski stretches out over two acres.
  • The fort's walls average between five and eleven feet thick of solid brick.
  • Fort Pulaski was claimed by the State of Georgia before the Civil War.
  • After the outbreak of war, Confederate troops occupied Fort Pulaski from January, 1861 to April, 1862.
  • The only battle at Fort Pulaski occurred on April 10th & 11th, 1862 between Union forces on Tybee Island and Confederate troops inside the fort.
  • Union troops occupied Fort Pulaski from April, 1862 until the end of the Civil War.
  • After 1862, Fort Pulaski was used as a military and political prison.
  • Union General David Hunter issued Gen. Order No. 7 freeing area slaves, predating Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
  • Fort Pulaski became a destination on the Underground Railroad for slaves searching for freedom.

 

Rifled Projectile  

Did You Know?
Rifled cannons reached Fort Pulaski from over a mile away, tearing through the fort's 8-foot thick solid brick walls. Within thirty-hours the once invincible fort had surrendered. Fort Pulaski National Monument, Georgia

Last Updated: November 12, 2006 at 09:42 EST