Location: St. Simons Island, GA Map
Area: 241 acres (1 km²)
Tel. (912) 638- 3639
Constructed: 1736- 1748 by James Oglethorpe
Open: 9am- 5pm daily
Closed: Christmas Day
Fort Frederica National Monument is an open air
museum of the British fort located on St. Simons Island, Georgia in
United States. Fort Frederica National Monument is an open air
museum of the British fort located on St. Simons Island, Georgia in
United States. Fort Frederica National Monument was constructed in
1736- 1748 by British General James E. Oglethorpe and covers an area
241 acres (1 km²). It was constructed with an intent to protect
British colonies in the New World against possible attacks of the
Spanish Empire those possessions laid just south of the fortress. It
provided a place where poor debtors could settle, colonists from
England and Scotland, and refugees from the German Electorate of the
Palatinate built Fort Frederica in 1736 to defend their new
territory. They named Frederica for Frederick, Prince of Wales,
(1707–1751). The name was feminized to distinguish it from Fort
Frederick in South Carolina.
Spaniards didn't wait too long
to retake these lands. On July 18, 1742 forces under Captain
Sebastian were defeated by General Oglethorpe at the battle of
Battle of Gully Hole Creek. Just six years later small Spanish
garrison under leadership of Antonio Barba attempted to take the
fortress. On July 18- 19, 1748 they were defeated again at the
battle of Battle of Bloody Marsh. However after sound defeat of the
enemy British decided that keeping forces here is too expansive. The
garrison was disbanded in 1749. In 1758 a fire struck fortress and
surrounding community of immigrants from the Western Europe. Soon
thereafter the settlement was abandoned and left to the elements.
Today the site is dedicated as a National Monument.
In the early 18th century, what is now Georgia, the land between the
British colony of South Carolina and Spanish-ruled Florida, was the
constant bone of contention of a centuries-old Spanish-British dispute.
In 1736, General James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony on
the Frederica River, built the city and Fort Frederica with the help of
English, Scottish, German and Swiss colonists. Muskogee Indians,
sometimes also referred to as Creek Indians, from the tribe of the
Settled down Yamacraw. The settlement was named after Friedrich Ludwig
von Hanover (1707-1751), as Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales. However,
to avoid confusion with Fort Frederick in South Carolina, the female
form of the name was chosen. The complex was completely surrounded by
palisades, ramparts, moats and a glacis. The small, brick fort was
located as a citadel within the wall and was right on the river bank.
In 1740 Oglethorpe moved from Frederica to Florida and
unsuccessfully besieged the Spanish forts Castillo de San Marcos and
Fort Matanzas near what is now St. Augustine.
In 1742 Spanish
troops from Florida and Cuba attacked the island of St. Simons. The
defensive measures initiated by Oglethorpe initially led to the Battle
of Bloody Marsh, as part of the combat operations also known as the War
of Jenkins' Ear. Here, parts of the 42nd Infantry Regiment and the
regiment of the Dariene Highlanders under Lieutenant Patrick Sutherland
attacked a Spanish reconnaissance detachment, in which only (according
to Spanish information) seven casualties were to be mourned. Initially,
the Spanish continued their campaign to conquer the island, but
Oglethorpe repeatedly managed to outmaneuver them, and eventually the
Spanish gave up and retreated to Florida. The fact that the British
ultimately prevailed strengthened their position in this part of the
country. Georgia thus remained under British rule.
After the
Spanish threat had been averted and a peace treaty concluded between the
two parties, Fort Frederica also came to an end in 1748. The 42nd
Regiment of Foot infantry regiment stationed here was disbanded and the
residents left the site, which was inhospitable due to the constant
plague of mosquitoes. Some of them returned to Europe. The fort fell
into disrepair.
The site of Fort Frederica was designated a National Monument on May 26, 1936. In 1947, the National Park Service and Ft. Frederica Association with archaeological excavations on the site of the former settlement. Using 18th-century maps and other contemporary records as a guide, work began to uncover the site. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Fort Frederica is open to the public and has a visitor center with displays on the colonial era and the native Yamacraw Indians. Living History demonstrations in historical costumes take place several times a month. Parts of the fortification are reconstructed in their archaeologically determined dimensions to give visitors an impression of the facility.