When I visited Savannah I wanted to make sure I visited a site that really grabbed the attention of the public. I wanted a fort not just cemeteries but a place where death occurred...wars and history. I really did not realize the amount of effort I would have to put into this investigation all the way from hiking down a dirt road to swamps on both sides...to working my way up a woodsy peninsula. Their are wolves in those woods and I thought what is one wolf but then it crossed my mind what if their are 3 to 4 what would I do and I heard some things out in those woods that night and I knew this investigation would always be honored.

The fort was named after James Jackson its the oldest standing fort in Georgia and it was NOT the first fort to occupy this site. In 1776 what stood in its place was an earthen fort which was destroyed by the construction of the new fort Jackson.  The fort does not sit in Savannah but rather another town which I had to hike a few miles too down a railroad and then cut in to the left on the peninsula also known as Sally Harbor where they build ships. 

First it was an earthen fort then a brick fort in 1808 and was used in the War Of 1812. The fort was enlarged to strengthen the defenses in 1845 to 1860. It was used heavily as a Confederate headquarters to protect Savannah during the civil war. It existed to fire upon enemy ships and was authorized by Thomas Jefferson to protect the city in 1808. What sparked this is the British in 1813 were going around setting fire to American sloops and schooners off the coast of GA and Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane was in this area so the fort was necessary. 

The fort is extremely protected trust me on this one very few will ever get in that place the water and swamp around it is extremely deep I tested it. There is gators and everything in it pretty eerie really. The main door is huge and it sits deep at the end of the peninsula which has alot of swamps, woods, and wildlife.  Even the Navy never made it inland from Fort Pulaski to Fort Jackson...allaccept for general Sherman who succeeded in the civil war.  You had alot of obstacles such as Iron Clads guarding the area. Even getting here on foot was a task and I roughed it just like Sherman and his men did!

In 1864 General T. Sherman demanded the city of Savannah surrender along with the forts and General William Hardee did just that who was on the confederate side in the civil war. In 1864 the city was captured and the confederates pulled away only to hide within the walls of the fort without a fight. 

The fort then saw hardly any use and in 1905 it was closed. The fort had a broad range of defense many types of cannons and even casements. It had a protected chamber beneath the ramparts. From on top their is a beautiful view of the Savannah River and coastal plain. Even today the fort is very well maintained and I would not recommend swimming in the moat to get inside but back in the day that was the only way in this fortification. Of course back in the day the swamp did not exist. You can see still see remnants of the docks and area where the iron clads sat. 

Across from the fort is the Tybee Depot it served as a first stop on the way to Tybee Island and at one time use to sit down on Randolph St. in downtown Savannah. They moved it here and made it a historical structure of interest.

The Savannah and Tybee Railroad was formed in 1883 by 1885 the railroad was formed and Capt. D.G. was the president. The railroad would take a 18 mile journey from Savannah and it was a long slow journey cause the construction took a few years and by 1886 the railroad almost ran out of finances and later bankruptcy was filed. The whole purpose of the railroad was for the wealthier resident of Savannah to visit a place called Tybee Beach a nice little get away during that time period. 

Eventually in early 1900s  the Central Railroad Of GA ran trains to the island.  Eventually when they found a way in 1925 to make a road which led to Tybee island the railroad died it was not making money and in 1933 it was abandoned. The railroad was torn up and a portion of it was used as today's Old Tybee Railroad Scenic Trail. 

As far as ghost it is rumored to be a haunted place and of course will add your stories here overtime. I have heard about ghostly foot steps, soldiers being sighted, and other strange activity. The entire area this fort sits is strange just a couple miles away from here is another peninsula/island with an asylum on it which is said to be the site of disappearances, wolves and major ghost activity. I just wanted to experience this place and I did. It cost me a couple hours of hiking but it was one of the greatest investigations I did really while touring this area. Further reading material is below!

© By Lord Rick

In the above photo is the forest I had to traverse through. You can clearly see how thick and harsh it is. 

Above Tybee Train Depot Now Used As A Ticket Area For Fort Jackson

Old Fort Jackson:

The most fetching of Johnny Rebs

Saturday, June 11, 2005
Revered Revolutionary War officer and long-ago Georgia governor James Jackson would be so pleased.

