Fort McAllister Historic State Park, GA (2-15-15)
Read MoreSherman's Neckties
One of the objectives of Sherman's March-to-the-Sea was the destruction of Georgia's rail lines. Simply tearing up tracks wasn't enough to permanently put them out of commission so Sherman's men would heat the rails until they could be bent and then, often using trees, bend them into the above 'necktie' configuration rendering them useless...
McAllister Plantation
Fort McAllister was built on the property of one Joseph McAllister, for whom the fort was named. McAllister owned a fairly large plantation of which the park has reconstructed the overseer's house and slave cabins (above). Joseph McAllister served with the Confederate calvary and was killed at the Battle of Trevilian's Station in Virginia on June 11, 1864...
McAllister Plantaion
Fort McAllister was built on the property of one Joseph McAllister, for whom the fort was named. McAllister owned a fairly large plantation of which the park has reconstructed the overseer's house (above) and slave cabins. Joseph McAllister served with the Confederate calvary and was killed at the Battle of Trevilian's Station in Virginia on June 11, 1864...
Parade Ground
The parade ground was used for drilling and training. During an attack, however, this wide open space was a deadly place to find oneself and soldiers would quickly move to one of the 'bombproof mounds' seen here. To the left is the Hot Shot Furnace Bomproof while to the right you can see the entrance to the Central Bomproof...
Battery & Magazine
Most cannon positions (left) along the walls of McAllister were adjoined by their own bombproof magazine (center mound). Having their own close-at-hand magazines helped make providing ordinance to the guns more efficient as well as keeping those hauling the shells out of harms way as much as possible...
The Left Angle
This gun position was one of five such positions which were located along the seaward side of the fort. As such, when Union ships began shelling the fort this was the area that took the most fire. In fact, on February 1, 1863, a 15-inch Union shell fired from the Ironclad Montauk blew right through the forts' outer wall near this very spot...
32-Pounder Cannon
Of Fort McAllister's compliment of 20 cannon, 4 were of this variety...a Model 1841 32-pounder. With the '32-pounder' nomenclature denoting the weight of the shell which the cannon fired, these guns had an effective range of over a mile and were quite popular weapons of seacoast fortifications...
Snipers vs. Ironclads
The Union gunships sent to bombard Fort McAllister took up positions on the Ogeechee River in the general area which this picture covers. In response to this threat, volunteer Confederate sharpshooters rowed across to the marsh you can see on the far side of the river. From there they could harass the crews of the ironclads by firing into their open gunports...
8-Inch Columbiad
Of the 20 guns contained within the fort, six were Columbiads (3 8-inch, 3 10-inch). These large-caliber weapons were popular seacoast defense weapons because of the large range of firing angles they were effective at, as well as their impressive range which reached to over 3-miles...
The Sally Port - Looking Outward
Land access to the fort was provided through this Sally Port. Supplies could quickly be brought into the fort here, through the opposite wall from which the naval bombardment was focused on. Once Sherman started making his approach, however, the port was likely filled in for added defense...
Perils of a Landward Attack
Looking landward a beautiful pine forest is seen though this is nothing like the view soldiers would have had at the time period. As with other fortifications it would not have been wise for defenders to leave their line-of-sight so impeded. Thus, the terrain was likely cleared for well over a thousand yards out so an attacking army would have nowhere to hide. In addition Confederates had spread land mines (called 'torpedoes' at the time) across the open ground. In fact, these mines caused the bulk of the Union casualties when Sherman attacked the fort on Decmber 13, 1864...
The Mortar Battery
The 10-inch mortar placed here was commanded by Captain Robert Martin. It had to be placed at a distance from the fort because the guns' massive concussion when fired would have damaged the forts earthen walls. The mortar was used as a counter-battery to Union ironclads on the river...
The Mortar Battery
The 10-inch mortar placed here was commanded by Captain Robert Martin. It had to be placed at a distance from the fort because the guns' massive concussion when fired would have damaged the forts earthen walls. The mortar was used as a counter-battery to Union ironclads on the river...
Center Bombproof
This, the largest of McAllisters 'bombproof' fortifications, served many purposes. It served as a hospital, supply depot, and quarters of refuge during periods of bombardment. It was at the main entrance, visible here, where during the assault of March 3, 1863 a Union 15-inch shell landed amongst a group of Confederate officers and men. Remarkably, everyone escape with nothing more than flash burns...
Dave Kathy Weemhoff
on October 5, 2015Quite the impressive place!