leading to the ruined monument of valor through the marsh which
surrounds that work. One comes to a broad ditch now full of mud and
weeds and faces the remains of a once sturdy draw-bridge. Passing
over this and between the mounds of former outworks one at last
faces the entrance to Fort Pulaski.
The walls of this great brick fortress, which cost a million
dollars and was one of the greatest brick fortresses of its time,
tower over one with great impressiveness. The brick face is
pierced by long narrow slits for rifle fire, and these peer at one
vacantly. A large ditch, or moat, surrounds the fort, and this
still contains water owing to the low elevation of the island above
tide, but it is choked with rank vegetation and though horrid of
aspect would not be a serious bar to the approach of any storming
force.
[Illustration: THE DESERTED CASEMATES OF FORT PULASKI, NEAR
SAVANNAH, GA.]
Crossing the ditch, one passes through a long passage and past
massive wooden gates studded with iron bolts and, at length, comes
out upon the parade ground. Where brilliant columns once formed and
marched in martial evolutions now wave tall saplings except where
the solitary care-taker of the fort has cut these growths down
to make room for a vegetable garden. The walls go around in a great
circle above this parade, the angles of the circumference not being
easily perceptible from our vantage point. To the right hand and
the left hand stretch casemates in which officers and men dwelt. On
the far side of the parade are open casemates fitted for cannon,
for this is the quarter from which attack might be expected. Close
at hand is a spring whose clear water flows ceaselessly from the
rusty iron mouth which the hand of man has provided and neglected.
Passing across the parade to the gun casemates, which occupy the
flanks of the fort on three quarters of the compass, one finds
the flooring still in good condition, this fact being due to
the protected nature of this part of the fort and to the sturdy
quality of the planks which are three inches thick and of some
close-grained wood--probably cypress. The circular gun-tracks are
still visible. Where one can peer through holes in the floor one
gazes down into dank, dark depths from which the light is reflected
evilly by scummy water.
At the northeast angle of the fort are the remains of one of the
magazines. If one cares to prowl in here and is willing to make
entrance through a mysterious black hole into an uncanny void, he
will be rewarded for his adventure by being able to pick up some
rusty grape-shot and smaller odds and ends of murderous looking
iron.
Ascending to the parapet of the fort by means of one of the
twisting iron stairs which are to be found at each angle, or by
the broad stone stairs adjacent to the habitable casemates, one
has a wide view of land and sea. To the east lies the mouth of the
Savannah River where this stream joins the Atlantic Ocean. In this
direction, too, can be seen long, low, sandy Tybee Point, where
Fort Screven, the modern defensive work, lies. To the south are
marshes and in the distance the gleam of the river up which the
Union forces brought their cannon to attack Fort Pulaski in 1862.
To the north and west--more marshes.
The island on which Fort Pulaski is situated was acquired by
the government in 1830 by purchase from Alexander Telfair and
sisters (an old and wealthy Savannah family) and the title of
the government thereto for the purposes of a fortification was
confirmed by the State of Georgia by act December 27, 1845. The
entire reservation occupies about 150 acres.
The site for the fort was selected by Major General Babcock, United
States Corps of Engineers, and work was begun in 1831 under the
direction of Major General Mansfield. Sixteen years passed before
its mighty walls, containing thirteen millions of bricks, were
completed. The name Pulaski was given to the fort in honor of Count
Casimir Pulaski, the Polish patriot who lost his life in the siege
of Savannah by the Americans during the Revolution, the scene of
this sad event being the Spring Hill redoubt near the site of the
present Central of Georgia railway station.
The military history of Fort Pulaski does not cover a long period
of time. When, in December, 1860, the news reached Savannah of the
removal of Major Anderson, in command of the United States forces
in Charleston Harbor, from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, there
was an open expression of opinion that Georgia should forestall
such occupation of the forts on her coast by the forces of the
Federal government; and when, on January 2, 1861, it became known
that Governor Brown had ordered the seizure and occupation of Fort
Pulaski by the military under the command of Colonel A. R. Lawton
on the following day, the city was wild with enthusiasm.
