When I first planned this trip consisting of 11 park sites, I noticed many were "Forts" and I presumed them to all be related in time and purpose. Not even close! After my morning visit to Fort Frederica, I headed a few miles further up the coast to Fort Pulaski. It turns out that construction for this fort did not even start until 80 years AFTER Fort Frederica had been abandoned. The still fledgling United States government, having endured the War of 1812 with the British, decided that the country needed a solid line of defensive forts along its coast.

Construction on Fort Pulaski started around 1830 and took 18 years to complete!! Ironically, its first serious action was American vs. American. It was seized by Confederate soldiers at the start of the Civil War. The success was short lived, though. The Union forces began a lengthy siege of the fort. Due to the distance to the fort from land under Union control, the soldiers felt safely out of effective range of Union artillery. Until...

The American Civil War was known as a conflict where technology was rapidly changing the long held tactics of battle. At Fort Pulaski, rifled artillery were used for the first time in battle. The rifling imparts a spin on the shell, increasing its accuracy and its destructive force on arrival. In just a two day bombardment, much of one side of the fort wall was destroyed and the Confederate troops surrendered the fort back to the Union side, who held it for the remainder of the war.

The visitor center is detached from the fort itself, in a nice building. There are a few exhibits there, but it is mostly just a stopping point for a Passport stamp and a pamphlet on the park.

The fort itself is similar to Castillo de San Marcos, with a large open field surrounded by buildings that make up the walls. One can wander from room to room, with most having some exhibit about its purpose, or who lived in it. Stairs also provide access to the top level, where you can walk completely around the fort enjoying the views and information signs. By this time, my legs were hurting a fair bit, but I made it up the stairs successfully. Lacking a nice handrail and proper spacing, I did not look forward to the descent, but I made it safely back to the ground level.