Trip Report - Fort Morris, Georgia

August 31, 2003

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Fort Morris is just north of where I am at Fort Frederica, Frederica predates Fort Morris by fifty years however. The only trace of the fort is the earthernworks and of course the view of the sound. I watched several shrimp boats go out while I was there. The state park system has added a nature trail and picnic areas and thus creating a very attractive family area just south of Sunbury. Sunbury was the second largest port in Georgia in that time frame, the Medway River being the deepest river in the state The Fort Morris site was originally a Guale Indian village, closely tied to the settlements and Spanish missions on nearby St. Catherine's Island. It was here, on February 21, 1734, that General James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia, held the first Masonic meeting in the new British colony. The American Revolution brought considerable changes to the region. In 1776, delegates attending the Continental Congress recognized the strategic importance of having a fort to protect Georgia's middle coast from attack by the English navy and authorized the funds and the constgruction to build a fort to protect the area

On a low bluff of the Medway River, near the important colonial seaport of Sunbury, a fort was constructed and garrisoned by 200 patriots. Fort Morris defended Georgia against the British again during the War of 1812, when it was known as Fort Defiance. As are so many places along the Georgia coast, there is a historic aspect to these locations that never seem to get placed in the history books.When the Continental Congress convened in 1776, the delegates recognized the importance of a fort to protect their growing seaport from the British. Soon afterwards, a low bluff on the Medway River at Sunbury was fortified and garrisoned by 200 patriots. When the British demanded the forts surrender on November 25, 1778, the defiant Col. John McIntosh replied, Come and take it! The British refused and withdrew back to Florida. Forty-five days later, they returned with a superior force, and on January 9, 1779, Fort Morris fell after a short but heavy bombardment. Under the name of Fort Defiance, this bulwark was once again used against the British during the War of 1812. Today, visitors can stand within the earthwork remains and view scenic Saint Catherine's Sound. The nature trail is very attractive and the small museum spans the history of the fort from its creation through the "The Second War of Independence."

Tucked down a long, tree-lined road by St. Catherines Sound, Fort Morris is easy to miss. The Revolutionary War site near Midway is seven miles from the interstate via Liberty County's back roads. But even on the grounds, visitors sometimes overlook the fort's remains. Interpretive ranger Kenyon Myers recalls when a woman stared at the earthen mounds and asked where the fort was. "It's right there in front of you," Myers said. The woman looked again and shook her head. "She didn't believe me," Myers said. "People come out here and they expect to see a wood fort like 'Last of the Mohicans' or a brick fort." Seventy acres of woods surround the fort's earthen mounds that form a rough square. Trees grow through white sand on and around the grass-covered mounds. Fort Morris has been on and off the state's chopping block, financially, for years, site manager Arthur Edgar said. In 1997, the state got as far as taking the interstate sign down before local protests convinced then-Gov. Zell Miller to intervene on behalf of the fort. But the sign has not been put back up.

"We're sort of out of the way and we're a slow money maker," Edgar said. "Whenever the state government talks about cutting the budget, little ol' Fort Morris always gets offered up." Edgar believes the site should stay preserved because of its ties to state and national history. The site hosted several versions of the fort that now occupies the space. Before Fort Morris was built, two smaller forts stood in the area to protect colonists from bands of American Indians. Fort Morris was constructed in the 1750s and named for Capt. Thomas Morris, the artillery commander at the fort during the Revolutionary War. It was originally in a star shape and much larger than what is standing today. When the British finally took the fort in 1779, they renamed it Fort George after King George III. It is believed, Edgar said, that the British made changes to the fort. By the time of the War of 1812, it had been renamed again, to Fort Defiance. How much of what is left is Fort Morris, no one is sure, Edgar said. "Probably most of this is Fort Defiance," he admits. "We need to get some archaeology done and get some answers

. It's possible that a fair amount out here is what the British did." In addition to the fort itself, the grounds have a small museum that tells the fort's history, a replicated blacksmith shop, picnic tables, a nature trail, and a small colonial garden that the fort's staff has started. Part of the reason historic places like Fort Morris get overlooked is that public awareness of Revolutionary War sites is somewhat less than Civil War sites, said Bryan Mitchell, chief of the American Battlefield Protection Program in Washington, D.C. About a decade ago, Congress established the Civil War Commission to evaluate the status of Civil War sites and to suggest improvements and to find new sites. Mitchell said the committee has added to the increased national attention to those places. In 1996, Congress establish a Revolutionary War and War of 1812 committee, but never appropriated funds for it. The committee has been waiting on Congress. Mitchell said he was unaware of the situation at Fort Morris or of any similar situations in which sites were threatened with closure.

"The principal, present problem is not that they are all parks and are struggling to stay open," Mitchell said. "As a matter of fact, most aren't parks at all. They may be somebody's corn field or they may have disappeared long ago and are a shopping mall." Fort Morris continues to struggle, however. Since winning its last battle against budget cuts, Fort Morris has been added to the Colonial Coast Birding Trail, which consists of 17 locations off Interstate 95 where bird watching is advantageous. It is modeled after a trail in Texas. Edgar said he hopes this will heighten the fort's profile. "We've always heard birding is on the rise. All the marketing people keep telling us that," Edgar said. Already there are signs posted to alert bird watchers to the wetland birds they can see and where they should look for them -- more signs and brochures went out on July 1. "We don't get a large number of people out here," Edgar said. The park receives less than 4,000 visitors a year. "But nine times out of ten," Edgar continued, "The visitors who come out here really appreciate it."

