Fort Pulaski National Monument - Savannah, Georgia - Cockspur Island

On Tuesday we spent several hours at Fort Pulaski which is located on Cockspur Island just East of Savannah, GA.  Construction of Fort Pulaski was started in 1829 and completed in 1847.  Its purpose was to protect the coast and the harbor of Savannah.  It was believed to be impenetrable as the 7-1/2 foot thick walls were believed to be out of range of any enemies guns as a result of its physical location.  The fort was seized by the the Georgia State Militia in January of 1861 and was immediately transferred to the Confederate States Of America.  What they hadn't planned on was that the Union had new canon technology, the rifled, 30 pounder, Parrot gun, which could reach several miles.  On April 10th and 11th, 1862, the walls of the fort were breached in less than 30 hours of bombardment forcing the Confederates to surrender the fort.  The Union used the fort for a prison camp for Confederate officers for much of the rest of the war.  Many of the scars of the bombardment are still visible on the South and Southeast walls.

Demilune that protects the rear of the fort - it is a triangular piece of land with a network of underground powder magazines and tunnels to gun emplacements.

The protective moat that surrounds the fort

Entrances to some of the underground tunnels of the demilune

 One of the underground powder magazines in the demilune

The draw bridge - the only entrance to the fort 

One of many period canons at the fort

View of the parade grounds and the north wall

Commanding officer's quarters

 Brass canon and embrasure

A rifled "Parrot" canon I believe - not sure if it was used in siege - the rifled canon used a conical shaped round - much like the shape of a modern day bullet.  The round had a skirt that engaged the rifling which caused the shell to rotate providing greater distance and accuracy 

Traditional Canon (round ball)

Traditional Canon (round ball)

Part of the prison where Confederate officers were held.

1862 Union bread crates

Another view of the fort

 The repaired section (lighter red bricks) where the fort was breached - the repairs were done by the 48th NY Volunteers in the weeks following the breach

Remains of the bombardment

Remains of the bombardment

A memorial to the Confederate officers who were imprisoned here in 1864 and 1865 

A memorial to those prisoners who died in captivity at Fort Pulaski

We walked the dikes (about 2 miles) that surround Fort Pulaski and did see one alligator - he was about 5 ft. long.   Building the dikes was one of the first assignments of Robert E. Lee after graduating from West Point.  The dikes control the water level in the moat and protect the fort from the ocean tides.

View of the fort from one of the dikes

I didn't know they had cacti in Georgia - lots of prickly pears on the dikes

Cockspur lighthouse just offshore from the fort.

The lighthouse

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area - Alligators, Birds, Armadillo

We went to the Donnelley Wildlife Management area in Green Pond, SC on Wednesday. This is a large natural area with opportunities to see a diverse array of wildlife in their natural environment. We will probably make another trip here before we leave as we only saw a portion of the park - great place to hike and see wildlife.  We didn't get to the area that is famous for the diversity of water fowl including Whistling Swans, Roseate Spoonbills and many others.  We did see lots of alligators, some birds and an armadillo. This is a great place and one of the few wildlife preserves in the area that allows dogs (on leash).

Crossing the Harbour River on the way between Hilton Head and Beaufort

Fighter jets on display at one of the entrances to Paris Island (Marine base on the way to Donnelley)

Very large 200-300 year old Live Oak tree at Donnelley

Lots of live oaks and Spanish moss

A Little Blue Heron - similar to the Great Blue Heron we see up North but smaller

Armadillo - busy rooting for bugs - never could get a picture of his snout

Small island with several alligators

Close-up

Two of the alligators

Close-up - this one was about 7 or 8 feet long

This one was about 10 feet long - the next picture is the same alligator

The big guy - about 10 feet long

Another one

And another - this one was a big one - probably 9 or 10 feet

Black Crowned Night Heron

A couple of Cormorants in a tree - look like the same Cormorants that were common in Maine

Tornado Watches, Warnings and Rainbow

We got up to this beautiful rainbow this morning after two days of tornado watches, tornado warnings, wind and heavy rain.  I thought we were done with the storm but it started raining again about 5 minutes after I took this picture - it rained for another 3 to 4 hours but I think the storm has finally passed.  No damage to the camp ground or us but it was a slightly stressful couple of days.