Location
Presentation- College of Arts and Humanities
Document Type and Release Option
Thesis Presentation (Restricted to Georgia Southern)
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Michael Van Wagenen
Faculty Mentor Email
mvanwagenen@georgiasouthern.edu
Presentation Year
2021
Start Date
26-4-2021 12:00 AM
End Date
30-4-2021 12:00 AM
Keywords
Georgia Southern University, Honors Symposium, Presentation
Description
Savannah, Georgia is the fourth busiest port in the United States, processing approximately 4.35 million standard shipping containers every year. The port’s protector Fort Pulaski towers among the coastal marshlands and estuaries of the Savannah River. Located on Cockspur Island at the mouth of the Savannah River, this strategic location allowed the fort to protect Savannah’s vital harbor. Built as part of the United States’ Third System plan to build fortifications along the eastern seaboard, construction of Fort Pulaski began in 1827 and finished twenty years later.
Water has played a pivotal role in the history of Fort Pulaski and Cockspur Island. Since its construction, the fort has been battling the Lowcountry landscape to remain on high ground. While water proved to be a military advantage before the Civil War, as weapons technology advanced, Third System forts were left behind. Following the war, Pulaski underwent changes to become a historic site. Instead of battling invading armies and navies, the fort faced growing problems from its environment that were detrimental to its preservation.
This thesis allows us to understand the role that humans have played in the history of coastal forts and which ones they will in the future as the preservation of our historic and cultural sites becomes difficult due to their locations and the negative impacts of climate change. In different forms, water has attempted to erode the national monument, threatening its existence.
Academic Unit
College of Arts and Humanities
The Tide is Coming In: Fort Pulaski's Historical Relationship with Water
Presentation- College of Arts and Humanities
Savannah, Georgia is the fourth busiest port in the United States, processing approximately 4.35 million standard shipping containers every year. The port’s protector Fort Pulaski towers among the coastal marshlands and estuaries of the Savannah River. Located on Cockspur Island at the mouth of the Savannah River, this strategic location allowed the fort to protect Savannah’s vital harbor. Built as part of the United States’ Third System plan to build fortifications along the eastern seaboard, construction of Fort Pulaski began in 1827 and finished twenty years later.
Water has played a pivotal role in the history of Fort Pulaski and Cockspur Island. Since its construction, the fort has been battling the Lowcountry landscape to remain on high ground. While water proved to be a military advantage before the Civil War, as weapons technology advanced, Third System forts were left behind. Following the war, Pulaski underwent changes to become a historic site. Instead of battling invading armies and navies, the fort faced growing problems from its environment that were detrimental to its preservation.
This thesis allows us to understand the role that humans have played in the history of coastal forts and which ones they will in the future as the preservation of our historic and cultural sites becomes difficult due to their locations and the negative impacts of climate change. In different forms, water has attempted to erode the national monument, threatening its existence.
Comments
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