History
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Fort Screven
An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established 18 Mar 1898 as Camp Graham by Capt. J.M.K. Davis, Battery F, 1st U.S. Artillery. Named Fort Screven after Brigadier General James Screven, who was killed at Midway Church in 1778 during the Revolutionary War. Ceased to be a Coastal Artillery Post 27 Feb 1924 and was declared surplus 21 Oct 1944. Also known as Camp Crawford; and not infrequently, in contemporary records, just as Tybee Island, from its location. Endicott Period (1890-1910) Part of the Harbor Defense of Savannah. The first Endicott Period battery on Fort Screven was started in 1897 and was completed in Jul 1898, just before hostilities ceased in the Spanish American War. A total of four batteries were accepted for service in 1899, and one each in 1900, 1901, and 1904 for a total of seven Endicott Period batteries. Fort Screven Endicott Period Battery The disarming of the Endicott Period batteries began in 1917 with the removal four 8" guns from Battery Brumby for overseas service during World War I. In 1918 four mortar tubes from Battery Habersham were removed to provide more efficient operation and reduce manpower requirements. The guns from Battery Backus and Battery Gantt were scrapped as a part of the World War I post war disarmament push. General Order Number 8, 27 Feb 1924, declared Fort Screven no longer a Coast Artillery post. World War II (1941-1945) During World War II, Fort Screven became the training center for the U.S. Army Engineer Diving and Salvage personnel, training them to salvage and repair war damaged ports. |
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Tybee Island Lighthouse
The Union advance on Fort Pulaski began on November 24, 1861. Following reconnaissance that Confederates had abandoned Tybee Island, Flag Officer Du Pont ordered forward an amphibious raid with three gunboats at the Tybee Island Lighthouse. Under a two-hour ship's bombardment, the Confederate pickets set fire to the lighthouse and withdrew. Commander Christopher Rodgers, USS Flag, led a landing party of sailors and Marines in thirteen surf-boats to occupy the Lighthouse and the Martello tower, and flew the national flag from them. Overnight, a reduced company set false campfires to misdirect the Confederates shore. Two days later commanding Flag Officer Du Pont and General Thomas Sherman made a personal reconnaissance, and on 29 November, General Gillmore, the command's chief engineering officer, with three companies of the Fourth New Hampshire, took formal possession of the entire island without opposition. The Navy set the logistics train in motion, and by December 20, the Army had sufficient materials for establishing "a permanent possession.” The Siege of Fort Pulaski (or the Siege and Reduction of Fort Pulaski) concluded with the Battle of Fort Pulaski fought April 10–11, 1862, during the American Civil War. Union forces on Tybee Island and naval operations conducted a 112-day siege, then captured the Confederate-held Fort Pulaski after a 30-hour bombardment. The siege and battle are important for innovative use of rifled guns which made existing coastal defenses obsolete. The Union initiated large-scale amphibious operations under fire. In 1861, the wooden stairs and the top 40 feet of the tower were destroyed during the Civil War when Confederate troops, retreating to Fort Pulaski, set fire to the tower in order to prevent the Union troops from using |