Day 51
December 1
Midway, Georgia
My Dear Miss Smith,
Here we are in Georgia, and it is the first of December and no snow. What was I thinking when I planned to spend fall and the beginning of winter down south? I’m longing for cold, brisk air, cheery fires - not that we have a fireplace in this wonderful RV - hay rides, pumpkin patches, snow storms, sleigh rides and such like. Ah me. Perhaps when this trip is over I shall turn around and head the other way to experience autumn and winter up in the north. But should it be spent in the New England states or out in the northwestern states or perhaps somewhere in-between? But that is a long way off. I must stick with the here and now.
As Levi has no doubt told you in his letter, we camped near
Fort King George Historic Site. A fascinating place along the coast, it is the oldest English fort remaining in Georgia.
Though not on the sea coast exactly, this fort was built in 1721 along the Altamaha River. The fort, the most southern outpost of Britain’s North American Empire, was abandoned only seven years after it was built due mostly, we learned, to disease, a harsh, coastal environment and the threats of Indian and Spanish attacks. However, General James Oglethorpe (I seem to connect John and Charles Wesley with the name Oglethorpe for some reason.), and a group of Scottish Highlanders arrived in 1736.
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| Officers' Quarters |
A settlement, which they named Darien, became a center of lumber export until as late as 1925!
I am not certain about when reconstruction was begun for Fort George, but now they have officer’s quarters, a blockhouse, a guardhouse, barracks, museum and even some cannons along the palisades. Levi and Christian enjoyed pretending they were soldiers.
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| Inside Barracks |
It was fascinating to wander about and try to imagine what it must have been like for those first soldiers stationed here, so far from their homes and everything they had known.
We didn’t spend more than a few hours there before we loaded up to head farther up the coast to visit another fort.
When we arrived at
Fort Morris, the first thing we did was to eat a picnic lunch. The dogs thoroughly enjoyed being outside with us, and the boys, especially Levi, kept us amused by a steady flow of talk about anything and everything.
Unlike Fort George, Fort Morris was built by order of the Continental Congress and first manned by 200 patriot soldiers. Guarding the Medway River at Sunbury, Fort Morris is known for the defiant words of its gallant officer, Colonel John McIntosh who, when the British demanded a surrender, replied, “Come and take it!”
The British, however, decided that they must hurry back to Florida right then and only returned later with a vastly superior force and took the fort.
During the war of 1812, the fort, then named Fort Defiance, was again used to safeguard the harbor.
There was a lovely nature trail there which we enjoyed exploring late in the afternoon before returning to our home-away-from-home.
After eating our supper of lasagna, salad and french bread, we all agreed to drive the rest of the way up the coast to Tybee.
Now we are relaxing. Allow me to clarify, Amy is busy on the phone. Since her older brother, I don’t recall which one, is getting married, she has been rather busy and distracted. She has even talked about going home. Perhaps she should. The only problem with that, Miss Smith, is that I would be alone when we reached States where no one is joining us. Perhaps you could check around for me and see if there is anyone who could join me. It may be that one of my relatives or friends could come.
The boys are heading up to bed now and Amy is off the phone. I should head to bed as well.
Love,
~Priscilla
