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An engaging account of Fort McAllister’s role in the Civil War An engaging account of Fort McAllister’s role in the Civil War"Guardian of Savannah : Fort McAllister sits upon the banks of the Great Ogeechee River south of Savannah, Georgia and during the Civil War formed a strong bulwark against Federal attempts to invade Savannah from the sea and to combat blockade runners. Built of mud and dirt, this fort may have seemed simple in its design but in fact provided a cunningly powerful defense against attacking gunboats
In "Guardian of Savannah", military historian Roger S. Durham offers a comprehensive and engaging account of Fort McAllister's role in the Civil War and the life it took on after the war. Now a historic park, this fort was one of the most important defensive constructions of the south and retains historical import not only for its role in the war but for its unique architectural design and engineering. While historians and no less a figure than the industrialist Henry Ford fought to save the fort as a crucial aspect of physical history, there has suprisingly been a lack of serious writing on the fort's role in the war until now. With Durham's book, this situation has changed for the better as Durham provides a very complete picture of the origins of this fort, how it came to its role in Savannah's defense during the war, the situation of blockades and blockade-runners, and the fort in the aftermath of war and reconstruction. As Durham is a keen storyteller, he is especially adept at putting together great play-by-plays of various skirmishes between Union warships and Fort McAllister. Using primary sources, Durham has drawn together a vivid picture of life on a daily basis for men at the fort and on the ships that attacked it and these scenes from battles have often been informed via careful reading of letters to wives, family, and commanders. To write history of this nature in large, broad, strokes and still retain ample personal details requires an empathy for the various men who make up the story and Durham is sound in his treatment of all of them: from petty officers to an admiral, their personal views come together to compose the whole and consummate story at hand. Of course, from the higher-ranking men we get not only a more official story but also one told via intraservice letters plus their personal communications. Many men also, it appears, kept journals and in these recorded very detailed accounts of the missions they were tasked with and life in general in the service. A paymaster on the Union ironclad USS Montauk in example details much of in-battle action aboard his ship in a diary which provides an eye-witness account of life aboard the ship, as do the communications of a journalist who happened to be onboard the Montauk. Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, the Union Navy officer leading the efforts to take out or capture Fort McAllister also provides a lot of information via his letters to his wife, and reading of his oversight of the naval operations at hand also offers a rare glimpse into a creative, intelligent, and often very forward-thinking flag-officer's mind. Faced with a serious obstacle to Federal goals in Savannah, Du Pont became one of the first admirals to make use of ironclads and did so in an innovative manner, understanding that the Confederates would not only also apply their cannons but underwater mines against these new, better-protected, warships. For this reason, some historians consider Admiral Du Pont as a father of modern naval warfare. While Durham's book is an effort of love and one that also displays his great acumen and command of this area of history, there are a few minor complaints I have about its production. Mainly, the maps included of the Savannah area and the fort's location are poor and confusing, taken from historical sources and not (apparently) redrawn. In this day and age of digital cartography it would seem that either the author or publisher could provide better maps. Further into the book there are some decent plans of the fort that appear to have been drafted on a computer but the opening maps intended to introduce the reader to the geographical location are simply confusing and I say this as someone who lived in Savannah for a number of years. As the Savannah area is served by not only the Savannah River but several other rivers including the Ogeechee, a very clear map would have done wonders in explaining how Fort McAllister protected Savannah. The historical maps could have been retained but also redrawn to provide an easy-to-read explanation of the geographical situation. My other complaint is that at times the book seems as if it could have been even longer as the wealth of these details Durham has unearthed could deserve more room than the 235 pages of actual text alloted to them. Savannah is a prime topic for many historians due to its unique and central role in a variety of time periods of American history and because it's a living tourist attraction bringing in history-minded tourists year-around. A book like this is a very useful contribution to the overall literature on the area, and is probably going to be the only major work on the topic for a long time, so it seems fair (if a bit picky) that even things like the maps are as perfect as possible. Whatever "Guardian of Savannah" lacks though in terms of its maps, it makes up for in its rare and interesting photographs and more than anything in Durham's precise prose and clear ability to explain complex events as they unfolded around Fort McAllister. He has a historian's love for the fort's legacy and a hawk's eye for details surrounding it, too. This book would make a great gift for any lover of Civil War or Georgia history and should also be in the collections of all regional libraries because it fills a void in scholarship about a very crucial aspect of the Civil War in the region.
MIKE WALKER is a journalist based in Gainesville, Florida. He writes for this and other news media about ecology, natural history, military history, and architectural history. Having studied architectural history at the Savannah College of Art and Design, he has a special interest in the history of this region. He may be reached via email at: cloudrace@prontomail.com
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