Within 30 hours, the rifled guns had such a devastating effect on the brick fort that it was surrendered and all forts like Pulaski were considered obsolete.Īfter the Civil War, Tybee began to grow as a resort area for local Savannah residents who wanted to escape the heat of downtown for the cooling breezes of Tybee Island. On April 11th, 1862, those cannon batteries would fire a new weapon called “Rifled Cannon” at Fort Pulaski and change forever the way the world protected it’s coastal areas. Union forces under the Command of Quincy Adams Gilmore took control of Tybee and began constructing cannon batteries on the west side of Tybee facing Fort Pulaski about one mile away. Lee to defend Savannah and the Savannah River. In December of 1861, the Rebel forces would withdraw to Fort Pulaski under orders from Robert E. Mass burial on Tybee would be the final port of call for many of those quarantined there.īy the outbreak of the American Civil War, Tybee would again play an important military role in U.S. On the western end of the island, an area known as a “lazaretto”, a variation of an Italian word meaning ‘hospital for the contagious’, was established to quarantine slaves and other passengers who might be carrying diseases. Though no such attack took place, a “Martello Tower” was constructed on Tybee to provide protection in guarding the Savannah River. history, including the Revolutionary War when Tybee served as the staging area for French Admiral D’Estaing’s ill fated 1779 “Siege of Savannah” when combined multinational forces attempted to defeat the British held Savannah.ĭuring the War of 1812, the Tybee Island Lighthouse was used as a signal tower to warn Savannah of possible attack by the British. Tybee would play a significant role throughout Georgia and U.S. In 1736 John Wesley, the “Father of Methodism”, said his first prayer on the American Continent at Tybee. General Oglethorpe ordered a lighthouse constructed to mark the entrance to the river in 1736 and a small fort to be constructed to insure control over access to the river. Tybee was considered to be extremely important to the development and future of Savannah and the colony because of its location at the mouth of the Savannah river.

Here they established the new colony which would be named to honor King George. They called it Savannah, because of the vast marshlands and tall grass. In 1733 General James Oglethorpe and a handful of settlers came to the area. Spain would be forced to give up their claim to Tybee and other extremities due to superior French and British settlements.

Plash island history