The 1st Tybee Island Day Mark
When James Oglethorpe established the British colony in 1733, he recognized the need for a lighthouse on Georgia's coast, and and ordered that one be built on Tybee Island. When the wooden tower was completed in . . . — — Map (db m210677) HM
The 3rd Tybee Island Day Mark/Lighthouse 1773 - 1861
A third lighthouse was begun in 1768 and completed in early 1773. To prevent future loss to the fury of the Atlantic, the third light was constructed well inland, away from wave action, . . . — — Map (db m210678) HM
The destruction of the lighthouse was a disappointment to Olmstead and the Confederate
forces. Olmstead stated that "although the fire entirely destroyed all the wood work of the interior, the solid brick shaft was left standing like a chimney and . . . — — Map (db m210679) HM
Following the War Between the States, the United States Lighthouse Service decided to rebuild the Tybee Island Lighthouse in 1866. Due to increased shipping activity in the South during Reconstruction, the Lighthouse Service reclassified the . . . — — Map (db m210680) HM
Made by Fawcett, Preston and Company (Liverpool, England), this rifle and the others like it came through the blockade on the British steamship Fingall, November 12, 1861. It fired a projectile weighing 24 pounds and had an effective range of about . . . — — Map (db m67808) HM
Acting Brigadier General Quincy Adams Gillmore led the Union artillery attack on Fort Pulaski. Because the US Army originally built the fort, he knew its strengths and weaknesses and targeted the angle in front of you. Within range of Tybee . . . — — Map (db m134112) HM
Albertha “Bertha” Lucas Tattnall and Edward “Bones” Tattnall
Fishing Industry Workers, mid-1900s
Edward Tattnall was born in the 1890s on Wilmington Island, Georgia. As an adult he lived on Tybee Island with his wife Alberta "Bertha" . . . — — Map (db m252405) HM
The Alger Avenue neighborhood was a small community of Tybee Black residents. The buildings were simple and efficient cinder block homes with hipped roofs. Some, but not all of Alger's residents and places have been documented. Most of this . . . — — Map (db m251842) HM
Anchor
circa 1849
Salvaged from the sunken
wreck of an old wooden sailing
ship discovered several miles off
the north shore of Tybee Island.
This anchor, ballast rock and
and some iron debris were all that . . . — — Map (db m251821) HM
Annie Dickerson
Lodging House Owner, early 1900s
Annie Dickerson opened Brown's Cottage in 1913 to provide lodging and catering services for Black visitors to the island. Brown's Cottage served as both a lodging place and catering . . . — — Map (db m252418) HM
Cockspur Island saw one more military use
after the War Between the States. During the
Spanish American War, a small force was
garrisoned here to protect the river mouth.
They operated the controls for electric
mines in the Savannah River, . . . — — Map (db m15064) HM
The southeast angle of Fort Pulaski was breached by early afternoon on April 11, 1862. With devastating accuracy, Union rifled artillery accomplished this task in only 30 hours. It would take over 1,000 Federal troops six weeks to repair the battle . . . — — Map (db m67780) HM
"The result of this bombardment must cause, I am convinced, a change in the construction of fortification as radical as that foreshadowed in naval architecture by the conflict between the Monitor and Merrimac. No works of stone or brick can . . . — — Map (db m13224) HM
Fort Screven
Named for
Brigadier General
James Screven
of Georgia
1744 - 1778
General Screven fell
mortality wounded
November 22, 1778,
near Midway Church,
Georgia, while fighting
for American independence . . . — — Map (db m252464) WM
Cast at the Tredegar Foundary in Richmond, Virginia, this rifled cannon had an effective range of 5 miles and fired a projectile weighing 64 pounds. Designed by a Confederate Naval Officer, it was considered superior to other rifled guns used . . . — — Map (db m67815) HM
One of the most prosperous businesses on Tybee Island, with a 40-year tenure, was Walter "Contractor" Brown's Cement Plant. Mr. Brown, who was born in 1917 on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina and moved to Tybee as a teenager, having completed his . . . — — Map (db m251848) HM
Walter Brown Sr., owner of the Brown Cement Factory moved to Tybee from Daufuskie Island, South Carolina when he was a teenager. Over the years, Brown built up a successful cement business and eventually constructed a home for his growing family on . . . — — Map (db m251855) HM
