Fort Pulaski National Monument

Fort Pulaski National Monument, at the mouth of the Savannah River, was established in 1924. The brick fort, built in 1761 to protect the colony of Georgia, was named for the Polish patriot and cavalry officer Kasimierz Pulaski. The 5,623-acre monument was the site of a Civil War battle during which Union artillery bombarded the thick masonry walls of the fort for 29 hours, forcing the surrender of the Confederate troops who were defending it. During this siege, rifled cannon first demonstrated the vulnerability of masonry fortifications to destruction by the newly developed ordnance.