Says Adelaide Wilson in her delightful history of Savannah:
Looking back upon the arrangements that were made for the setting
out of that first military expedition, there is temptation to
smile at the amount of impedimenta that was prepared for the
small forces of less than two hundred men. There was scant
time between the promulgation of the order and the hour named
for its execution, yet when, on the morning of the third, the
companies marched down to the wharf to embark on the little
steamer _Ida_, it is safe to say that they were encumbered with
much more baggage than served later in the war for an entire
division in the field. Every man had his cot, every three or
four men his mess-chest, with kettles, pots, pans and other
cooking utensils in liberal allowance, not to speak of trunks,
valises, mattresses, camp-chairs, etc.,--in all a pile large
enough to make the heart of a quartermaster sink within him. It
was evident that the troops long had anticipated the call upon
their services, and also that the mothers, wives and sisters of
Savannah had, with anxious forethought, determined that their
loved ones should carry into service as many of the comforts of
home as possible.
The siege of Pulaski by the Federal troops, April, 1862, was not
long at the climax, though it was long in preparation. The Federal
forces gathered slowly south of Savannah and then moved to the
attack. By means of a channel in the flats to the south of the fort
which the Confederates had left unguarded, they were able to post
their guns in advantageous positions. As the result of a heavy
bombardment the walls of the fort were battered in at the east
salient and the garrison was obliged to surrender.
The visitor to Fort Pulaski to-day may see some of the wounds in
the walls which the fort sustained on that occasion. The worst
injuries were repaired by the United States troops during their
occupancy of the fort, and the course of these repairs may be
traced by the discerning eye through the different color of the
bricks.
Shortly after the Civil War, Fort Pulaski was abandoned. It is
still controlled by the government and is in the care of a retired
soldier of the United States who lives a life of seclusion,
disturbed only by the very infrequent sight-seer or by parties
of young men of the neighborhood who find the marshes of the
reservation an excellent gunning preserve.
[Illustration: Parade and Ramparts
The Battered Eastern Salient
SCENES OF DESOLATION AT FORT PULASKI, NEAR SAVANNAH, GA.]
FORT MORGAN
MOBILE BAY--ALABAMA
Mobile Bay, that pear-shaped body of water, with its far-reaching
system of water tributaries, has been a scene of settlement and
fortification since the early days of French attempts at settlement
in the New World. There was, to begin with, Fort Louis de la
Mobile, which protected the infant first settlement of Mobile,
precursor of the city of to-day. In various guises Fort Louis
passed from one to another of the different races of men with which
the history of Mobile Bay is associated. Then there are the forts
placed on the islands at the mouth of Mobile Bay and the forts at
the head of the bay where the big rivers flow in. Finally there is
Fort Morgan (Fort Bowyer to begin with) which occupies the point of
that long, thin peninsula of land which forms the southern boundary
of Mobile Bay, dividing its waters from the waters of the Gulf of
Mexico.
Fort Morgan to-day is in ruins and has never been thoroughly
rebuilt since its capitulation to Farragut in one of the hottest
battles of the Civil War. The governmental reservation of land
on which the works are situated contains about 500 acres and is
occupied, as well, by modern defences. The view from the point on
which the old fort is situated gives a wide prospect of blue water
and sky. Across the ship channel is historic Dauphine Island, on
which Fort Morgan’s sister fort, Fort Gaines, was situated, and
where the government to-day maintains extensive batteries. To the
right are the waters of Mobile Bay, with the smoke of the city
thirty miles to the north. To the left are the sunny waves of the
Gulf.
The first that we hear of Mobile Point as a place of fortification
was in 1812, when the Spanish evacuated Mobile. General Wilkinson,
in command of the United States forces in the southwest, put nine
guns as a battery on Mobile Point and made his way on up to the
city, where he commenced to fortify the perdido. Subsequently
Mobile Point appealed to him as a better place for defensive works
than a spot so far up the bay, and he placed a fortification here,
which was called Fort Bowyer in honor of Lieutenant-Colonel Bowyer.
The next occupant of Fort Bowyer was a more picturesque personage
than General Wilkinson, none other than Andrew Jackson. Upon his
retirement from Pensacola in 1814, Jackson stopped at Fort Bowyer
and left a force there of 130 men under the leadership of Major
William Lawrence. On September 12 the British appeared before the
fort with land and naval strength and demanded the surrender of the
little structure. Major Lawrence refused to surrender.
