Marcia has about had her fill of light houses and I’m not very excited about seashells. We resolved this by parking at a central spot and I climbed the Tybee lighthouse and Marcia combed the beach.
Since it is my pen I shall describe what I found first, and in more detail.
In 1862 the Union set out to blockade all southern ports. It occupied Hilton Head SC which is visible from Tybee Island GA. The Confederacy under Lee watched the Union from the Tybee Island lighthouse. Then Lee, buying in to the idea that Ft Pulaski was invulnerable (he, incidentally, had a role in its design and construction as a 2nd lieutenant fresh out of West Point), ordered Tybee abandoned and its troops moved to Ft Pulaski where they could shoot without getting shot. For good measure, he ordered the destruction of the Tybee lighthouse.
The Union soon occupied Tybee, surprised to find no resistance. The lighthouse, constructed of brick, suffered minimal damage and became a Union vantage point for observing Confederate activities in Ft Pulaski.
Under the cover of darkness the Union moved cannon and troops to where Tybee Island is closest to Cockspur Island, the site of Pulaski. Included were new weapons, featuring rifled cannon. The Union attacked with overwhelmingly superiority and the fort surrendered after 30 hours, with the results described in the posts about Ft Pulaski.
Today the lighthouse and keeper facilities are open to the public ($5/senior, including nearby batteries). This is one of the less visited lighthouses and touring is pleasantly self-guided and thorough. The 178-step climb to the top is alarmingly challenging. I ran into fellow caravaner Joe there; he told me he used to lead tours up a Washington lighthouse several times a day. He lost 15 pounds the first month.
One view from the lighthouse shows batteries Brumby and Garland – there are several others. These were started late in the 19th century and grew from the failings of Ft Pulaski. They are low, made of reinforced concrete, and the seaward side was covered with sand and vegetation to pass as dunes.
Today History is strange, at times. The battery on the left now houses the local Shriners’ Club. The next one houses a bar and grill. The right one has an interesting museum, included in the admission price of the lighthouse. The batteries extend a couple floors below ground, for safe storage of explosives.
In WWI some cannon were sent to France. In WWII the remaining cannon were melted for scrap, and the military departed in 1947. In the 1950s the sand was removed to make room for a parking lot, and to provide building material for Hwy 80. Many batteries are simply abandoned, used for storage, or ineffectually barricaded with chain link fencing.
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