On March 8, 1778 Sir Henry Clinton was put in charge of British troops in the United States. In the same letter, the council of war outlined a "Southern Strategy." General Augustine Prevost, military commander of British East Florida headquartered in St. Augustine, communicated to his new commander that the winter would be the best time to make a move into Georgia, so while Thomas Brown had been turning back the Third Florida Expedition, the British Regulars in East Florida were preparing to invade Georgia. Prevost chose to advance as two units, under two independent commanders. Lt. Colonel L. V. Fuser would move north along the coast while Augustine's brother, Lt. Colonel Mark Prevost moved a few miles inland. This made their resupply by ship an easy task. As Prevost moved north he would be joined by Fuser, who would make a direct assault on Sunbury and Fort Morris. They expected to meet a contingent of troops reassigned to the Southern front from New York City

As Prevost moved north, along the King's Road, the infantry's advance was impeded by a series of skirmishes with what were small groups of plantation-based Patriots. On November 22, 1778, about 1.5 miles south of Midway (Liberty County), 100 Continentals under the command of Colonel John White and Major James Jackson met the 700 seasoned British troops under Prevost. Both White and Jackson realized they had virtually no chance of defeating the superior force, but they might be able to delay the British advance until relief could arrive from Savannah. When Colonel James Screven did appear he had but 20 militia with him. During the battle Screven received serious wounds and was captured by the British. Screven died while a prisoner of war. Col. White withdrew to a previously prepared defensive line around Midway Church. As the British advanced White prepared a ruse to scare Prevost. He composed a battle plan that called for a combined force of Continentals and militia from Savannah to join White's embattled Regulars at the Ogeechee Ferry on the King's Road and make a stand.

As he retreated from Midway Church, White left the letter in a conspicuous place. Whether it was the letter, or Prevost's assessment of his position that made him pulled back may never be known. Deep in enemy territory, Prevost had not been in contact with Fuser, whose coastal force he depended on for supplies. Additionally, Col. Prevost was aware that the anticipated arrival of the British force had not occurred, and he knew that there would be additional troops available the closer his position was to Savannah. After consideration, Prevost withdrew. On November 25, 1778, Col. Fuser finally made shore at Sunbury. His force of 500 Regular British troops were opposed by a force of about 200 Patriots at Fort Morris under the command of John McIntosh. When Col. Fuser demanded the surrender of the fort, McIntosh replied, "Come and take it." Fuser, reasoning along the same lines as Prevost, decided the prudent action was to withdraw. The first British invasion of Georgia was over. Being a prisoner of war changed British Lt. Colonel Archibald Campbell.

He was deeply concerned for the men who had been captured by the Patriots. He worked with the future President of the United States in Congress Assembled Elias Boudinot to exchange more prisoners after his exchange for American hero Ethan Allen. When Henry Clinton accepted the plan of South Carolina Loyalist Henry Kirkland to successfully occupy the southern colonies, he put Col. Campbell in charge of a force of some 3,500 men who set sail in September, 1778. Campbell arrived at Tybee Island (after some serious problems with weather) on December 23 and came ashore without any resistance. After questioning two islanders, he surmised that the force in Savannah could easily be defeated, even without the support of his new commander, Augustine Prevost in British East Florida. With the arrival of the final ship on December 27, Cambell was prepared to take Savannah. He ordered his men to sail up the Savannah River to a plantation landing, then began to advance on what was a poorly formed perimeter.

General Howe had deployed his 670+ men in a semi-circle facing west along the road east of Savannah. It was anchored on the north by swamp speading south of the road on easily defended rolling hills and looping back. Howe fortified his right (the southern end of his defensive line) so Campbell decided to attack from the north. According to Campbell, a group of Highlanders advanced along a road through the swamp and came out behind the Patriot line. Howe's left flank crumbled as British troops launched a broad-based attack against the seriously weakened line. Soon, the Patriots were fleeing from Campbell's superior force. Escape was difficult because recent rains made crossing streams difficult and dangerous. Campbell occupied Savannah, then set out to capture the other major towns in Georgia, specifically Ebenezer (January 2, 1779) and Augusta (January 30, 1779). Augusta was defended by a group of Whig militia under the command of Samuel Elbert.

Opposed by Lt. Col. Thomas Brown, an Augusta Loyalist at the head of the Florida Rangers and British Regulars under the command of Campbell, Elbert's men engaged British forces in three firefights, McBean's Creek, Spirit Creek and Cupboard Swamp, as the Patriots fell back into Augusta. By this time Elbert realized he was facing a greatly superior force and withdrew to the South Carolina side of the Savannah River to join forces with Patriot Militia leader Andrew Williamson. Augustine Prevost captured Fort Morris on January 10, 1779, after a four day siege. With the help of the Creek Indians to the west, most of Georgia was now under British control.

By 1812 the fort had been renamed Fort Defiance, extensive modifications had been made to its form and was used once again to protect Georgia against the British, if it saw action during that war or if it had been captured again. History books are quite vague. I also do not know if there was any Civil War action in the immediare area.