At Fort McAllister (Ga.) this weekend: Battle re-enactment and dedication of Rebel officer's personal effects

Federal re-enactors during 2014 event (Courtesy Armory Guards)

A re-enactment of the victorious Federal assault on Fort McAllister near Savannah, Ga., will be staged Saturday hours after the dedication of a case holding items belonging to a Confederate cavalry officer who helped defend the fort early in the war.

This year’s Winter Muster is set for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Dec. 9) at Fort McAllister State Park near Richmond Hill. The fort fell quickly to Federal land forces on Dec. 13, 1864, during the last days of Sherman’s March to the Sea. In the years before, the fort successfully guarded the Ogeechee River from naval assaults.

More than 120 re-enactors are signed up for the weekend event, which will include skirmishes, musket and artillery demonstrations, and displays of camp life before the 5 p.m. re-enactment.

The day kicks off with a 10 a.m. dedication of the exhibit in the visitor center/museum. The items will join other displays on the history of the area and the McAllister family, which formerly owned the land on which the fort was erected.

The collection, which includes a saber, uniform vest, spurs and a photograph of Joseph Longworth McAllister, were donated by Carolyn C. Swiggart, an attorney in Greenwich, Conn. The cavalryman is her fourth great uncle. She will attend the dedication.

McAllister grew up on the Bryan County rice plantation, where his family owned numerous slaves. He lived in Strathy Hall, just to the west of the fort.

Lt. Col. McAllister's personal efforts (Courtesy Georgia DNR)

Soon after Confederates shelled Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, McAllister was commissioned a captain of an artillery unit at the fledgling Fort McAllister.

In April 1862, McAllister formed the Hardwick Mounted Rifles, comprised of volunteers from Bryan County. The regiment, one of several homegrown units in the Savannah area, helped guard against Federal invasion of the coast.

The troopers were sent to Virginia later in the war.

McAllister, 43, died June 11, 1864, at the Battle of Trevilian Station, a Confederate victory in central Virginia. The lieutenant colonel with the 7^th Georgia Cavalry fought to the last, throwing an emptied gun at Federal troops just before he was cut down by bullets.

Fort McAllister site manager Jason Carter told the Picket that the addition of the McAllister personal effects will give patrons a more human connection to what happened during the Civil War.

Exhibit ready for Saturday's unveiling (Cheri Hadler/Ga. State Parks)

Swiggart said the state has been an excellent steward of the fort and its history.

“It’s my hope that the items will add to the understanding of who Joseph McAllister was as a person, as well as to bring the reality of war home,” she said. “McAllister was killed in June of 1864, and his loss was immense to his family at Strathy Hall .... Then Sherman's troops wreaked destruction upon this area in December 1864. The war is long over now, but these reminders are important for us as Americans.”

Admission Saturday is $8 per adult, $5 for youth. Parking passes are not required for event admission.