Fort Barrington, briefly renamed Fort Howe after its capture, was a mid-18th-century frontier fort. It was used and

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

ed for several conflicts, including between the British, Spanish, and Native Americans; during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

; and during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. In the years following, much of the original site has been destroyed by river action. Despite this, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on September 27, 1972, and is currently held as part of a hunting and fishing club. No archaeological work other than ground reconnaissance has been done. with (The 1864 map locates it closer to .)

History

The fort was built in 1751 by British troops under the command of Lieutenant

Robert Baillie Robert Baillie (30 April 16021662) was a Church of Scotland minister who became famous as an author and a propagandist for the Covenanters.

; its name was chosen in honor of Josiah Barrington, a friend of the lieutenant and relative of

James Oglethorpe James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...

. It was first stationed by a detachment of the First Troop of British Rangers as one of their defenses against

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

and Indian raids. It was later used during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

as the military headquarters for the American southern theater of operations; it was during this period that it was called Fort Howe. However, it was captured and burned by British forces on March 13, 1778, when Colonel Thomas Brown led his Loyalist company of the King's Rangers in an attack on the fort and took 23 Patriots prisoner. The fort's site was occupied by

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces during the

. For over two centuries the site of Fort Barrington was a vital transportation and communication center of major military and political significance. The ferry was used until the early twentieth century, due to the fact that any overland coastal traffic which sought to avoid crossing the four major rivers and swamps of the

Altamaha River The Altamaha River is a major river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles (220 km) from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties ...

delta would have to pass just below the site of the fort. The fort was added to the

on September 27, 1972. Today, one can enter the area where the fort once stood down Fort Barrington Road and see a clubhouse, some small structures, moss-draped trees, a sandy beach, and a wooden dock. A

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

for the site is located on

Georgia State Route 57 State Route 57 (SR 57) is a state highway that travels northwest-to-southeast through portions of Bibb, Jones, Twiggs, Wilkinson, Washington, Johnson, Emanuel, Candler, Tattnall, Long, and McIntosh counties in the central and south ...

at the Long County- McIntosh County line. Some evidence of the old fort survives: sand

breastworks A breastwork is a temporary fortification, often an earthwork thrown up to breast height to provide protection to defenders firing over it from a standing position. A more permanent structure, normally in stone, would be described as a parapet o ...

and two

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s can be made out on the left of the sandy road leading to the hunting and fishing club that now occupies the area.Georgia
North American Forts
Georgia Info

Geography

The fort was built on the north side of the

about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of present-day

Darien, Georgia Darien () is a city in and the county seat of McIntosh County, Georgia, United States. It lies on Georgia's coast at the mouth of the Altamaha River, approximately south of Savannah, and is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statist ...

. Its remains are a series of low ridges or embankments at the tip of a narrow peninsula in this location. The "sand hills" of Barrington, as they were called after 1750, had been a major Native American trail for centuries and provided the primary coastal route from

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

to St. Augustine.

Design

Colonial records state that in 1762, the site was occupied by "a square fort about each way with a

caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structure in a fortification. Fire from this point could cover the ditch beyond the curtain wall to deter any attempt to storm the wall. The word originates from the French ', meaning "chicken coop" (a ''capon'' ...

in it and barracks." It was a stockaded structure with a large central

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

, a well, a storeroom, a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, and barracks. The fort had bastions at the eastern and southern corners, the latter being at the river's edge, and ramparts in the form of a low ridge or embankment extending in a straight line for roughly between bastions.

References

{{reflist, 30em Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Revolution Barrington Buildings and structures in McIntosh County, Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Barrington Barrington Barrington National Register of Historic Places in McIntosh County, Georgia 1751 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies

History

Geography

Design

See also

References