Fort James Jackson (usually shortened to Fort Jackson and informally known as Old Fort Jackson) is a restored nineteenth-century fort located one mile east of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, on the Savannah River. It hosts the Fort Jackson Maritime Museum. Named in honor of James Jackson (1757–1806), a British-born political figure in Georgia, Fort Jackson was constructed between 1808 and 1812 to protect the city of Savannah from attack by sea. 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 ...

, it became one of three Confederate forts that defended Savannah from Union forces (the other two were

Fort McAllister Fort McAllister was a Confederate earthen-work fort used to defend Savannah, Georgia during the American Civil War. It was the southernmost of the forts defending Savannah and was involved in the most battles. It was located on the Ogeechee Rive ...

and Fort Pulaski). In 1862, Fort Jackson came under shelling from a ship captained by an escaped slave, Robert Smalls. When the Union army commanded by

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

captured Savannah by land in December 1864, it took Fort Jackson almost immediately. The fort went by the name of Fort Oglethorpe between 1884 and 1905, and was little used by the U.S. military. It was purchased by the city of Savannah in 1924 for park purposes and was fully restored in the 1970s. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2000. an
''Accompanying five photos, exterior and interior, from 1998''
/ref> Fort Jackson is located at 1 Fort Jackson Road, on the Islands Expressway linking Savannah to Fort Pulaski and the town of

Tybee Island Tybee Island is a city and a barrier island located in Chatham County, Georgia, 18 miles (29 km) east of Savannah, United States. Though the name "Tybee Island" is used for both the island and the city, geographically they are not identica ...

. Fort Jackson is owned by the state of Georgia and operated as a museum by the Coastal Heritage Society. In the summer the fort has a daily cannon-firing demonstration.

References

External links

* National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Savannah, Georgia James Jackson Museums in Savannah, Georgia Historical society museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Military and war museums in Georgia (U.S. state) {{GeorgiaUS-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links