| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-6 — Fort McAllister — — 10 Mi. → |
| | Situated at Genesis Point, 10 miles east on the right bank of the Great Ogeechee River below the "lost town" of Hardwick, this fort was the right of the exterior line designed for the defense of Savannah. It
denied the use of the river to Union vessels, protected King`s Bridge (2.5 miles north) and the Savannah and Gulf (ACL) R.R. bridge 2 miles below, and preserved the river plantations from Union raids. Built 1861-62 to guard the `back door` to Savannah, during 1862-63 it repulsed with . . . — Map (db m8387) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — C.S.S. Nashville |
| | Built by William Collyer in New York City. She was
ordered by New York merchants and launched September
22, 1853. Her maiden voyage was from New York to
Charleston, South Carolina, under the name United States
Mail Steamship Nashville, with a cargo of mail and
passengers. The bottom of the vessel was sheathed in
copper in 1854 to prevent marine growth. She was overhauled
in 1859, and received new boilers in June 1860.
The Nashville entered Charleston Harbor April . . . — Map (db m12868) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Capt. John McCrady — Designer of Fort McAllister |
| | Charlestonian, a student of Agassiz at Harvard, then professor of mathematics at the College of Charleston, he resigned his position at the outbreak of the war and became an officer in the Confederate engineers. Transferred to Savannah he spent his efforts surrounding that city with an extensive ring of defenses.
The rest of his life was academic. He returned to his old professorship in Charleston, later became assistant to Agassiz, then professor of biology at the University of the South, Sewannee, Tennessee. — Map (db m12711) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Cheves' Rice Mill |
| | From the roof of Cheves' rice mill (2 1/2 miles across the Ogeechee in the direction of the arrow) General Sherman and his staff watched the reduction of Fort McAllister, sunset, December 13, 1864. — Map (db m12914) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Columbiad |
| | This replica of a coast defense cannon known as the columbiad was manufactured, 1964, by Savannah Machine and Foundry Company as a public service. A similar cannon was positioned here during Union naval attacks, 1863. The columbiad fired 87-lb. shells; its range was 2,500 yds. — Map (db m12776) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Damage From Naval Bombardments |
| | The largest naval guns used against land fortifications were fired on fort McAllister in 1863 from monitor-type Union ironclads. 15 in. shells penetrated 17 feet of sand, digging craters 89 ft. in diameter and 7 ft. deep on exploding, but all damage could be repaired overnight. — Map (db m13037) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Destruction of the C.S.S. Nashville |
| | The swift Confederate blockade runner Nashville
( renamed Rattlesnake was destroyed
by the monitor Montauk, February 28, 1863,
after she went aground on a sandbar in a hairpin bend
of the Ogeechee River. The engagement was a three- way
battle with the guns of the fort ( McAllister) firing on the
Montauk and the Montauk concentrating
on the Nashville. The wreck of the Nashville
lies in the direction of the arrow, approximately 1200 yards. — Map (db m11474) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Machinery From The C.S.S. Nashville |
| | These portions of rotating machinery were
removed, in 1960, from the wreck of the
Confederate blockade runner Nashville,
sunk in the Ogeechee River by shell fire from
the U.S.S. Montauk in Feb. 1863.
These relics give some conception of the
power of the Nashville's engine. — Map (db m16105) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Major Gallie's Gun |
| | In this emplacement, chosen nearest the enemy, was the gun, an 8-inch columbiad, commanded personally by Major John B. Gallie. — Map (db m12995) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Obstruction of River |
| | To block the channel of the Ogeechee River, a double row of piling was placed across the river at a point opposite this marker. — Map (db m12867) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Position of the Monitors |
| | The monitors took positions against the far marsh in the direction of the arrow, between 900 and 1200 yards from the fort during the following series of attacks: by the MONTAUK, January 27, February 1, and February 28, 1863; and by the PASSAIC, the NAHANT, and the PATAPSCO, March 3, 1863. — Map (db m12777) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Tom Cat — Garrison Mascot |
| | The sole Confederate fatality after seven hours of intensive bombardment on March 3, 1863, by the monitors PASSAIC (Capt. Percival Drayton), NAHANT, and PATAPSCO, supported by the MONTAUK, the WISSAHICKON, the SENECA, the DAWN, the FLAMBEAU, the SERBAGO, the C.P. WILLIAMS, the NORFOLK PACKET, and the PARA was the garrison mascot. The death of the cat was deeply regretted by the men, and news of the fatality was communicated to General Beauregard in the official report of the action. — Map (db m13038) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Confederate Land Mines |
| | Land mines or torpedoes buried along the western approaches to the fort caused most of the casualties to the Union troops in the assault on December 13, 1864. After the taking of the fort, General Sherman personally gave orders that the captured Confederate garrison be required to remove the unexploded mines. — Map (db m13071) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Major John B. Gallie |
| | Killed in action while commanding the fort during the second attack of the monitor MONTAUK, February 1, 1863. The 32-pounder beside which he was standing was struck while Gallie was going from gun to gun, encouraging his men to calmness of aim. — Map (db m13072) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — Capt. Nicholas Clinch |
| | When called upon by a Union officer to surrender during Sherman`s assault, December 13, 1864, Clinch responded with a blow of his sword. After three sabre, six bayonet, and two gunshot wounds, he was taken. — Map (db m13075) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-3 — Fort McAllister The Assault From The Rear |
| | Dec. 1864. Fort McAllister, built 1861-62 to close the Great Ogeechee River to enemy ships, mounted 11 siege guns, 12 field pieces and 1 10-inch mortar. Below it, piles and torpedoes obstructed the channel. As the Union forces neared Savannah, the fort`s capture became imperative in order that ships could pass up-river to supply them. Naval attempts having failed, Brig. Gen. Wm. B. Hazen's Division, 15th Corps [USA], was ordered to cross the river, move to the fort, and take it from the rear. . . . — Map (db m16103) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-7 — Sinking of the CSS ''Nashville(Rattlesnake)" |
| | In July, 1862 the CSS "Nashville", Capt. Baker, ran the Union blockade and entered Savannah via Wilmington river with a cargo of arms. Loaded with cotton for Europe, she attempted to escape via Ossabaw Sound. Thwarted by the vigilance of the blockading squadron, she was withdrawn up Great Ogeechee River and refitted as a raider. Renamed "Rattlesnake", her silhouette was lowered and she received heavier guns. In February, 1863, ready for sea, she dropped down-river to Fort McAliister to plan her . . . — Map (db m16104) |
| Georgia (Bryan County), Richmond Hill — 015-4 — Fort McAllister Naval Bombardments |
| | On July 1st and 29th, 1862, the fort was shelled by Union gunboats and on Nov. 19th by the ironclad "Wissahickon" and two escort craft. Hit below the waterline, "Wissahickon" withdrew after firing 17 11-inch and 25 other shells. The escorts withdrew later after firing 49 100-pdr. and 42 other shells. On Jan. 27, 1863, the armored monitor "Montauk," Comdr. J.L. Worden, USN, anchored near the fort, leaving her escort of four gunboats one mile astern. She fired 61 15-inch and 35 11-inch shells, . . . — Map (db m16102) |
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