Brutus
Waterman, 1860s
Brutus was an enslaved man who later escaped slavery in 1861. He expertly traversed Tybee Island's waterways, impressing Union military officers with his navigational skills and his knowledge of the local . . . — — Map (db m252454) HM
The Immortal 600 were a group of Confederate officers held prisoners of war at Fort Pulaski during the bitterly cold winter of 1864-1865. They were moved here from Charleston where they had been placed in the line of artillery fire in retaliation . . . — — Map (db m315695) HM
In front of you, reaching to the North Channel, a busy village supported Fort Pulaski. Originally built to house workers constructing the fort, the village became an extension of the post. How people used village buildings changed over time. The . . . — — Map (db m134069) HM
Lighthouses were designed to have different paint schemes or "day marks” on their exteriors. This made the Lighthouse recognizable during the daytime when the light could not be seen. Once established, it was rare for a day mark to change. However, . . . — — Map (db m210683) HM
In the 1800s, a busy village stood where you now see a wooded area beyond the parking lot.
Here at the mouth of the Savannah River, Cockspur Island was a strategic military outpost from before the Revolutionary War until after World War II. Tides . . . — — Map (db m134101) HM
Robert E. Lee, newly graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, joined Major Samuel Babcock of the Army Corps of Engineers in 1829 to begin work on building a construction village on this site. Two years later Lee . . . — — Map (db m315697) HM
The City of Tybee Island, by comparison to our neighbor Savannah, is a relatively young city. The city was chartered in 1887 as Ocean City, and a year later the name was changed to Town of Tybee. Tybee Island was developed as a seaside resort town . . . — — Map (db m252028) HM
Designed and built in 1848 by renowned architect John S. Norris to mark the entrance to the South Channel of the Savannah River, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse was destroyed by a hurricane in 1854. A larger replacement was built on the same . . . — — Map (db m47201) HM
The Cockspur Island Lighthouse, located in front of you was built in 1856. Six years later it was a silent witness to the Battle of Fort Pulaski. On April 10-11, 1862, the lighthouse was located midway between Union forces here on Tybee Island and . . . — — Map (db m292061) HM
Surrounded on all sides by the moat, the demilune (literally “half-moon”) protected the vulnerable fort entrance. This triangular area was modified in 1872 by the addition of earthen mounds which housed powder magazines. During the . . . — — Map (db m67779) HM
April 10, 1862: The Confederates refused a formal demand to surrender because enemy guns were a mile away—more than twice the effective range of heavy artillery of the day. When Union troops opened fire, their new rifled cannons fired . . . — — Map (db m134110) HM
Dorothy Jackson (top), older daughter of Tybee Head Keeper George Jackson, was an original member of Troop 16 at Fort Screven. Her younger sister Grace was a member of Troop 16 and then Troop 15. They both served as scribes for their troops, writing . . . — — Map (db m252286) HM
Controlling tidal flow over the island was a critical first step in the construction of Fort Pulaski. A complex system of ditches and dikes drain water away from the fort. Designed in 1829 by young Army engineer Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, the system . . . — — Map (db m134095) HM
There were four Enlisted Men's Barracks located on Fort Screven but only one remains. The remaining Enlisted Men's Barrack building was built in 1910 and could sleep 109 men It was built at a cost of $24,523 which would amount to $720,000 in 2022. . . . — — Map (db m252005) HM
Between February 21 and April 9, 1862, Federal troops under Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore erected 36 guns in 11 batteries, extending eastwardly on Tybee Island from Lazeretto Creek opposite Fort Pulaski. Two of the Federal batteries consisted of rifled . . . — — Map (db m7545) HM
Thirty-six big guns on Tybee Island, 1 to 1½ miles away, converged their fire on the fort. The bombardment proved that rifled cannon could destroy masonry forts. — — Map (db m67816) HM
