The Siege of Fort Pulaski
19th Century
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5m 46s
Fort Pulaski was built as part of the Third System of Coastal Fortifications after the war of 1812. Construction of the Fort took place over many years between 1829 and 1847. The Fort stands on Cockspur Island, at the mouth of the Savannah River, and guards the city of Savannah from seaborn attack.
The fort was seized by a volunteer regiment from Georgia during the American Civil War, just a few weeks after South Carolina seceded from the United States. The State of Georgia would secede shortly after Fort Pulaski was taken.
The Initial U.S. response was to establish a blockade, which prevented Confederate ships from reaching Savannah, Georgia with military supplies. As the United States Civil War carried on, the Federal troops prepared to lay siege to Fort Pulaski.
The Union forces were able to secure nearby Tybee Island, and establish 11 batteries to bombard the fort. This would be the first time that rifled cannons were used in combat. The rifling in the barrels provided greater accuracy, and power over longer distances, than the smooth bore cannons that had been used up until this time. The effectiveness of the rifled cannons during the siege was a pivotal point in military history, and made masonry forts obsolete.
This short documentary is a brief history of Fort Pulaski, and the Civil War battle that changed military history
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