Exploring America

An infographic showing the major ways mid-century America got to know their country, and some of what they found there.

I've been to many of these places, but I know one of the locations well. The fort pictured as location 65 is not actually on Tybee Island, but on Cockspur Island on Savannah River between Tybee Island and the port of Savannah: it's Fort Pulaski, named after Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman who came to join the Revolution and fought alongside Americans because he believed in their program of liberty. He once saved the life of George Washington and is honored by an equestrian statue in Savannah. 

About twenty-five years ago I worked on a documentary interviewing the CCC veterans who had restored Fort Pulaski during the Depression, as an oral history project while pursuing a degree in that discipline. They were a fun crew of older gentlemen with good stories to tell about the CCC and the War. I mentioned that experience about ten years ago.

Savannah has another fort, Fort James Jackson, named after that hero of the Revolution and early Georgia history. It's also a brickwork fort, an older installation that Pulaski was intended to replace. It was not reduced during the Civil War because the Union Navy was content to bottle up Savannah further up the river, though Sherman's army occupied it when they took the city much later in the war. It's quite lovely and right by the city; it's where the local Scottish Highland Games are held.

A third fort, Fort McAllister, was an earthwork fort that was much more successful at resisting rifled naval artillery than brickwork designs proved to be. It was attacked seven times but not taken or reduced until Sherman captured it with land forces. The Wikipedia page has an interesting anecdote I had not heard:

During the evening that the fort fell, [the fort's defending commander] Anderson was being held at the McAllister family home, the new headquarters of General William Babcock Hazen. General Hazen and Lt. Col. Strong invited General Sherman to dinner, to celebrate their victory. In a kind gesture of respect, General Hazen also invited Major Anderson to attend the meal, after clearing the request with Sherman. The discussion was surely lively - during the meal Anderson engaged in a heated exchange with General Sherman about the tactics employed to defend the fort and the bravery of all who fought there. Cigars were exchanged and smoked, and tributes were made to the fallen. However, Sherman remained greatly upset at Anderson's use of land mines in the defense of the fort, and ordered the Major [General] to personally join his fellow captured Confederates on mine-clearing detail.

My wife painted the ruins of Fort McAllister once when she was pursing a fine arts degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I don't know after whom the fort was named; the family was locally important. One of them was mayor of Savannah and his son was a state senator. I would guess it was probably one of them.

The map has many other interesting locations, and is fun to explore.