Fort McAllister State Historic Park

Our bat box, located on the causeway to our campground, provides entertainment for spectators every day at dusk! Have you witnessed them take flight? More about bats from the Smithsonian Institute: In the United States bats are beneficial members of the animal community. They help to control night-flying insects, in some instances pollinate flowers, and scatter the seeds of plants. Their guano is rich in nitrogen and has been sold as fertilizer. Bats are valuable subjects... for study. Investigations in the field of echolocation try to determine how bats assess their environment and how this information is coordinated and acted upon. What we learn about bats may help us understand similar physiological processes in man. In time, as we learn more of the bat's biology and habits, perhaps we can also adopt new attitudes that allow us to accept this soft furry creature as a natural part of our surroundings and have a greater appreciation for the role it plays in contributing to a healthy ecosystem. See more

Hot dog! Campers- don’t miss the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile in Richmond Hill this morning! 11460 Ford Avenue

As a point of clarification, Georgia State Historic Sites (including Fort McAllister), will NOT be participating in Super Museum Sunday on May 2, as we had hoped to do. But, here is a list of participating sites, including our own Richmond Hill, Georgia, Historical Society & Museum. https://georgiahistoryfestival.org//2021-super-museum-sun/

Need a getaway? You’ll feel a world away in our cozy coastal cottages. A reservation is usually hard to come by on a holiday weekend, but we just had a family reunion group cancel their reservations Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. Cottages 4, 5, 6, and 7 are now available- for a limited time! Here’s your chance to relax make some memories January 15-18th. Book yours by calling 800-864-7275 or visit https://gastateparks.reserveamerica.com/campsiteSearch.do

Great news for our city of Richmond Hill, Georgia. Did you know it is a Henry Ford city? Explore more of the fascinating history here in our museum and at the Richmond Hill, Georgia, Historical Society & Museum.

What are your outside goals for your family this year? Can you start with 18-20 20 hours a week? How about 15? 10? or 5? Can you squeeze in an hour on most days? Five hours a week certainly isn't shabby. That puts you at over 250 hours in a year which is more than 15,000 fresh air minutes. Can you take the 1000 Hours challenge? The premise is simple, the journey is beautiful, the impact is profound! Download your free tracker sheets and get started in 2021! The entire purpose of 1000 Hours Outside is to attempt to match nature time with screen time. If kids can consume media through screens 1200 hours a year on average then the time is there and at least some of it can and should be shifted towards a more productive and healthy outcome!

Today, we commemorate the events that took place at Fort McAllister on December 13, 1864. Although we cannot hold our usual annual reenactment event, we will have a living history actor in the fort until 3:00 today to interact with visitors and answer questions about the fort’s fall. In addition, we will have a soldier-led tour at Noon. This tour is limited to 20 people, so if you would like to join, please call 912-727-2339 to reserve your space. 156 years ago on this date..., Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s troops approached Savannah at the end of their march through Georgia. They were sorely in need of supplies. A Union supply fleet waited offshore but was unable to silence the Confederate coastal defenses. The earth and sand walls of the fort had survived previous Union Navy attempts to destroy it in 1862 and 1863. Sherman determined that if he could take Fort McAllister at the mouth of the Ogeechee River, defending Savannah from the sea, the ships could reach his men. He ordered Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, commander of his right wing, to take the fort. Howard chose Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen to accomplish the task. Hazen, in the afternoon of December 13th, had his 4,000-man infantry division in line for the attack. Defending the fort was a 230-man garrison under Maj. George W. Anderson. Upon giving the order to advance, Hazen's men emerged from the woods surrounding the fort and advanced widely spaced apart to limit effectiveness of Confederate artillery fire. The Yankees rushed forward through the various obstacles prepared for them, including abatis and torpedoes buried in the sand. Hazen's men entered the fort, and captured Anderson's men and 15 guns in an attack that lasted about 15 minutes. With his supply line open, Sherman could now prepare for the siege and capture of Savannah. https://www.battlefields.org//civi/battles/fort-mcallister

December 1861 Genesis Point Battery, Bryan County, Georgia The coming new year brought a new name for the Genesis Point Battery. At some point, probably in late December 1861 or early January 1862, the battery was designated as Fort McAllister. Some sources indicate that the fort was named in honor of George Washington McAllister, the father of Joseph L. McAllister who now owns the property. Other sources indicate that the fort was named after Joseph McAllister himself becaus...e he and Captain Hartage were good friends. Whomever the honor was for, the McAllister's owned the property, and their ties to it were quite clear. For more please refer to: Guardian of Savannah Fort McAllister, Georgia in the Civil War and Beyond By Roger Durham

Join us for this educational and very interesting program tomorrow about how rice was king right here in Richmond Hill, Georgia. The story of rice cultivation begins with the founding of the colony of Georgia in 1733, and was the regions largest economic export up until the American Civil War. The strategic placement of Fort McAllister was not only to protect the citizens of Savannah, but also the many rice plantations that lined the Ogeechee River. The production of rice ...on Bryan Neck utilized upstream fresh water and the tidal influences of the Ogeechee River. Heavy wooden trunks, or tidegates, along the levees and embankments in the rice fields allowed the inflow and outflow of fresh water in an elaborate system of irrigation and hydraulics during the summer growing season. A network of canals provided access for the tending of the fields by large forces of slave workers. The peak of this activity was in 1860 when 1.6 million pounds of rice was shipped from Bryan Neck plantations along the river. With a ready supply of labor no longer available after the Civil War, along with a series of destructive hurricanes in the 1880s, rice cultivation on the Ogeechee ended by 1900. See more

Coming soon........