The cemetery at Fort Pulaski marks the final resting place for workers, families, and soldiers. Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as the people who built the fort and supported the troops garrisoned here, once shared this hallowed ground. . . . — — Map (db m134114) HM
Troop 16, the first Tybee Island based troop, had its initial meeting on May 28, 1934. "Army Wives" were the initial lead-ers. The army sponsored the troop and meetings were held from 1935 on at a Scout Hut specially built at the Fort for the Girl . . . — — Map (db m252279) HM
Tybee Lighthouse was re-classified as a major aid to navigation in 1866 and a First-Order Fresnel lens was installed in 1867. The lens, with a height of 9 feet and a 6-foot diameter, has 320 glass prisms. Lard was used to keep the light lit in 1867, . . . — — Map (db m210681) HM
In March of 2010, the Tybee Island Historical Society moved the Fogarty-Hosti Cottage to the property adjacent to the Tybee Island Light Station, and the cottages restoration was completed in 2011. This move from Butler Avenue to the Tybee Island . . . — — Map (db m252437) HM
The 48th New York Volunteers garrisoned Fort Pulaski after the Confederates surrendered the fort. On special occasions, soldiers invited guests from Hilton Head to enjoy a day of festivities and games. Sack and wheelbarrow races on the parade ground . . . — — Map (db m134096) HM
Named for General Casimir Pulaski, the Polish hero who was mortally wounded at the siege of Savannah, 1779, Fort Pulaski was built in accordance with plans by General Simon Bernard, formerly chief engineer under Napoleon. Begun in 1829 and . . . — — Map (db m5037) HM
The Legislature of Georgia in 1786 passed a law providing for a fort on Cockspur or Tybee Island to be named in honor of General James Screven, Revolutionary War hero. It was never built by the state. In 1808 the Federal government obtained . . . — — Map (db m210473) HM
Activated just prior to the Spanish-American War and inactivated at the close of World War II, Fort Screven served as a military post for almost 50 years. During that time, Fort Screven was a coast artillery installation, an infantry post, District . . . — — Map (db m13076) HM
Fort Screven Bakery - 1914
(Located on the left)
The Fort Screven Bakery was built in 1914 for a sum of $6,911.00, which. would amount to $193,000 in 2022.
In 1940 the new bakery equipment was installed at a cost of $5,400 . . . — — Map (db m252120) HM
The Fort Screven District is a nationally recognized Historic District. The first buildings to be built for Fort Screven were the six Endicott Period Batteries, that would be used for coastal defense. All of which were constructed between the years . . . — — Map (db m200251) HM
Fort Screven - 1911
(located on the left)
The Fort Screwen Fire Station was built in 1911 for a sum on $2,860, which would amount to $84,000 in 2022. In 1912 the electric light system was installed for a sum of $63. Prior to . . . — — Map (db m252236) HM
Union forces took back Fort Pulaski in 1862, opening a door to freedom for enslaved people in the region. Families fled to this Union outpost in Confederate territory for liberty and protection. The military recruited African American men from . . . — — Map (db m134093) HM
The Fuel Storage Building was completed in 1890. It's red roof marked that there were flammable substances inside. This is where the keepers would have kept the fuel for the light. Note the metal roof, brick walls, and a brick floor, which was an . . . — — Map (db m210696) HM
With the creation of the Tybee Road in 1923, the automobile came to Tybee Island. This meant that the keepers could have a vehicle to help them work and move around the island more freely than before. With the addition of the automobile came the . . . — — Map (db m210710) HM
Membership Roll
of the
Officers and Privates
of the
German Volunteers
organized in 1845
who left Savannah
on board the Steam Tug Sampson on Wednesday
the 24th of January 1861, to garrison
Fort Pulaski
John H. Stegin, . . . — — Map (db m5050) HM
In military terms, a hutment is a group of huts on an Army campsite; however, on Tybee the word refers to a singular structure. Initially located at the north end of Hosti Avenue, the Gilyard hutment was given free of charge to Joseph Thomas Gilyard . . . — — Map (db m252349) HM
The demilune (French for "half-moon") protected the fort's entrance. During the Civil War, the demilune wall was about waist high with gun platforms on the flat top.
