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| Scaffolding went up this month at the Cockspur Island Lighthouse (NPS photos) |
The national
park’s preservation team earlier this month began deferred work on the exterior
and interior of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse, which is in serious need of
some TLC, officials said.
“These efforts will help stabilize the structure
and mitigate damaged caused by rising damp, moisture infiltration, tidal
conditions and past incompatible mortar and paint applications,” Emily Forlenza,
exhibits and acting facility operations specialist at the park, told the Picket
in an email.
Fort Pulaski
also is replacing the 46-foot lighthouse’s door and windows. “These have been fabricated to match historic configuration and
materials, while enhancing security to the site from wildlife and visitors,”
Forlenza said.
The structure has endured high tides,
hurricanes, waves from ever-growing container ships, careless individuals and –
for a deafening 30 hours – the April 1862 bombardment of Fort Pulaski.
The Cockspur light’s masonry base was built in
the shape of a ship’s prow to deflect the forces that have worn away at her,
consuming much of the small island that serves as its foundation. And while her
light was extinguished more than a century ago, the beloved beacon exudes charm
for boaters and those making the trek on U.S. 80 from Savannah to Tybee Island.
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| Interpretive sign on the new observation deck (Picket photo) |
Forlenza emphasized
that the lighthouse remains closed, even when workers are present.
“There is no current plan for the park to open the site up for visitation once work is completed; these repairs are being done to stabilize the structure and for interpretive purposes at a distance,” she said. The park ended public access to the site several years ago, citing the precarious ecological situation and increased vandalism (people can walk to the lighthouse during low tide).
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| Lighthouse while it was still in operation; island has eroded (National Archives) |
A hurricane leveled the lighthouse in 1854 and a
new tower was rebuilt a couple years later. The dawn of the Civil War brought a
temporary extinguishment of its light.
Then the war itself came to Cockspur Island,
home to Fort Pulaski.
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| Robert Knox Sneden map showing batteries that fired on fort (Library of Congress) |
Capt. Quincy A. Gillmore, a
Federal engineer officer, began the bombardment on April 10, 1862, after Col.
Charles H. Olmstead refused to surrender.
“The Federal batteries were 1,500 to 4,000 yards away from the fort,” said Charlie Crawford, who as president of the Georgia Battlefields Association led tours of Civil War sites in the Savannah area. “Part of Battery Halleck is still discernible on the south side of the road. Had the Federals chosen to aim at the lighthouse, the closest batteries would have been about 700 yards from it.”
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| Observation deck at end of Lighthouse Trail (Picket photo) |
“When Fort Pulaski was built (1830s, with Robert
E. Lee as one of the principal engineers), the rifled gun was not around,
so thick masonry walls were the best type of fortification, and the
distance to Tybee Island would prevent any 1830s-era gun from getting close
enough to do significant damage,” Crawford previously told the Picket. “By 1862, the James Rifles
blasted apart the walls relatively quickly.”
The situation steadily grew worse.
“When the breach on the southeast bastion allowed the Federals to shoot across the parade ground and start bouncing shells off the temporary wood wall in front of the powder magazine, Olmsted knew that a potentially catastrophic explosion was likely,” said Crawford. He surrendered on April 11.
Remarkably, the lighthouse suffered little or no damage during the Federal attack. Crews manning 36 guns on 11 batteries stretching along the western end of Tybee Island likely used the lighthouse for sighting as they pounded away at the Confederate fort located about 1 mile beyond.
Pulaski remained in Federal hands and the city
fell in December 1864 in the closing months of the conflict. About a year after
the war’s end, on April 25, 1866, the beacon was relit and painted white for
continued use as a navigational aid. (At right, 1850s schematic for the current lighthouse, courtesy of NPS)
A storm in 1881 destroyed the keeper’s residence
and the surge filled the lighthouse interior with seawater. The plucky tower
remained in duty for another three decades, but the writing was on its walls.
To accommodate large
freighters, the Savannah port routed vessels to the deep, more navigable North Channel. Effective June 1, 1909, the beacon light was snuffed. Its Fresnel
light is long gone.
Nature’s assault on the lighthouse has
continued, with officials fighting back against the effects of erosion and
shipworms on wooden support timbers.
Forlenza said funding for the fabrication of
the door and windows came from a grant given to the Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse by the Tybee Island Historical Society, which was matched by NPS
Centennial Challenge funding. The Picket reached out to the friends group
for comment on the project but did not receive a reply.
The lighthouse has a white
exterior and that look persisted for decades. But much of that paint is gone or
weathered now. The park does not plan to repaint the exterior, officials said.
“There will be no additional coating applied to the lighthouse, and the coating that is there will not be removed by any mechanical means,” said Forlenza. “Our cultural resource team decided that it was best to not risk further damage by removing the existing coating, and the brick is vulnerable enough in the extreme tidal conditions. Natural weathering of the exterior coating was decided to be the most appropriate treatment.”
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| Fort Pulaski was pulverized by rifled Federal guns (Picket photo) |
