Enslaved Workers Left Their Marks on Fort Pulaski-- Part 3: The Construction

The dried bricks would then harden in a kiln for nearly a week before being shipped to Cockspur Island to be used in building Fort Pulaski.

Over a century later, Fort Pulaski still stands strong with walls that tower 22 feet  inside and are an average of 5 to 11 feet of solid brick.  Officials say the visible slave fingerprints serve as a "tangible reminder" of the enslaved Americans who made the fortress what it is today.

CONSTRUCTION OF FORT PULASKI

After the War of 1812, President Madison ordered a new system of coastal fortifications.  Construction of the fort, named for Casimir Pulaski, a hero of the American Revolution, began in 1829 under the direction of Major General Babcock and later, 2nd Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, a recent graduate of West Point.

Wooden pilings were sunk  up to 70 feet into the mud of Cockspur Island to support the estimated 25 million bricks it would take for construction.

The fort was completed  in 1847 after  18 years of construction and a cost of $1 million.

--Old B-Runner

Enslaved Workers Left Marks on Fort Pulaski-- Part 2: The Process of Brickmaking

Continued from February 12, 2021.

Fort Pulaski is on Cockspur Island, about 15 miles from downtown Savannah and was considered "a technical and architectural marvel of its time."  Of course, that was before the advent of rifled cannons which quickly proved that bricks were now obsolescent  with new military technology.

Built in the 19th century, it was occupied by both Confederate and Union troops during the war.  It later served a s a spot on the Underground Railroad for slaves escaping to their freedom. Fort Pulaski was also the site of a "fifty day siege and two-day artillery battle" that marked the first use of rifled artillery in U.S. military history" according to the site's website.

Most of the bricks used in Fort Pulaski were made locally by slaves, both men, women and their children, who "spent each day laboring to make bricks for a fort built to protect the port made rich from their labor."

Brickmaking was a tedious process that involved  mixing soil and water that was then stomped into clay before the mixture was packed into wooden molds.  Sticks and other debris had to be removed by hand, and the still wet brick removed and then set out to dry for days.

--Old B-Runner

Enslaved Workers Left Marks on Fort Pulaski-- Part 1

From the Feb. 9, 2021, Kansas City Star "Enslaved workers left their marks in the bricks of Civil War-era fort, Georgia photos show" by Tanasia Kenney

Nearly 25 million brocks were used to construct Savannah, Georgia's Fort Pulaski which was mostly built by black enslaved workers.

Photos shared  by the Fort Pulaski National Monument on Monday show bricks with fingerprints and handprints still embedded in them all these years later (and, after that bombardment back during the war).

It took 18 years to complete Fort Pulaski and none other than Robert E. Lee touted it was impregnable.  However, the stories of those enslaved workers have never been told.  However, there is a part of that story in Casemate 16.

--Old B-Runner