We are still doing some sightseeing while we are here. Today we went to discover another old military fort. There are two historic forts here in Savannah, Fort Puluski and Fort Jackson, that we explored when we were here in 2007. This one, Fort McAllister, is in the next county south of us. This was very different than any of the historic forts we have seen before. Most are built of wood or brick/stone. This fort is an earthen fort. It was manned by the Confederate Army during the War of Northern Aggression (1861-1864). This fort is on the Ogeechee River and was the first defense of Savannah from ships that were part of the naval blockade by the Union forces. Although it was attacked many times by naval ships from the North they never succeeded in getting through. The fort actually fell when General Sherman attacked from the land during his "march to the sea" as his forces burned a sixty mile wide swath from Atlanta to Savannah. The attack did delay Sherman's forces long enough for the 10,000 Confederate troops stationed in Savannah to withdraw. This actually saved Savannah and, therefore, Sherman did not destroy the city like they did Atlanta and everything else in their path since there was no resistance when they arrived in the city. Most of the fort is underground with tunnels connecting the gun emplacements and the magazines. The center section of the fort is called "the bombproof" and is where the men lived. The shelling from the Union ships in the river did no damage to the fort with the shells bouncing off the earthen walls.
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