The British strength on this occasion consisted of the _Hermes_
of 22 guns, the _Sophia_ of 18 guns, the _Caron_ of 20 guns,
_Anaconda_ of 18 guns, all vessels of large size, under the
command of Captain Percy. It was a squadron which Jackson had
driven from Pensacola Bay and it was thirsting for revenge. There
was, in addition, a land force under Colonel Nichols of a few
marines and about 600 Indians which assailed Fort Bowyer from the
rear.
The battle began early on the morning of the 15th. The word for
the day in the American ranks was “Don’t give up the fort,” and
this originated an oft-repeated phrase. A heavy cannonade continued
without interruption until 5.30 o’clock in the afternoon. The
flag-staff of the _Hermes_, Captain Percy’s flag-ship, was shot
away and Lawrence gave the order to cease firing while he hailed
the vessel to find out whether she had lowered her colors. The only
answer was a murderous volley of grape-shot from another quarter.
The flag-staff of the fort then happened to be struck, and the
Indians and British on shore, thinking that the plucky little
garrison had surrendered, ran forward with terrible cries. They
were met by a terrific hail of lead which drove them back for good.
Finally the battered English vessels drew off. The _Hermes_ was
found to be in such bad shape that she was set on fire by her crew
and abandoned. Her destruction was completed by the explosion of
her magazine. The British loss was 232, of which number 163 were
killed. The American loss was 4 killed and 4 wounded. The British
in this engagement outnumbered the Americans more than six times.
The great adventure of Fort Morgan’s life, however, was in the
Civil War at the time of the taking of Mobile. The stronghold
had been considerably enlarged and strengthened and had been
re-christened by its Confederate possessors at the outbreak of that
disastrous struggle between brother and brother. It is described
in official records of the time as a pentagonal bastioned work,
with a full scarp brick wall, 4, feet 8 inches thick, its armament
consisting of 86 guns of various calibres. The garrison, including
officers and men, numbered 640.
The force under Farragut consisted of fourteen large wooden steam
vessels of war and four iron-clads of which the _Tecumseh_ arrived
from Pensacola just in time for the engagement. The wooden vessels
were lashed together in pairs and the whole column was headed by
the iron-clads.
It was on the morning of August 5, 1864, that Farragut commenced
his passage into Mobile Bay. Long before the break of day through
the whole fleet could be heard the boatswain’s whistles and the
cheery cries of “all hands” and “up all hammocks.” The wind was
west-southwest, just where Farragut wanted it, as it would blow the
smoke of the guns on Fort Morgan. At four o’clock the fleet set
in motion, led by the four monitors. At 6.47 the booming of the
_Tecumseh’s_ guns was heard and shortly afterward Morgan replied.
The story may now be taken up in the words of an officer on board
the flag-ship _Hartford_:
The order was to “go slowly, go slowly” and receive the fire of
Fort Morgan. At six minutes past seven the fort opened, having
allowed us to get into such short range that we apprehended
some snare; in fact, I heard the order passed for our guns to
be elevated for fourteen hundred yards some time before one was
fired. The calmness of the scene was sublime. No impatience, no
irritation, no anxiety, except for the fort to open; and after
it did open full five minutes elapsed before we answered. In
the meantime the guns were trained as if at a target and all
the sounds I could hear were “steady boys, steady! Left tackle
a little! So, so!” Then the roar of a broadside and the eager
cheer as the enemy were driven from their water battery. Don’t
imagine they were frightened; no man could stand under that iron
shower; and the brave fellows returned to their guns as soon as
it lulled, only to be driven off again.
At twenty minutes past seven we had come within range of the
enemy’s gunboats which opened their fire upon the _Hartford_, and
as the Admiral afterward told me made her their special target.
First they struck our foremast and then lodged a shot of 120
pounds in our mainmast. By degrees they got better elevation;
and I have saved a splinter from the hammock netting to show
how they felt their way lower. Splinters after that came by
cords, and in size sometimes were like logs of wood. No longer
came the cheering cry “Nobody hurt yet.” The _Hartford_ by some
unavoidable chance fought the enemy’s fleet and fort together for
twenty minutes by herself, timbers crashing and wounded pouring
down,--cries never to be forgotten.