After the Civil War, while Fort Pulaski was still a military post, Army . . . — — Map (db m134094) HM
The Head Keeper's Cottage was built in 1881 after the previous dwelling had suffered extreme damage during a tropical cyclone that hit in 1871. The house was built for a sum of $6,000 which would be $160,500 in 2021.
The restoration was . . . — — Map (db m210699) HM
Henry Sims Morgan graduated with the class of 1897 from West Point Academy. A second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, he was in charge of construction of a battery on Wassaw Island from 1897 to 1898.
Morgan drowned on August 31, 1898 while . . . — — Map (db m200248) HM
On April 13, 1862, following the Union capture of Ft. Pulaski during the Civil War, Maj. Gen. David Hunter issued General Orders No. 7 freeing those enslaved at the fort and on Cockspur Island. Hunter, an abolitionist advocating the enlistment of . . . — — Map (db m280516) HM
On September 19, 1918, 574 US Army officers and enlisted men departed Fort Screven under the command of 2nd Lt Samuel E. Levy to board the British troopship H.M.S. Otranto. The ship departed New York carrying more than 1025 U.S. soldiers and . . . — — Map (db m200247) HM
Only the foundation remains of one of the fort’s furnaces which heated cannon balls. Used against wooden ships, the red-hot projectiles could start a disastrous fire – even after skipping on the water several times. Loading a cannon with hot . . . — — Map (db m67781) HM
Confederate States of America Immortal Six Hundred Brave on the field of battle with steadfast loyality to country and comrades. They placed honour above life itself. The “13” who died and are buried here . . . crossed over on Lt. . . . — — Map (db m67821) HM
You are standing at the mouth of the Savannah River looking toward the Atlantic Ocean. This has been an important gateway linking Savannah to world markets since Europeans arrived here in 1732. Historically, ships loaded with cash crops, like cotton . . . — — Map (db m315637) HM
James Adams had an oyster house on Chatham Avenue that he rented from Amy and Jeff Dickey. His partner in the oyster business was Jack Munjon from Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. In the fall, James and Jack would go out to harvest oysters. In . . . — — Map (db m251905) HM
On February 6, 1736, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, landed at Peeper (now Cockspur) Island near here and there preached to his fellow voyagers his first sermon on American soil. A monument has been erected on Cockspur Island to commemorate . . . — — Map (db m5072) HM
(upper inscription):
John Wesley
landed in America
on this island.
February 6, 1736
(lower inscription):
From
the Journal of John Wesley
"Fri, 6,- About eight in the morning I first set my foot on American ground. It . . . — — Map (db m12917) HM
Journal of the Light-House Stationat at Tybee Island, Ga.
August 7, 1878
Early on the evening of the unit. An incident occurred which aroused the station to such a degree of excitement that had a stranger come suddenly upon the . . . — — Map (db m210688) HM
Please enjoy our garden, but do not pick the fruits of our labor, these are for our current keepers. Thank you.
