Hilton Head

Today we left Savannah and started making our way to Hilton Head Island, on the way we stopped at Fort Pulaski.

Following the War of 1812, President James Madison ordered a new system of coastal fortifications to protect the United States against foreign invasion. Construction of a fort to protect the port of Savannah began in 1829. In 1833, the new fort was named Fort Pulaski in honor of Kazimierz Pulaski, a Polish soldier and military commander who fought in the American Revolution under the command of George Washington. Pulaski was a noted cavalryman and played a large role in training Revolutionary troops. He took part in the sieges of Charleston and of Savannah.

Fort Pulaski was finally completed in 1847 following 18 years of construction and nearly $1,000,000 in construction costs.Walls were eleven feet thick, thought to be impenetrable except by only the largest land artillery- which at the time were smooth bore cannon. These cannons had a range of only around a half mile, and the nearest land (Tybee island) was much further away than that. It was assumed that the Fort would be

Though completed in 1847, Fort Pulaski was under the control of only two caretakers until 1860 when South Carolina seceded from the United States and set in motion the Civil War. Following the secession of Georgia in February 1861, the state joined the Confederate States Of America. Confederate troops then moved into the fort. Fort Pulaski was prepared for a possible infantry attack. However, Fort Pulaski never endured a direct land assault. With 36 guns, including the new James Rifled Cannon, Union troops began a long sustained bombardment of Fort Pulaski. The new rifled cannon fired a rifled projectile that could go farther (4–5 miles) than the larger and heavier smoothbore cannonball (.5 mile.) Within 30 hours, the use of the new rifled cannon had breached one of the fort's corner walls. Shells now passed through the fort dangerously close to the Fort's main powder magazine. Reluctantly, Colonel Olmstead surrendered the fort. Only one Confederate soldier and one Union soldier were injured in the attack. In the picture above you can see the holes the cannons made in the exterior walls of the fort.

After our visit to fort Pulanski we continued on our way to Hilton Head Island, we saw this lazy guy on the side of the road, it was the first gator we saw and I was sooo excited! Gators were one thing that I wanted to make sure to see while in gator country! Little did I know how many I would be seeing by the end of this trip, but this one was for sure one of the biggest that we saw! We had a wonderful lunch at the water front cafe I had a shrimp Salad sandwich and we call got a brownie to split for dessert. It was a delicious lunch and it had a gorgeous view of the waterfront. We then had an hour to enjoy the beach and the lovely little shops and rocking chairs in the surrounding area.

Our next stop was our lovely beach resort hotel, The Westin Hilton Head. It was a beautiful hotel! and right on the beach, so bethy and I checked into our rooms, changed into our swimsuits and walked right down to the beach!

They had lounge chairs and blue umbrellas for everyone which made it look so pretty and uniform. It was so relaxing to bury my feet in the sand and listen to the ocean while the sun warmed my skin and flocks of pelicans filled the air, this beach had a much more relaxed and chill feeling compared to the beaches in California, I just love South Carolina!