By half past seven the iron-clad _Tecumseh_ was well up with the
fort and drawing slowly by, when suddenly she reeled to port and
went down straightway with almost every soul on board. She had
struck a mine. For a time this appalling disaster spread confusion
in the fleet.
“What’s the matter?” was shouted from the flag-ship to the
_Brooklyn_ just ahead.
“Torpedoes,” was the response.
“Damn the torpedoes,” said Farragut, “go ahead.”
Go ahead the fleet did and at length had passed Fort Morgan and was
in the sheltering waters of the bay. The cost of this operation in
the Union fleet was 335 men. Of the 130 men in the _Tecumseh_ when
she was struck only 17 were saved.
Fort Gaines, the works on the western side of the channel, now
surrendered. But Fort Morgan kept on fighting. The Union vessels
were in Mobile Bay, but they had not yet forced the indomitable
fort on Mobile Point to its knees. Admiral Farragut wrote to a
friend:
We are now tightening the cords around Fort Morgan. Page is as
surly as a bull-dog and says that he will die in his ditch....
How little people know the risks of life. Drayton made his
clerk stay below because he was a young married man. All my
staff,--Watson, McKinley and Brownell,--were in an exposed
position on the poop deck but escaped unhurt while poor
Heginbotham was killed.
For seventeen days Fort Morgan held out, though bombarded
continuously. Then at length she surrendered, her citadel destroyed
and her walls nearly blown to pieces. It is this pathetic shell
that now greets the visitor’s eye on Mobile Point.
FORTS JACKSON AND ST. PHILIP
AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI--LOUISIANA
The two forts which were the scene of Farragut’s first brilliant
exploit in running by the enemy’s works with wooden vessels have
not been regularly garrisoned since 1871 and have been maintained
only in a casual sort of a fashion. Stronger and newer defences
have taken their place, though these two spots have had a long
and honorable existence in the defence of the mouth of America’s
greatest river and of its picturesque French-Spanish-American chief
city, New Orleans. Situated 32 nautical miles by river from the
Gulf of Mexico and about 22 miles from the light-house at the head
of the passes of the Mississippi, they occupy the first habitable
ground bordering the river, at a sharp bend known as English
Turn. Fort St. Philip is on the northern bank of the river, Fort
Jackson on the southern. Though so far from the Gulf by river, Fort
St. Philip, owing to the peculiar formation of the mouth of the
Mississippi, with long fingers spread out into the sea, is only a
short distance from the Gulf as the crow flies.
About a mile above the site of Fort Jackson there stood an ancient
French fortification known as Fort Bourbon, which gradually yielded
to the encroachments of time so that now there is of it nothing
left. Fort St. Philip, itself, was founded by the French and was
surrendered to the United States in 1803 with the purchase of the
Louisiana territory.
The situation of the two forts was early recognized by the United
States as possessing much military value, and in 1812-1815 St.
Philip was made over by the United States authorities and Fort
Jackson was built. Fort St. Philip at the time of the Civil War
consisted of a quadrangular earthwork with brick scarp rising 19
feet above the level of the river and a wet ditch with exterior
batteries above and below. Fort Jackson, largely added to between
1824 and 1832, was a pentagonal bastioned fortification built of
brick with casemates, glacis and wet ditch; and of the two was the
more formidable work.
The two forts saw service in 1814 against the British. At this time
the name Jackson was applied to the southern fort in honor of the
fiery American commander whose defence of that city has become an
inspiring legend.
The Confederate Government had early taken possession of the
forts and had put them in complete order. When Farragut’s fleet
appeared, early in the spring of 1862, Fort Jackson with its
water battery mounted 75 guns and Fort St. Philip about 40. The
works were garrisoned by about 1500 men, commanded by Brigadier
General J. K. Duncan; St. Philip being under the direct command
of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Higgins. Just above the forts the
Confederates had placed a fleet of 15 vessels, including the
iron-clad ram _Manassas_. Below Fort Jackson they had obstructed
the river with a heavy chain brought from Pensacola. This chain was
pinned to the under side of a row of cypress logs which were 30
feet long and four or five feet in diameter. The spring freshets
caused this chain to break and it was replaced by two lighter
chains supported in similar fashion.