Day-to-day life at Old Fort Jackson in Savannah, Georgia goes on just as if Jackson were still, brooding over his meticulous maps and wax-sealed letters.

There’s an endearing genuine eagerness that comes from the scores of young volunteers, dressed in the garb of Johnny-Reb soldiers, wandering around the historic fort. Some carry replica tin cups from a century and a half ago for tea made from water poured from the canteens of the same era. Some strike wooden matches from the soles of their boots to light cigars for off-duty officers relaxing after shift.

Mustachioed soldiers momentarily stare off into space with haunted eyes after reading letters from sweethearts and wives by the firelight of burning wall torches. On long, sultry, summer nights, ever-present chirping crickets take over for music when someone, who was softly strumming the strings of a banjo, lays his instrument aside.

Savannah’s Old Fort Jackson isn’t just a throwback to yesteryear; it is yesteryear in the living!

Standing on a site that has been in use since the 1740s, Fort Jackson possesses a rich history relating to the defense of Savannah, Georgia through the end of the 19.

At night, volunteers doing duty as "re-enactors" sit around outside campfires, telling tales of the Civil war, the same way young soldiers did when General Robert E. Lee--who actually visited Fort Jackson early in the war--walked among them.

Strumming on banjos, they pluck out the songs of another era. The strains of catchy tunes like Oh, Susannah and Mama’s Little Baby Loves Shortnin’ hang in the moonlit air. The young volunteers know each and every word, and their songs are rendered with the true verve of the patriot.

Down to the most finite detail, they show tourists and local visitors what life was like at the fort in antebellum days.

Old Fort Jackson is Georgia’s oldest brick fortification and a proudly maintained National Historic landmark.

It hasn’t changed a tad since it was built, brick by brick, by the skilled craftsmen of 1808.

Fort Jackson played a never-to-be-forgotten starring role in Georgia history as the headquarters of Savannah’s river defenses during the Civil War.

Things to see and hear, including an old-days Blacksmith shop and summer daily cannon firings, keep all who come to visit spellbound.


There’s a parapet with the original 32-pounder and 9-inch Dahlgren cannon taking in the same sweeping Savannah River views observed by gun crews a century and a half ago. There are displays of muskets, ammunition and exhibits from the wreck of the Civil War ironcladCSS Georgia.

Serving as site manager of the fort is Canadian, D.J. Tucker.

Following his life’s dream, Tucker came to the fort with an undying passion in his heart.

A Civil War buff since boyhood, he graduated from American history at Brock University, in St. Catharine’s, Ontario.

Pursuing the many battles of the Civil War through the dry pages of hundreds of tomes, Tucker dreamed of someday getting closer to the "real thing".

And as Tucker will tell you, Fort Jackson is as close as it gets to the "real thing".

Walking the grounds like an ever-pacing sentry, Tucker knows every rock and every tree on the outside and every nook and cranny within. D.J. Tucker doesn’t just like his job, he was made for it.

"In fact, I ought to be paying them the salary," he laughingly told Canada Free Press staffers visiting the fort last month.

Dressed in the faded cotton and wool of a rebel soldier and wearing the jaunty cap, Tucker looks every inch the Johnny Reb of Civil War days, so much so that he’s an every day inspiration to a flock of "re-enactor" soldier volunteers, drawn to the fort like the proverbial flies to honey.

Tucker’s Brock University colleagues, relatives and friends would never recognize the former North York, Ontario resident.

Tucker has been manager at Fort Jackson for less than a year, but his complete transformation to the quintessential Johnny Reb makes it seem that he’s been there for centuries.

Sitting around fragrant night campfires, Tucker regales visitors with fascinating stories--all of them, gleaned from his university studies--absolutely tragic and true.

Meanwhile, the footsteps of the soldier-booted James Jackson can still be heard ringing out from the hauntingly beautiful fort that takes his name. Everything remains as it was in Jackson’s day. In fact, there are some who swear that Jackson never left the beloved fort.

Old Fort Jackson,
1 Fort Jackson Road,
Savannah, GA 31404 www.chsgeorgia.org

<I itxtvisited="1">oldfortjackson@aol.com