The keepers of the Tybee Island Light Station were required to have a garden by the United States Lighthouse Service. In the 1927 . . . — — Map (db m210700) HM
The Union Army took control of Hilton Head Island after the Battle of Port Royal Sound in November 1861. More than 15,000 Union troops landed on the island to establish a large military base. From Hilton Head, Union forces conducted military actions . . . — — Map (db m134102) HM
Veterans Day
11 November 1987
The citizens of Tybee Island an members of American Legion Post 154 dedicate this plaque to honor Tybee Island residents who served with distinction in the Armed Forces of the United States during the Korean War and . . . — — Map (db m253834) WM
End of U.S. 80
Tybee Island
Korean War Veterans
Memorial Highway
Dedicated 4/7/08 by the
Republic of Korea
and a grateful nation — — Map (db m252503) WM
After the repeal of the anti-slavery provision in the Charter of the Colony of Georgia on 1749, an act permitting the importation of slaves ordered the erection of a Lazaretto (Quarantine Station) on Tybee Island. Not until 1767 were 104 acres . . . — — Map (db m12953) HM
The reclassification of the Tybee Lighthouse as a "First Order light required significant changes to the light station. It now required 3 Light Keepers, so housing had to be constructed for them and their families. The light station was located on . . . — — Map (db m210686) HM
Until recently 1000 watt bulbs were used in most first-order Fresnel lenses. The light produced by the 1000 watt bulb combined with the magnification power of the Fresnel lens, can be seen for over 20 miles at sea and can be measured in hundreds of . . . — — Map (db m210682) HM
This recreated gun battery marks the center of the Union lines. Between February and April 1862, eleven gun batteries were erected on Tybee Island. A battery was not located on this site, but the cannon on the left is an original from the battle. . . . — — Map (db m292060) HM
Prelude to Disaster
On September 19, 1918, 574 Coastal Artillery Corps (CAC) officers and troops from the surrounding Georgia counties, including Chatham, set out by train from Tybee Island to New York under the command of 2nd Lt. Sam Levy. . . . — — Map (db m200243) HM
Louis Green and Joseph Sanders
WWI Veterans, Employees of Hotel Tybee, 1910s
Louis Green and Joseph Sanders both listed their residence as Tybee on their draft registration and were reported in the newspaper as men from Chatham County who . . . — — Map (db m252414) HM
In 2019, Tybee Island was designated a UNESCO Site of Memory as a documented trans-Atlantic location where kidnapped African men, women, and children who survived the Middle Passage arrived. Fifty-three ports line the coast of the continental . . . — — Map (db m253751) HM
In 2019, Tybee Island was designated a UNESCO Site of Memory as a documented trans-Atlantic location where kidnapped African men, women, and children who survived the Middle Passage arrived. Fifty-three ports line the coast of the continental . . . — — Map (db m253754) HM
The Middle Passage is a scar on the history of humanity. It is not a single race, religion or country's responsibility to bear; it belongs to the world. The enslavement of Africans was a global system that lasted more than 300 years. The Middle . . . — — Map (db m253753) HM
In wartime the moat was filled with water
from the South Channel of the Savannah
River. This feeder canal featured stop-lock
gates which provided water control and
access to small barges bringing supplies to
the fort. When filled from this . . . — — Map (db m13187) HM
The Phoenix Iron Works of Philadelphia made this carriage for a Parrott rifle (cannon). The weapon fired a 100 pound projectile 8500 yards. Carriage and gun weighed almost 13,000 pounds. In 1978 this carriage was recovered from a long-lost . . . — — Map (db m67807) HM
This fountain was donated to the City of Tybee Island by Nicholas Charles Alexander in loving memory of his wife Voncyle. Nickie, as he was known to his many friends, was a Tybee icon, a City Council member, business owner and shrewd entrepreneur. . . . — — Map (db m252171) HM
Cockspur Island has changed tremendously in the last 200 years. Before the early 1800s, the island was mainly a salty grass marsh with a few, forested bits of dry land. With the US Army's decision to construct a fort here, they cut down trees to . . . — — Map (db m134113) HM
Joseph "Thomas" Gilyard's Hutment sat at this location from 1975 to 2007. Gilyard used the building as a guest cottage and a place to spend time with friends. It was never used as a primary residence. The hutment was donated to the Tybee Island . . . — — Map (db m251853) HM
