Gallery
Did you know John Wesley came to the Savannah area and did his first sermon out near Tybee Island? I found out a lot of other stuff and may add some of it to this post near the bottom.
So, literally Russ and I often spend mornings laundering, reading, working on the computers and walking Shadow. When the sun is out and the wind not blowing, we ride the bikes. There has been a great levy that follows the highway into Savannah, I holds the river back from the marshes and we drive everyday through the marshes into Savannah. We see runners and bikers walking on the levy-not typical California levies. This is much smaller. So we decided that one, we would visit Fort Pulaski and two ride the levy. It was really a cold day-50 degrees is very cold on the marshes and out by the Atlantic Ocean. And I really was not all that interested in the Fort-but why not?
Met a reinactment ranger at the Fort. Suffered injuries in the Iraq wars several times and was dressed in a Union uniform holding his weapon. Chatted with us out of character and was very interesting. He’s hoping he will at some time get to Gettysburg to work. What we learned that I did not remember from history, was that due to the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War, America tried to build forts all along the eastern seaboard to protect themselves from the English attaching again. Robert E. Lee designed Fort Pulaski to be a powerfully strong fort made of bricks that could withstand anything. Then the succession of the Southern states became eminent and a large Savannah contingency went out and took the Fort from the Union. When Lee was asked he was sure the Union could not get it back. But the Union had a new kind of cannon with rifling that would spin and add force to the cannon ball. Those Union soldiers quietly stole onto Tybee Island a mile and 1/2 away and spent 30 hours shooting the hell out of that brick structure. One of the sad parts to the Fort is that the Union sent top Confederate Officers who were prisoners of war out there, in terrible conditions to get sick and die. Of all people, The famous Sherman who descimated southern towns was the one who finally got these officers out and to a descent place with food and medicine. The highway we drive everyday is called the “Highway of the Immortal 600” because 600 of them managed to survive out of the 1000 officers. (Russ thinks the story is that 600 was the total and over 500 survived) Ah well.
We were very interested in the personal tour we got and how the fort was constructed on the marshes, so that we hit the bike trail in very cold wind, but we rode close to 5 miles as the sun was setting and smoke seemed to envelope the Savannah skyline. Still don’t know where the smoke came from.
Smoke makes scarey sunset
This is the bike trail looking east where the river dumps into the Atlantic. Hugh cargo ships pass by.
The sunset on marsh grasses is pretty cool as is the boat trail.
Love this, cause it is what all the lowland is about.
Me, cold and windblown. That is not my hair standing up, but dead palm branches
Russ and our bikes
Methodist friends, this is next to the Fort Pulaski
I am discovered by ADHD Boys wherever we travel
The officers quarters in the fort were much better than the prisoners
Below is where all the confederate barrels of gun powder were stacked to the ceiling. It was a miracle that it did not blow sky high when the Union soldiers started firing on the fort
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Flag at half mast for Inoye and children of Connecticut
The fort and Union Soldier
The Fort has an incredible moat all around it.
kristija48 
Written
on 12/29/2012