The Battle of Fort McAllister

The subject of the blog for the week of 2/1 - 2/6 is to "describe a southern experiences you've had or an experience you think a tour of the south would be incomplete without."


Perhaps my most intimate Southern experience occurred over this past winter break from school when I went with a friend to Savannah to participate in a Civil War re-enactment. I had never participated in a re-enactment before and beyond what I had seen in The Patriot and the stories I'd heard from my friend I really didn't know what to expect.

So, the Friday after exams we jumped on a Grayhound in Atlanta and headed down to Savannah (an experience in itself) and had his parents take us to Fort McAllister. This fort of one of the best presereved Confederate sites in the South located on the banks of the Ogeechee River. The fort was one of the last lines of defense for the city of Savannah preventing Union supply ships from bringing food and ammunition to Sherman's Army. Before Sherman could lay seige to Atlanta on and complete his campaign ("Sherman's march to the Sea"), he first had to take the fort manned by some 300 odd Confederate soldiers. The battle occurred on December 13, 1864.



The re-enactment turned out to be an incredible learning experience and really introduced me to a side of southern culture I had not experienced. The event was full immersion and we, the defending Confederate garrison, spent the night in the fort sleeping in the underground bombproof shelter. In the morning training and activities began about 8:00. One of my first experiences as a re-enactor was to be placed on the Western wall of the fort one guard duty for two hours. Standing in full uniform at this time and watching for union soldiers, hearing skirmishes in the background, and enduring a light drizzle made it feel like I was really in the time period and made me think what it must have really felt like back then and how young men my age were literally anticipating their own death as the massive Union army descended upon them.

As the day progressed I was involved in a series of skirmishes and attacks during which time I found it peculiar how exciting and exhilarating a battle could be. Crouching down behind the earthworks and firing by command, and then muzzle-loading the muskets was a heart pounding experience, especially as thirty men around you were hurrying to do the same thing and a just as many union soldiers were hiding behind trees and firing back. Everything that I found exciting about the re-enactment however must have been horrifying for the men in the battle a hundred and fifty years earlier.

Perhaps the most memorable part of the re-enactment was getting to meet the other re-enactors, to see what types of backgrounds they came from and what connections they had to the Civil War. Many had long Southern family lines and could name all their family who fought in the war and felt a special link to their heritage by participating in the battle. At night we would play guitar and sing songs in the bunker and through the whole event was made real by the passion with which they lived and upheld their roles.

There is so much to be discussed about this experience but it certainly was a defining experience in my introduction to Southern Culture. I personally learned a lot from it and think that I am better able to understand the South's pride in its history as well as the link which Southerner's feel to their heritage.

Parker