Fort King George State Historic Site

After my morning visit to Fort Morris, I grabbed some lunch and headed to Fort King George State Historic Site. As one may ascertain from the fort’s name, this was not an American fort of revolutionary days! Rather, it was a British fort from over fifty years prior to the Declaration of Independence.

This fort was more closely associated with the British-Spanish struggles for control of present-day Georgia. It predated Fort Frederica by over a decade and had been abandoned by the time of the 1740 and 1742 clashes between the two European powers.

Construction started in 1721 with the fort intended to make a statement. Spain claimed all land from Florida into present-day South Carolina. The British built the fort to protect their own claim to Georgia.

This was not a popular posting. In the six years that the fort was used, over 140 men died. Not one died from enemy action. Disease and malnutrition were the culprits. A mysterious fire destroyed the fort in 1726. It was rebuilt only to burn again. In 1727, it was abandoned.

The original fort was consumed by nature over the years. However, Georgia State Parks constructed a duplicate (or probably “best-guess” duplicate) of the original fort, complete with interior buildings and armaments.

By luck, on the day I visited, the park was celebrating the 300th anniversary of the original fort’s completion. Several people were dressed in period clothing and stationed around the fort, explaining what each area was used for, and telling of life at the time and in the fort. One building had a table showing medical tools and medicines of the time (call it the house of horrors). Another had living quarters. Yet another was the blacksmith’s shop.

In front of one building, a man had a table with pistols and rifles. He was dressed in the outfit of a Frenchman of the time. One pistol was an authentic dueling pistol from the same time period as the fort. He allowed anyone interested to hold it, which was a bit surprising, but everyone seemed to handle it with the respect and care due.

He also had a typical musket that the soldiers may have carried. This one was not authentic but an exact replica. I picked it up. It was heavy! I cannot imagine having to carry this on marches, then try to hold it steady and fire it.

While I was inside the fort, a small team demonstrated firing of the cannon. This process was as involved, if not more so, than the musket loading and firing at Fort Morris. This took a team of five men, though the fifth was mostly an extra for safety. And of course, it was loud and smoky. Again I tried to imagine the sound, smell, and look of a battlefield with dozens of these cannon firing repeatedly.

The visit ended with me watching a small group of the reenactors marching in formation from the fort to a nearby cemetery where many of the soldiers from the fort now rest. On arrival, they fired a multiple-round salute to those in the cemetery.

Though my current goal is to visit National Park sites, today’s visits emphasized that states and even local parks can be every bit as interesting. In one “off” day from my National Parks, I learned as much new history as I have in any of the NPS sites I’ve visited so far. I’m reminded to check out the local sites as I pass by seeking federal ones. My compliments to the State of Georgia for two excellent parks to fill my open day.

Steve