The Confederates used earth and a “blindage” of timbers as protection against shot and shells falling within the fort. To reduce casualties from flying debris, the “light colonnade” or veranda roof along the gorge was . . . — — Map (db m67782) HM
On April 10, 1862, German volunteers of the 46th N. Y. Regiment manned this gun and the one on the right. On that date the guns bore down on Fort Pulaski from one of eleven Federal batteries located on Tybee and McQueens Islands. Following their . . . — — Map (db m67818) HM
By noon, April 11, 1862, shells breached the opposite side of the fort and struck this wall. Inside sat great stores of gunpowder. The fort surrendered two hours later. — — Map (db m67805) HM
In early 1862, Confederate soldiers used earth and timbers to create a blindage. The blindage created a covered walkway to protect troops against incoming shot and shells. They also dug ditches in the parade ground to catch rolling cannon shot. . . . — — Map (db m134099) HM
"Without going into a detailed history of my life, which would be too long, it will suffice to say to you in the language of an old soldier and of a citizen, that, in coming to America, my sole object has been to devote myself entirely to her . . . — — Map (db m89126) HM
Hot shot furnaces were state of the art for defense systems of their day. Soldiers heated cannonballs in specially designed furnaces until they glowed red hot. They carefully loaded the hot shot into cannons and fired at wooden ships. Even after . . . — — Map (db m134100) HM
An article in the Savannah Evening Press on October 13, 1937 stated, "The troop having no hall of its own had to hold meetings in first one place and then another. In 1935 through the efforts of General Van Horn Moseley a beautiful rustic hut was . . . — — Map (db m252275) HM
On August 17, 1960, eleven African-American students were arrested six blocks north of here at Georgia's first wade-in protesting the Whites-only public beaches. During the era of segregation, Savannah's African Americans were forced to travel . . . — — Map (db m251770) HM
Savannah River Light
Name: Cockspur Lighthouse
Location: entrance of the south channel of the Savannah River
Date Built: 1849
Date Deactivated: 1909
Height: 45 feet
Light: Fourth-Order Fresnel Lens
Savannah River Light
Name: Tybee . . . — — Map (db m210690) HM
The City of Tybee Island was incorporated in 1887, and a small year round population had developed creating a need for local services including a school. The first Tybee School was in an old wooden structure at the turn of the century, and a new . . . — — Map (db m252133) HM
The Second Assistant Keeper's Cottage was believed to have been built from the remains of an 1861 barracks building which housed soldiers during the Civil War. In 1867, the 2nd Assistant Keeper was assigned to live in the cottage.
The . . . — — Map (db m210698) HM
The second Tybee School remained open until 1988 when it closed due to not meeting local intergration requirements that were the result of Tybee's demographics and Chatham County refusing to bus students from Savannah to Tybee Island. The old school . . . — — Map (db m252164) HM
This is the historic cupola that topped the Cockspur Island Lighthouse. The cupola protected the powerful Fresnel lens at the top of the lighthouse tower. In 1995, preservation staff discovered several structural cracks in the cupola and removed it . . . — — Map (db m134077) HM
Since 1867, the island has grown due to dredging.
Cockspur Island was once much smaller than it is today. Since the end of the Civil War through the 1980s, the Savannah River was dredged to make it deep enough for ocean-going container ships. . . . — — Map (db m134109) HM
Built in 1856, the lighthouse in front of you guided ships into the South Channel of the Savannah River. It has survived hurricanes and even the Battle for Fort Pulaski, when the shots and shells of rifled cannons flew overhead.
As the North . . . — — Map (db m315689) HM
Casimir Pulaski became a national hero in Poland when he fought for Polish liberty against Russian and Prussian forces in 1771. A year later, Poland lost the fight and Pulaski was forced to flee his homeland. He met Benjamin Franklin in Paris in . . . — — Map (db m134074) HM
The Southwest Bastion held a special type of cannon to protect the fort’s entrance. These cannon, known as 24-pounder flank defense howitzers, were aimed at the drawbridge. Today, this area provides a cutaway view of the fort’s upper foundations. . . . — — Map (db m67800) HM
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