As a first move against the Confederate strongholds, Farragut sent
Commander Porter with his fleet of mortar vessels to bombard the
forts. The bombardment opened on the 18th of April and continued
without remission for six days, but though breaches were made
in the walls and the levee was broken at one place so that the
beleaguered men had a difficult task to keep the waters of the
Mississippi from drowning them out, the action was inconclusive.
It was then that Farragut determined upon the bold move (later
duplicated at Mobile) which was so great an element of his fame.
At two o’clock on the morning of April 24, 1862, he set his fleet
in motion up the river. The chain barriers were cut and the fleet
contrived to get past the fort without serious damage or loss
of life. Thus was accomplished the feat of passing, with wooden
vessels in a stream half a mile wide, two forts specially prepared
to resist such an effort. The Confederate fleet was met beyond the
forts and repulsed after a sharp engagement.
Farragut now passed on to New Orleans to make sure of the rich
prize of a city whose export business at that time was the greatest
in the world, while Porter was left behind with a sufficient
squadron to continue the bombardment of the forts. After being
under continuous fire until the 28th of the month the forts
surrendered, and have never since been in active service.
The reservation of Fort Jackson contains 557.6 acres and that of
Fort St. Philip 1108.85 acres. The reservations consist entirely of
swamp lands, during season of high water being almost completely
inundated. Those portions containing the forts, quarters and
other buildings are leveed on all sides, but notwithstanding the
protection thus afforded there are times when the water rises so
high as to become a source of great inconvenience in going about.
This is especially the case when rain is added to the water which
percolates through the levees.
Any account of Fort Jackson would be incomplete without allusion
to its alligators. These reptiles constitute one of the principal
objects of interest to visitors and may be seen in numbers floating
in the moats or basking on shore in the sunlight. They are from
five to fifteen feet in length and possess great strength. It was
customary to feed them with bread and crackers from the bridges
over the moats, calling them up by whistling, and from frequent
occurrence of this act they seemed to become accustomed to the
signal and responded to it just as might dogs.
The rattlesnakes of the vicinity are numerous and formidable. One
was caught here measuring 11½ feet and having 27 rattles. Black
snakes are large but rare. Moccasins, of which there are two
varieties, attain a large size and are frequently very venomous.
The mosquitoes constitute a serious obstacle to the enjoyment of
life to the infrequent garrisons at this post, for they not only
ply their calling with great diligence during the night but in
summer are equally zealous throughout the day. Various expedients
are adopted to avoid and drive them away. The smudge is brought
into frequent and useful requisition. Gloves are worn and covering
of mosquito netting is frequently used to protect the neck and
head.
FORT SNELLING
NEAR ST. PAUL--MINNESOTA
The historic post of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, for more than a
generation after its establishment, in 1819, the most remote
western outpost of the United States, is situated at the confluence
of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, eight miles southeast
of Minneapolis by river and six miles from St. Paul. It lies in
a region of rare natural beauty, in the vicinity of the Falls of
Minnehaha, Bridal Veil Falls, and other points locally notable
and is, itself, no mean attraction to the many visitors who are
attracted to the locality every year. The old fort standing on its
high bluff at the headwaters of America’s greatest river is a most
picturesque object.
[Illustration:
Copyright, Detroit Publishing Co.
OLD STONE TOWER AT FORT SNELLING, NEAR ST. PAUL, MINN.]
The reservation of Fort Snelling contains 1,531 acres, though
originally this tract was much larger than now. The fort structure
which one sees from the river is an irregularly shaped bastioned
wall conforming in outline to the high plateau of land upon which
it is situated. It occupies the extreme end of the point of land
formed by the juncture of the two rivers, and on the Mississippi
side the bluff upon which the fort is situated descends abruptly
to the water, the river there running almost in a canyon. On the
Minnesota side the slope is more gradual and ends in a low marshy
flat which extends from one-third to one-half a mile and is
frequently submerged during high water. The altitude of the post
plateau above the river is 300 feet.