For 15 years, Fort King George (named after King George II), served as the southern outpost of the British Empire in North America (1721-1736). As far as we’re concerned, it’s the most unusual looking fort we’ve ever seen. Come with us as we explore this reconstructed look of a British fort in the early 1700s.
An overhang on an upper floor that could be used for shooting through and alligators in the moat. How unusual!
Much of the information in this post comes from the park’s brochure. Luckily we didn’t have to remember everything we read or were told.
But first we came to a Guale roundhouse that would have been used by the earliest inhabitants. The roofs would have been thatched with palmetto leaves.
They built their homes using the wattle-and daub method of building walls and buildings. A woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung, and straw.
Wattle and daub has been used for at least 6,000 years and is still an important construction method in many parts of the world. Amazing.
At the fort, the cypress blockhouse is 26 feet square with 3 floors and a lookout at each each of the gable looking out toward the inland waterway and toward St. Simon’s Island..
the walkway toward the fort
But before we walked across the bridge, we saw this stones in ruin.
It’s the incinerator for the Lower Bluff Mill. It was used to dispose of scraps from the largest sawmill that existed here in the 1800s, about a century after the fort was occupied. The scraps were transported along a conveyor (the path where Barney was walking) from a large warehouse that sat about 150 yards to the west.
Welcome to Fort King George!
The fort walls are surrounded by a moat that fills up during high tide. A palisade fence (the sticks with sharp points) protrudes from the moat as a extra deterrent for approaching enemies.
Soldiers stood guard in structures like this sentry box at the 4 corners of the fort. Notice how the sentry box is built up (the steps are missing) so the soldier could have a clear view of what’s around him.
This earthen wall provides cover for soldiers firing their muskets. Steps down allowed them to load their next round in safety. This wall was on the land side of the fort in front of the blockhouse.
The northern side of the wall has 2 swivel guns, which are small, close-range cannons that can turn easily.
inside the blockhouse
The blockhouse is the largest building in the fort and the primary defensive structure.
The main floor (2nd level) is a few feet from ground level so intruders would have to walk up the stairs to enter.
Both cannons and muskets can be fired from this building using the gun ports and loopholes.
These loopholes, small openings for muskets, are smaller on the outside preventing rounds from entering and giving the shooters inside greater fields of fire.
The 3rd level also has these holes in the floor that hang over the lower level.
These holes allow soldiers to fire at enemies on the ground. This architectural feature is called “machicolation.”
The outside view of these holes as we looked up.
The basement area (1st level) is where the gun powder would have been stored.
gun powder storage
As we turned around, we saw this locked door with a peephole.
Looks like this is where prisoners would stay.
Above the 3rd level (that has the holes in the floor) is a catwalk where soldiers can watch the river in one direction and the land in the other.
The view of the river from 2nd level shows some of the artillery battery. Along the southern wall (the wall we’re looking at) are 9 cannon emplacements, as well as a mortar. These cannons, known as 6-pounders, were designed to fire 6-lb projectiles. They each had a 1-mile range and were pointed south toward what was once the main channel of the Altamaha River.
Both Spain and France were interested in laying claim to this important river system, but the threat of these cannons deterred them and gave the British exclusive access.
Did you notice that the cannon in the previous picture were on wooden platforms? Here’s why.
In all fortifications and in siege positions when time permitted, artillery was fired from platforms so the gun wouldn’t sink or recoil itself into the ground. Platforms were designed to provide a uniform surface on which the cannon could recoil.
Early platforms were of a trapezium shape in garrisons, while siege platforms were square or rectangular. All were made with a rise to the rear of 1/2 inch per foot to slow the recoil and to facilitate returning the gun to the right spot to fire again.
The first platforms were made about 15 feet from front to rear but were quickly lengthened whenever space was available. Even the 32-pounder with full service load would cause the standard garrison mount to recoil about 18 feet.
This drawing of gun platform is from 1746.