Thanks to everyone who spent the first day of 2021 with us, especially Twixx! Happy New Year to all of our friends of Fort McAllister!

Cool weather means less bugs and less folks! This is a great time to come out and do a little birding at the park. Over 200 species can regularly be seen here. 75-100 species in a day is not unheard of it you want to make a full day of it. Of course our resident Northern Mockingbirds are never hard to find!

Psssst, here's an insider tip for last-minute getaways: Click "View Weekend Availability" to see a full list of cabins, campsites and group camps still open for the coming weekend. GaStateParks.org/Reservations

Every sunrise is a new beginning! Good morning from Fort McAllister, just south of Savannah, Georgia. Gastateparks.org/fortmcallister

A snippet from Saturday’s Candle Lantern Tour- a jaw harp is a musical instrument consisting of a flexible metal or bamboo tongue attached to a frame. This tongue is placed in the performer’s mouth and plucked with the finger to produce a note of constant pitch. Melodies can be created by changing the shape of the mouth and causing different overtones. More about the Jaw Harp, aka Jew’s Harp or Mouth Harp: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Jew%27s_harp

We’re in a sunset state of mind here on Savage Island at Fort McAllister! #campingtime #happyfall #happycamper #visitrichmondhillga #exploregeorgia

Thanks to all the staff and volunteers that helped out with this year's CLT event. We also want to thank all the visitors that made this event a success despite some restrictions we had to put in place. Special thanks to the crew from Fort Clinch that came up to help out. We have a ton of vids and photos to go through and will post more as soon as we can. Here is a cool cannon vid to get things started! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfxCtBoZpng

It is a beautiful, clear night for our annual Candle Lantern Tour. Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets! Also, thank you to our dedicated employees and volunteers. Your support of Fort McAllister is much appreciated! More photos soon.

Candle Lantern Tour guests: Just a couple of reminders about tonight’s event. Please be sure to arrive at your designated time (given to you at time of reservation). 1. Your group will leave on time with or without you so we don’t want you to miss a thing! Allow time for parking and making your way to your group. 2. This event is sold out. No tickets will be sold tonight.

We are getting ready for tonight’s sold out Candle Lantern Tour. Didn’t get tickets? Well, you can still come to the fort today until 4 pm to walk around and see the reenactors setting up. We even have a couple of special guests that visitors can see- two beautiful horses! Come by and see us!

Do you ever take the time to just watch the clouds roll by?

Morning comes alive at Fort McAllister. Thank you Cecil Greenwell for the beautiful picture of sunrise over Redbird Creek.

Danger: Sunken Vessel A bald eagle sits atop a sign in the Ogeechee River near Fort McAllister marking an obstruction in the river. It is the CSS Nashville, or Rattlesnake, which sank 157 years ago. She was ordered by New York merchants and launched September 22, 1853. Her maiden voyage was from New York to Charleston, South Carolina, under the name United States Mail Steamship Nashville, with a cargo of mail and passengers. The bottom of the vessel was sheathed in cop...per in 1854 to prevent marine growth. She was overhauled in 1859, and received new boilers in June 1860. The Nashville entered Charleston Harbor April 12, 1861, as the Civil War began. She was purchased by the newly formed Confederate States Navy for $100,000. She was the first vessel commissioned by the Confederate States Government and the first to fly a Confederate flag in England. She entered South Hampton England, November 21, 1861, after capturing and burning the Union ship Harvey Birch. The C.S.S. Nashville, renamed the Privateer Rattlesnake, came to an end of blockade running on February 28, 1863. Trapped in the Ogeechee by a sandbar at low tide, the guns of Fort McAllister could not protect her and within an hour the Union Ironclad Montauk had sunk the Confederate vessel.

Attention Guests for our Candle Lantern Tour this Saturday: When you arrive, you will need to present the last name and the confirmation number you received at time of purchase. There are no physical tickets, but you will need to have this information to be admitted. Therefore, if you are purchasing tickets from a third party, friend, etc., you will need to have their last name and confirmation number in order to enter. Please remember to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your reserved time in order to have time to park and to make your way to the visitors center to join your group. Don’t forget your mask- see you Saturday night!

Candle Lantern Tour T-SHIRT PREORDER Our 41st Annual Candle Lantern Tour for this Saturday has sold out. Thank you for your support! We are offering a limited number of CLT T-shirts! ... Price $14.99 Available sizes: M, L, XL, 2XL To reserve yours, leave a comment below with a quantity and size and the name your CLT tickets are registered under. Pre-order will close on Friday, October 23rd and shirts will be available for pickup at the event on Saturday (at registration). Some or all sizes may sell out before then. Proceeds benefit Fort McAllister. See you Saturday!

What an amazing weekend it was! Perfect weather for some 2 wheeled park exploration. Thanks to the folks that let us get some great footage! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFZ2dgMPcSQ