The drawing is of the shooting radius of each of the cannons.
view from the top floor catwalk
view from the other side overlooking the river
This drawing shows the various islands that can be seen from the fort and the various waterways around the fort.
outside
While we were visiting, one of the rangers demonstrated how to fire a musket. Soldiers could load and shoot 3 times a minute. One reason they could shoot faster than hunters was because they kept the powder and a ball together in a bag instead of separating them in 2 bags for travel.
Doctor’s Quarters: Two different doctors lived in and worked out of this building. They tended to the multitude of sick and dying soldiers.
Officers’ Quarters: The large building on the left housed the commissioned officers, including the fort’s founder Col. John Barnwell. Up to 8 officers were stationed here over the 6 years the fort was open. Lean-To Huts: The smaller building in the middle of the picture is one of the lean-to huts that were temporary shelters for the laborers who built the fort before the troops arrived.
The Bake & Brew House: This brick oven can be used to bake fresh bread, cook stews, or brew beverages. Brewing and distilling were common during the fort’s occupation.
Blacksmith’s Shop: Hooks, nails, hinges, and other ironware for the fort were forged here.
Lean-To Huts: Later these huts were used as living quarters for non-commissioned officers (those between the privates and the sergeant).
Woodshop: Furniture, pegs, shingles, and all other wooden goods for the fort were crafted here.
another sentry box with the steps leading up to it
Notice how the built-up earthen mound is kept in place with sticks of wood leaning on the earth.
The earth in front of the cannon shows what happens when the earth isn’t fortified.
Privy: The building to the right of the cannon is the fort’s privy where the soldiers conducted their personal business. It was originally located closer to the marsh so the tides could flush it twice a day.
This view shows how the cannon had a straight shot to the water.
The privy is on the left, the cannon in the middle, and the exit to the river is on the right. Boats could sail up the river with cargo for the fort.
another look at how the earthen mounds were kept in place
Enlisted Soldiers’ Barracks
On a average, around 100 soldiers were stationed here at a time. This building was designed to accommodate all off-duty troops. Around 50 men slept in here at a time. We counted 28 beds.
Mattresses are stuffed with straw.
At night candles were used in this fixture. It could be lowered by the rope attached to the wall just below the rafters.
Fireplaces at each end kept the men warm during cold, wet weather.
The fireplace was used for cooking.
back outside
The level of water in the moat changes with the tides.
Caroline’s Cottage
A walk around the outside of the property took us to a Highlander Cottage.
This cottages is affectionately named after a late volunteer, Caroline. She played a key role in assembling the volunteer group and also had a passion for Scottish history.
It’s built in the same style that the Scots of early Darien would have used. Cottages like these were constructed using the wattle-and-daub technique that we’ve seen before.
This inside look features the fireplace and kitchen table.
As we turned around, the bed is on the other side.
Sleeping quarters are upstairs. Since hot air rises, this would have been a comfortable place to sleep.
And then we passed by the Lower Bluff Mill that we saw in the previous post.
Looking at this map again, the open area in the middle on the left is cemetery for the soldiers. Their remains are still in place today.
Disease ran rampant among the soldiers who served here. These headstones were added to the site of the graves to commemorate the soldiers’ lives. No names are on the headstones, just the notation that they served at Fort King George.
The large headstone is also in their honor.
This open area is probably the location of the Spanish mission Santo Domingo de Talaje that we learned about in the previous post. In the late 1500s, Spaniards came here and tried to convert local Guale Indians to Catholicism.
Bessie Lewis is the one we can thank for helping Fort King George became a State Historic Site. Starting in the 1930s, she found the original location of the fort. In 1949, the state acquired the land. The reconstruction of the blockhouse was completed in 1988, and then workers started on the rest of the buildings.
We’re sad to leave such a pretty place, but next on our adventures is the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation, another state historic site, that features traces of a forgotten rice empire along the Altamaha River.
